Summary
This five-year field trial at Rothamsted compared anaerobic digestate, compost, farmyard manure, straw, and mixed amendments applied at four carbon rates (1–3.5 t ha⁻¹) on a cereal crop, all receiving equivalent mineral fertiliser inputs. Non-straw organic amendments increased straw yield by 28% and grain yield by 18% relative to control, with the highest amendment rate achieving 37% greater straw and 23% greater grain yield. Critically, secondary and micronutrient concentrations in edible and vegetative tissues did not show evidence of biomass dilution, suggesting organic fertilisers can improve both productivity and crop nutritional quality in intensive systems.
UK applicability
The trial was conducted at Rothamsted, a leading UK research station, directly validating the use of common UK organic amendments (digestate, compost, manure) under UK climate and soil conditions. These findings have direct applicability to UK arable farmers seeking to integrate organic amendments into mineral-supplemented intensive systems without yield penalty.
Key measures
Straw yield (%), grain yield (%), secondary nutrient concentrations (P, Ca, S), micronutrient concentrations (Fe, Zn, K) in straw and grain
Outcomes reported
The study measured grain and straw yields, and concentrations of secondary and micronutrients (P, Ca, S, K, Fe, Zn) in crop tissues across five seasons of application of different organic amendments at varying carbon rates.
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