Use of quarry waste basalt rock powder as a soil remineralizer to grow soybean and maize

Augusto Vaghetti Luchese; Ivone Janete Gutz de Castro Leite; Ana Paula da Silva Giaretta; Mylena Linhares Alves; Laércio Augusto Pivetta; Robson Fernando Missio

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14050

Use of quarry waste basalt rock powder as a soil remineralizer to grow soybean and maize

Heliyon. 2023 Feb 26;9(3):e14050. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14050. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Augusto Vaghetti Luchese¹, Ivone Janete Gutz de Castro Leite¹, Ana Paula da Silva Giaretta¹, Mylena Linhares Alves¹, Laércio Augusto Pivetta¹, Robson Fernando Missio^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agronomic Sciences, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Setor Palotina, Rua Pioneiro, 2153, Jd Dallas, Palotina, Paraná, Brazil.
² Graduate Program in Biotechnology, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Setor Palotina, Rua Pioneiro, 2153, Jd Dallas, Palotina, Paraná, Brazil.

Abstract

Production costs in Brazilian agriculture have increased with the rising prices of imported soluble fertilizers. To circumvent this import dependence, low-cost indigenous nutrient sources have been tested, including basalt rock powder (BRP). In this study, we assessed BRP and limestone effects on soil fertility, and soybean and maize dry mass (DM) accumulation. Four greenhouse pots experiments were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial design with two soils (Clay and Sandy Clay Loam) and four doses of each material (0, 33, 66, and 99 Mg ha^-1 BRP and 0, 1, 2, and 4 Mg ha^-1 limestone), evaluated in two species (soybean and maize). At the end of the experiments, DM, shoot P and K concentrations, and soil pH and P, K, Ca, and Mg concentrations were assessed as a function of BRP and limestone application. Applying BRP increased DM production and improved soil fertility parameters such as pH, and Ca and P concentrations, with leaf P content also increasing. Meanwhile, limestone only triggered significant changes in pH and soil Ca content.

Keywords: Basalt rock powder; Fertilizer; Maize; Soybean; Stone meal.