Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXV, Issue 2
Written by Andrei SIURIS, Maria GAMURAR
As a result of any human activity an enormous amount of waste accumulates. Unused for various reasons (psychological, economic, legal, technological, etc.), they cause an ecological imbalance in nature, disrupting the normal functioning of the soil, the atmosphere and water resources. At the same time, they contain considerable quantities of elements necessary for plant nutrition and soil fertilization. In the current conditions when the application of industrial fertilizers has fallen to minimal levels, the widespread use of organic waste is of particular importance for Moldovan agriculture. An extensive study, recently carried out in the Institute of Pedology, Agrochemistry and Soil Protection "Nicolae Dimo", shows that the use of waste from the production of alcoholic beverages (wine lees, vinasse, grains borage) applied to various crops, provides a specific income between 90-900 lei/ton. One euro invested in the use of these wastes is recouped with 1.3-3.7 lei. Expenditure is fully recouped, with yield increases in 1-2 years for field and vine crops. With all the benefits listed and the increasing needs during the growing season, waste from the production of alcoholic beverages is practically not used, but left unused, causing mess, dirt and health problems. The above-mentioned wastes were tested in two long-term field experiments at the technological-experimental station "Codru" located in Codru commune, Chisinau municipality. Wine lees and vinasse are discharged from wine production units, and grain borage from enterprises producing ethyl alcohol. Research has confirmed that wine waste increases the content of humified organic matter by 0.16-0.41%, mobile phosphorus by 0.41-1.12 mg/100 g of soil and exchangeable potassium by 11-15 mg/100 g of soil. Yields per hectare when wine waste is applied are 11-13 t/ha. Grape yield increase is 1.0-3.2 t/ha (10-31%). Application of cereal borage increases soil organic matter by 0.12-0.21% (3000-6500 kg/ha), mobile phosphorus by 0.31-0.54 mg/100 g (6-11 kg/ha) and exchangeable potassium by 4-9 mg/100 g soil (80-180 kg/ha). The yield increase when using cereal borage is 40-60%. The beneficial influence of fertilization with waste from alcoholic beverage production on humus and biophilic elements (NPK) is also demonstrated by calculating the balance of these indicators.
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