%0 Research Notes
%T Pellets made of wood ash and other wastes as nutrient sources for silver birch seedlings
%A Hytönen, Jyrki
%D 1998
%J Suo - Mires and peat
%V 49
%N 2
%U http://suo.fi/article/9774
%X The effects of pellets made of wood ash and of ash mixed with other wastes (composted mink dung, composted municipal sewage sludge, dung from stomachs of slaughtered animals) on the growth and nutrition of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) seedlings was studied in a greenhouse experiment. Seedlings were grown in peat soil originating from a drained dwarf-shrub pine bog, peat soil from an afforested field, and in mineral soil. The pellets were applied in varying doses (0, 6, 12, 24, 48 t ha-1). When applied at the rate of 24 t ha-1, also the effect of pelletizing was studied. The pellets promoted the growth of the seedlings depending on the waste used, growing medium, and the application amount. The pellets containing the highest amounts of nitrogen had the effect of increasing growth most of all. As compared with the unpelletized-waste treatment, the use of pelletized waste material decreased seedling growth. This was probably due to the reduced solubility of the nutrients contained by the waste material when presented in pelletized form. Pellets increased the foliar nutrient concentrations of many elements depending on the waste used, the growing medium, and the application amount.