Nitrogen fertilizer and sewage sludge effects on hybrid poplars. Final report

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5763686

Riha, S R; Senesac, G P; Naylor, L

Experiments conducted in the greenhouse compared the growth and nutrient and heavy metal uptake in two clones of hybrid poplar grown in soil amended with nitrogen fertilizer or sewage sludge. In addition, poplar responses to weed competition and to rooting prior to planting were investigated. Both fertilizer and sludge application increased poplar stem biomass. Weeds reduced poplar biomass. The large difference in root biomass of the two poplar clones may account for different effects weed and sludge application had on nutrient and heavy metal uptake in each clone. The relatively small root biomass of I-45/51 increased with increasing sludge application, as did the uptake of nutrients and heavy metals. The relatively large root biomass of clone NE-510 was reduced when weeds were present, as was nutrient and heavy metal uptake. Other results suggest that poplars with low root-to-stem ratios may be most affected by weed competition, especially after their first year, and that nitrogen fertilization may alleviate effects of weeds on their growth. Poplars grown in sludge-amended soil did not accumulate more of any nutrient or heavy metal studied compared to those grown in nitrogen-fertilized soil. 17 refs., 5 figs., 57 tabs.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA). Dept. of Agricultural Engineering
• OSTI ID: 5763686
• Report Number(s): NYSERDA-85-1; ON: TI85901397
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FERTILIZERS
POPLARS
PLANT GROWTH
SEWAGE SLUDGE
CLONING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HARVESTING
LEAVES
PLANT STEMS
ROOTS
SHORT ROTATION CULTIVATION
WEEDS
DATA
GROWTH
INFORMATION
NUMERICAL DATA
PLANTS
SEWAGE
SLUDGES
TREES
WASTES
140504* - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)