The FERTIMANURE on-farm Tailor-Made fertilisers production is also on-going

The greater challenge addressed by this task is to transform low-value pig slurry into a fertiliser which has a wider potential application and thereby greater value. To reach this objective, the pig slurry composition is adapted by incorporating different additives to make it suitable and profitable for application on croplands, where its potential use is limited due to its lower fertiliser value.

In the first tests done, potato was selected as a target crop because it is a typical crop of the area with large nutrient extractions from the soil. For the formulation and production of the specific TMF, the following aspects were taken into consideration:

1. The nutrients needing to be added to meet the demands of the potato crop.
2. Nitrogen stabilisation techniques allowing for controlled nutrient release during the cultivation season since some crops are not compatible with dressing fertilisation.
3. Pig slurry contains large amounts of Zn, Cu, and antibiotics. Application of a large amount of slurry can cause a situation of toxicity stress to the plant. Incorporation of chemically complex humic acids should reduce the bioavailability of these substances.
4. Stabilised biostimulants could increase nutrient use efficiency.