Maize Trial with Puraloop® in Italy

Puraloop® proved to be as efficient as conventional TSP fertilizer in supplying phosphorus to maize grown on low-phosphorus sandy soils

LANDLAB Srl Società Benefit, Italy
2024

Key Conclusions

  • Plants responded to P fertilization, with a significant difference between the –P and +P treatments.
  • While the maize fertilized with TSP had a slightly higher dry biomass than the maize from the Puraloop treatment, the difference was not significant.
  • These results indicate that even in a short evaluation period (54 days), Puraloop  is as efficient as a conventional TSP fertilizer.

Objective

To evaluate the performance of Puraloop as a source of phosphorus for maize using a pot trial.

Trial Details

Trial station

LANDLAB Srl Società Benefit, Italy

Crop

Maize

Assessments

Biomass (g dry mass/pot), P uptake (mg/pot)

Treatments

For this trial, maize was planted in a randomized block design (RBD) experiment set up with 6 blocks.
Each repetition consisted of 5 pots with a 3L volume. The treatments consisted of a negative control (zero P), TSP, and Puraloop. Both TSP and Puraloop treatments received 460 mg P2O5/pot.

Other nutrients were applied in sufficient amounts via fertigation.

Treatments

For this trial, maize was planted in a randomized block design (RBD) experiment set up with 6 blocks.
Each repetition consisted of 5 pots with a 3L volume. The treatments consisted of a negative control (zero P), TSP, and Puraloop. Both TSP and Puraloop treatments received 460 mg P2O5/pot.

Other nutrients were applied in sufficient amounts via fertigation.

Results

Dry biomass (g)

Both treatments with P fertilizers produced a significantly higher amount of dry biomass (measured in grams per pot) compared to pots with zero P.

Bar chart comparing phosphorus treatments on plant growth. Zero P shows the lowest value, while TSP and PuraLoop show significantly higher and similar results.

Dry biomass (g)

 

P uptake (mg)

The differences in P uptake between the variant fertilized with Puraloop and the variant fertilized with conventional triple superphosphate (TSP) were not significant.

Bar chart comparing phosphorus treatments on plant growth. Zero P shows the lowest value, while TSP and PuraLoop produce significantly higher and nearly equal results.

P uptake (mg)

 

Puraloop is a recycled phosphate fertilizer derived from organic waste streams and designed for sustainable food production. This trial on maize (Zea mays) showed it can deliver similar results as other conventional sources of phosphorus.

 

Comparison of maize plants grown under three phosphorus treatments: Zero P, TSP, and PuraLoop. The Zero P plant is smaller with paler leaves, while TSP and PuraLoop plants are taller and greener, showing stronger growth.

Trial maize plants in pots

 

Puraloop is a registered trademark owned by ICL Europe Cooperatif UA