Bone-derived hydroxyapatite: ultrastructure and tuning for controlled dissolution characteristics for a model nanofertilizer Felipe H. dos Santos, Pavlo Ivanchenko, Roger Borges, Cauê R. de Oliveira, Marcos Y. Kamogawa, et al. Environmental Science Nano, 2025 Bovine bones were used as a sustainable source of hydroxyapatite addressing dual challenges in agriculture: providing a secondary source of P in the face of geological reserve depletion and offering a slow-release mechanism for P fertilization.
Optimizing Cassava Growth with Localized Struvite Application: Root Proliferation and Fertilization Efficiency Roger Borges, Amanda S. Giroto, Benedict Ohrem, Silas Beckmann, Ali Ademi, et al. Agronomy, 2025 Cassava is a root storage crop that is important to the starch industry and food security. In this study, the sustainable fertilization of cassava using local placement of struvite, a fertilizer recovered from wastewater, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium, was investigated. It was asked if struvite is a suitable fertilizer for cassava, if it is likely to spread through the substrate (leach), and if roots can proliferate and utilize a concentrated placement of struvite. Cassava was grown in rhizoboxes under different fertilizer placement strategies: unfertilized control, homogeneous fertilizer distribution in the top 20 cm (‘homogenized’), a strip placement (‘layer’) at 20 cm depth, and a localized ‘depot’ at the same depth. Shoot and root growth responses were monitored over 8 weeks. Cassava growth was significantly improved with struvite fertilization. The fertilizer remained localized, with minimcnal spread during the 8 weeks of experimentation. Both the ‘layer’ and ‘homogenized’ struvite placements resulted in comparable biomass production, significantly greater than the unfertilized treatment. Plants in the ‘depot’ placement initially grew similar to the unfertilized treatment as roots took time to locate and proliferate into the fertilizer depot. Afterward, plants in the ‘depot’ treatment grew quickly, resulting in an intermediate biomass at harvest. Notably, cassava exhibited strong root proliferation in response to concentrated struvite, which did not compromise deep rooting but instead appeared to enhance it, increasing specific root length. These findings suggest that strip fertilization with struvite may offer a sustainable fertilization strategy for cassava, warranting further investigation in field trials.
