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Effective microorganisms technology applied to sewage sludge and tested in short exposure on Lepidium sativum
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Researchers tested effective microorganisms as an additive to sewage sludge and found that they restored seed germination, improved root elongation by more than 50%, and boosted soil organic carbon and nitrogen levels compared to sludge applied alone, suggesting a promising approach for mitigating sludge toxicity in agriculture.
Sewage sludge has fertilizer properties and can supply a large amount of necessary nutrients to the crops, because it is full of organic matter, carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients, but on the other hand, it also contains a lot of toxic compounds, derived from its origin, such as heavy metals, antibiotics and microplastics. Effective microorganisms are a collection of naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms that are able to coexist and are commonly used in agriculture and gardening to improve plant performance and production. In this study, increasing concentrations of sewage sludge alone and added with effective microorganisms were evaluated in a short exposure on Lepidium sativum L. Parameters that were evaluated are: (i) percentage inhibition of germination, (ii) root length, (iii) biomass, (iv) soil pH, (v) total organic carbon and nitrogen both at soil and at root level. Results carried out from our experiment highlighted that effective microorganisms when coupled with sludge are able to restore biometric parameters by resetting seeds germinability inhibition and improving root elongation more than 50% when compared with plants added only with sludge, restoring the values almost of those to the control plants, as well as for soil pH values. Total organic carbon and total nitrogen are boosted at soil level almost at 50% when compared with the same concentrations added only with sludge, while at root level they appear decreased only in plants directly added with sludge treated with effective microorganisms. Clinical Trial Registration This research does not have a Clinical Trial Registration because no humans are been involved.
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