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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393330

Research Project: Improved Conversion of Sugar Crops into Food, Biofuels, Biochemicals, and Bioproducts

Location: Commodity Utilization Research

Title: Microbiome and nutrient quality of sugarcane mill/press mud as bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant

Author
item Uchimiya, Sophie

Submitted to: Sugar Industry Technologists Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/9/2022
Publication Date: 4/18/2022
Citation: Uchimiya, M. Microbiome and nutrient quality of sugarcane mill/press mud as bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant. In: Proceedings of the 2022 Sugar Industry Technologists Eighty First Annual Technical Meeting, April 17-19, 2022, Orlando, Florida. pp. 1-7. 2022. (Proceedings)

Interpretive Summary: Bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant could be developed from sugarcane mill mud/filter cake to provide (1) carbon source for natural micro-organisms to promote soil health and (2) controlled-release of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other essential plant nutrients to reduce the cost to purchase imported inorganic fertilizers. In Louisiana, waste management for muds became expensive at mills, as on-site waste piling space is becoming exhausted. Research is needed to identify the quality of organic carbon and microbiome in mill mud. This study used bioinformatics to statistically evaluate complex microbial community in mill mud, and to understand their environmental fate. Fresh mill mud was enriched with heat- and drought-tolerant microbiota, which became depleted after prolonged environmental exposure (soil amendment, composting). The rate of environmental transformation is the key to fertilizer value, as chemical and microbial aging occurs concurrently. In addition, biochemical, thermal, and electrochemical augmentation approaches can be used to add values to biostimulants from mill mud. Organic waste-to-biofertilizer concept of mill muds offers a real world message, beyond United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, to diversifying, sustainability-conscious consumers. Those approaches also address U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Innovation Agenda to “increase the productivity of U.S. agriculture by 40%, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050”.

Technical Abstract: Bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant could be developed from sugarcane mill mud/filter cake to provide (1) carbon source for natural micro-organisms to promote soil health and (2) controlled-release of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other essential plant nutrients to reduce the cost to purchase imported inorganic fertilizers. In Louisiana, waste management for muds became expensive at mills, as on-site waste piling space is becoming exhausted. Research is needed to identify the quality of organic carbon and microbiome in mill mud. This study used bioinformatics to statistically evaluate complex microbial community in mill mud, and to understand their environmental fate. Fresh mill mud was enriched with heat- and drought-tolerant microbiota, which became depleted after prolonged environmental exposure (soil amendment, composting). The rate of environmental transformation is the key to fertilizer value, as chemical and microbial aging occurs concurrently. In addition, biochemical, thermal, and electrochemical augmentation approaches can be used to add values to biostimulants from mill mud. Organic waste-to-biofertilizer concept of mill muds offers a real world message, beyond United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, to diversifying, sustainability-conscious consumers. Those approaches also address U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Innovation Agenda to “increase the productivity of U.S. agriculture by 40%, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050”.