Nitrogen recycling through fertilization of Bermuda grassusing human urine diluted in water

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the nutrient accumulation and development of Bermuda grass in the establishment phase using diluted human urine as source of nutrients. The experiment was conducted in greenhouse with a completely randomized design using sixtreatments which were consisted of five urine doses (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mL of urine per liter of water) and control(soil without fertilization), with four replicates. There were significant differences between treatments for dry matter in the plants. Higher concentrations of urine led to higher production of dry matter until the 20 mL of urine per liter of water treatment. A maximum accumulated dry matter of 528g was found for an application of 18 mL/L. This value was obtained from a mathematical regression based on experimental data. The highest concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves after 120 days of planting were observed at the 10 mL/L treatment. The use of diluted human urine promoted good development and an adequate accumulation of nutrients in plants tissue allowing the diversion of man made nutrients from unwanted environmental reservoirs