ZEOLITE AS A BINDING AGENT FOR AMMONIA IONS AND AS A SOIL ADDITIVE . II . EFFECT ON GRASS GROWTH AND QUALITY
Since the organic fertilizers are very important for sustainable forage production, in this work, zeolitic tuff was used as a binding agent for ammonia released from cattle manure. It has been shown previously that the addition of 10 wt.% zeolite to fresh cattle manure increases retention of realized ammonia by 90% in comparison to the system without zeolite. Here, the experiments were established in pots, to study effect of different ammonia source on Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) growth and herbage quality. Preliminary tests indicate those fresh matter yields obtained in pots containing ammonia-loaded zeolite were higher compared to control pots. Herbage quality measured by protein content in Italian ryegrass shoots indicates that ammonia assimilation is not affected ryegrass quality.