Byproducts from Piggery Wastewater Treatment for the Sustainable Soil Amendment and Crop Production

Livestock manure is generally beneficial to soil and crop production when appropriate amount is applied, but excessive application may be detrimental to soil and water environments. A proper protocol of livestock waste treatment is required to manage the quality of soil and water. A trickling filter system using rice straw media was employed to treat piggery wastewater from small-scaled livestock farms as an alternative to the currently available methods. Batches of piggery wastewater were treated with this system, and the byproducts of rice straw media and trickling filtrate were applied to the soil with cultivating rye (Secale cereale L.). Objective of this research was to characterize these byproducts for the sustainable soil amendments and rye production. Both the treated straw medium and filtrate were proven to be effective organic fertilizers for rye plant development, with the enhanced but balanced absorption of nutrients. The synergistic effects of filtrate in addition to straw application did not show, but the filtrate appeared to lead to a higher water content of the plant. No specific nutrient deficiency or toxicity symptom was shown due to the salts derived from the byproducts applied. Chemical parameters of the soil quality were significantly improved with the application of straw medium either with or without the filtrate. Judging from parameters relating to the salt accumulations, such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), potassium adsorption ratio (KAR), and residual P concentrations, the byproducts from piggery wastewater exhibited no detrimental effects on soil quality within the ranges of treatments used. In addition to the effectiveness of the rice straw trickling filter system for the small-scaled swine farms, both rice straw medium and filtrate could be recycled for the sustainable soil amendment and plant nutrition.