Winter wheat fertilized with biogas residue and mining waste: yielding and the quality of grain

BACKGROUND: Environmental protection problems and efforts to increase agricultural productivity result in attempts to use various organic and mineral wastes as fertilizers. This study aimed to determine the effect of biogas residue (BR) and mining waste (MS) fertilization on wheat yield as well as the nutritional and pro-health quality of grains produced. RESULTS: After the application of MS and BR wheat grain yield was increased compared to unfertilized wheat. The highest grain yield and thousand-grain weight were obtained after MS+BR fertilization. Grains of wheat fertilized with BR and MS+BR contained significantly more protein and wet gluten compared to no fertilization and conventional fertilization (NPK). The studied conditions did not statistically affect starch content. BR fertilization significantly increased the total phenolic content; however, grains of wheat fertilized with NPK were characterized by the highest content of flavonoids and syringic, p-coumaric and sinapic acids. Compared to NPK, waste fertilizations positively affect the reducing power and antiradical activity of wheat. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the wastes evaluated can be an alternative to conventional fertilization in the soil tested that without any significant deterioration and in some cases significant improvement of yield and wheat quality. (C) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry