Browsing by Author "Örö, Nelly"

Meat and bone meal is a by-product of rendering industry. It contains significant amounts of nutrients, for example 2720 tonnes per year phosphorus in Finland. The use of meat and bone meal in agriculture ceased because of the mad cow disease in 1994. Meat and bone meal has been proved to nearly equal mineral fertilizers both economically and in fertilization effect with many crops. The use of high phosphorus content meat and bone meal as fertilizer decreases the need for non-renewable phosphorus resources and closes food system nutrient cycles. The objectives of this thesis were to consider the suitability of meat and bone meal in potato production and to estimate the recycling potential of meat and bone meal in potato production in Finland. The recycling potential was calculated as a ratio between the annual phosphorus demand in potato production and the amount of phosphorus in meat and bone meal produced in Finland. The mean yields of potato as well as the fertilization rates in agri-environment measures and the plant-available proportion of meat and bone meal were used in calculation. The annual phosphorus demand of potato production was estimated as 1100 tonnes and the amount of plant-available phosphorus in meat and bone meal was estimated as 1630 tonnes. This number includes a category 1 disease risk material which must currently be disposed of. The recycling potentials of meat and bone meal were calculated as 67 % and 74 % for all the material and excluding the category 1 material, respectively. Consequently, the amount of phosphorus in meat and bone meal can supply the demand in potato production. Meat and bone meal is a long-term phosphorus fertilizer and suitable for potato production in Finnish conditions if nitrogen and potassium are supplemented to meet the crop’s demand with other fertilizer products. It’s also an advantage that meat and bone meal is accepted in organic production. In a recycling nutrients point of view, the utilization of meat and bone meal as a fertilizer for instance in potato production is a good opportunity to return nutrients to the agroecosystem’s cycle.