Prospects for the use of additives in the form of fly ash and coke breeze in the creation of soil mixtures for growing plants

Abstract

A study was made of the possibility of using non-traditional materials from industrial production (fly ash and coke breeze) in order to involve them in the technological cycle of creating soils for growing cultivated plants in greenhouse conditions. Poor soddy-podzolic soil was used as the basis for creating the soil mixture. The objects for the study were the plants of common pea and white lupine. The experiment was carried out at full light culture in a closed grow tent. The total duration of the experiment was 35 days. The impact of additives was assessed by the dynamics of changes in the biometric characteristics of the resulting biomass (length and weight of shoots and roots). The addition of fly ash and coke breeze in small percentages did not lead to a significant stimulation of the biomass of cultivated plants. Therefore, it is too early to draw an unambiguous conclusion. However, the introduction of additives in small doses, up to 10-20%, may in the future affect the savings of mineral fertilizers and the amount of other components modifying the substrate. A gradual increase in the proportion of additives introduced into the soil substrate led to a sharp shift in the acidity of the soil mixture towards concentrated alkalis, as well as to a heavier state of aggregation. As a result, plants showed inhibition of growth rates at the first picking point. At the end of the experiment, acclimatization took place and the process of plant development gradually leveled off, which is most likely due to an increase in the secretion of organic acids by the root system, acidifying the substrate over time.