Content of nickel in maize and soil fertilized with organic materials derived from waste

The research was conducted to determine the influence of fertilization with waste organic materials on the content and uptake of lead by maize as well as on the total content of lead in soil. The three-year field experiment comprised 7 treatments: a non-fertilized soil (control treatment) as well as a soil fertilized with mineral fertilizers, cattle manure, green waste compost, sewage sludge, compost from sewage sludge and straw as well as with a mixture of sewage sludge and hard coal ash. Maize cultivated for silage was the test plant. The lead content in the above-ground parts of plants and in the soil was determined using ICP-AES method. During the research, no lead pollution of the soil or the above-ground parts of the maize was found. No statistically significant effect of fertilization on the lead content in the maize was found or the fertilized plants contained considerably less of the element than the control plants. The lowest weighted mean content of lead was found in the maize fertilized with the green waste compost, sewage sludge as well as with the compost from sludge and straw. Soil with the lowest lead content was the soil of the treatment fertilized with organic materials. The soil fertilized with the green waste compost (all the years), sewage sludge (2 year) as well as with the mixture of sludge and ash (1 and 2 year) contained significantly more lead than the soil fertilized with mineral fertilizers.