Alternative Fertilizer Production Using an Environmentally Benign Approach

TL;DR

This paper reviews sustainable fertilizer manufacturing methods and presents experimental results showing that an environmentally friendly fertilizer can produce tomato yields comparable or better than conventional methods, promoting greener practices.

Contribution

It introduces a sustainable fertilizer process and provides experimental evidence of its effectiveness in a rooftop garden setting.

Findings

Tomato yield was 16% higher with the sustainable fertilizer.

Average tomato weight was 68% greater than control.

Research supports further development of eco-friendly fertilizer methods.

Abstract

Fertilizer manufacturing is an energy-intensive process that is done in a select number of facilities across the world. We performed a literature review of methods that are being pursued in the emerging field of sustainable fertilizer manufacturing and analyzed the results of one such sustainably sourced fertilizer process. The results of our testing on a rooftop garden showed that the production of tomatoes was similar to the control and commercial fertilizer scenarios in that the total weight of tomatoes per plant was 16% higher, and the weight per tomato was 68% more than the control (tap water). We hope that this type of research will continue to be performed and expanded so that we can adopt a more sustainable method of fertilizer manufacturing in our pursuit of net positive environmental benefits.