Título en español.

Resumen

Filter-press cake may be used advantageously as a fertilizer material if adequate attention is paid to its limitations and full use is made of its particular advantages. Its main disadvantages are its low K₂O content and large bulk combined with low concentrations of nutrients. Its main advantages are its cheapness, slower release of nutrients, minor-element content, high water-holding capacity, high exchange capacity, and mulching properties. The following recommendations are made for its use on crops: 1. Apply yearly in small amounts rather than in very large applications once in 3 to 4 years. 2. Use more on light-textured soils, than on heavy clays. 3. Use carefully on very poorly drained soils, not applying the filter-press cake too deeply in the soil, which prevents proper decomposition. 4. Large applications must undergo thorough incorporation into the plowed layer. Surface application and incorporation with the upper inch or two of soil is better for small applications. For root crops, application in the hole below the seed makes better use of minimum quantities. 5. Filter-press cake should be applied to fast-growing crops such as vegetables and tobacco a few weeks before planting, especially if the filter-press cake is not well rotted. 6. Filter-press cake should be supplemented with potash fertilizer when used for crops or soils with high potash demands, about 30 pounds of KCl for every ton of fresh filter-press cake containing 60 percent of moisture. 7. The maximum yearly recommendations in tons per acre for specific crops are: Sugarcane 10, pineapple 30, root crops 20, ornamentals 10 to 20, coffee 20, tobacco 10, vegetables 10, and plantains 10.