Lignin, a by-product from the production of wood pulp, has the ability to act as a natural caption chelator of important plant growth promoting nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc etc. The lignosulfonate soil improvers aim to help stop or reclaim unsustainable loss of the nutrient-rich top-soils and nutrients. Hence the SUSFERT soil improvers/conditioners will be supporting the greening and specialty high end applications in urban areas (e.g. urban parks, playgrounds, golf lawns, sport fields).
For this a number of activities are underway including production, characterization and optimization of lignosulfonates soil improvers, green house trials and most recently field trials. These field trials were set in Marchfeld, near Vienna and is the first trial of these promising natural caption chelators.
the lignosulfonate soil improvers are more effective that the current methods of fertilising. This will allow to compare current practice and different formulations over the course of the season.
promote the use of soil improvers and therefore to reduce demand for plasticized solutions. Other effects include a reduction of over fertilisation, and reduction/replacement of harmful fertilisers. Other zero pollution effects include a reduction of plastic production for artificial lawns, thereby also the recycling of plastic from utilised plastic lawns, the vitalisation of waste lands with nutrient-rich top-soils, water saving as the soil improvers also maintain soil fertility over long periods of time, ultimately also resulting in less water waste.