Characterization and Agricultural Performance of Ammonium Nitrate-Loaded Zeolite as a Slow-Release Fertilizer

With rising populations, boosting agricultural productivity is essential. Although chemical fertilizers are common, excessive use increases costs and harms the environment. Zeolite offers an alternative due to its porous structure and cation exchange capacity. In this study, ammonium nitrate was loaded into natural zeolite from Manisa/Türkiye, and the nitrogen content of the fertilizer was 5.80%. Raw zeolite and zeolite-based fertilizer samples were characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The zeolite-based fertilizer was tested on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L) plants in a greenhouse experiment and its usability as a fertilizer and its effect on yield were investigated. According to the results obtained, while the length, leaf number, head diameter, and head weight data of the ZN25 (187.5 ppm Nitrogen) group containing zeolite-based fertilizer were measured as 31.28 cm, 28.88, 16.83 cm and 135.10 g, respectively, for the pure ammonium nitrate applied group (N50; 375 ppm Nitrogen), the related parameters were measured as 29.53 cm, 26, 12.87 cm and 106.80 g, respectively, and it is clear that ZN25 provided better efficiency than N50. Additionally, because of the greenhouse experiment, it was observed that there was a correlation between nitrogen and chlorophyll contents in the application groups. The nitrogen and chlorophyll contents of the ZN25 and N50 groups were measured as 4.29%, 38.14 soil plant analysis development (SPAD) and 5.97%, 43.38 SPAD, respectively. According to these results obtained, zeolite-based fertilizer increased crop yield by using less nitrogen and has the potential to be used in agriculture.