821 P8 266 EVALUATING PULP AND PAPER SLUDGE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PEAT MOSS IN CONTAINER MEDIA

Pulp and paper sludge is a byproduct of paper production, yet this fibrous material may be suitable as an alternative amendment for peat moss in container media. Newsprint mill sludge was composted 6 weeks and cured before use. One-year-old seedlings of lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.) and amur maple (Acer ginnala Maxim.) as well as rooted cuttings o cistena plum Prunus × cistena Hansen) were planted in 3-liter pots that contained a barksand (2:1 by vol) mix, 25% or 50% peatamended media, or 25% or 50% sludge-amended media. After 14 weeks outdoors, shoot dry weight and changes in plant height were measured. All species planted in sludge-amended media grew as well as those potted in peat-amended media or the bark:sand mix. In fact, some species grew best in sludge-amended media. Lilac seedlings planted in 25% sludge produced almost double the amount of shoot dry weight and were 80% taller than plants in the bark:sand mix or 25% peat. Maple plants grown in 500% sludge produced over 100% or 3590 more shoot dry weight than those grown in 25% or 50% peat-amended media, respectively. Plum cuttings pottedin25910 sludge grew at least 53% taller than plants grown in either peat-amended medium. These results indicate that composted newsprint sludge can be used as a peat moss substitute in a container medium for the landscape plants tested.