Volcanic ash use in agriculture

Steve Diver (steved@ncatark.uark.edu)
Thu, 11 Jun 1998 11:23:01 +0000

A farmer has a deposit of volcanic ash on his farm and wants to know
what uses or value it has in agriculture, since he has this idea he can mine
it and sell it.

In particular, he mentioned something about the concave shape
of volcanic ash that enhances its ability to retain nutrients....and
therefore when combined with land application of confinement
livestock manure it can prevent nutrient leaching into water?

*Are there any resources or facts associated with the nutrient-retaining
capacity of volcanic ash?
*Are there any uses of volcanic ash in agriculture that would
make it a viable product for sale (such as a potting mix ingredient,
soil amendment, etc?)

Thanks for any tips or resources! If there are no known uses and
its a waste of time for him to pursue, that's good information too.

Steve Diver
ATTRA 

--
steved@ncatark.uark.edu


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