Phosphogypsum as Fertilizer: Impacts on Soil Fertility, Barely Yield Components, and Heavy Metals Contents

Phosphogypsum as Fertilizer: Impacts on Soil Fertility, Barely Yield Components, and Heavy Metals Contents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Phosphogypsum as Fertilizer: Impacts on Soil Fertility, Barely Yield Components, and Heavy Metals Contents M BARKA OUTBAKAT, Moussa Bouray, Redouane Choukr‑Allah, Mohamed El Gharous, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4217496/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fertilization is a critical input factor in crop production and food security achievement. However, there is room for improvement in the application of fertilizers in certain regions. Thus, using low-cost fertilizers, such as phosphogypsum (PG), could enhance farmers' access to these essential inputs. A two-years field experiment was conducted using two Moroccan PG products applied at four rates (0, 1.5, 3, and 4.5 t/ha). The aim was to assess the impact of PG source and rate on barley crop, including yield component, nutrients uptake, and heavy metals content. The study's findings revealed that as the rate of PG application increased, there were significant enhancements in the number of spikes, tillers, grains, total biomass, grain yield, and thousand grains weight. In fact, when compared to the control, the application of 1.5, 3, and 4.5 t/ha of PG led to a remarkable increase in grain yield by 21%, 34%, and 39%, respectively. Furthermore, the uptake of nutrients by the shoots and grains was significantly influenced by the PG application rates, with higher rates resulting in greater nutrient uptake. Notably, the application of PG had no impact on the heavy metal content in shoots, grains, or soil. Biological sciences/Plant sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Phosphogypsum Fertilization Yield parameters nutrients uptake heavy metal soil Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4217496","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":290783923,"identity":"8cb2d77d-d6ec-4ff3-9e8f-3b4d2ece5439","order_by":0,"name":"M BARKA OUTBAKAT","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P)","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"M","middleName":"BARKA","lastName":"OUTBAKAT","suffix":""},{"id":290783924,"identity":"4164960e-474d-49a2-bf7c-5a3fe27e270f","order_by":1,"name":"Moussa Bouray","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mohammed VI Polytechnic University 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However, there is room for improvement in the application of fertilizers in certain regions. Thus, using low-cost fertilizers, such as phosphogypsum (PG), could enhance farmers' access to these essential inputs. A two-years field experiment was conducted using two Moroccan PG products applied at four rates (0, 1.5, 3, and 4.5 t/ha). The aim was to assess the impact of PG source and rate on barley crop, including yield component, nutrients uptake, and heavy metals content. The study's findings revealed that as the rate of PG application increased, there were significant enhancements in the number of spikes, tillers, grains, total biomass, grain yield, and thousand grains weight. In fact, when compared to the control, the application of 1.5, 3, and 4.5 t/ha of PG led to a remarkable increase in grain yield by 21%, 34%, and 39%, respectively. 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