THE USE OF CRUSHED SERPENTINE ALTERNATIVE FERTILIZER

Serpentine powder has been tested as an alternative source of Mg in a see of pot, laboratory and field trials. The used materials (Bernartic e) fulfil hygiene standards as for asbestos content as for toxicity fo r plants and microorganism. Attention has been focused both upon the e fficacy of serpentine application and on ecological risks in connectio n with the inputs of serpentine into soils due to high concentration o f trace elements, especially Ct and Ni. In pot and modelling laborator y experiments the influence of the environment responses, finegrin tex ture of grinding of a rock, applied dose and activities of soil microo rganisms on the release of Mg, Cr and Ni from the serpentine, their mo bility and transfer into plants has been tested. In a field experiment the suitability of the applied material for fertilization purposes of agricultural soils has been confirmed.