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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Combined Application of Nitrogen
and Sulfur Improves Growth, Oil,
and Bio-Diesel Production from Soybean
1
Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38000, Pakistan
2
Punjab Bioenergy Institute, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38000, Pakistan
3
School of Life Science, Baicheng Normal University, Baicheng 137000, Jilin, China
4
College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China
5
Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture Peshawar -25000-Pakistan
6
Research Center on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
7
Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460,
Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
8
Agronomy (Forage Production) Section, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Submission date: 2024-04-20
Final revision date: 2024-07-18
Acceptance date: 2024-08-23
Online publication date: 2024-10-29
Publication date: 2025-11-04
Corresponding author
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(6):6729-6739
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Biodiesel is a new and alternative source of energy. Globally, biodiesel is being produced from
different crops; however, biodiesel production from soybeans is rarely studied. Soybean is processed for
the oil and animal feed industries due to its high protein content. The optimization of the requirement
must be re-evaluated for the sound production technology of the crop to get maximum oil yield for
biofuel. Therefore, a field study was conducted to investigate the effect of different rates of nitrogen
(N) and sulfur (S) on the growth, yield, and biodiesel production of soybeans. The treatments consist
of three N rates, i.e., 0, 50, and 100 kg ha-1 N, and four S supply rates, i.e., 0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha-1 S.
Maximum grain yield (879.77 kg ha-1) was achieved with application of 50 kg ha-1 of N and with 60
kg ha-1 of sulfur while the minimum grain yield (556.95 kg ha-1) was noted in control (0 kg N and S).
Moreover, maximum oil yield (177.04 kg ha-1) was also obtained with 50 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 60 kg
ha-1 of sulfur which was 102.53% higher as compared to control. Additionally, soybean biodiesel yield
was obtained in a range of 63% to 75% with a 3:1 methanol-to-oil ratio. In conclusion, the combined application of both 50 kg ha-1 N and 60 kg ha-1 S could be an effective fertilizer management strategy to
ensure better growth, oil, and biodiesel production from soybeans under semi-arid conditions.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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