Influence of Distillery Slop on Methane Emission in Rice Paddies
Tasanee Thitakamol
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
Received 20 November 2007; Accepted 14 January 2008
Abstract
Methane is a green house gas causing global warming. It is produced naturally during bio-fermentation under suitable anaerobic condition. When rice is grown in the tropics, there is some emission of methane. We studied the emission of methane during rice production in Thailand, in particular the effect of using of distillery slop on the rice fields. Release of methane was measured once a week for 18 weeks from plots using 4 different doses of distillery slop: 0, 125, 250 and 375 m3/hectare, and 3 doses of chemical fertilizer: 0, 94 and 188 kg/hectare. The use of distillery slop did not significantly influence methane emission in the rice fields during any period of rice production. Furthermore, the measured quantities of methane were considerably lower than other sources of methane emission.
Keywords: methane emission; distillery slop; rice
* corresponding author : thitakamol_t@hotmail.com