# The Effect of Meat and Bone Meal on Yield and Herbage Quality in Silage Maize
## 4 Conclusions  
The findings of this study suggest that inorganic NPK fertilizers and MBM exerted a similar effect on the yield and feed value of maize herbage. The CP content was higher in whole-crop maize herbage provided with mineral fertilizers or MBM than in the zero-fert treatment. No differences were noted between the inorganic NPK treatment and MBM treatments. Therefore, MBM can partially replace expensive inorganic NP fertilizers in maize cultivation, contributing to rational by-product management and N and P recycling, in line with the principles of sustainable economic growth and the European Green Deal. The use of MBM in crop fertilization is environmentally justified because the recycling of nutrients from organic waste contributes to conserving non-renewable resources. This study demonstrated that 1.0 Mg\(\cdot\)ha\({}^{-1}\) MBM (45 kg P) supplemented with 50% mineral N was sufficient to meet the N and P requirements of silage maize. The significant differences in the yield and chemical composition of maize herbage resulted from variable weather conditions across years of the experiment. Meat and bone meal can be recommended as soil fertilizer, and its dose should be determined based on plant-available soil P concentrations and the P requirements of crops. The remaining nutrients (K, Mg) and supplemental N should be provided with mineral fertilizers, depending on the expected yields. The issue covered in this research is very important from the practical point of view of present-day fertilizer management in agriculture, due to changing climatic conditions. The quality of the forage produced is an ongoing subject of many studies, and the results obtained will allow balancing crop production for forage against the animal production carried out, including mainly ruminants. Conceptualization, A.N. ; methodology, A.N. ; software, Z.N. ; validation, A.N., Z.N. and M.B.-S.; formal analysis, A.N. ; investigation, A.N. ; resources, A.N. ; data curation, A.N. and M.B.-S.; writing--original draft preparation, A.N., M.B.-S. and Z.N. ; writing--review and editing, A.N., M.B.-S. and Z.N. ; visualization, M.B.-S. and Z.N. ; supervision, A.N. ; project administration, A.N. ; funding acquisition, A.N. and Z.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This research was funded by the [PERSON] of Science under the \"Regional Initiative of Excellence Program\". Not applicable. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Treatment (t)** & **P** & **K** & **Ca** & **Mg** \\ \hline
1. Zero-fert & 2.00 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 11.2 \(\pm\) 3.01 & 1.07 \(\pm\) 0.34 & 1.02 \(\pm\) 0.21 \\
2. Inorganic NPK & 1.93 \(\pm\) 0.22 & 13.3 \(\pm\) 2.44 & 1.29 \(\pm\) 0.44 & 1.14 \(\pm\) 0.22 \\
3. 1.0 MgMgMM + N\({}_{99}\) & 2.03 \(\pm\) 0.16 & 13.6 \(\pm\) 3.81 & 1.26 \(\pm\) 0.58 & 1.08 \(\pm\) 0.20 \\
4. 1.5 Mg MBM + N\({}_{40}\) & 1.99 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 13.2 \(\pm\) 3.62 & 1.34 \(\pm\) 0.49 & 1.06 \(\pm\) 0.21 \\
5. 2.0 Mg MBM & 2.08 \(\pm\) 0.21 & 14.6 \(\pm\) 3.54 & 1.32 \(\pm\) 0.40 & 1.08 \(\pm\) 0.14 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
2014 & 2.00 \(\pm\) 0.19 & 10.0 \(\pm\) 2.75 & 1.24 \(\pm\) 0.25 & 1.12 \(\pm\) 0.12 \\ Annual mean (y) & 2019 & 1.86 \(\pm\) 0.18 & 14.8 \(\pm\) 2.34 & 1.04 \(\pm\) 0.46 & 0.87 \(\pm\) 0.10 \\
2020 & 2.16 \(\pm\) 0.28 & 14.8 \(\pm\) 2.58 & 1.52 \(\pm\) 0.49 & 1.24 \(\pm\) 0.13 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline
2014 & 2.00 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 11.2 \(\pm\) 3.01 & 1.07 \(\pm\) 0.34 & 1.02 \(\pm\) 0.21 \\
2. Inorganic NPK & 1.93 \(\pm\) 0.22 & 13.3 \(\pm\) 2.44 & 1.29 \(\pm\) 0.44 & 1.14 \(\pm\) 0.22 \\
3. 1.0 MgMgMM + N\({}_{99}\) & 2.03 \(\pm\) 0.16 & 13.6 \(\pm\) 3.81 & 1.26 \(\pm\) 0.58 & 1.08 \(\pm\) 0.20 \\
4. 1.5 Mg MgMM + N\({}_{40}\) & 1.99 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 13.2 \(\pm\) 3.62 & 1.34 \(\pm\) 0.49 & 1.06 \(\pm\) 0.21 \\
5. 2.0 Mg MBM & 2.08 \(\pm\) 0.21 & 14.6 \(\pm\) 3.54 & 1.32 \(\pm\) 0.40 & 1.08 \(\pm\) 0.14 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}