Northwest Russia Develops Fertilizers From Peat, Algae and Fish-Farm Waste

Regional alternatives to mineral fertilizers

Research centers across northwest Russia are offering farmers fertilizers and plant additives derived from local resources, including White Sea algae, peat, fish-farm sediment, diamond-mining clay and coffee-roasting waste. The work comes as Rosstat recorded a decline in Russian mineral fertilizer production during the first half of 2026, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

In the Arkhangelsk region, researchers at Northern Arctic Federal University have developed an organomineral fertilizer from White Sea algae. The product is manufactured as a powder and dissolved in water before application to soil. Field trials found that crops accumulated biomass faster, suffered less from pathogen-related diseases and produced significantly higher yields, although the report provided no percentage increase.

Konstantin Bogolitsyn, a professor at the university’s Institute of Natural Sciences and Technologies, said the algae can serve both as a complex fertilizer and as an agricultural additive for plants with closed root systems. The preparation can also support the cultivation of conifer seedlings intended for reforestation.

Mining and aquaculture residues enter field trials

Arkhangelsk producers have also established regular production of fertilizer made from saponite, a clay generated as waste by diamond mining. The material has become particularly popular among household growers in the region because its use in greenhouse soil reduces nitrate accumulation in plants.

The Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences has proposed another feedstock: sediment collected beneath fish cages at northern aquaculture operations. It contains uneaten feed, residues of veterinary products and fish waste. Farms must remove and dispose of this material, creating an opportunity to use it on agricultural land after appropriate assessment.

Researcher Elena Ikkonen said the sediment contains mineral elements that could partly replace conventional fertilizers and is particularly rich in phosphorus. Tests in Karelia found that application increased soil concentrations of vanadium beneficial to plants and reduced manganese, which can have a toxic effect. Scientists also believe the material may improve aeration, water and heat conductivity, and water retention. However, the center said these effects and the sediment’s long-term impact require further study.

Peat blend lifts potato performance

Karelia has also developed a bio-organic fertilizer combining peat with a substrate made from a vetch-oat mixture. The Karelian Research Centre reports that 44% of the republic’s wetlands contain large peat resources and that up to 700,000 tonnes could be extracted annually without environmental damage.

Untreated lowland peat has high acidity and few nutrients, so it can harm rather than improve soil. Researchers add chopped vetch and oats and mature the mixture for four to six months. Specialists at the Northwest Centre for Interdisciplinary Food Security Research found that the resulting fertilizer increased the number of potato tubers per plant by almost 20% and average potato weight by as much as 22%.

Coffee waste moves into commercial production

In the Komi Republic, researchers have found an agricultural use for husks and immature beans discarded by a major coffee-roasting plant in Syktyvkar. The facility previously generated between 800 and 1,200 kilograms of this waste each month. Laboratory tests found no toxicity, heavy metals or polyaromatic hydrocarbons, while identifying calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

Scientists patented a bio-additive combining the coffee waste with microalgae and glauconitic acid. Companies in Komi are already using fertilizer containing coffee-processing residues, while production of the additive has been established in Syktyvkar for sale across Russia. The material may also be suitable as an ingredient in animal feed, according to researcher Tatiana Shchemelinina.