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'''Separately collected, stored urine is a high quality, concentrated source of nutrients that can be applied as a liquid fertilizer in agriculture to replace all or some commercial chemical fertilizer.'''
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===Adequacy===
Urine is especially beneficial where crops are lacking nitrogen. Examples of some crops that grow well with urine include: maize, rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, chard, turnip, carrots, kale, cabbage, lettuce, bananas, paw-paw, and oranges.
Urine should not be applied in areas with high salinity.
===Health Aspects/Acceptance===
There is a minimal risk of infection, especially with extended storage. Still, urine should be handled carefully and should not be applied to crops less than one month before they are harvested. The risk of disease transmission through handling and using human urine are related mainly to faecal cross-contamination, which can occur with urine-diverting toilets. With urinals, this risk is not present.
Social acceptance may be difficult. Stored urine has a strong smell and some may find it offensive to work with or be near. If urine is diluted, and/or immediately tilled into the earth, the smells can be reduced. The use of urine may be less accepted in urban or peri-urban areas where household gardens are close to houses than in rural areas, where houses and crop lands are separated.
===Maintenance===
With time, some minerals in urine will precipitate (especially calcium and magnesium phosphates). Any equipment that is used to collect, transport or apply urine (i.e. watering cans with small holes) may become clogged over time. Most deposits can easily be removed with hot water and a bit of acid (vinegar), or in more extreme cases, chipped off manually.
===References===
* Austin, A. and Duncker, L. (2002). Urine-diversion. Ecological Sanitation Systems in South Africa. CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa.
* WHO (2006). Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater – Volume 4: Excreta and greywater use in agriculture. WHO, Geneva. Available: http://www.who.int
===Acknowledgements===
{{:Acknowledgements Sanitation}}
