Evaluation and Acceleration of Municipal Biowaste Compost Production and its Effect on Growth and Yield of Amaranthus
S. Dharani *
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Coimbatore-641 003, India.
B. Bhakiyathu Saliha
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Killikulam–628 252, India.
S. Suresh
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Killikulam–628 252, India.
S. Shenbagavalli
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Trichy - 620 009, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
To limit the accumulation of municipal solid waste, quick solid waste management techniques are more vital to reuse, reduce, and recycle the Municipal Solid Wastes MSW). A study was conducted to shorten the composting time and assess the degradation efficiency of different micro consumers in Municipal Solid Waste Compost (MSWC) production and followed by a field experiment with Amaranthus as a test crop to evaluate the influence of MSWC on crop yield. Various sources viz., Saw dust balls impregnated with Panchakavya solution, TNAU Biomineralizer, PUSA decomposer, Effective Microorganisms (EM) solution, RCOF Waste decomposer and Novel microbial consortia were used for rapid production of biowaste compost. The results showed that the PUSA decomposer and EM Solution significantly reduced the period of composting to 35 and 37 days respectively. The nutrient parameters of compost viz., C:N ratio (13:1), total N (3.37%), total P (0.14%) and total K (0.65%) were better in the compost prepared with PUSA decomposer followed by those with EM solution and novel microbial consortia. The bio compost obtained from this study was utilized in the field experiment to assess the biomass production of Amaranthus. Enriched MSWC @ 5t ha-1 + 75% NPK produced greater amount of biomass (27.84 t ha-1), in comparison with control which produced 59.7% higher biomass yield. The overall results indicated that proper microbial inoculation of solid biowastes shortened the duration of composting and combined application of municipal biowaste compost with inorganic fertilizers saved 25 percent of fertilizer dosage, improved the soil quality and crop yield thus ensuring ecofriendly disposal of wastes.
Keywords: Municipal solid waste compost, degradation efficiency, PUSA decomposer, soil quality, biomass yield