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Evaluation of Maturity and Stability Parameters of Composts Prepared from Organic Wastes and Their Response to Wheat

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in physical, chemical and biological parameters to assess the maturity and stability of composts prepared from mixture of different organic wastes over a time period of 150 days. Six different composts were prepared using a mixture of different organic wastes with or without enrichment of rock phosphate (RP), microorganism inoculation (MO) and agro-industrial wastes (sewage sludge, pressmud, poultry waste). All the composts attained a constant temperature with no measurable changes (ambient level) at 120 days of composting. Compost maturity should be assessed by measuring two or more compost parameters, and that parameters of compost maturity need to satisfy the following threshold values: organic matter loss >42 %, C:N ratio <15, water soluble organic C (Cw):organic N (Norg) ratio <0.55, humic acid:fulvic acid ratio >1.9, humification index >30 %, cation exchange capacity:total organic carbon ratio >1.7 and germination index >70 %. Ambient temperature, decrease in bacterial and fungal counts along with increase in actinomycetes count and stable at the end of composting could also be used as stability parameters. Composts enriched with RP, MO and agro-industrial wastes matured earlier compared to un-enriched composts. Application of agro-industrial waste composts significantly increased wheat yield compared with addition of their raw materials. Agro-industrial waste composts applied with recommended dose of NK fertilizers produced wheat yield comparable to that obtained with recommended dose of NPK fertilizers, indicating a net saving of 100 % P fertilizer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 125 004, India

    R. S. Antil, Dev Raj & J. P. Singh

  2. CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 125 004, India

    R. P. Narwal

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  1. R. S. Antil
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  3. R. P. Narwal
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  4. J. P. Singh
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Correspondence to R. S. Antil.

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Antil, R.S., Raj, D., Narwal, R.P. et al. Evaluation of Maturity and Stability Parameters of Composts Prepared from Organic Wastes and Their Response to Wheat. Waste Biomass Valor 4, 95–104 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-012-9141-7

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