Abstract
Sugarcane bagasse is one of the world's largest in volume agricultural waste, converting sugarcane bagasse into valuable compost is of great significance for the sustainable management of tropical soils. However, the traditional composting of sugarcane bagasse generates a low-quality compost product due to sugarcane bagasse is lignocellulose-rich agricultural waste. Moreover, the influence of compost on soil properties, and crop production in tropical soils has not been sufficiently explored yet. Consequently, the aim of this study was to 1) investigate the influence of bacterial consortium on the composting process of sugarcane bagasse mixed with chicken manure; and 2) evaluate the impact of traditional compost (CP), compost prepared by adding bacterial consortium (CP + BC), and CP + BC mixed with chemical fertilizers (CP + BC + CF) on arecanut production and soil quality. Supplementation of the compost with bacterial consortium shortened the heating period by 2 days, prolonged the thermophilic period by 8.33–12.5 %, and reduced the temperature to near the ambient temperature on day 40. The final C/N ratio of the compost after bacterial consortium (0.4 %) supplementation was 12.8 % lower compared to no supplementation, and the total nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen increased by 17.5 % and 254 %, respectively. Compared with chemical fertilizers (CF), the compost application did not significantly affect arecanut yield and leaf nutrient content, but improved the soil properties. The total nitrogen increased from 1.08 in CF to 2.11 g/ kg in CP + BC + CF, and soil organic matter increased from 20.9 in CF to 41.4 g/ kg in CP + BC, while pH increased from 4.69 in CF to 6.18 in CP + BC + CF. The compost application also reshaped soil bacterial community ecology in the arecanut orchard, and the bacterial consortium-enhanced compost mixed with a low dose of chemical fertilizers was the optimal treatment.
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