Abstract
This study investigated the compost quality of sericulture waste on the growth of Anogeissus leiocarpus using two composting methods. The two-method adopted were M1 (pile method) and M2 (bin method). Sericulture waste which includes mulberry leaves and silkworm excreta were air dried for 24hours, measured (1 kg) and set in layers for both methods adopted. Samples of compost from each method were taken before planting to the laboratory for proximate analysis. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data obtained. Anogeissus leiocarpus seeds were soaked for 10 minutes at 35oC and at 9.5oC for 24 hours to enhance the breaking of its dormancy. Anogeissus leiocarpus seeds was planted using sericulture compost from both adopted methods. Result shows that M1 had the highest mineral composition. M1 recorded the highest (N %) with the value of 0.93%; (P %) with 0.089%; (K %) with 0.58%; (Ca %) with the value of 1.78% and (Mg %) with the value of 0.72% while M2 had a lower mineral composition. The result obtained for the early growth parameters shows that M1 had a higher plant height and stem girth which was significantly different from M2, the mixture of the two compost had the highest leaf count which was also significant while the control recorded the lowest value for all the parameters assessed. This result suggests that pile composting method is the best method for composting sericulture waste and can be used as a good and preferable alternative for inorganic manure in raising seedlings and trees species. Adopting the use of sericulture waste as compost will help in reducing the waste management problem, enhance economic use of farm waste and also help to ease the low germination rate and germination percentage of Anogeissus leiocarpus.
 Kambai, C. | Department of Forestry Technology, Federal College of Forestry, Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria
Highlights
Compost is the breaking down of organic waste into humus that can be reused as beneficial nutrient rich resources for organic soil amendments
The result obtained in table 4 and 5 revealed that pile compost had the highest mineral compositions though there was no significant difference in mineral composition tested at 5% probability level. pH of sericulture waste from pile and bin composting method was 8.30 and 8.20 respectively, values are high but not significantly different, these does not agree with findings by Bhat et al(2015) who observed a decrease in pH during the process of composting of a mixture of bagasse and cattle dung which may be due to the mineralization of Nitrogen and Phosphorus compounds and the production of humic and fulvic acid
Nitrogen is known to be a major nutrient required by plants in large quantities for growth and photosynthesis and since it was observed to be have a higher value in the pile compost (0.93%), it could be richer and alter the rate of for plant growth and completion of life cycle which agrees with Beltran et al (2002) who stated that; element can be essential for plant growth if in its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle
Summary
Compost is the breaking down of organic waste into humus that can be reused as beneficial nutrient rich resources for organic soil amendments. Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to house plants or enriching garden soil. It is a key ingredient in organic fanning. It is the process of composting a heap of wetted organic matter (leaves, green food waste) and waiting for the materials to breakdown into humus after a period of weeks or months. Organic ingredients intended for composting can alternatively be used to generate biogas through anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is fast overtaking composting in some parts of the world (Robert, 1997)
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