Bioconversion of waste paper into soil conditioner and its effect on plants growth and microbial population of the soil

Abstract

This research work focused on bioconversion of waste paper into soil conditioner and its effect on plants growth and soil microbial population. The effects were studied for 21 days and the number of seeds germinated and their height were measured at 3 days interval. Percentage (%) seed germination across the samples was 100 %. The height of the plants in soil treated with composted waste paper ranged between 80±0.98 mm and 643± 1.76 mm that of control soil ranged between 70±1.98 mm and 503±1.67 mm. The result for the microbial analysis revealed a total bacterial count range from 4.0± 1.01 to 6.9±1.03 x105 cfu/g for soil samples treated with composted waste paper and 5.0±0.78 to 6.1±1.29 x105 cfu/g for control. The results also revealed a total of eight bacterial genera and they include; Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp, E.coli, Micrcoccus sp, Staphylococuss sp, Proteus sp, Enterobacter sp, Klebsiella sp respectively. Total fungal count ranged from 1.5±0.97 to 2.9±0.92 x 105 cfu/g for soil samples treated with composted waste paper. A total of five fungal genera were isolated and they included Aspergillus sp, Penicillium sp, Mucor sp, Rhizopus sp, and Sacharomyces sp respectively. The most prevalent bacterium across the sample was Bacillus sp with 33.33 % while the most prevalent fungus across the sample was Penicillium sp with 41.67 %.