Chemical changes in humic substances from compost due to incubation with ligno-cellulolytic microorganisms and effects on lettuce growth

Abstract

Differences in the chemical properties of the organic matter from a highly lignocellulosic compost after incubation with two ligno- and cellulolytic microorganisms were studied in this work. Inoculation with either of the two microorganisms assayed, Trichoderma viride or Bacillus sp., of soil-compost mixtures enhanced degradation processes and the degree of organic matter humification. According to the humification index, inoculation with T. viride produced the highest humification rate in all the compost-soil proportions studied (10, 20 and 30%). To evaluate the quality of the extracted humic substances according to their electrofocusing behaviours a new index was established. This index showed an increased yield of humic substances of the lowest electrophoretic mobility (highest molecular weight) in treatments inoculated with Bacillus sp., whereas inoculation with T. viride enhanced the formation of molecules of the fastest electrophoretic mobility. These results, together with the fibre analysis performed, showed that the nature of the humic substances produced after incubation appeared to depend greatly on the degradation pathway carried out by the inoculated microorganism, T. viride or Bacillus sp.. Both degradation-humification pathways beneficially affected lettuce growth, demonstrating that inoculation with any of these two microorganisms may be a useful tool to modify agronomic properties of unripe composts.