Abstract
The plant extracts of T. brownii and Acanthaceae spp. have been used as biocatalysts by several communities in Kenya to hasten anaerobic digestion. This study aimed at assessing the viability of these two extracts in hastening the availability of plant nutrients from bioslurry at ambient conditions. A controlled research design was followed using uncooked kitchen waste as the substrate for 28 retention days. Changes in bioslurry physicochemical properties and available plant nutrients were monitored every 7 days using wet chemistry and spectroscopic methods. The findings indicated that the two extracts significantly impacted the levels of available plant nutrients in the bioslurry compared to the control samples. T. brownii additives significantly increased the levels of lime content, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus, phosphoric acid, sulfur, and soluble silicic acid. On the contrary, Acanthaceae spp. additives significantly increased the levels of calcium, potassium, nitrates, total ammoniacal nitrogen, sulfates, and phosphates in the bioslurry samples. The use of these plant extracts thus reduces the time taken while increasing the concentration of available plant nutrients from bioslurry.
Highlights
Good agricultural practices trickle down to sufficient water for irrigation, good postharvest mechanisms, and storage practices as well as the use of fertilizers before and during planting seasons
Functional Group Peaks of the Additives. e Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) profiles of both extracts were similar toward the blue end but differed in functional group peaks and intensity toward the right of their FT-IR spectra
Carboxylic-OHstretch, sp3 C-H, and Amidestretch peaks were present in both additives at almost equal intensity. ese peaks indicated the presence of weak carboxylic acids present in the extracts [23]. e carbonyl peak at 1680 cm−1 in T. brownii extracts was more pronounced compared to that in Acanthaceae spp
Summary
Good agricultural practices trickle down to sufficient water for irrigation, good postharvest mechanisms, and storage practices as well as the use of fertilizers before and during planting seasons. Most fertilizers used are inorganic and are expensive to the majority of the farmers in Africa [1]. E primary goal of fertilizers is to supplement depleted nutrients in the surrounding of a plant. Is has led to a gradual reduction of soil nutrients [2]. Practices such as crop rotation that help sustain soil nutrients for long are not always practicable. Fertilizer addition to a piece of land is exponentially increased annually. Demand for more fertilizer has, grown over time [2, 3]. Demand for more fertilizer has, grown over time [2, 3]. is has led to the diversification of fertilizer raw material leading to the adoption of organic fertilizers
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