Abstract
Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) which is a waste byproduct of sugarcane industry can be used as soil amendments to improve crop yield and provide reasonable economic means to recycle these wastes in an environment friendly manner. In this study experiments were conducted to test the rate of production of humic acid during the decomposition of SCB for 30 days and effect of SCB amendments on growth components of Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa, subsp. pekinensis). Humic acid were extracted using the classic alkali/acid fractionation method while FT-IR method was used to characterize humic acid. The results were shown that higher amount (0.2779g) of humic acid was extracted after 30 days, and small amount (0.0053g) was extracted from 0 day of SCB decomposition. The amount of humic acid extracted from SCB is significantly increased with respect to the time for decomposition of SCB. Growth performance of Chinese cabbage was recorded in terms of increase in plant height above ground, fresh and dry weight, root length, root fresh and dry weight. The experiment was conducted by 3 x 3 factorial designs employing three concentrations of SCB (0%, 2%, 5% and 10 %). The results showed that there is significant increase in plant growth components with increase of SCB concentration. It is recommended that application of SCB 10% will result in enhanced yield of Chinese cabbage. This may be due to high amount of humic acid produced by SCB after decomposition which leads to improve other soil characteristics.
Highlights
The population increase and industrial development produce an enormous amount of organic residues creating great environmental problems a day
Soil samples were air dried on dry wood which act as drying surface. 20kgs of sugarcane bagasse was collected from local sugarcane juice vendors (Ngongona sugarcane juice extracts) manually by using hands processed before use
The amount of humic acid (HA) extracted from soil with Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is significant with respect to the time taken for decomposition of SCB
Summary
The population increase and industrial development produce an enormous amount of organic residues creating great environmental problems a day. The appropriate agriculture use of these residues can become advantageous for the mankind because it allows nutrients recycling, improve crop production, less pollution problems and as well the improvement of the physical, chemical and biotic conditions of the soil [1]. Organic matter applied to the soil favors the development and growth of plants because it prevents nutrients loss by leaching [2,3,4]. The sugarcane is a grassy crop that produces, in a short period, a high income of biomass, energy and fibres, being considered one of the plants with larger photosynthetic efficiency [1]. Several tons of sugarcane residues are produced and need to be conditioned
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