Composting Of Agricultural Wastes Research Articles

The Potential of Agricultural Waste Compost to Elevate Growth and Rice Production with the SRI Method in Acid Sulfate Soils

The Potential of Agricultural Waste Compost to Elevate Growth and Rice Production with the SRI Method in Acid Sulfate Soils

Effects of membrane covers and biochar on compost quality and greenhouse gas reduction in aerobic composting

The addition of biochar and the use of membrane coverings are two methods used in aerobic composting of agricultural waste. The effectiveness of each of these two methods on compost quality and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was tested in the laboratory. The results showed that both methods increased the maximum composting temperature and extended the thermophilic period. The germination index of biochar-treated compost and membrane-covered compost reached 70% on the 18th day, which was 12 days earlier than the corresponding value in the control group. The products from the biochar-treated compost had higher pH and lower electrical conductivity, compared with the product of the control group, indicating that these products are more suitable for acidic soils. In terms of greenhouse gas reduction, both methods were found to reduce the emissions of CH4 and N2O from composting. The addition of biochar had a better emission reduction effect on N2O, whereas the membrane covering technique yielded a better effect on CH4 emission reduction. The results of this study provide technical support for managed aerobic composting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Microplastic Abundance in the Locally Produced Commercial Compost and the Characteristics

Compost is a widely used soil amendment in the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. Applying compost could improve soil quality, and it is used in reclaiming degraded agricultural lands. However, low grade compost that contains pollutants may have adverse effects on the quality of the agro-ecosystem. Microplastic is a possible contaminant that can be moved into the agro-ecosystem through poor quality compost application. The present study was conducted to assess the microplastic availability and characteristics of locally produced municipal solid waste and agricultural waste compost. Representing commercial scale agricultural and municipal solid waste composting facilities; twenty compost samples with three replicates were obtained for microplastic identification. A combination of methods (manual separation, oxidation digestion plus density separation) was used to separate and detect microplastics from compost samples. This study revealed that; microplastics are present in agricultural and municipal solid waste compost. Municipal solid waste compost contained significantly (p<0.05) higher microplastic than agricultural waste compost (on average 0.63% and 0.033%, respectively). Average amount of soft plastic content in municipal solid waste compost and agricultural waste compost (1321 items/kg and 71 items/kg, respectively) were higher than the hard plastics (388 items/kg and 37 items/kg, respectively). The study confirmed that compost could act as a carrier of microplastics in agricultural ecosystems. It can be recommended that quality standards should be implemented to minimize the microplastic content in compost and the code of practices for municipal solid waste compost production should be updated to control microplastic contamination to safeguard the quality of agro-ecosystems.

Brown sugar as a carbon source can make agricultural organic waste compost enter the secondary thermophilic stage and promote compost decomposition.

To enhance the efficiency of composting agricultural organic waste (AOW), this study aimed to examine the impact of inoculating tomato straw compost with two distinct microbial agents: ZymoZone (ZZ), a composite microbial agent derived from the straw compost and Effective Microorganisms (EM), a commercial microbial agent. Furthermore, in order to reactivate the microorganisms within the compost during the initial high temperature phase, 10% brown sugar was introduced as a carbon source. The objective of this addition was to assess its influence on the composting process. The findings revealed that compared to the control (CK) group, the ZZ and EM treatments extended the first high-temperature phase by 2 and 1day, respectively. Furthermore, with the addition of 10% brown sugar, the ZZ and EM treatments remained in the second high-temperature phase for 8 and 7days, respectively, while the CK treatment had already entered the cooling stage by then. Notably, the inoculation of microbial agents and the addition of brown sugar substantially augmented the activity of lignocellulose-related hydrolases, thereby promoting the degradation of lignocellulose in the ZZ and EM treatment groups. This was confirmed by FTIR analysis, which demonstrated that the addition of microbial agents facilitated the degradation of specific substances, leading to reduced absorbance in the corresponding spectra. XRD analysis further indicated a notable reduction in cellulose crystallinity for both the ZZ (8.00%) and EM (7.73%) treatments. Hence, the incorporation of microbial agents and brown sugar in tomato straw compost effectively enhances the composting process and improves the quality of compost products.

Effect of Fenton-like reactions on the hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulose during rice straw composting based on genomics and metabolomics sequencing

The purposes of this study were to explore the effect of Fenton-like reactions on the hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulose and the formation mechanism of humic substance (HS) during rice straw composting based on genomics and metabolomics sequencing. The inoculation of Aspergillus fumigatus and adding Fe (II) into compost were used to establish Fenton-like reactions. Fenton-like reactions have been successfully established in vitro and in the composting process. In addition, Fenton-like reactions increased HS and humic acid concentration by 96.38% and 255.80%, respectively, further promoting the humification process. The key differential lignocellulose-degrading products in the Fenton-like reactions, especially for maltose, glucose, xylose, galactose, phenols, butyrophenone, vanillin, syringe acid, vanillic acid hydroxycinnamic acid and benzoic acid, were identified. Additionally, network analysis was divided into four modular microbes in the fungal network. The functional fungal modules' functions and their related influencing factors showed essential roles in the hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulose and HS formation during composting. This research provides new insight into the hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulose and then promotes the formation of HS in the Fenton-like reactions during agricultural waste composting.

Assessing Physiochemical Characteristics of Agricultural Waste and Ready Compost at Wadi Al-Far'a Watershed of Palestine.

The Wadi Al-Far'a Watershed (WFW) is one of the most important agricultural lands in Palestine where considerable amounts of organic wastes are generated. Yet, mismanagement of agricultural waste, including random disposal and/or burning, is a prevalent practice in the WFW. Such a practice might result in greenhouse gas emissions and leachate penetration into underlying soil and groundwater. To encourage compost production in the WFW as an efficient way for organic agricultural waste treatment and emission reduction, this study aims at evaluating the quality of both raw organic agricultural waste and ready compost, locally produced or imported. The evaluation considers the physiochemical characteristics as well as the heavy metal contents. The analysis of 17 samples of raw organic agricultural waste showed a good potential for compost production due to the high content of organic matter and other nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The analysis of 15 ready compost samples, however, showed that compost quality is relatively low due to the high electrical conductivity and low moisture content measurements as well as the high levels of sodium, chloride, and potassium. Furthermore, heavy metal contents of both raw organic agricultural waste and ready compost samples are less than the limits specified by the Palestinian and international standards. Therefore, local farmers can safely use raw organic agricultural waste generated in the WFW for compost production. Composting will not only enhance soil reclamation and crop production but also protect human health and the environment and promote sustainable economic development.

Response characteristics of antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial communities during agricultural waste composting: Focusing on biogas residue combined with biochar amendments

This research investigated biogas residue and biochar addition on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and changes in bacterial community during agricultural waste composting. Sequencing technique investigated bacterial community structure and ARGs, MGEs changes. Correlations among physicochemical factors, ARGs, MGEs, and bacterial community structure were determined using redundancy analysis. Results confirmed that biochar and biogas residue amendments effectively lowered the contents of ARGs and MGEs. The main ARGs detected was sul1. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the main host bacteria strongly associated with the dissemination of ARGs. The dynamic characteristics of the bacterial community were strongly correlated with pile temperature and pH (P < 0.05). Redundancy and network analysis revealed that nitrate, intI1, and Firmicutes mainly affected the in ARGs changes. Therefore, regulating these key variables would effectively suppress the ARGs spread and risk of compost use.

Prediction of agricultural waste compost maturity using fast regions with convolutional neural network(R-CNN)

In agriculture production, the enormous volume of wastage production is a major concern. Therefore, composting a massive amount of thrash will transform from agricultural wastage to stabilized, disinfected, and pollution-less yields, allowing important nutrients to be retained and the fertility of soil to be enhanced. Carbon to Nitrogen proportion (C:N) or estimating seed germination index (GI) is the most well-known technique for deciding the compost development of agricultural throwaway, they are both tedious and hard to carry out. Thus, various powerful feature extraction calculations were utilized in the literature. These broadly utilized texture feature extraction strategies could obtain only single-level characteristics, however, the Faster R - CNN model can separate multilevel image attributes since it has a bunch of cascaded layers of convolution and activation functions that could make sense of color and texture features of composts at different levels. Thus, Fast Regions with Convolutional Neural Network(R-CNN) was acquainted in order to rapidly evaluate compost maturity by examining pictures of different composting phases.

THE EFFECT OF AGRICULTURAL WASTE COMPOST ON THE POPULATION OF AZOTOBACTER, AZOSPIRILLUM, AND PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING BACTERIA IN CORN PLANT MEDIA ON INCEPTISOLS JATINANGOR

Plants require nutrients in order to grow. One method is to provide organic fertilizer in the form of compost. rice straw, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB), and sugarcane bagasse can all be used as compost material. The purpose of this study is to see how different types of agricultural waste compost affect the population of beneficial bacteria such as Azotobacter sp., Azospirillum sp., and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) on maize planting media in Jatinangor. The study was carried out at the screen house of Ciparanje Experimental Garden in Jatinangor District, utilizing a Randomized Block Design with 9 treatments and three replications. The treatments included a control (no treatment) and three dose levels (5 tons.ha-1 , 10 tons.ha-1 , and 15 tons.ha-1 ) of each type of compost (oil palm empty fruit bunch, sugarcane bagasse, and rice straw). The findings revealed that the use of various types of agricultural waste compost influenced the population of Azotobacter sp., Azospirillum sp., and PSB. When compared to the compost treatment of rice straw and bagasse, the application of OPEFB compost at a dose of 15 tons.ha-1 produced a greater population of Azotobacter sp. 106.43 x 107 cfu.g-1 . While the population of Azospirillum sp. increased by 2.20 x 107 cfu.g-1 as a result of the 15 tons.ha-1 compost of OPEFB, the effect was similar to that of rice straw and bagasse compost. PSB population increased at 15 tons.ha-1 of rice straw compost to 3.73 x 104 cfu.g-1 but not different from 15 tons.ha-1 of OPEFB compost. Compost can be used as an environmentally friendly fertilizing alternative to enhance the population of beneficial bacteria in corn growth media and increasing nutrient availability for plants.

Di-n-butyl phthalate stress induces changes in the core bacterial community associated with nitrogen conversion during agricultural waste composting

Nitrogen (N) loss during composting reduces the quality of compost products and causes secondary environmental pollution. Phthalate esters (PAEs) are common pollutants in agricultural wastes. However, little information is currently available on how PAEs affect N conversion during agricultural waste composting. This research systematically analyzed the impact of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) pollution on the N conversion and its related microbial community during composting. Our results indicated that DBP stress results in a shorter thermophilic phase, and then slower compost maturation during composting. Notably, DBP stress inhibited the conversion of ammonia to nitrate, but increased the release of NH3 and N2O leading to an increased N loss and an elevated greenhouse effect. Furthermore, DBP exposure led to a reduction of bacteria related to NH4+ and NO3− conversion and altered the network complexity of the bacterial community involved in N conversion. It also reduced the abundance of a major nitrification gene (amoA) (P < 0.01) and increased the abundance of denitrification genes (nirK and norB) (P < 0.05). Moreover, DBP affected the overall microbial community composition at all tested concentrations. These findings provide theoretical and methodological basis for improving the quality of PAE-contaminated agricultural waste compost products and reducing secondary environmental pollution.

Co-composting of cattle manure and wheat straw covered with a semipermeable membrane: organic matter humification and bacterial community succession.

Semipermeable membrane-covered composting is one of the most commonly used composting technologies in northeast China, but its humification process is not yet well understood. This study employed a semipermeable membrane-covered composting system to detect the organic matter humification and bacterial community evolution patterns over the course of agricultural waste composting. Variations in physicochemical properties, humus composition, and bacterial communities were studied. The results suggested that membrane covering improved humic acid (HA) content and degree of polymerization (DP) by 9.28% and 21.57%, respectively. Bacterial analysis indicated that membrane covering reduced bacterial richness and increased bacterial diversity. Membrane covering mainly affected the bacterial community structure during thermophilic period of composting. RDA analysis revealed that membrane covering may affect the bacterial community by altering the physicochemical properties such as moisture content. Correlation analysis showed that membrane covering activated the dominant genera Saccharomonospora and Planktosalinus to participate in the formation of HS and HA in composting, thus promoting HS formation and its structural complexity. Membrane covering significantly reduced microbial metabolism during the cooling phase of composting.

Pemanfaatan Kompos Limbah Pertanian Dalam Budidaya Kacang Tanah di Kecamatan Kediri Lombok Barat

Peanuts are the fourth staple food after rice, corn and soybeans. This is due to the high nutritional content, including rich in fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Peanut seeds have a high economic value, because they can be used as a variety of food industry products, such as pecel and satay seasonings, bread, and various processed raw peanuts, such as salted peanuts, atomic beans, and other seasoned nuts.The need for peanuts from year to year continues to increase, but the production is still very low, thus triggering the high price of this commodity in the market. The low production of peanuts is due to the lack of application of cultivation techniques and the lack of use of fertilizers. This Community Service aims to increase peanut production by applying appropriate cultivation techniques, utilizing agricultural waste compost and providing understanding to farmers about the importance of fertilizing peanut plants. Based on community service activities, it can be concluded that the utilization of agricultural waste compost in peanut cultivation in Kediri District, West Lombok Regency, is considered successful. This can be seen from the response of farmers in participating in community service activities, both in discussions and in paying attention to plot demonstration activities in the field.

Biochar combined with ferrous sulfate reduces nitrogen and carbon losses during agricultural waste composting and enhances microbial diversity

This study investigated the effects of adding biochar, ferrous sulfate, and their combination during composting of pig manure mixed with straw to reduce the loss of carbon and nitrogen during agricultural waste composting. Four 100 L fermentation tank-scale experimental composting treatments were established: the additive-free control (CK), addition of 5% biochar (BC), addition of 5% ferrous sulfate (SF), and addition of 2.5% BC + 2.5% SF (BS). The transformation of carbon and nitrogen and the change characteristics of bacterial communities during composting of the four treatments were explored. BS significantly reduced NH3, N2O, CO2, and CH4 emissions by 59.57%, 48.41%, 35.80%, and 32.25% compared with CK, respectively. The BS treatment showed lower carbon and nitrogen losses than the single additive treatment. BS treatment enhanced the diversity and richness of bacterial communities during composting. The redundancy and Pearson correlation analyses revealed that the composition of dominant species between treatments had significant differences in different compost periods (mesophile, thermophilic, and cooling periods). BS treatment significantly increased the abundance ratio of carbon sequestration and nitrogen retention communities, and it enhanced nutrient preservation by microbial metabolism. Therefore, the composite addition of biochar and ferrous sulfate is an effective method to reduce the loss of carbon and nitrogen during agricultural waste composting.

Effects of di-n-butyl phthalate on aerobic composting process of agricultural waste: Mainly based on bacterial biomass and community dynamics analysis

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) pollution has become a major environmental problem in agricultural waste composting. However, little information was available about the how the PAEs alter microbial processes during composting. This study investigated the effects of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) on bacterial biomass and community dynamics during composting. The results showed that a decreasing of DBP was observed from thermophilic phase and 43.26% of DBP was degraded after composting. The bacterial biomass and diversity during composting were reduced under DBP stress, so delaying the decomposition of organic matter. Moreover, the changes in bacterial community were observed since the thermophilic phase of DBP-contaminated composting. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that DBP stress decreased the relative abundance of the main metabolic pathways and inhibited compost maturation. Moreover, DBP stress had more significant correlation with the dominant bacteria. This work will expand the understanding of PAEs-contaminated organic waste composting and further control of PAEs pollutants.

Effects of Di-N-Butyl Phthalate on Material Conversion and Bacterial Community Dynamics During Aerobic Composting of Agricultural Waste

Effects of Di-N-Butyl Phthalate on Material Conversion and Bacterial Community Dynamics During Aerobic Composting of Agricultural Waste

RETRACTED: Activities of functional enzymes involved in C, N, and P conversion and their stoichiometry during agricultural waste composting with biochar and biogas residue amendments

This experiment was carried out to explore the effects of biochar, biogas residue and their combination amendment on enzyme activities and their stoichiometry during agricultural waste composting. A comprehensive analysis of the variation in, and stoichiometric correlations between, β-glucosidase (BG), N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) were determined. The results showed that biochar, biogas residue, and their combined addition significantly increased those enzyme activities. The potential C:P and N:P acquisition activities represented by ln(BG): ln(AKP) and ln(LAP + NAG): ln(AKP), were significantly decreased with biogas residue addition. BG, NAG and LAP were significantly negatively correlated with temperature, organic matter and water-soluble carbon. Redundancy analysis also showed that moisture and water-soluble carbon were significantly related to the variations of enzyme activities. Biochar and biogas residue changed the characteristics of the composting substrate, thus affecting the activity and stoichiometry of functional enzymes involved in C, N and P cycling.

Compost and PGP-Based Biostimulant as Alternative to Peat and NPK Fertilization in Chestnut (Castanea Sativa Mill.) Nursery Production

In forest nurseries, intensive use of non-renewable substrates such as peat and high application rates of chemical synthesis fertilizers lead to environmental problems and high susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. This work aims to seek more sustainable crop management to help mitigate these problems, combining the substitution of peat by compost and the use of growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPs) as a fertilization tool. For this purpose, a trial was carried out to test the effectiveness of an agricultural waste compost and a biostimulant based on PGP microorganisms in the production of Castanea sativa plants in a forest nursery. This trial assessed the growth of plants, with both inputs separately and combined, and then studied the tolerance of chestnut seedlings to water deficit. The results showed that partial substitution of peat by compost is possible, but not complete, as the high levels of conductivity and pH generated by a high proportion of compost negatively affected plant growth. It was also noted that the application of the biostimulant enables the complete substitution of mineral fertilization. Moreover, at the end of the nursery phase, chestnut seedlings treated with the biostimulant showed the same or even better quality than chestnut seedlings obtained with conventional fertilization, also resulting in greater resistance to water deficit, based on the increase in root volume and the improvement of the physiological status. Changes observed in both quantity and composition of microbiota associated with chestnut rhizosphere after inoculation with PGPs were related to the improvement observed. In relation to water deficit resistance, a positive synergy was also observed with the combination of both inputs, since plants with full substitution of peat by compost combined with PGP-based fertilization showed the greatest drought resistance.

Utilization of Inorganic Nanoparticles and Biochar as Additives of Agricultural Waste Composting: Effects of End-Products on Plant Growth, C and Nutrient Stock in Soils from a Mediterranean Region

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of compost produced with agricultural residues and oat-based biochar, iron oxide and halloysite nanoparticles as additives of the process of composting on soil chemical properties, nutrient status and growth of ryegrass Lolium perenne L. For this, a 90-day mesocosm experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions. Bare soil and a basal fertilization treatment were compared to soils amended with nonadditive compost (NA compost), compost supplied with oat-based biochar (Bioch compost), iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe compost), and halloysite nanoparticles (Ha compost). Compost supplied with nanoparticles and biochar combined were also considered. The incorporation of compost with or without additives increased the content of total C and N in soil, with N diminishing (total and mineral forms) and C/N modifications after 90 days. The addition of compost and co-composted treatments also increased the total contents of main nutrients such as Ca, K, P and S. Furthermore, the supply of additives into composting did not increase the concentration of trace toxic elements. At the end of the experiment, plant biomass increased by the addition of the different organic amendments, with the highest shoot biomass in soils amended with compost supplied with nanoparticles. These results suggest that the addition of compost based on agricultural residues with additives such as halloysite or biochar improves chemical properties and nutritional status of soil that favor and increase plant growth of Lollium perenne stablished in soils from the Mediterranean Region.

Cellulases and animal feed production by solid-state fermentation by Aspergillus fumigatus NRCF-122 mutant

A high cellulase-producing fungus was isolated from agricultural waste compost, purified, identified genetically as Aspergillus fumigatus NRCF-122 (accession no. MT318341), and improved by UV-irradiation for cellulase production (named as A. fumigatus mutant-17). Optimal cellulase production conditions were studied using sugar beet pulp “SBP” as the substrate of solid-state fermentation technique. The optimal conditions were: initial moisture content ratio (1:2 w/v), incubation temperature (30°C), initial pH of solid culture (10), incubation period (4 days), aeration area (1:100 ratio ((1%)), SBP substrate weight : flask volume of moistened SBP in a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, fungal inoculum (seeding) culture age (3 days) and inoculum size (20%, v/w). Studies were also involved the effect of different nitrogen sources where urea is the best nitrogen source for cellulase production. Concerning the application of bioethanol production from yeast, using rice straw cellulose as a source of fermentable reducing sugars), the lingo-cellulosic waste rice straw was first pretreated (with NaOH 1.5%) to reduce crystallinity of cellulose & removing lignin and other inhibitors, enhancing the subsequent process (saccharification) of rice straw cellulose. Then, its cellulose was saccharified enzymatically by cellulases (produced from SBP as substrate (under SSF condition) as substrate under the optimum conditions) resulting in reducing sugars. one of the largest livestock production operating costs is the feed bill. In our study we evaluated the resulted crude protein content of the fermented SBP and the results declared that, the total digest nutrient (TDN) and gross energy performance were increased, where as crude fiber, acid detergent fiber ADF & neutral detergent fiber NDF were decreased, thereby upgrading the feed quality of biologically treated SBP.

Effects of Zeolite and Biochar Addition on Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria and Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea Communities during Agricultural Waste Composting

The effects of zeolite and biochar addition on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) communities during agricultural waste composting were determined in this study. Four treatments were conducted as follows: Treatment A as the control with no additive, Treatment B with 5% of zeolite, Treatment C with 5% of biochar, and Treatment D with 5% of zeolite and 5% biochar, respectively. The AOB and AOA amoA gene abundance as well as the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) activity were estimated by quantitative PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The relationship between gene abundance and AMO enzyme activity was determined by regression analysis. Results indicated that the AOB was more abundant than that of AOA throughout the composting process. Addition of biochar and its integrated application with zeolite promoted the AOB community abundance and AMO enzyme activity. Significant positive relationships were obtained between AMO enzyme activity and AOB community abundance (r2 = 0.792; P &lt; 0.01) and AOA community abundance (r2 = 0.772; P &lt; 0.01), indicating that both bacteria and archaea played significant roles in microbial ammonia oxidation during composting. Using biochar and zeolite might promote the nitrification activity by altering the sample properties during agricultural waste composting.