Comparison between aerated static piles and vermicomposting in producing co-compost from rural organic wastes and cow manure

Abdoli, Mohammad Ali; Omrani, Ghasemali; Safa, Majeed; Samavat, Saeed

doi:10.1007/s13762-017-1607-5

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The tarp was propped on stakes set at the corners of the composting area and secured with stones on the front end to keep rainwater away from the piles and to prevent the tarp from flying away in heavy winds. Ventilation, an important component of the composting process (41,(43)(44)(45), was provided by creating space for airflow between the tarp and the enclosing net on either side of the area and at the back of the piles, which was 15 cm away from the white concrete wall. The piles were always covered with the tarp except when measuring compost characteristics once per day for 31 days.…”

Section: Rapid Composting Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Farmer Perspectives and Compost Application for Soil Management in Urban Agriculture in Mwanza, Tanzania

Esmail¹,

Oelbermann²

2022

Front. Soil Sci.

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African countries are urbanizing at a rapid rate. Research on urban agriculture may be key to ensuring urban food and soil security. This study aimed to evaluate pathways for integrated soil fertility management using a mixed methods approach to consider both social perspectives and soil quality in the city of Mwanza, Tanzania. The social component of urban agriculture was explored using semi-structured interviews with urban farmers (n=34), through judgement and snowball sampling. Qualitative analyses showed that urban farmers range in age and gender, as well as in experiences and cultivation practices, though all use hand tools. Farmers reported reliance on rainy seasons for cultivating. However, farmers also raised concerns about a changing climate and unpredictability of rain, which impacts crop productivity. Most interviewed farmers (82%) would like to improve their soils, and many use manure as an amendment stating that animal manure is the best way to improve soil. Additionally, most urban farmers (62%) have not tried any form of food waste compost but responded positively to try it if they had access and were taught how to use it. For the second aspect of this study a field trial was conducted to evaluate and compare the effects of organic and inorganic amendments on soil quality and crop productivity over the short-term. The results from the field trial determined that organic amendments (poultry manure and food waste compost) improved soil water holding capacity by 14 to 19% and enhanced microbial biomass 1.7 to 4 times compared to treatments with inorganic nitrogen fertilizer. Crop productivity with organic amendments was comparable to that in treatments with nitrogen fertilizer. We conclude that urban agriculture is an integral aspect of Mwanza City, and the application of organic amendments improves urban soil quality compared to the application of inorganic fertilizer, which has implications for urban soil security, land use planning, and food sovereignty in developing countries.

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Section: Rapid Composting Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Farmer Perspectives and Compost Application for Soil Management in Urban Agriculture in Mwanza, Tanzania

Esmail¹,

Oelbermann²

2022

Front. Soil Sci.

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“…The final weight of each pile was approximately 60 t. The ratio of onion waste: cow dung was determined according to Rynk et al (1992) to reach a final C/N ratio of 30. Cow dung is a suitable material to help the compost in the maturity process and was previously used to composting onion waste and other organic wastes (Pellejero 2015;Abdoli et al 2019). The final ratio of onion waste:cow dung was 1.3:1 (w:w).…”

Section: Composting Method Location and Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi through onion waste composting: implications for circular economy perspective

Chorolque

Pellejero

Sosa

et al. 2021

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The production of onion waste derived mainly from bulbs affected by fungal diseases, during onion classification and storage presents an important agro-environmental issue in onion production regions. Composting is an environmentally friendly strategy to recycle agricultural waste and produce organic fertilizers. Modifications of the microbial community in soil can affect the ability of pathogen propagules to survive, germinate and infect plant roots. Hence, the main objective of this work was to exploring the mechanisms involved on the presence of three soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi during the composting process of onion waste under the hypothesis if that the resulting compost effectively prevents or minimizes the dispersion of phytopathogenic fungi. To this end, three composting piles of 60 tonnes each were built by layering onion waste affected by phytopathogenic fungi and cow dung at 1:1 ratio. Temperature, moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. growth were monitored for 100 days. During the first 28 days of composting, the presence of phytopathogenic fungi increased significantly showing thereafter a downward trend. Final estimations of fungal populations densities indicated a predominance of A. niger and an effective reduction in the abundance of Fusarium sp. This pilot-scale work demonstrates the feasibility of composting onion waste contaminated with phytopathogenic fungi and highlights the positive environmental impact associated with this practice. Therefore, the composting of onion waste and cow dung is a feasible and sustainable procedure to recycle onion waste and to promote circular economy in onion production regions.

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“…For the pre-composting process, corn cob waste was placed in an experimental reactor that consisted of a plastic container measuring 35 cm wide, 35 cm long and 35 cm high, with a total volume of 0.043 m 3 . Small holes were made in the bottom base of the container to allow leachate to be extracted [22][23][24]. The reactor was covered with a thin mesh to allow gaseous exchange [25].…”

Section: Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vermicomposting: A Valorization Alternative for Corn Cob Waste

et al. 2021

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As vermicomposting has become a viable alternative for the valorization of organic waste; the objectives of this research were to (1) assess the feasibility of said process for corn cob waste (corn cobs and corn husks) and (2) evaluate the operation conditions for the biodegradation of different mixtures with load material (LM). LM did not include animal excreta as a nitrogen source, a practice widely used in a range of studies. The experiment consisted of an initial phase of pre-composting in order to obtain a partially stabilized substrate. Subsequently, four separate mixtures were made consisting of corn cob waste mixed with consistent load material (LM) containing vegetable waste and eggshells (CR, M1, M2, M3) to obtain a balance substrate able to facilitate degradation using Eisenia fetida earthworms. The following parameters were analyzed during the control process: temperature, pH, humidity, organic material (OM), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. The analysis of the final values of the stabilized mixtures showed that vermicomposting is indeed a feasible alternative for the degradation of corn cob waste for use as a soil improver.

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Comparison between aerated static piles and vermicomposting in producing co-compost from rural organic wastes and cow manure

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Investigating Farmer Perspectives and Compost Application for Soil Management in Urban Agriculture in Mwanza, Tanzania

Investigating Farmer Perspectives and Compost Application for Soil Management in Urban Agriculture in Mwanza, Tanzania

Biological control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi through onion waste composting: implications for circular economy perspective

Vermicomposting: A Valorization Alternative for Corn Cob Waste

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