Harnessing the Benefits of Groundnut and Toddy Palm Shell Biocompost on Selected Crops
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Date
2024-03
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Avinashilingam
Abstract
Safe management of plant and animal waste is one of the most important
environmental issues in the world. Disposable of groundnut shells and toddy palm shells
are a threat to the environment. A significant amount of shell residuals dumping or burning
process leads to the accumulation of waste causing environmental pollution.
Hence, minimizing the waste by recycling promotes zero-waste production. Recycling of
organic waste is most important for preserving natural resources. The current research was
performed to investigate the growth and yield performance of bhendi, cluster bean,
coriander and fenugreek by the influence of groundnut shell and toddy palm shell
composts. The degradation of groundnut shell and toddy palm shell through the microbial
consortium and Trichoderma asperelloides along with vermicomposting technology has
been presented. The treatments includes T1: Groundnut shell + Trichoderma asperelloides
+ Eisenia fetida, T2: Groundnut shell + microbial consortium, T3: Groundnut shell +
microbial consortium + Eisenia fetida, T4: Toddy palm shell + Trichoderma asperelloides
+ Eisenia fetida, T5: Toddy palm shell + microbial consortium, T6: Toddy palm shell +
microbial consortium + Eisenia fetida respectively. During composting bacterial, fungal
and actinomycetes counts were observed at the regular interval of 30, 60 and 90 days which
achieved peak stage on 60th day of composting. The physical and chemical parameters of
raw and composted samples were analyzed. The results observed range between pH (6.01–
6.40), EC (1.39-2.59 dS m-1), TN (0.91-1.39%), TP (1.98-2.51%), TK (2.36-3.85%),
Ca (2.27-3.25%) and Mg (2.18-2.99%), were significantly increased while lignin
(9.54-6.69%), cellulose (10.71-6.35%), OC (29.8–26.5%) and C:N ratio (29:1-19:1) were
considerably reduced in C6 and other treatments. In addition, FT-IR analysis showed high
degradation in C3 and C6 and XRD confirms excellent compost maturity. SEM micrographs
of final composts revealed the presence of many structural changes. The matured compost
was used to evaluate the growth and yield characteristics of bhendi, cluster bean, coriander
and fenugreek in field trial in 2019. The application of toddy palm shell + microbial
consortium + Eisenia fetida (T6) enhanced the growth, yield, biochemical and soil nutrients
status of selected test crops compared to the control. Further, the best treatment (T6)
compared with coir pith and effective microorganisms in field studies during 2020.
The growth, yield, biochemical parameters and nutrients status of soil was observed
maximum in either coir pith (T1) or effective microorganisms (T3). However, the
application of bio-composted toddy palm shell by using microbial consortium and Eisenia
fetida (T6) showed near to maximum value. This may be due to the presence of consortium
of microorganisms significantly increased the level of plant essential nutrients by
producing plant growth regulators. The study revealed that composting could be a
sustainable method for recycling organic waste into organic fertilizers, which can help in
increasing productivity by enhancing nutrient supply.
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Botany