Agronomic Performances of Manure Composts in Simplified Soilless Tomato Cultivation

Composts are recognised as an important source of nutrients for crops. The study aims to valorise agricultural by-products by composts made from broiler (A), laying hen (B) and bovine (C) manures in soilless tomato cultivation. Treatments consisted of these three composts and controls consisting of coconut fibres fed with a nutrient solution. The system is a randomised Fisher block with three replications. Each elementary plot consisted of nine tomato plants. Chemical parameters of the substrates and agronomic parameters of the plants were recorded from 14 to 49 days after transplanting (DAT). The pH stabilised at around 6.2 after varying from 7.1 to 8.0 in the composts. The high electrical conductivity (5.9 - 6.01 dS/m) was less than 1 dS/m at 49 DAT. Agromorphological parameters were close to the controls. Fruit necrosis was higher in the compost-based substrates (13.75% - 32.22%) than in the controls (<2%). Healthy fruit yields from the composts (38.7 - 48.7 t/ha) were high, although lower than those from the controls (49.9 - 57.4 t/ha). Fruit harvested from these substrates had a longer average shelf life (38.23 days) than the controls (28.5 days). This study showed that composts have fertilising properties for soilless tomato cultivation, in particular that of laying hen manure (48.33 t/ha). These composts could provide an alternative to the use of chemical fertilisers in soilless tomato cultivation.

Study on Compound Substrate Properties with Spent Mushroom Compost and Cattle Manure Compost and Effects on the Growth of Seedlings

[Objective] The purpose was to study the optimum composition ratio of compound substrate with spent mushroom compound （SMC） and cattle manure com- post （CMC） for the seedling growth of tomato, cucumber and watermelon. [Method] With internationally best formula substrate （turf：vermiculite=2：1） used for CK, SMC and CMC were matched according to different proportions to get different substrate whose physical and chemical nutrient properties and their effects on the growth of tomato, cucumber and watermelon were studied by means of plug seeding technolo- gy. [Result] The results showed that the bulk density, porosity and the pH of the compound substrates are all in the ideal condition. However, CMC increased the EC value and the pH of the compound substrates. Compound substrates with high ratio of CMC are not suitable for seedlings. [Conclusion] Tomato and watermelon seedlings grew well in the compost substrate with SMC：CMC=3：1 with no river sand. And the cucumber seedlings grew well in the compost substrate with SMC：CMC=2：1 with 5% volume river sand.

Effects of Bacteria and Accessories on Chicken Manure Compost

[Objective] In order to study the influence of bacteria and accessories of chicken manure compost.[Method] The experiment was conducted to investigate the changes of temperature,the quantification of Escherichia coli and the odor during chicken manure compost by adding sawdust,rice husk,yeast and lactic acid bacteria respectively.[Result] The results showed that：（1） The yeast group reached the highest fermentation temperature 67.6 ℃,which was 6.9 ℃ higher than that of lactic acid bacteria group,and the fermentation time of yeast group kept over 55 ℃for 16 days,which was 5 days longer than that of lactic acid bacteria group,both of which were better than that of control group（55.9 ℃,5 days）;（2）The highest fermentation temperature of sawdust group was 2.2 ℃ higher than that of rice husk group,and the fermentation time of sawdust group kept over 55 ℃ was 3 days longer than that of rice husk group;（3） The quantification of E.coli reduced from10^5 to 10^2per gram in both of the yeast group and the lactic acid bacteria group.The odor of the yeast group and the lactic acid bacteria group disappeared in the seventh day and the eighth day respectively.[Conclusion] The results showed that the adding of yeast and sawdust was the best condition for chicken manure composting in this experiment.

Application of Highly Efficient Microbial Agent in Pig Manure Compost

[ Objective] The aim of this study was to develop a cheap and localized microbial agent so as to solve high cost of microbial agent for pig manure composting in Jiaxing City. [ Method] Pig manure in the experimental group and control group was inoculated with the self-developed micro- bial agent and commercial microbial agent, respectively. The manure was decomposed for 38 d, during which the indicators of compost including physical properties, temperature, pH value, water content, organic matter, dissolved nitrogen, carbon nitrogen ratio and germination rate were studied. [ Result] The water content in the experimental group declined to 26.10% after 33 d of compost, meeting the standard upper limitation of 30% for maturity. By comparison, the water content in the control group was slightly higher than 30% even after 38 d. The germination rate of seeds fertilized with the experimental manure compost met the standard for maturity on Day 28, while that in the control group met the standard for maturity on Day 35. When the composting was finished, the ratio of total carbon to total nitrogen in the pig manure was 14.64 and 16.43 respective- ly in the experimental and control group, and the organic matter content was about 45% for both. All these indexes could meet the standards for or- ganic fertilizer products. [ Conclusion] The self-developed microbial agent can moot the requirements for pig manure composting, and it can shorten the composting time by 5 -8 d compared with the commercial agent. In addition, the fertilizer product composted by the self-developed microbial a qent has lower water content and thereby is much more beneficial for preservation.

Effects of anaerobic composting on tetracycline degradation in swine manure

Oxytetracycline(OTC) and tetracycline(TC) are the most common TC antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine.Residual amounts of these antibiotics in manure pose a potential threat to public and ecological health as a result of the potential for them to be released to the environment following land application of manure from animals treated with antibiotics.We investigated the degradation of OTC and TC during anaerobic composting.We tested the effects of temperature and antibiotic concentration on degradation rates in a control and in manure spiked with TCs.We examined changes in p H,biological degradation material(BDM),and moisture corresponding with antibiotic degradation of TCs in the swine manure.Results showed that the OTC and TC concentrations decreased by between 68.54% and 95.50% in all nine treatments following 14 days of anaerobic composting,and the highest removal ef ficiencies were observed at an incubation temperature of 55°C and initial concentrations of 10.36 μg·g^(-1),and 5.96 μg·g^(-1) of OTC and TC,respectively,which were degraded by 95.50%,and 90.06%.During composting at 55 °C and at added concentrations of 5 μg·g^(-1),OTC decreased rapidly,and the time required for50% and 90% degradation was 4.1 and 9.8 days,respectively;for TC,these values were 4.4 and 14.0 days,respectively.Removal ef ficiencies for all TCs correlated well with moisture content of the manure.These results show that composting may be a practical and useful means to reduce concentrations of OTC and TC in swine manure prior to its land application.

Changes in Phosphorus Fractions and Nitrogen Forms During Composting of Pig Manure with Rice Straw

The study was conducted to reveal P fractions and N forms changing characters during composting of pig manure with rice straw.During composting,the NH 4 ＋-N concentration decreased and reached at a relatively low value（〈400 mg kg-1） in the final compost,while the NO 3--N concentration increased.Total N losses mainly occurred during thermophilic phase due to the high temperature,the high NH 4 ＋-N concentration and the increase of pH value.Labile inorganic P was dominated in the pig manure and initial compost mixture.During composting,the proportion of labile inorganic P of total extracted P decreased,while the proportion of Fe＋Al-bound P,Ca＋Mg-bound P and residual P increased.The evolutions of the proportion of labile inorganic P,Fe＋Al-bound P and Ca＋Mg-bound P were well correlated with the changes of pH value,organic matter and C/N ratio.Therefore,composting could increase the concentration of N and P and decrease the presence of NH 4 ＋-N and labile P fractions which might cause environmental issues following land application.

An Evaluation of Manure Management Strategies, Phosphorus Surface Runoff Potential and Water Usage at an Arkansas Discovery Dairy Farm

Manure management is an essential component of dairy production. Nutrient-laden, field-applied dairy manure often serves as a fertilizer source, but can also pose environmental threats if not properly managed. The Haak dairy farm, located in Decatur, Arkansas, was granted a permit by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to employ a unique method in treating and storing cattle manure generated during the milking process. This method includes minimizing water use in wash water, dry scraping solids to combine with sawdust for composting and pumping effluent underground into a sloped concrete basin that serves as secondary solid separator before transporting the manure effluent into an interception trench and an adjacent grassed field to facilitate manure nutrient uptake and retention. The Arkansas Discovery Farm program (ADF) is conducting research to evaluate the environmental performance of the dairy’s milk center wash water treatment system (MCWW) by statistical analysis, characterization of phosphorus (P) migration in soil downslope from the inception trench, temperature measurements, and nutrient analysis of a stored dry stack manure/sawdust mixture. Goals included determining possible composting effectiveness along with comparisons to untreated dairy manure and quantifying the use of on-farm water. Results from this research demonstrated that: 1) The MCWW was effective at retaining manure-derived nutrients and reducing field nutrient migration as the MCWW interception trench had significantly higher total nitrogen (TN) (804.2 to 4.1), total phosphorus (TP) (135.6 to 1.5), and water extractable phosphorus (WEP) (55.0 to 1.0) concentrations in milligrams per liter (mg⋅L-1) than the downhill freshwater pond respectively;2) temperature readings of the manure dry stack indicated heightened levels of microbial and thermal activity, but did not reach a standard composting temperature of 54°C;3) manure dry stack nutrient content was typically higher than untreated dairy manure when measured on a “dry basis” in ppm, but was lower on an “as is basis” in ppm and kg/metric ton;and 4) water meter readings showed that the greatest use of on-farm water was for farm-wide cattle drinking (18.77), followed by water used in the milking center (3.45) and then followed by human usage (0.02) measured in cubic meters per day (m3⋅d-1). These results demonstrate that practical innovations in agricultural engineering and environmental science, such as the Haak dairy’s manure treatment system, can effectively reduce environmental hazards that accompany the management of manure at this dairy operation.

Long-Term Manure Amendments Enhance Soil Aggregation and Carbon Saturation of Stable Pools in North China Plain

Organic amendment is considered as an effective way to increase soil organic carbon （SOC） stock in croplands. To better understand its potential for SOC sequestration, whether SOC saturation could be observed in an intensive agricultural ecosystem receiving long-term composted manure were examined. Different SOC pools were isolated by physical fractionation techniques ofa Cambisol soil under a long-term manure experiment with wheat-maize cropping in North China Plain. A field experiment was initiated in 1993, with 6 treatments including control （i.e., without fertilization）, chemical fertilizer only, low rate of traditional composted manure （7.5 t ha-h）, high rate of traditional composted manure （15 t ha-~）, low rate ofbio-composted manure （7.5 t ha-h） and high rate of bio-composted manure （15 t ha-h）. The results showed that consecutive （for up to 20 years） composted manure amendments significantly improved soil macro-aggregation, aggregate associated SOC concentration, and soil structure stability. In detail, SOC concentration in the sand-sized fraction （〉53 ~tm） continued to increase with manure application rate, while the silt （2-53 I.tm） and clay （〈2 ~tm） particles showed no further increase with greater C inputs, exhibiting the C saturation. Further physical separation of small macro-aggregates （250-2 000 tam） into subpools showed that the non-protected coarse particulate organic matter （cPOM, 〉250 pro） was the fraction in which SOC continued to increase with increasing manure application rate. In contrast, the chemical and physical protected C pools （i.e., micro-aggregates and silt-clay occluded in the small macro- aggregates） exhibited no additional C sequestration when the manure application rate was increased. It can be concluded that repeated manure amendments can increase soil macro-aggregation and lead to the increase in relatively stable C pools, showing hierarchical saturation behavior in the intensive cropping system of North China Plain.

Suppression of Rhizoctonia Damping-off of Chickpea Using Manure Extracts and Their Associated Fungi

Decomposed manure extracts of cattle, sheep, poultry, horse and their composition of antagonistic fungi were evaluated to suppress phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani, one of the most important causes of chickpea damping-off. In vitro, the dual culture test used the criteria to evaluate antagonistic potential of fungal isolates that associated with different manures, in addition to assessment severity of Rhizoctonial damping-off of chickpea seedlings in potting media Penicillium sp., Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus were highly colonized each of manure extract. Results of dual culture observed the significant reduction of the pathogens mycelial growth （70.9%） when one disc of R. solani was placed in the center and three discs of antagonistic were placed in the periphery of plates. However, the mycelial growth of R. solani evidenced a higher inhibition （48.62%） when cultured with the antagonistic of Penicillium sp.. Sheep and poultry manure extracts reduced the pathogen＇s growth by 47.24% and 49.2%, respectively. Severity rating of Rhizoctonial damping-off was decreased to 0.2 when using poultry manure containing antagonistic fungus of A. terreus, other treatments of composted soil were similarized in their results of disease index.

Biochar mitigates the biotoxicity of heavy metals in livestock manure during composting

The addition of biochar could mitigate the bioavailability of heavy metals during livestock manure composting.However,the main action mechanism of biochar,such as how it worked,was ambiguous.Therefore,in this study,materials(biochar,alkali modified biochar,pretreated cotton ball)were added by embedding with nylon mesh bags to explore the adsorption performance of added materials and its influence on the composting process.The results showed that embedded materials promoted the formation of humic acid and reduced the distribution proportion of bioavailable fraction of heavy metals during composting(Cu:at least 15.72%;Zn:at least 33.44%).The surface of biochar extracted from composting contained attachments,however,the attachment of heavy metal was not detected and functional groups on the materials did no change significantly.This indicated that the addition of biochar did not directly adsorb heavy metals.Most notably,the microbial network changed after embedding materials,and the succession of microbial community promoted the formation of humic acid.Ultimately,structural equation models verified that embedded materials promoted the formation of humic acid through stable microbial groups,thereby accelerating the passivation of heavy metals during composting.This study provides theoretical and technical supports for mitigating the biotoxicity of heavy metals by biochar during composting.

Improvement of Soil Fertility and Crop Yield through Biochar Amendment from Salt Affected Soil of Central China

Soil salinity has been considered a brutal environmental factor for decreasing crop yield due to the accumulation of excessive sodium salts in soil under arid and semi-arid region of the world. This study tries to address the potential use of biochar. An organic matter rich material, used to reclaim salt-stressed soil in order to enhance crop production in dry croplands as well as to increase soil organic carbon （SOC） and to improve soil fertility. In this regard, a field experiment for two years was conducted in a moderately salt-stressed soil of Central China with wheat-maize cropping system. The soil was amended with biochar composted with poultry manure （BPC） at 12 t/ha with diluted pyroligneous solution （PS） at 0.15 t/ha a week before sowing of crop. Results showed significant improvement in soil physical properties, soil nutrient content with reduction of sodium salts and soil pH by amendment of BPC-PS1 and BPC-PS2 over the experimental control salt-stressed cropland. Furthermore, wheat and maize grain yield, nitrogen, phosphorous potassium and K/Na ratio increased while sodium decreased with the application of BPC-PS amendment in wheat and maize grain. This study concluded that the biochar amendment in conjunction with PS greatly improved SOC storage, crop nutrient uptake and soil fertility. Thus, waste treatment of crop straw and poultry manure compost as biochar could be combined to alleviate salt stress and improve crop production in the vast area of arid and semi-arid regions of the world.

Suppression of Fusarium Wilt of Banana with Application of Bio-Organic Fertilizers

Fusarium wilt is one of the most serious diseases of banana plants caused by soil-borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense(FOC). In this study a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different bio-organic fertilizers(BIOs) on Fusarium wilt of banana, including the investigations of disease incidence, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase activities of banana plants, and FOC populations as well as soil rhizosphere microbial community. Five fertilization treatments were considered, including chemical fertilizer containing the same N, P and K concentrations as the BIO(control), and matured compost mixed with antagonists Paenibacillus polymyxa SQR-21 and Trichoderma harzianum T37(BIO1), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens N6(BIO2), Bacillus subtilis N11(BIO3), and the combination of N6 and N11(BIO4). The results indicated that the application of BIOs significantly decreased the incidence rate of Fusarium wilt by up to 80% compared with the control. BIOs also significantly promoted plant growth, and increased chitinase andβ-1,3-glucanase activities by 55%–65% and 17.3%–120.1%, respectively, in the banana roots. The population of FOC in the rhizosphere soil was decreased significantly to about 104 colony forming units g-1with treatment of BIOs. Serial dilution plating and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the application of BIOs increased the densities of bacteria and actinomycetes but decreased the number of fungi in the rhizosphere soil. In general, the application of BIOs revealed a great potential for the control of Fusarium wilt disease of banana plants.