TITLE:
Biochemical changes during composting of coir pith waste as influenced by different agro industrial wastes
AUTHORS:
T. Muthurayar, M. S. Dhanarajan
KEYWORDS:
Coir Pith Compost; Agro Industrial Wastes; C:N Ratio; Trichoderma Viridae and Pleurotus Sajar Caju
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.5B,
July
15,
2013
ABSTRACT: Coir pith, a byproduct of coconut husk is difficult to
decompose due to its high lignin and cellulose content. In this study, coir
pith was composted with different agro industrial by products such as cow dung,
vegetable market waste, poultry waste and microbial consortium. The different
treatment combinations used in the present study were Control, T1 (Coir pith +
Cow dung + Vegetable market waste + Poultry waste + mixed microbial culture (Trichoderma viridae + Pleurotus sajar caju), T2 (Coir pith +
Vegetable market waste + Poultry waste + Tank slit + Mixed microbial culture)
and T3 (Coir pith + Cow dung + poultry waste + tank slit + mixed microbial
culture). At the end of 12th week, in the treatment T1, C: N ratio
of 21.8:1 was observed in the composted coir pith sample. Highest P content of
0.47% and K content of 1.2% and the least Cellulose and Lignin contents of
22.8% and 10.03% were recorded in the T1 treatment after a composting period of
12 weeks. Highest pH of 7.4 was observed in the treatment T3, this was followed
by T1 (7.2) treatment.