This presentation describes how the use of Coco Peat can affect the quality of the sustainably developed compost that can be used as an organic fertilizer.

1. Submitted To: Submitted By:
SOS in Biotechnology Deepti Maheshwari
M.Sc.( 3rd
Semester)
A STUDY ON USE OF COCOPEAT AS AN
ADDITIVE IN A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPED COMPOST
Under The Guidance Of
Dr. S. B. GHOSH
Scientific Officer ‘F’
NUCLEAR AGRICULTURE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY DIVISION
PESTICIDE RESIDUE AND SOIL SCIENCES SECTION
BHABHA ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE
MUMBAI- 400 085

2. CONTENTS:
 INTRODUCTION
 COCO PEAT – AN ADDITIVE
 OBJECTIVES
 METHODOLOGIES AND RESULTS
 CONCLUSION
 REFRENCES

3. Composting is the controlled biological decomposition of organic
wastes (plant and animal origin) by various microorganisms in the
presence of oxygen along with the release of by products such as
carbon dioxide , water and heat.
Compost (end product of composting) is stable and rich in nutrients,
having various agricultural applications.
INTRODUCTION:
Fig : The Composting Process

4. A=mesophilic phase
B=thermophilic phase
C= cooling phase
D=maturating phase
Figure: Various Phases Of Composting Process

5. COCO PEAT – An Additive :
 COCO PEAT is an agricultural by-product that is obtained during the coir
fibre production by the processing of coconut husk.
 PROPERTIES OF COCO PEAT:
.

6. OBJECTIVES:
1) Production and maintenance of compost (CONTROL) in the
laboratory.
2) Production and maintenance of compost (TEST) in the laboratory.
3) Temperature and pH monitoring of the compost container
(CONTROL and TEST).
4) To estimate the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) of compost sample
(CONTROL and TEST)
5) To estimate the Total Nitrogen content of compost sample
(CONTROL and TEST)

7. 6)To carry out Seed germination assay of compost sample (CONTROL and
TEST) using following methods:
i. Seed germination assay on petri plate.
ii. Pot assay of mung seeds (Vigna radiata).
7)Isolation of lignin degrading microbes from Control compost container:
i. Alkali lignin preparation by treatment of dry leaves.
ii. Enrichment, isolation and screening of lignin degrading microbes
from compost.

8. METHODOLOGY and RESULTS:
1) Production and maintenance of compost (CONTROL) in
the laboratory
• A compost container was set up and maintained.
• The degradation activity was monitored for next 72 hrs.
0 HOUR
72 HOUR48 HOUR
24 HOUR

9. 2) Production and maintenance of compost (TEST) in the
laboratory
• A compost container was set up with the addition of coco peat as an
additive and maintained.
• The degradation activity was monitored for next 72 hrs.
0 HOUR
48 HOUR
24 HOUR
72 HOUR

10. 3) Temperature and pH monitoring of the compost container
(CONTROL and TEST)
• The temperature and pH of the compost (CONTROL and TEST )container
was monitored daily, starting from 0 hour till 72 hours.
Hours Temperature pH
Control Test Control Test
0 32.5 31.3 8.8 9
24 35.5 33.6 8 9.5
48 33.5 32.3 7.6 9.0
72 32 32 7.9 9.0
Table : Temperature and pH of the compost (CONTROL and TEST) sample

11. Figure : Graphical representation of Temperature and pH

12. 4) To estimate the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) of compost
sample (CONTROL and TEST)
• The carbon content of compost sample (CONTROL and TEST) was determined
using Soil Organic Carbon Detection Kit (SOCDK) developed at Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) .
Sample Percentage of Organic Carbon
24 hours 48 hours 72 hours
SOIL 0.5 0.45 0.45
CONTROL 1.5 1.1 0.8
TEST 1.1 1 0.9
Table : Percentage of Organic Carbon in compost (CONTROL AND TEST) sample

13. Figure : Graphical representation of Concentration of Organic Carbon

14. 5) To estimate the Total Nitrogen content of compost sample
(CONTROL and TEST)
• Total Nitrogen content of compost sample (CONTROL and TEST) was
determined by Spectroquant Nitrogen (total) Cell Test.
PERCENTAGE OF NITROGEN
SAMPLE 24 Hours 48 Hours 72 Hours
SOIL(mg/l) 6.8 6.5 6.4
CONTROL (mg/l) 7.6 15 0.5
TEST (mg/ml) 14.7 11.1 10.2
Table: Total Nitrogen content of compost (CONTROL and TEST) sample

15. Figure : Graphical representation of Concentration of Total Nitrogen Content

16. 6) To carry out Seed germination assay of compost sample
(CONTROL and TEST) using following methods:
i. Seed germination assay on petri plate:
Seed germination assay of Mung seeds was performed and
observations noted after 24, 48 and 72 hrs.
Seeds
Germinated
Concentration 24 Hours 48 Hours 72 Hours
0% 5 5 5
25% 5 5 5
50% 2 2 3
75% 0 0 1
100% 0 0 0
Seeds
Germinated
Concentration 24 Hours 48 Hours 72 Hours
0% 5 5 5
25% 5 5 5
50% 5 5 5
75% 4 4 4
100% 0 0 0
 Number Of Germinated Seeds:
CONTROL
COMPOST
TEST
COMPOST

17. Seed Germination in
CONTROL compost filtrate
Seed Germination in TEST
compost filtrate

18. Seeds → 1 2 3 4 5
Concentration
↓
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
0% 6 6.2 5 5 6.5 7 4 7.5 5 6
25% 3.5 3 1.5 3 5.5 5 6 5 4 4.5
50% 1 1 1 1 0.6 1 Fungal growth
75% <1 < 1 Fungal growth
100% Fungal growth
Seeds → 1 2 3 4 5
Concentration ↓ Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
Root
(cm)
Shoot
(cm)
0% 6 6 4.2 4.2 3 4 4 8 4 6
25% 3 3 6 5 4 3 4 4.5 3 3
50% 3.2 1 2.2 1 3 0.5 3 2 2.5 1
75% 2 1 0.5 - 0.7 No significant root and shoot
Length
100% No germination
CONTROL COMPOST (Root length of all the seeds after 72 hours):
TEST COMPOST (Root length of all the seeds after 72 hours):

19. Figure : Graphical representation of root length in CONTROL and TEST sample

20. Figure : Graphical representation Germination percentage of CONTROL and TEST
sample

21. Root and shoot elongation in
0% and 25% filtrate of
CONTROL compost
Root and shoot elongation in
0% and 25% filtrate of TEST
compost

22. Figure : Graphical representation of Germination Index in CONTROL and TEST
sample

23. ii. Pot assay of mung seeds (Vigna radiata) :
Five seeds of ‘Mung bean’ were sown in each container. Seeds were
incubated in growth chamber .Visual observations were noted.
0% 25% 50%
75% 100%

24. 7) Isolation of lignin degrading microbes from Control compost
container:
i. Alkali lignin preparation by treatment of dry leaves (Ficus religiosa).
Filtered alkali lignin had a pH of 10.
ii. Enrichment, isolation and screening of lignin degrading microbes
from compost.
The CONTROL compost container yielded 4 lignin degrading microbes.

25. CONCLUSION:
 The variant compost developed, showed a positive impact of coco peat on the
composting process and final compost quality.
 Accelerated degradation of vegetable and fruit waste was observed visually.
 The final product, that is, compost was mature & stable and produced an
earthen smell.
 The compost produced was stable in terms of quality.
 The seed germination bioassay data clearly indicated that 75% of TEST
compost samples can be used for soil application without deleterious effects.
 This study encourages the use of coco peat as a supplement for composting
process, to obtain a compost of better physical and chemical stability.
 The advantage of such compost is that it can be used as a fertilizer and
therefore enrichment of the quality of soil.

26. REFRENCES:
Bholay, A. D., Borkhataria, B. V., Jadhav, P. U., Palekar, K. S.,
Dhalkari, M. V., & Nalawade, P. M. (2012). Bacterial lignin peroxidase:
A tool for biobleaching and biodegradation of industrial
effluents. Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology, 2(1),
58-64.
 de Bertoldi, M. D., Vallini, G. E., & Pera, A. (1983). The biology of
composting: a review. Waste Management & Research, 1(2), 157-176.
Diener, R. G., Collins, A. R., Martin, J. H., & Bryan, W. B. (1993).
Composting of source-separated municipal solid waste for agricultural
utilization–A conceptual approach for closing the loop. Applied
Engineering in Agriculture, 9(5), 427-436.
Prasad, M. (1996, September). Physical, chemical and biological
properties of coir dust. In International Symposium Growing Media and
Plant Nutrition in Horticulture 450 (pp. 21-30).

27.  Varma, V. S. (2015). Composting of Vegetable Waste through Different
Composting Techniques (Doctoral dissertation).
 Zmora-Nahum S, Markovitch O, Tarchitzky J, Chen Y. Dissolved organic carbon
(DOC) as a parameter of compost maturity. Soil BiolBiochem. 2005;37(11):2109-16.