This document summarizes a study that evaluated the effects of sugarcane pressmud biocompost and mineral fertilizers on maize growth and soil properties. The biocompost had nutrient contents of 1.8% N, 1.83% P, and 0.9% K. A pot experiment found that biocompost and nitrogen fertilizer increased maize height, dry weight, and nitrogen uptake. Biocompost and fertilizers also increased soil organic matter, phosphorus, and potassium levels. The results indicate that biocompost can be used along with mineral fertilizers to boost maize growth and yields by improving soil quality.
India is one of the largest growers of sugarcane with an estimated produced of around
300 million tons in the marketing year 2009-2019. Sugar-distillery complexes, integrating
the production of cane sugar and ethanol, constitute one of the key agro-based industries.
There are presently nearly 400 sugar factories in the country along with around 300
molasses based alcohol distilleries. These include sugarcane trash, bagasse,pressmud and
bagasse fly ash. Vermicomposting of pressmud is an efficient method of waste disposal,
enabling recycling of organic matter.Vermicomposting of pressmud is one of the most
promising technologies for solid waste treatment. The organic substrates in solid waste
can be biodegraded and stabilized by composting and the final compost products could be
applied to land as the fertilizer or soil conditioner. The present review paper deals with
the following topics: Composting, vermicomposting of pressmud and various Physical
and chemical nature of raw pressmud, , Characteristics of the vermicompost and its
advantages.
Benefits of Soil Organic Carbon - an overviewExternalEvents
The presentation was given by Mr. Niels H. Batjes, ISRIC, during the GSOC Mapping Global Training hosted by ISRIC - World Soil Information, 6 - 23 June 2017, Wageningen (The Netherlands).
Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment.
Biochar is a stable solid, rich in carbon, and can endure in soil for thousands of years.Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis. Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration.Biochar thus has the potential to help mitigate climate change via carbon sequestration. Independently, biochar can increase soil fertility of acidic soils (low pH soils), increase agricultural productivity, and provide protection against some foliar and soil-borne diseases.
India is one of the largest growers of sugarcane with an estimated produced of around
300 million tons in the marketing year 2009-2019. Sugar-distillery complexes, integrating
the production of cane sugar and ethanol, constitute one of the key agro-based industries.
There are presently nearly 400 sugar factories in the country along with around 300
molasses based alcohol distilleries. These include sugarcane trash, bagasse,pressmud and
bagasse fly ash. Vermicomposting of pressmud is an efficient method of waste disposal,
enabling recycling of organic matter.Vermicomposting of pressmud is one of the most
promising technologies for solid waste treatment. The organic substrates in solid waste
can be biodegraded and stabilized by composting and the final compost products could be
applied to land as the fertilizer or soil conditioner. The present review paper deals with
the following topics: Composting, vermicomposting of pressmud and various Physical
and chemical nature of raw pressmud, , Characteristics of the vermicompost and its
advantages.
Benefits of Soil Organic Carbon - an overviewExternalEvents
The presentation was given by Mr. Niels H. Batjes, ISRIC, during the GSOC Mapping Global Training hosted by ISRIC - World Soil Information, 6 - 23 June 2017, Wageningen (The Netherlands).
Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment.
Biochar is a stable solid, rich in carbon, and can endure in soil for thousands of years.Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis. Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration.Biochar thus has the potential to help mitigate climate change via carbon sequestration. Independently, biochar can increase soil fertility of acidic soils (low pH soils), increase agricultural productivity, and provide protection against some foliar and soil-borne diseases.
Determination of soil available nitrogen by Alkaline
permanganate method (Subbiah and Asija, 1956).
Nitrogen is necessary for all forms of life. It is most important
essential plant nutrient for crop production as it is constituted the building blocks of almost all the plant structures.
Presentation by Dr. C.S.P. Patil Executive Director, Green Foundation
At the At the National Colloquium on System of Crop Intensification (SCI)
Held in Patna, Bihar on March 1, 2011
Presentation by Steve Diver from the 2012 Resilient Farmer Workshop at the Kerr Center's Cannon Horticulture Plots in Poteau, Oklahoma. Cover crops, soil organic matter, soil food web
This presentation was presented during the Plenary 1, Opening Ceremony of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon that took place in Rome 21-23 March 2017. The presentation was made by Mr. Luca Montanarella from EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in FAO Hq, Rome
Soil survey is the study and mapping of soils in their natural environment.
It is to enables, more numerous, more accurate, more useful prediction of soil for specific purpose
It is starting point of all soil research. .
Determination of soil available nitrogen by Alkaline
permanganate method (Subbiah and Asija, 1956).
Nitrogen is necessary for all forms of life. It is most important
essential plant nutrient for crop production as it is constituted the building blocks of almost all the plant structures.
Presentation by Dr. C.S.P. Patil Executive Director, Green Foundation
At the At the National Colloquium on System of Crop Intensification (SCI)
Held in Patna, Bihar on March 1, 2011
Presentation by Steve Diver from the 2012 Resilient Farmer Workshop at the Kerr Center's Cannon Horticulture Plots in Poteau, Oklahoma. Cover crops, soil organic matter, soil food web
This presentation was presented during the Plenary 1, Opening Ceremony of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon that took place in Rome 21-23 March 2017. The presentation was made by Mr. Luca Montanarella from EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in FAO Hq, Rome
Soil survey is the study and mapping of soils in their natural environment.
It is to enables, more numerous, more accurate, more useful prediction of soil for specific purpose
It is starting point of all soil research. .
Green waste compost with wood ash additive improves physico-chemical and biol...AI Publications
A greenhouse study was conducted to assess the potential of green waste wood ash compost on a tropical acid soil. Four types of compost (prepared with 0, 5, 10 and 15% of wood ash prior composting) were used to amend an Oxisol from the centre region of Cameroon. The different composts were mixed with the soil in 1/4 proportions (w/w); the experimental design was a completely randomized block with three replicates per treatment. The different treatments were planted with soybean (Glycine max L.) for three month growing period. Compost amendment increased the soil pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. Bacterial and fungal biomass together with cellulase and protease activities also increased in amended soil. Following soil chemical, physical and chemical parameters, plant growth and yield also improved in compost treated sols. However, compost prepared with 15% wood ash additive showed trends of inhibition of the soil microbiota. It can be concluded that green waste wood ash compost could be used as a suitable soil fertilizer for tropical acid soils, although precautions are to be taken when using these composts prepared with addition of wood ash ≥ 15%.
Effect of biochar on maize yield and yield components in rainfed conditions |...Innspub Net
To investigate the maize yield and nutrient concentration in its leaves as affected by biochar from different organic materials (wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse), a field experiment was conducted on maize crop during 2013 at koont research farm chakwal. The treatments were control, wheat straw biochar at 5t ha-1, and 10t ha-1, sugarcane bagasse biochar at 5t ha-1and 10t ha-1. The experiment was conducted in RCBD. Maize was grown in 4m × 6m sized plots. Soil samples were taken before sowing of crop for determination of soil pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon and texture. The plant parameters were grain yield, plant biomass, macro nutrients and micro nutrients. Wheat straw biochar 10 t/ha showed an increase of 16.1% N, 38.8% P, 33% K, 28.9% biomass and 20.8% grain yield. Sugarcane bagasse biochar at a rate of 10 t/ha showed significant increase of 14.9% N, 27.7% P, 30% K, 27.6% biomass and 22.1% grain yield. None of the biochar treatment showed any significant increase in micronutrient concentration in the plant.
Effect of biochar on maize yield and yield components in rainfed conditions|I...Innspub Net
To investigate the maize yield and nutrient concentration in its leaves as affected by biochar from different organic materials (wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse), a field experiment was conducted on maize crop during 2013 at koont research farm chakwal. The treatments were control, wheat straw biochar at 5t ha-1, and 10t ha-1, sugarcane bagasse biochar at 5t ha-1and 10t ha-1. The experiment was conducted in RCBD. Maize was grown in 4m × 6m sized plots. Soil samples were taken before sowing of crop for determination of soil pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon and texture. The plant parameters were grain yield, plant biomass, macro nutrients and micro nutrients. Wheat straw biochar 10 t/ha showed an increase of 16.1% N, 38.8% P, 33% K, 28.9% biomass and 20.8% grain yield. Sugarcane bagasse biochar at a rate of 10 t/ha showed significant increase of 14.9% N, 27.7% P, 30% K, 27.6% biomass and 22.1% grain yield. None of the biochar treatment showed any significant increase in micronutrient concentration in plant.
Soil Nutrient Availability and Enzyme Activities under Wheat-Green gram Crop ...Pravash Chandra Moharana
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rock phosphate (RP) enriched rice straw compost, FYM
and inorganic fertilizers on changes in nutrient availability and enzyme activities in soil during different
physiological growth stages under a wheat-green gram crop rotation in an Inceptisol. The matured RP
enriched compost contained higher bioavailable P as well as total P content compared to farmyard manure.
Data revealed that application of inorganic fertilizers and RP enriched compost or FYM either alone or in
combination resulted in significant build-up in soil organic carbon, mineral N, Olsen-P and NH4OAc-K as
well as enzyme activities compared to unfertilized control plots during different physiological growth stages
of wheat and green gram. Plot receiving 50% NPK+RP enriched compost resulted in 100.8, 95.2 and 100.0
per cent greater build-up in Olsen-P over unfertilized control in crown root initiation (CRI), flowering and
maturity stage of wheat, respectively. Irrespective of treatments, build-up of mineral N, Olsen-P and NH4OAc-
K decreased in all the growth stages of green gram as compared to values obtained in wheat. The
dehydrogenase and phosphatase activities (alkaline and acid) were higher in flowering stage than maturity
and CRI stages of wheat. While, higher enzyme activities were obtained during pod formation in green
gram. The results demonstrated that enriched compost could be prepared using low-grade RP with rice straw
and used as an alternate nutrient source for improving crop yields, maintaining soil nutrient availability and
enzyme activities.
Phosphorus mineralization of bioslurry and other manures in soil Premier Publishers
The experiment was conducted to see the phosphorus (P) mineralization pattern of bioslurry under aerobic and anaerobic soil conditions. Two bioslurry (cowdung bioslurry and poultry manure bioslurry) and their original manure (cowdung and poultry manure) at 3, 5, 10 and 20 t ha-1, respectively were thoroughly mixed with soil and incubated in aerobic and anaerobic moisture condition for 12 weeks. Among the four different types of manure, P release from poultry manure slurry was the highest. Poultry manure and cowdung slurry recorded very closer amount of available P. Both cowdung slurry and poultry manure slurry released higher amount of P compared to their original state (cowdung and poultry manure). P mineralization reaches in peak within 4-6 weeks of incubation. Under anaerobic condition the P mineralization was found higher compared to aerobic condition. The P mineralization data fitted strongly to the first order kinetic model. The bioslurries had lower rate of mineralization but had higher potentiality to release P in the soil compared to their original state.
Utilization of Marginal Soils with Application of Phosphorus and Ethephon for...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
— Abundance of marginal soils is among the major constraint to achieve high yield for crop production due to unsuitable physical and chemical properties of the soils. Commonly, farmers would manage the marginal soil by adding soil amendment, compost and fertilizer which increase the cost of production. Alternatively, application of fertilizer together with plant growth regulator (PGR) during crop management can be practiced to utilize the marginal soil effectively. The aim of this experiment was to determine effects of phosphorus (P) fertilizer and PGR namely ethephon on growth performance of sweet corn grown in three marginal soils namely Rasau, Kuah and Dampar. The treatments were arranged as factorial randomized complete block design with four rates of P fertilizer and standard rate of ethephon replicated four times. The results indicated that the physical properties of the marginal soils vary which Rasau dan Kuah series have low content of silt (10.30% and 36.10%), respectively and clay (9.40% and 11.86%) while Dampar series has low sand content (21%). Consequently, Dampar series depicted highest soil moisture content (18.80%) compared to Rasau and Kuah with high content of silt and clay at 42.43% and 36.43%, respectively. At tasseling stage, where application of P fertilizer with combination of ethephon at 0 and 15 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1 there were significant difference between soil series on root length, total biomass wet and dry weight but exception for total biomass dry weight at 0 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1. Moreover, at 45 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1 there were significant difference among soil series on leaf number and total biomass dry weight whereas at highest P rate of 60 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1 only root length and root volume were affected. Most of the results were observed highest on Rasau soil series which contain highest sand particle instead of silt and clay compared to Kuah and Dampar series. However, the addition of ethephon and several P rates did not affect plant height among soil series. The results suggest that, the marginal soil can be utilized for sweet corn production by addition of combined P fertilizer at low rate and PGR.
Effect of Aloe Vera wastes on physico-chemical properties and microbiological...IJEABJ
The aim of the present study was to explore the potential for using aloe vera wastes as amendment for soil to improve its fertility. Soil was exposed to four concentrations of aloin (rich in HAP) for 0, 7, 14 and 28 days. Physico-chemical parameters were analyzed: soil Ph, organic matter (OM), nitrogen, phosphorus, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The activity of seven enzymes implicated in the C, N and S cycles were measured. Microbial Biomass was determined by the method of substrate induced respiration. BiologEcoplates (Biolog Inc., Hayward, CA) were used to estimate soil microbial functional diversity. Our findings suggested a decrease on phosphorus and nitrogen content and an increase on CEC after aloin addition. Also, a decrease on microbial biomass and enzymes activities was observed, except for FDA. Ecoplates results demonstrate a decrease on microbial activities depending on the incubation time. Moreover, our results indicated that bacterial communities of the tested soils have more affinity to consume substrates as Amino acids and polymers. Our results should be carefully considered in view of the agriculture waists reuse for a sustainable agriculture
Abstract— An experiment was carried out at Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki to evaluate the effect of biochar on soil chemical properties, carbon storage and maize performance in an Ultisoil in Abakaliki, Southeastern Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments replicated five times. Data collected were analysed using the General Linear Model of SAS software in RCBD and significant difference dictated using F-LSD. Soil samples were collected and analysed for organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, available P, exchangeable bases and exchangeable acidity while crop performance measured were maize height and maize grain yield. Results of the study showed that biochar amended plots had significant (P < 0.05) higher organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, available P, exchangeable bases, exchangeable acidity, carbon storage, maize height and maize grain yield than control. Also, there was an increase in the magnitude of the parameters with an increase in the rate of biochar applied. This study recommends that biochar should be used as soil amendments to increase soil productivity and carbon storage in the soil to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere.
Enhancing Productivity and Livelihoods among Smallholders Irrigations through...Jenkins Macedo
This field research was presented at the 2015 3rd Global Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Montpelier, France on March 18, 2015.
Climate change and climate variability pose significant risks to smallholders in the rainfed lowlands of Lao PDR. Increased surface temperatures, declining rainfall, persistent drought and depletion of soil nutrients all serve to impact agricultural productivity and livelihoods. This study investigates the impact of five treatments on soil nutrients, moisture, plant growth, and yield of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica). The treatments tested were rice husk biochar only, biochar inoculated with manure, manure tea, inorganic fertilizer and the control. The costs and benefits of the treatments were also assessed. The randomized complete block design was used to assign five treatments and eight replications to the experimental units. Biochar was produced through slow pyrolysis. Soil physical properties were assessed with the visual soil assessment method and 15-randomized soil samples were collected for chemical analyses. Sprinklers were used for irrigation and a weather station installed to monitor the climate. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Costs-benefits evaluation of the treatments was conducted to determine the net benefits relative to the initial costs ratio. The analysis of variance of mean yield indicates that the difference in yield among the treatments was highly significant. The computed F value (8.28) was higher than the F critical (2.64) at the 5% level of significance. The calculated coefficient of variance of mean yield was 17.33%. The net benefits to initial costs ratio of treatments suggest that the control (4.11), biochar inoculated with manure plus NPK (1.64), and biochar plus manure tea (1.01) are preferred. The net benefits and initial costs evaluation of treatments is important to assess whether utilizing these treatments would impact smallholders’ livelihoods. The results of this study contribute to the evidence that biochar could play an essential role to mitigate climate change risks by enhancing soil quality and increase agricultural productivity.
Impact of organic and conventional practices on, soil health and crop yield u...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
Abstract— This study was carried out to evaluate the improvement of soil fertility and crop yield using formulated organic fertilizers in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) from October 2008 to April 2015 and the test crop was tomato, eggplant, cabbage and cauliflower. The physicochemical properties, behavior and persistence of plant beneficial microorganisms including nitrogen fixing bacteria, (e.g. Rhizobium sp., Azotobacter sp.), phosphate solubilizing bacteria e.g. (Bacillus sp. Pseudomonas sp., Phosphobacteria), Aspergillus sp. and Trichoderma sp., in the amended/ non-amended block were evaluated each year. The soil beneficial microbial populations and health properties including pH, nitrogen content, organic matter, phosphorus, K, Ca, and S, increased significantly in the compost-amended soils compared to the conventional practices. The total nitrogen (N) content and the organic matter of compost amended soil were 215% and 200% higher respectively than that of conventional practices (CP). Furthermore, significant increase of available organic matter, N, P, & K was observed in the compost-amended soils compared to conventional and control block. Furthermore, microbial population showed significant linear correlations with the organic matter contents of the soils and yearly vegetables yield increased gradually and was reached to almost identical to conventional field within 5 years, implying that the soil amended with BIOFER compost increased the soil fertility, and vegetables yields. Thus, application of BAOFER compost at the rate of 15 t/ha/year was found adequate in improving the vegetable yields and soil health in open field cultivation under subtropical climatic conditions.
Soil is a wonderful gift of nature for living creatures. It supports crop growth. It is an important environmental factor, and has a close reciprocal relationship with the plants growing in it and the soil microbes that exist in it. The forest soil consists of high humus with variety of microbes. In this experiment forest area of Newasa was selected for evaluation of nutrient status and bacterial population. On the basis of density of grasses Iseilema prostratum L, Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. & Schult, Aristida hystrix L., Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd, Fimbriristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl. were selected. 100 soil samples from different locations from rhizosphere of these monocots were collected and analyzed for soil nutrient status and nitrogen fixing bacterial population. It was recorded that, out of five plants, the rhizosphere soil of Setaria pumila L. showed maximum bacterial population (11700540.00). Available nitrogen (320 kg/ha) and % organic carbon (0.60 %) followed by Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. & Schult the bacterial population was (2558265.00), available nitrogen (203 Kg/ha) and % Organic Carbon (0.59%). Other soil nutrients were also measured.
1. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online)
Vol.4, No.23, 2014
142
Effect of Sugarcane Pressmud Biocompost on Dry Matter Yield
and Nutrient Uptake in Maize
Korai, P.K*, Memon, K.S*, Genxing Pan, Rajper, A.A, Jamro, G.M, Korai, S.K and Jarwar, A.D**
* Sindh Agriculture University,Tando Jam.
** Agriculture Research Institute Tando jam Sindh Pakistan.
Contact information: Institute of Recourses, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, Nanjing agriculture
university, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095-China.
Author: punhoonkorai@gmail.com
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to determine the nutrient contents and manurial value of biocompost,
collected from Matiari Sugar Mill, Matiari and analyzed for macro nutrients N, P and K. The biocompost was
evaluated in a pot experiment on maize crop with eight treatments in factorial combinations of two rates of
biocompost (0 and 10 tons ha-1
) and four fertilizer treatments (0-0-0, 150-0-0, 150-75-0 and 150-75-60 kg ha-1
N,
P and K) . The treatments were replicated three times in a randomized complete block design and maize was
grown for 7 weeks. The soil was a clay loam (31% clay) with EC 0.35 dSm-1
, pH 7.87, low in organic matter
(0.80%) and Olsen P (7.0 mg kg-1
) and high in NH4OAC-K (320 mg kg-1
). The nutrient contents of biocompost
were 1.8% N, 1.83% P and 0.9% K. Results revealed that there were pronounced positive effects of addition of
biocompost, as well as N on plant height and dry weights of maize. Plant analysis data showed that the effect
biocompost and mineral fertilizers was non-significant with respect to N, P and K contents. Soil analytical data
showed that the EC values of post harvest samples increased with the application of biocompost while pH was
not affected. Soil organic matter, Olsen P and NH4OAC-K increased significantly with the application of
biocompost. Fertilizer application also increased Olsen P and NH4OAC-K contents in soil. The results of this
study showed that biocompost can be used along with mineral fertilizers to increase maize growth and dry matter
yield.
Keywords: Maize, Dry matter yield, Pressmud Biocompost;
INTRODUCTION
Generally the soils of Pakistan are deficient in N, whereas 80% soils are deficient in P and 30-40% soils
are also deficient in K. Majority of soils contain <1.0% organic matter. Continuous cropping without application
of organic materials is leading to depletion of available nutrients and organic matter. The situation calls for
integrated use of organic sources of nutrients such as FYM, poultry manure, press mud etc., along with mineral
fertilizer sources.
Among the organic sources of nutrition, pressmud occupies unique position as a by-product of sugar
industry. Pressmud can serve as a good source of organic matter (Bokhtiar et al., 2001), an alternate source of
crop nutrients and soil ameliorant (Razzaq, 2001). It is also known as filter cake or filter mud, and used as
fertilizer in soils (Raman et al., 1999; Barry et al., 2001). It contains much of the colloidal organic matter anions
that precipitate during clarification, as well as certain non-sugar occluded in these precipitates. It is the residue
obtained from sedimentation of the suspended materials such as fiber, sugar, wax, ash, soil and other particles
from the cane juice. The organic fraction of pressmud is 15-30% fiber, 5-15% crude protein, 5-15% sugar, 5-
15% crude wax and fats and 10-20% ash comprising oxides of Si, Ca, P, Mg and K (Partha and
Sivasubramanian, 2006). This organic matter is highly soluble and readily available to the microbial activity and
so to the soil (Gaikwad et al., 1996; Rangaraj et al., 2007).
The weight of wet filter mud (80% water) averages about 3.4% cane. There are many physical, chemical
and biological advantages of pressmud. It improves structure, texture, aeration, water-holding capacity, and
porosity and increases stress tolerance. The yields of various crops including maize and millet showed
substantial increases with pressmud (PM) applications (Rangaraj et al., 2007; Elsayed et al., 2008) that were
attributed to the improvement in soil physical, chemical and biological conditions (Barry et al., 2001).
Maize dry matter yields increased with increasing nitrogen and pressmud rates (Bangar et al., 2000).
Memon (2005) reported that the raw pressmud had depressing effect on dry matter yield of maize, and that the
benefit of previously applied pressmud was evident in the subsequent wheat crop. Viator et al. (2002) reported
that filter cake increases cation exchange capacity for thirty months after its application and its residual effect
remains after four years.
In addition to pressmud, the sugur mills running distillery unit also produce another by product called
“spent wash”. These two by products and fly ash are mixed in a certain ratio and composted for 4-6 weeks before
it is sold as “biocompost” by sugar mills. While pressmud is the basic material used in preparation of
biocompost, spent wash is sprinkled on it during composting process. The resulting “biocompost” is therefore
considered to be rich in nutrients and ready to be applied to soils as a soil amendment.
2. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online)
Vol.4, No.23, 2014
143
Keeping in view the significance of pressmud in the present scenario of agriculture and availability of
nutrients, this study was conducted to determine the value of bio-compost prepared from sugar cane pressmud
using maize as a test crop.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A pot experiment was conduced in the Ware House of the Department of Soil Science. Bulk
sample of fertile soil (plough layer) was collected from Latif Experimental Farm of Sindh Agriculture University
Tandojam. The soil was air dried and passed through 4 mm garden sieve. Ten kilogram air dried soil was placed
in each of the 24 plastic pots. The experiment was laidout with eight treatments with three replications in a
randomized complete block design (RCBD). The treatments were factorial combination of four rates of mineral
fertilizer and two rates of biocompost. The details of the treatment combinations are as under.
Fertilizer treatments (Four)
Control = No fertilizer applied
N = 150 kg N ha-1
NP = 150 kg N+75 kg P2O5 ha-1
NPK = 150 kg N + 75 P2O5 + 60 kg K2O ha-1
Biocompost tretments (Two)
1. -Biocompost = No biocompost applied
2. +Biocompost = Biocompost at 10 t ha -1
Analysis
Soil sampling
The soil samples were analyzed for some physico-chemical properties by internationally recognized
methods as follows: Soil texture (particle size) by Bouyoucos Hydrometer method as described by Bouyoucos
(1962), EC (dSm-1
) and pH of 1:5 soil water extract by digital Conductivity Meter and digital pH Meter
respectively, organic matter by Walkley-Black method as described by Jackson (1958), available P by Olsen’s
(Olsen’s et al. 1954) NaHCO3 (0.5M, pH 8.5) extraction followed by colour development by ascorbic acid
method as given by Murphy and Riley (1964), and extractable K by extraction with 1N ammonium acetate
followed by analysis of the extract on flame photometer as described by Jackson (1958).
Biocompost and plant
Biocompost used in this study and the plant samples drawn at harvesting from each treatment were
analyzed for total N, P and K. Total N was determined by digestion with concentrated H2SO4 along with a
mixture of selenium, CuSO4 and K2SO4 in 0.1:1:10 ratio using Kjeltech Digestion System 20. The digests were
distilled by using Kjeltech Distillation Unit 1002 as described by Winkleman et al. (1986).
For P and K, the plant samples were digested in 1:5 HClO4: HNO3 mixture followed by analysis of the
digest by vandomolybdophosphoric acid yellow colour method (Barton, 1954) for P and flame photometer for K
(Jackson, 1958).
Data analysis
The data were statistically analysed by using software Statistix 8.1 and the calculations were made using
following formulae.
1. Standard Error for Difference between Means (S.E.D) was calculated using the following formula:
S.E.D = (√2EMS/n) EMS= Error Mean Square.
2. Least Significant Difference (LS.D) = S.E.D x t value for Error df at 5% probability level.
3. Coefficient of Variance (%) = (√MSE / Grand Mean) x 100.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Soil properties
The soil used for the experiment was analyzed for some physico-chemical properties (Table 1). The results
revealed that the soil was a clay loam (31% clay) with EC 0.35 dSm-1
, and pH 7.87. It was low in organic matter
(0.80%), and Olsen P (7.0 mg kg-1
), and adequate in NH4OAc – extractable K (320 mg kg-1
).
3. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online)
Vol.4, No.23, 2014
144
Table 1. Physico-chemical properties of the soil used for pot experiment on maize.
Soil property Values
Texture
Sand (%) 26.5
Silt (%) 42.5
Clay (%) 31.0
Textural Class Clay loam
EC (1: 5 soil – water extract) (dS m-1
) 0.35
pH (1:5 soil – water extract) 7.87
Organic matter (%) 0.80
Olsen P (mg kg-1
) 7.0
NH4OAc- extractable K (mg kg-1
) 320
Uptake of N in maize
The data presented on Table 2 showed that there was pronounced positive effect of addition of
biocompost as well as mineral fertilizer treatments on N uptake in maize. Overall, the N uptake ranged from
9.03% to 15.41%. On an average, the N uptake increased by 28.2% from 10.39 to 13.20% with addition of
biocompost. When biocompost was applied alone to unamended soil, the N uptake increased from 9.03% to
12.21%. Similarly the applications of N fertilizer also increased it significantly to 11.38% and to 15.41% when
biocompost was also added. It was noted that there was no effect of P fertilization (NP treatment) on N uptake,
and that the addition of K fertilizer (NPK treatment) showed decline in N uptake. The effect of fertilizer and
biocompost treatments was similar in all combinations, thus the interaction between fertilizer and biocompost
treatments was observed non significant.
Table 2. Effect of biocompost and mineral fertilizer treatments on N uptake in maize.
Fertilizer treatment - Biocompost + Biocomost * Fertilizer Mean
Control 9.03 12.21 10.26b
N 11.38 15.41 13.39a
NP 11.63 13.54 12.59a
NPK 9.53 11.65 10.59b
Biocompost Mean 10.39b 13.20a 10.59
*Biocompost is prepared from sugarcane filtercake and other waste materials of sugarmill, as detailed in
methodology section.
C V% 13.03
S.E 1.53
L.S.D @ 5%
Fertilizer 1.90
Biocompost 1.34
Fertilizer x Biocompost NS
DISCUSSIONS
Recycling of organic wastes of animal and plant origin is being advocated, along with
chemical fertilizers, as a part of integrated plant nutrition management system. Sugarcane filter cake or pressmud
is valued as a soil amendment and an important source of crop nutrients. It is discarded as a solid waste from
sugarmills or used as manure. It is a source of replenishing nutrients in the soil either alone or in combination
with fertilizer to subsidize the input costs (Khattak and Bhatti, 1986, Hussain and Anjum, 1999). Some sugar
mills enrich pressmud and convert it into a product called as “Biocompost”. This is done by composting of
pressmud after adding distillery spent wash and fly ash in a certain ratio and allowing it to compost for 4-6
weeks before the product is sold as “Biocompost”. This study was undertaken to investigate the comparative
value of biocompost and mineral fertilizer in dry matter yield and nutrition of maize.
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Nutrient composition on pressmud
Pressmud sample from Matiari Sugar Mills of Sindh revealed that it contained sufficient amount of
nutrients for application as soil amendment. Average values of total N, P and K contents were 1.8% N, 1.83% P
and 0.9% K. Many workers have reported the nutrient composition of pressmud. Ibrahim et al. (1999) collected
pressmud samples from five sugarmills of Punjab province of Pakistan and observed variable proportion of plant
nutrients from one mill to another. The values ranged from 1.7-2.3, 1.0-1.3 and 0.6-0.8 % N, P and K
respectively. Besides this, pressmud also contained sufficient amount of micronutrients, which ranged from 58-
71, 4750-5904, 249-330, and 143-220 mg kg-1
Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn respectively.
In one study, Memon (2005) collected sample of pressmud from twenty-one sugarmills of
Sindh and analyzed for macro and micronutrient contents. The analytical data showed that the values ranged
from 1.38-2.29%, 1.29-1.90%, and 0.62-1.98% for total N, P and K respectively and reported that the nutrient
contents of pressmud were not only variable from one mill to the other, but also when the samples were taken at
different times from the same mill. The value for N, P and K contents of the biocompost obtained in this study
fall within the range of the values.
Pot experiment on maize
The results of pot study on maize showed that there was pronounced positive effect of addition
of biocompost on plant height and dry weights. Similarly, addition of fertilizer, particularly N, increased plant
height and dry weights. However, similar study conducted by Memon (2005) revealed that their were
pronounced positive effects of addition of fertilizers, particularly nitrogen on plant height and dry weights, and
depressing effect of pressmud (5 t ha-1
) on maize growth and dry matter. However increase from 5 to 15 tons ha-1
slightly improved the growth and yield performance of maize. Drastic decline in maize dry matter yield was
observed when the rate of pressmud was increased from 15 to 25 tons ha-1
. Plant analysis data revealed
significant increase in N contents with the application of N fertilizer but P and K fertilization and pressmud did
not significantly influence the N contents. It was hypothesized that the initial depressing effect of pressmud was
related to presence of unrecompensed organic matter and the high rates of pressmud. Thus the benefit of
pressmud was observed in a follow up experiment on wheat involving same soil and previously applied
pressmud. These data therefore show that pressmud could be used in the fields for increasing crop production.
However, it was observed that the pressmud also contains large proportion of organic matter,
which upon incorporation in soil undergoes the process of decomposition coupled with enhanced microbial
activity. Being exothermic in nature, and having grown maize in plastic pots exposed to solar radiation, it
resulted in negative effects on plant growth. These finding are also correlated with the finding by Hamdard et al.
(2004) who conducted series of field experiments for evaluating the filtercake, a sugar industry waste, as a plant
nutrition source alone was well as in various combinations with chemical fertilizers in maize-wheat cropping
system. Pooled analysis of three years data showed that maximum wheat grain yield 4.65 tons ha-1
was obtained
where all NP was applied in the form of chemical fertilizers and closely followed by where 25 and 50% NP was
applied in the form of filtercake giving grain yield 4.40 and 4.33 tons ha-1
, respectively. The use of filtercake
increased NP contents in wheat grain but were statistically at par with chemical fertilizers. In case of maize,
filtercake improved NPK contents in maize fodder over control but these were relatively lower than chemical
fertilizer. Pooled soil analysis data revealed that combined use of filtercake and chemical fertilizers also
increased NPK contents and improved organic matter status of the soil. Thus for the judicious use of filtercake it
can be applied up to 50% on nutrient basis, preferably 25% with chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture.
Results also revealed that addition of biocompost contributed to improvement in soil properties
including organic matter, and available P and K contents. Such beneficial effect of pressmud, and thus
biocompost, has been reported in many studies. Juwarkar et al. (1993) conducted studies to optimise application
of pressmud along with fertilizer on clay soil for maximizing the production of jowar, wheat, moong and
sugarcane crops and evaluating residual effect of pressmud on crop growth. Application of 20 t/ha pressmud and
addition of NPK equivalent to 75% of recommended dose to each crop through fertilizers were found to be
beneficial and gave 21-43% higher crop yield. Residual effect of pressmud continued upto 3 years and 15-31%
higher crop yield was obtained even in third year with the addition of only 75% of recommended nutrients
through fertilizers. Pressmud application to soil helped to improve the infiltration rate from 4.7 to 5.6 cm per
day. There was no appreciable change in soil pH but organic matter, available P and K increased significantly
over control. In one study Aziz et al. (2010) evaluated the beneficial effects of different sources of organic
manures on soil physico-chemical properties and growth of maize. Organic manures viz. farm yard manure,
poultry manure and pressmud were added in soil filled earthen pots at 10 t ha-1
. Results revealed that organic
matter content, phosphorus and potassium bioavailability in soil and their uptake by plants were increased by
organic manure application irrespective of the source. Likewise organic manure substantially improved the plant
height, leaf area and shoots and root fresh and dry weights. Similarly shoot phosphorus and potassium contents
were also improved by the application of organic manures. This improved growth was mainly due to increased
5. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online)
Vol.4, No.23, 2014
146
soil nutrient availability and uptake by plants. Comparing different sources, phosphorus and potassium
concentration in plants were maximum in poultry manure treatment and farm yard manure, respectively.
LITERATURE CITED
Aziz, T., S. Ullah, A. Sattar, M. Nasim, M. Farooq and M.M. Khan. 2010. Nutrient availability and maize (Zea
mays L.) growth in soil amended with organic manures. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 12: 621–624.
Bangar, K.S., B.B. Parmar and A. Maini. 2000. Effect of nitrogen and pressmud application on yield and uptake
of N, P and K by sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). Crop Research (Hisar), 19(2): 198-203.
Barry, G.A., G.E. Rayment, A.J. Jeffery and A.M. Price. 2001. Changes in cane soil properties from application
of sugar mill by-products. p. 185-199. In: Proceeding Conference of the Australian Society of Sugarcane
Technology, Mackay, Queensland, Australia.
Elsayed, M.T., M.H. Babiker, M.E. Abdelmalik, O.N. Mukhtar and D. Montange. 2008. Impact of filter mud
application on the germination of sugarcane and small-seeded plants and on soil and sugarcane nitrogen
contents. Bioresource Technology 99:4164-4168.
Gaikwad, S.S., R.B. Puranik and S.D. Deshmukh. 1996. Dynamics of soil microbial population and nutrient
availability as influenced by application of pressmud cake in an Entisol. Journal of Soils and Crops 6(1):
82-85.
Hussain, T. and S. Anjum. 1999. Role of biofertilizer in boosting agriculture. Daily Dawn. Economics and
Business Review. October 4-10. p.3.
Hamdard, M.S., A. Sattar and U. Farooq. 2004. Studies on the use of Filtercake as a source of NP for increasing
crop production and its effects on crop quality. In: Proc. Of 10th
Congress Of Soil science held at Sindh
Agriculture University Tando Jam. March 16-19, 2004.pp. 75.
Ibrahim, M. A. Rashid, A.S. Munir. 1999. use of sugar industry by-Product (pressmud) at the national Seminar
on Sugarcane Production held at Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad, Jan. 21-22, 1999.
Juwarkar, A.S., P.B. Deshbhratar, S.A. Bal, and A. Shende. 1993. Pressmud application to soil effect on soil and
crops. J. Ind. Po11.Cont. 9 (1):21-26.
Memon, S. 2005. Effect of pressmud on the growth, yield and chemical composition of maize. M.Sc. Thesis,
Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan.
Partha, N. and V. Sivasubramanian. 2006. Recovery of chemicals from pressmud- A sugar industry waste. Indian
Chemical Engineering Section 48(3): 160-163.
Razzaq, A. 2001. Assessing sugarcane filter cake as crop nutrients and soil health ameliorant. Pak. Sug. J., 21(3):
15-18.
Viator, R.P., J.L. Kovar and W.B. Hallmark. 2002. Gypsum and compost effects on sugarcane root growth,
yield, and plant nutrients. Agron. J. 94: 1332-1336.
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