International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Evaluation of in-vessel co-composting of yard waste and development of kinetic models for co-composting Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Evaluation of in-vessel co-composting of yard waste and development of kinetic models for co-composting 10.1007/s40093-015-0095-1 EN K. M. Sangamithirai A. C. Tech, Anna University J. Jayapriya A. C. Tech, Anna University J. Hema PSG College of Technology Ravi Manoj A. C. Tech, Anna University Journal Article 2024 02 01 Background Organic solid waste management is a major challenge in high population density areas like apartments, educational institutions, hospitals, etc., as their disposal with other wastes could not only lead to issues like vector menace, odour generation but also would lead to loss of resources that could be reused such as nutrients which will benefit soil. In places like educational institutions, the major portion of waste generated is organic waste, especially food waste and yard waste from the campus, apart from paper waste. Composting is an organic waste treatment method that is cost effective and leads to resource recovery. In this study, the characteristics of composting of yard waste and co-composting of yard waste with wastes generated in an institution (university campuses of Anna University, Chennai, India) are examined. The composts were characterized in terms of total solids, volatile solids, pH, electrical conductivity, carbon: nitrogen (C:N) ratio and total Kjeldahl nitrogen. The stability index and germination index of the compost were assessed. Results The C:N ratio of all the different composts (except the one generated from yard with canteen waste consisting of vegetable waste) produced in this study has a value less than 30:1, which satisfies the basic requirements for the compost. It was also observed that the mature compost from these feedstocks did not have heavy metals at toxic levels. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the co-composting of yard wastes with paper and canteen wastes (fruit, coffee grounds, tea leaf waste) could produce value-added products. In addition to that, kinetic models were developed to predict the decomposition rate constant of the process.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Foliar application of liquid biofertilizer of brown alga Stoechospermum marginatum on growth, biochemical and yield of Solanum melongena Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Foliar application of liquid biofertilizer of brown alga Stoechospermum marginatum on growth, biochemical and yield of Solanum melongena 10.1007/s40093-015-0096-0 EN S. Sivasangari Ramya Sri Sarada Niketan College for Women Amaravathipudur N. Vijayanand Arumugam Pillai Seethai Ammal College S. Rathinavel Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous) Journal Article 2024 02 01 Background Seaweed extracts are used as nutrient supplements, biostimulants and or biofertilizers as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in agriculture. The study was set up to evaluate the biofertilizing efficiency of liquid extracts of brown marine alga Stoechospermum marginatum on growth, biochemical and yield of brinjal, a vegetable crop. To achieve the objectives, liquid extracts at different concentrations were prepared and applied as foliar spray on the brinjal seedlings raised in experimental pots maintained under natural conditions. Results After 30 and 180 days, the growth and biochemical parameters and yield attributes were monitored, respectively. The results exhibited that shoot and root length, total fresh and dry weight, leaf area and the content of moisture, photosynthetic pigments, protein, amino acids, reducing sugar, ascorbic acid and nitrate reductase activity were found to be enhanced in the leaves of brinjal plants which received 1.5 % of Stoechospermum marginatum extracts. Similarly, number of fruits and fruit weight were also increased at lower concentration only (1.5 %). In contrast, liquid extracts at high concentration (5 %) was found to have inhibitory effect on brinjal plants as compared to the control sprayed with water. Conclusions The study evidence that lower concentrations were found to show promoting effect on growth and productivity of brinjal plants. The fertilizing efficiency of liquid extracts of testing marine alga might me due to the presence of micro and macro nutrients, growth hormones and vitamins at preferential levels. It can be concluded that seaweed extracts could be used as eco-friendly liquid biofertilizer to substitute chemical fertilizer and also play a pivotal role in organic farming practices toward sustainable agriculture.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Assessment of compost quality in agitated pile composting of water hyacinth collected from different sources Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Assessment of compost quality in agitated pile composting of water hyacinth collected from different sources 10.1007/s40093-015-0097-z EN Jiwan Singh Department of Environmental Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, Republic of Korea Ajay S. Kalamdhad Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) Ajay S. Kalamdhad Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) Journal Article 2024 02 01 Background Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) can cause a diversity of problems due to its fast spread and congested growth. The composting of water hyacinth can reduce the chemical fertilizer application to the agricultural field and problems related to its fast growth rate and also help in nutrient recycling. The present study was carried out on agitated pile composting of water hyacinth collected from four different areas (Bharalu River, Agriculture site, Boragaon landfill site and Industrial site). The nutrients and stability parameters were evaluated during the 30 days of agitated pile composting of water hyacinth mixed with cattle manure and sawdust. The stability of compost was evaluated using respiration techniques (CO2 evolution and oxygen uptake rate). Results Results showed that nutrients (Na, K, Ca, total nitrogen and phosphorus) were increased significantly in all agitated pile composting. Stability parameters such as CO2 evolution rate and oxygen uptake rate, biochemical chemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand were reduced significantly during the process. Highest reduction of moisture content (35.2 %), volatile solid (40.5 %), ammonical nitrogen (75.6 %), biochemical oxygen demand (65.3 %), CO2 evolution rate (78.7 %), and oxygen uptake rate (74.4 %) were observed in the agitated pile of Bharalu River site as compared to other agitated piles. The higher increase of total nitrogen (83.5 %) and total phosphorus (76.0 %) was also observed in the agitated pile of Bharalu River site. Conclusion Addition of optimum amount of cattle manure was highly efficient for making compost of water hyacinth collected from four different sites. Highest content of nutrients was found in compost of water hyacinth collected from Bharalu River site due to availability of nutrients in sewage water. In the final compost of all trials, total coliform and fecal coliform were reduced significantly, which are pathogen indicators in the compost. The best compost quality was found in water hyacinth collected from Bharalu River site.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) A bibliometric analysis on the solid waste-related research from 1982 to 2013 in Iran Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 A bibliometric analysis on the solid waste-related research from 1982 to 2013 in Iran 10.1007/s40093-015-0098-y EN Alireza Mesdaghinia Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Amir Hossein Mahvi Center for Solid Waste Research (CSWR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Simin Nasseri Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ramin Nabizadeh Nodehi Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mahdi Hadi Center for Water Quality Research (CWQR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 02 01 Background A bibliometric analysis was used to assess the trend of solid waste-related publications produced by Iran and indexed in Scopus from 1982 to 2013. The study aims to analyze the distribution of languages, countries, institutes, journals, author keywords, authorship pattern and co-authorship relationships. Results The publication outputs showed an exponential trend (R2 = 0.98) and increased by 45.3 % per year from 1982 to 2011. It was received with a decreasing trend to 44 papers at the end of 2013. Journal of Environmental Studies published the most papers. University of Tehran (25 %), Islamic Azad University (8.24 %), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (7.35 %) played active roles in the publication and Abduli MA was the most productive author (9.12 %) in this field. The English language was dominant language of all publications (88.24 %). The appearance of keywords namely ‘‘Heavy metals’’, ‘‘landfill leachate’’ and ‘‘site selection’’ reveals the importance of release of heavy metals through landfill leachates and site selection issues in Iran. Conclusions A downward trend in the number of publications is likely to be continued in future years. The highest cooperation was found among the capital universities in Iran and other institutions had a minor role in the production of articles. It is hoped that transferring the experiences by main universities and starting up teamwork activities may increase the number of researches in this field. It is expected that this study could be the basis for a better understanding of development of researches related to solid waste in Iran.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Agricultural waste as growing media component for the growth and flowering of Gerbera jamesonii cv. hybrid mix Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Agricultural waste as growing media component for the growth and flowering of Gerbera jamesonii cv. hybrid mix 10.1007/s40093-015-0099-x EN Atif Riaz Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Adnan Younis Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Imran Ghani University of Agriculture Usman Tariq Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Muhammad Ahsan University of Agriculture Journal Article 2024 02 01 Purpose This study was performed to investigate the impact of various agricultural wastes as potting media on growth, yield, and quality flower production of Gerbera jamesonii L. cv. hybrid mix, and to estimate hazardous impact of chemical fertilizers. Method The effect of four agricultural substrates viz. farm yard manure, coconut coir dust, Lahore compost (local produce), and leaf compost combined with conventional media i.e., garden soil, sand, and silt in equal proportion was studied for commercial production of gerbera. All the treatment combinations were arranged into completely randomized design with three replicates. Result Visible variations in morphological characters were evidenced among conventional medium and agricultural waste as substrates with significant superiority of flower quality and plant growth. The presented results showed that treatment combination of silt, coconut coir dust, and top soil (SCT) produced maximum plant height while mixture of silt, Lahore compost and top soil (SLT) gave maximum number of leaves per plant and maximum flower stalk thickness. The highest values for leaf area, number of roots, flower fresh to dry weight ratio and number of flowers per plant were achieved in combination of silt, farm yard manure, and top soil (SFT) whereas silt, sand, and top soil (SST) presented maximum flower diameter, maximum fresh, and dry weight of flowers. Chemical characteristics of growing media showed superiority of silt, farm yard manure, and top soil (SFT) and silt, sand, and top soil (STL) for available phosphorus and potassium with values of 27.0 and 500 ppm, respectively. Conclusion It was concluded that the application of waste materials in combination with silt provided positive results for vegetative and reproductive growth of Gerbera jamesonii plants.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Effect of plant growth on some physical properties of potting culture media Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Effect of plant growth on some physical properties of potting culture media 10.1007/s40093-015-0100-8 EN A. Mohammadi-Ghehsareh Islamic Azad University of Isfahan Journal Article 2024 02 01 Background Physical properties of substrates considered appropriate for plant growth at planting may change over time in containers as a result of several processes. Changes include air space reduction, shrinkage of the substrate, organic matter decomposition, and physical breakdown of particles. The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical properties of date palm waste as culture media and its effect on number and yield of tomato fruit. Results The experiment was conducted as factorial in a completely randomized block design with 9 treatments and 3 replications. Treatments included three sizes (S1 =.5, S2 = 0.5–1, and S3 = 1–2 cm) and three composting times (C1 = 0, C2 = 3, and C3 = 6 months) of date palm waste. Statistical analysis showed that the values of bulk density (BD) and water holding capacity (WHC) were significantly increased at the end of cultivation from culture media without plant in comparison to before and after planting (p.05). Amounts of Ft (total porosity) in culture media without plant were significantly higher than those in culture media before planting and with plant (p.05). Also during the experiment, an apparent shift in physical properties was recorded. Conclusion The overall results of this research indicated that composting process changed the physical properties of the media before planting. Also during the experiment, an apparent shift in physical properties was recorded. The results of the study showed that composting processes continued in culture media with and without plant, in the mean time, the composting processes were higher in culture media without plant.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Application of spent Agaricus subrufescens compost in integrated production of seedlings and plants of tomato Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Application of spent Agaricus subrufescens compost in integrated production of seedlings and plants of tomato 10.1007/s40093-015-0101-7 EN Raul Xavier Lopes Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Rovilson José De Souza Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Diego Cunha Zied Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) Eustáquio Souza Dias Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Emerson Tokuda Martos Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Rovilson José De Souza Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Romildo Da Silva Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Eustáquio Souza Dias Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Journal Article 2024 02 01 Purpose Spent mushroom compost (SMC) is a major solid waste product of the mushroom industry and is the material which remains at the end of a mushroom crop. Methods Different proportions of the SMC from Agaricus subrufescens cultivation were tested to produce seedlings and plants of tomato. A commercial substrate was used, both as a control and in combination with the spent compost in different proportions. So two experiments were carried out, the first was the production and evaluation of tomato seedlings and the second was tomato cultivation from seedlings produced in the first experiment. Results The use of different proportions of spent A. subrufescens compost resulted in a decreasing trend of all the parameters in the production of the tomato seedlings. However, in tomato cultivation for all periods of harvest, a positive effect was observed in fruiting when the seedlings were produced with spent A. subrufescens compost in comparison to the commercial control. Conclusion It was concluded that the use of spent A. subrufescens compost for seedling production led to a higher total tomato production compared to previously reported production levels in organic cultivation systems with green, organic and other types of fertilization. These results demonstrated the great potential of spent A. subrufescens compost for use in organic tomato production because of the better quality of harvested fruit.

International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA) Obtaining commercial humic products from uncomposted manures: previous acid hydrolysis to enhance yields Volume 4 (2015) Issue 3, September 2015 2024 02 01 Obtaining commercial humic products from uncomposted manures: previous acid hydrolysis to enhance yields 10.1007/s40093-015-0102-6 EN Carla Bellera Forest Science Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) Issa Abaalkheel KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology) Pere Rovira Forest Science Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) Jamal Alrefai KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology) Journal Article 2024 02 01 Purpose In Saudi Arabia, owing to the abundant livestock, manures are a source of commercial humic amendments. Climate (hot weather plus scarcity of water sources) makes composting very difficult and compulsory to obtain these humic amendments without any previous composting step. A substantial fraction of manures, cellulosic in nature, are unextractable by alkaline solutions. Our aim is to verify whether a sequential combination of acid hydrolysis and KOH extraction could result in higher yields and better quality of the humic extract. Methods Acid hydrolysis was applied to manures either (1) in a single step, with HCl or H2SO4, or (2) in two steps (Saeman method). In both cases, acid hydrolysis was followed by extraction with hot KOH. Results Acid hydrolysis before KOH extraction increases total extracted organic matter. If acid hydrolysis is performed, the proportion of humic fractions in the KOH extract alone is strongly increased, reaching very high values (up to 80 % of C in the KOH extract after Saeman acid hydrolysis). Acid hydrolysis enhances some optical indicators of humification (E4E6, aromaticity, EBTZ ratio) in the KOH extract. Nevertheless, because increasing acid concentration enhances carbohydrate extraction but decreases that of compounds other than carbohydrates, the overall result may be a drop in the proportion of humic fractions in the whole extracted matter (acid hydrolysate ? KOH extract). Conclusions Acid hydrolysis improves yields of commercial humic extracts from manures. However, care must be taken to avoid a decrease in the richness of humic fractions in the obtained products.