Abstract:
The application of microbial ameliorators (MA) is a promising method to improve
compost quality. Hence, this study was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture,
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, to investigate the effect of incorporating MA into
compost production. A commercially available MA was added to the compost prepared
following the standard procedures (SP). Two treatments were tested: T1-compost
SP (control) and T2-compost SP + MA with three replicates for each. The experiment
was conducted in a Complete Randomized Design and data were analyzed by t-test
using R software. The experiment involved measuring various chemical properties,
including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP),
total potassium (TK) and organic carbon (OC) over two months at 10-day intervals. The
temperature of the compost piles was recorded daily. Moisture content (MC), and C:N
ratio were assessed at the end and all measured parameters were compared against Sri
Lanka Standards (SLS) for compost. The results revealed that the MA-added compost
exhibited higher nutrient levels with TN (1.69%±0.18), TP (1.11%±0.06) and TK (1.68%±
0.11) with exceeding SLS for compost (SLS: TN-1%, TP-0.5% and TK-1%). The EC of the
MA-added compost was 3.47 dSm-1 (SLS: max 4.0 dSm-1) and pH remained within the
acceptable range at 7.16 (SLS: 6.5-8.5). The C:N ratio of MA-added compost was 17
(SLS: 10-25) and MC was 46% (SLS: 40-60%). Throughout the compost production, pile
temperature fluctuated between 30-37 oC. Overall, MA-enriched compost proved to
be a greater plant nutrient source compared to conventional compost, achieving SLS
maturity indices and proving its potential as an effective organic fertilizer. However,
further research is recommended to validate these findings.
