Residual effects of manure or compost application can maintain crop yield level for several years after Residual effects of manure or compost application on crop production and soil properties can last for several years. This study was manure or compost application ceases since only a fracconducted to evaluate residual effects of annual or biennial application of the N and other nutrients in ma...

Composts prepared from a variety of feedstocks were tested for their ability to suppress seedling and root diseases of creeping bentgrass caused by Pythium graminicola. Among the most suppressive materials in laboratory experiments were different batches of a brewery sludge compost and a biosolids compost from Endicott, N.Y. Batches of these composts that were initially not suppressive to Pythi...

The effects of adding of a range of organic amendments (biosolids, spent mushroom compost, green waste compost and green waste-derived biochar), at two rates, on some key chemical, physical and microbial properties of bauxite processing sand were studied in a laboratory incubation study. Addition of all amendments tended to decrease bulk density and macroporosity but increase total porosity, av...

The survival rate of Phytophthora ramorum was assessed when introduced at high rates into composts of varying provenance and curing time, produced by both “turned windrow” and “forced air static pile” techniques. Survival in some compost media was high and statistically indistinguishable from positive controls (P<0.01), while other sources were statistically indistinguishable from negative cont...

Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential of composted organic wastes not only as substitutes for peat as a growth substrate but also to stimulate plant growth and suppress soil-borne diseases. The major impediment to the use of compost as substrates or biocontrol agents has been variation in physical and chemical characteristics and disease suppression levels across and within compost t...

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the residual effect of rock phosphate and waste mica enriched compost on phosphorus and potassium supplying capacity under soybean crop grown after wheat in a Typic Haplustept. Enriched compost prepared using rice straw, rock phosphate, waste mica and Aspergillus awamori had higher chemical (total P, K, Ca, Mg and micronutrients) as well as biologica...

A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effect of compost and bio-fertilizers on the growth, yield and oil constituents of marjoram (Majorana hortensis L.). Forty five days old seedling were transplanted in soil treated with 15 and 30% aqueous extracts of compost and/or biofertilizers (mixture of Azospirillum brasilienses, Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus polymyxa & B. circulans) in ad...

Phytoextraction of mercury-contaminated soils is a new strategy that consists of using the higher plants to make the soil contaminant nontoxic. The main problem that occurs during the process is the low solubility and bioavailability of mercury in soil. Therefore, some soil amendments can be used to increase the efficiency of the Hg phytoextraction process. The aim of the investigation was to u...

Oil palm fibres are easy to degrade, eco-friendly in nature and once composted, they can be categorized under nutrient-enriched biocompost. Biocompost is not only a good biofertilizer but also a good biocontrol agent against soil-borne pathogens. In this research, experimental works on the composting of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from the oil palm industry were conducted using two potential Tric...

Composting has been used for disposal of poultry carcasses and manure following outbreaks caused by avian influenza virus (AIV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), but methods are needed to test for survival of the viruses in compost to ensure biosecurity. Methods developed in the present study include extracting viruses from compost and purifying viral RNA. The extracted viruses were detected b...