OBJECTIVES In a cross sectional study, work related health complaints and diseases of 58 compost workers and 53 biowaste collectors were investigated and compared with 40 control subjects. Levels of specific IgG antibodies to moulds and bacteria were measured as immunological markers of exposure to bioaerosols. METHODS With a standardised protocol, the participants of the study were interview...

Zinnia is an annual plant with the long flowering period from late spring to mid-autumn. It is a popular plant for landscape. In the present study, the effect of two types of growth promoting bacteria and Azolla compost on some ornamental characteristics of Zinnia were evaluated in pot cultivation and greenhouse conditions. The factorial experiment was conducted in three replications based on a...

The average American generates approximately 4.5 pounds of garbage per day, for a total of 196 million tons of trash per year, most of which ends up in landfills (Shortridge, 1993). Various government and private programs have been organized to divert part of this garbage (metals, plastics, paper and cardboard, and yard and food wastes) from landfills by recycling. Yard and food wastes often ar...

This study was undertaken in the context of a project of reclamation of a burned forest area applying municipal waste compost (MWC) and it consisted of an incubation experience carried out under laboratory conditions. The objectives of this research were to asses the effect of three doses of MWC added to burned and unburned calcareous soils on a) SOM mineralization and b) soil microbiological p...

To explore soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation mechanisms, the dynamics of C functional groups and macroaggregation were studied synchronously through aggregate fractionation and (13)C NMR spectroscopy in sandy loam soil following an 18-year application of compost and fertilizer in China. Compared with no fertilizer control, both compost and fertilizer improved SOC content, while the applica...

Runoff and interrill erosion were measured on three composted organics applied at 5-cm and 10-cm depths, a topsoil treatment (15-cm application), and the existing soil on a highway embankment with a 3 to 1 slope. Treatments were tested immediately after preparation and six weeks later to allow for the vegetative cover crop to grow. Rainfall simulations were conducted at an average intensity of ...

Fertilizer amendments can impact weed populations in a variety of ways. This study evaluated the effects of 12 year-long applications of different fertilization systems on size and composition of the weed seed bank in a conventionally managed maize monoculture field. Fertilization systems included all factorial combinations of two dairy cattle slurry rates, three vegetable, fruit and garden was...

The effects of a yard waste compost amendment and crop establishment on nematode populations and yields of suscep­ tible vegetable crops were determined in two tests in Florida in sites infested with the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Main plot treatments consisted of 269 mt/ha of a yard waste com­ post applied as a mulch, 269 mt/ha of the compost incorporated into the soil, and an ...

Dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) were polarized at different constant potential values for several days in garden compost. After an initial lag period ranging from 1 to 10.5 days, the current increased fast and then stabilized for days. Current densities higher than 100 mA m(-2) and up to 385 mA m(-2) were obtained with the sole organic matter contained in compost as substrate. Control experim...