The release of phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) from swine manure compost and from soils applied with swine manure compost can be accelerated by colloidal particles. This study investigated the concentrations and chemical species of P and Zn in water-dispersible colloids (WDCs) collected from swine manure compost by using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. A filtration and ultrace...

Compost product safety and quality assurance are required to meet the needs of the horticultural, agricultural, and silvicultural user markets. At present, there exist no industry-wide sampling and testing protocols for compost products, thus limiting the production sector. The objective of this research was to test three methods for determining compost maturity. The study followed the composti...

This investigation was carried out at the experimental farm of Medicinal and Aromatic plants Research Department, Horticulture Research, Dokki, Giza during two successive seasons of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011.The research aimed to study the effect of compost rates (2,4and 8 ton/fed) and some biofertilizers (Azotobacter Chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus circulanse) alone or all strains in ...

Legionella longbeachae, found in soil and compost-derived products, is a globally underdiagnosed cause of Legionnaires' disease. We conducted a case-control study of L. longbeachae Legionnaires' disease in Canterbury, New Zealand. Case-patients were persons hospitalized with L. longbeachae pneumonia, and controls were persons randomly sampled from the electoral roll for the area served by the p...

Suppressive composts represent a sustainable approach to combat soilborne plant pathogens and an alternative to the ineffective chemical fungicides used against those. Nevertheless, suppressiveness to plant pathogens and reliability of composts are often inconsistent with unpredictable effects. While suppressiveness is usually attributed to the compost's microorganisms, the mechanisms governing...

Composted organic biomasses at 60, 90, and 150 days of maturity were studied for changes in molecular composition. Compost samples were subjected to a mild sequential fractionation based on (1) organic solvent extraction, (2) transesterification with boron trifluoride in methanol (BF3-CH3OH), and (3) methanolic alkaline hydrolysis (KOH-CH3OH). The general chemical variations in compost residues...

In situ soil amendments can modify the Pb bioavailability by changing soil Pb speciation. Urban soils from three vegetable gardens containing different total Pb concentrations were used. The study evaluated how compost amendment and aging of soil-compost mixture in situ affected the following: (i) soil Pb speciation in the field and (ii) change of soil Pb speciation during an in vitro bioaccess...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional state, yield and composition of peaches on peach trees subjected to the application of organic compost to the soil. This experiment was conducted during the 2008 and 2009 cropping season in an orchard containing Chimarrita cultivars grafted onto Capdeboscq rootstocks and Haplumbrept soils in the municipality of Farroupilha (Rio Grande do...

Viable ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, an indicator organism for pathogens, are frequently found in feces-derived compost produced from ecological toilets, demonstrating that threshold levels of time, temperature, pH, and moisture content for pathogen inactivation are not routinely met. Previous studies have determined that NH(3) has ovicidal properties for pathogens, including Ascaris ova. This r...

Biofilter media mixtures were compared in 18 pilot-scale biofilters treating pit gases from a swine facility. The compost and wood chips mixtures ranged from 100% wood chips to a 50-50 blend in 10% increments. The effect of three media moisture contents (low, medium, and high) on biofilter performance was also evaluated. Odor and hydrogen sulfide reduction did not change significantly for mixtu...