| dc.description.abstract | One pilot-scale experiment was conducted out to produce good quality compost
using poultry litter (PL) with different bulking agents such as rice husk ash (RAH)
and sawdust (SD). For this experiment, three square-shaped bins were used with
the dimensions of 0.95 m long, 0.93 m wide and 0.83 m high and a total volume
of 0.679 m3
. The study was conducted at the research field of the Department of
Crop Physiology and Ecology, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and
Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh from March to June, 2016. To
monitor the composting process and evaluate compost quality, some
physicochemical parameters such as temperature, moisture content, pH, electrical
conductivity, organic matter, volatile solids, total solid, total organic carbon, total
nitrogen, total phosphorus, potassium were measured at different composting
phases. The composting period lasted 75-80 days. Experimental results showed
that the final products had excellent physicochemical attributes (carbon and
nitrogen ratio, C/N:15.31-24.03, germination index, GI: 84.03–135.13%, total
kjeldahl nitrogen, TKN: 1.445-1.72%, organic matter, OM: 41.94-62.24%, total
organic carbon, TOC: 24.33-36.10%, pH: 6.96-7.08, EC: 13-14 μS/cm). To
achieve good quality compost poultry litter should be used in higher ratios (1.5:1)
with bulking agent (RHA and SD). The amount (volume of humidifying agents)
and time (frequency) of moisture addition also played an important role during
composting. Poultry litter can produce a high quality soil amender having no
phytotoxicity. Nevertheless, composting duration and bulking agents and their
ratios are crucial factors that determine the quality of the final product. For a
typical small-sized poultry farm, having 1500-2000 number of poultry birds, a
total area of about 10 m2
is needed to compost the entire annual produced poultry
waste. | en_US |
