Comparative Study of the Effect of Compost Tea (Aerated & Non-Aerated) of Agro-Sieved-Waste on Germination and Biomass Yield of Maize, Mungbean and Cauliflower

Abstract, Journal of Science and Technology, 2011

Study on the effect of compost extract also called Compost Tea (CT) was conducted at laboratory scale. The compost was prepared from Sieved-Agrowaste under two different conditions i.e. aerated (aerobic) and none aerated (anaerobic). The extract (tea) was prepared after mixing water with 1:4 (1Kg compost with 4 Kg water). For germination test the compost was applied on two plants seed, Maize and Mung-bean. For germination test 10 mls of extract was added to each Petri-Dish. The germination test was successful. To see the effect of the compost on plant growth the compost was applied on cauliflower plant. For this test the extract was applied in the form of spray @ 250 ml per day. Where 10 seeds /pot were sown in pots filled with 10 kg of soil. Each treatment was replicated 3 times. Analytical results show that aerobic compost was comparatively high in Nitrogen with the average value of 2.104%. A slight variation was observed in Phosphorous and Potash contents. Microbial content was determined by Most Probable Number Technique and were high in Anaerobic Compost which is 4x1010, 4.2x1010 , 4.3x1010 counts/ml tea and low in Aerated compost tea which is 2x1010 , 2.3x1010 , 2.4x1010 counts/ml. Results show that highest yield of biomass and germination of seeds (Maize and mungbean) was observed in aerobic compost tea. It is therefore concluded that aerobic compost is comparatively good and productive.