Composting Technology and Impact of Compost on Arid Soil Biochemical Properties

Abstract

Organic farming is one of several approaches to sustainable agriculture. Properly managed, organic farming reduces or eliminates environmental pollution and helps conserve water and soil on the farm. Organic farming system requires significantly greater amount of organic fertilizers input than conventional system. Because of the shortage of organic fertilizers in the arid areas, composting is a way to transform the waste materials left over from agricultural production and processing into a useful resource. Mature compost is an excellent organic fertilizer and desert soil amendment. The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste material into farm resources makes it an attractive proposition. Composting offers several benefits such as enhance soil fertility and soil health, thereby increase agricultural productivity, improve soil biodiversity, reduce ecological risks and improve environment. Aerobic composting of some agricultural wastes (peanut, wheat straw and palm tree wastes) was carried out to raise its fertilizing value compared with widely used organic fertilizer, farmyard manure. The influence of composted and non-composted agricultural wastes on availability of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) in desert sandy soil as well as uptake of these elements by corn plants was also studied. Results indicated rapid degradation of palm tree and wheat straw wastes as compared with peanut one. The composting process raised fertilizing value of agricultural wastes as indicated by increase of nutrients availability. Application of the composted wastes as organic fertilizers to desert sandy soil increased content of available N, P and K. Results showed that application of different composted organic materials increased the dry weight and NPK uptake by corn plants.