Quality of Densified Organic Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners for Organic Horticulture Production

Published: Pangga, G.V., Cedillo N.O. and V.S. Punzalan. 2015. Quality

of Densified Organic Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners for Organic

Horticulture Production. Horticulturae. Special Issue. Quality

Management of Organic Horticulture Produce 2015. MDPI AG, Klybeckstrasse, Basel, Switzerland. pp 277-285.

Introduction

The swine and poultry sub-sectors are among the top economic contributors of the agriculture industry in the Philippines. As such, the ‘wastes’ generated from these animals and the potential damaging effects to the environment should be given priority considerations.

The risks associated with animal manure are complex in nature and when not handled properly can cause damages to human and environment.

o Eutrophication

o Bacterial leaching

o Groundwater/surface water contamination

o Blue-baby syndrome

o Gastro-intestinal diseases

o Heavy metals accumulation..etc…

Manure Production for Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

PM- 54-105 kg/day SM– 31-66 kg/day

PM- 327-525 kg/day SM-148-318 kg/day

Introduction

There are specific food quality and safety issues related to organic food production and they are greatly affected by farm agricultural inputs such as organic fertilizers and other soil conditioners.

An increase in the quality of the composting products and quality control (absence of pathogenic microorganisms) would make animal manures more competitive with chemical fertilizers.

Introduction

Compost made from animal manure is an effective material for improving the physical and chemical properties of soil.

However, pathogens hazardous to human health can be introduced to compost when animal manures are used as raw materials.

The quality of compost and its varying nutrient composition also limit its efficient use.

With these concerns, it is necessary to design an environmentally recycling system for animal manures.

The production of high-quality compost and the densification or pelletizing technology are solutions to these concerns.

Densification of compost or pelletizing could reduce the costs of transportation, handling and storage and adjusting the nutrient content by adding required materials.

Pellet fertilizer provided also a gradual nutrient supply for a long period of time, which improves N fertilizer use efficiency and reduces N (N-nitrate) leaching losses.

An effective solution is to apply densification technology.

Objectives To study the major issues associated in the utilization of animal wastes as organic fertilizer;

Produce ‘Quality’ organic fertilizers from livestock and poultry wastes which are safe for agricultural use.

To demonstrate the application of densified organic fertilizers in an organic horticulture production system.

Composting and densification

technology

Pot experiment

Preparation of raw materials

Mix all materials with animal manure with known proportion

Water compost and turn at specified time

Check temperature regularly

Check maturity of the compost after 6-8 wks

Get samples for laboratory analysis

PRODUCTION OF MATURED ‘QUALITY’ COMPOST

Steps in composting of animal manure.

soya meal

Gliricidia sepium

Carbonized rice hull

Rice ash

Alumino-silicate

material

Molasses

Rice bran

Poultrymanure

Swine manure

Flow chart of pelletized organic fertilizer production

Properties Organic

Fertilizer

Compost/Soil

Conditioner

Total NPK 5-7% (5-10%) 2-<5%

C:N 12:1-20:1 12:1-20:1 (10:1)

Organic Matter > 20% > 20%

Moisture Content 30-35% 30-35%

Color Brown to Black Brown to Black

Consistency Friable Friable

Odor No-foul odor No-foul odor

Philippine National Standards for Organic Fertilizer (BAFPS, 2013)

Pot Experiments The treatments were as follows:

T1- Control, no fertilizer (C);

T2- Raw Swine Manure, dried (SM);

T3- Raw Poultry Manure, dried (PM);

T4- Densified Swine Manure-based organic fertilizer (DSM);

T5- Densified Poultry Manure-based organic fertilizer (DPM);

T6- Densified Vermicompost (DV);

T7- Gliricidia sepium, fresh leaves (GS);

T8- Chemical Fertilizer, Recommended Rate (RR).

Animal manures differed in nutrient content.

This variation is expected because they came from different farms with different diet/food supplements and management.

The rate of the manure nutrient content to be applied depends on the size and species

of the animal, housing, feeding ration, manure storage, and climate

Materials pH

OC N P2O5 K2O Ca Mg Fe Zn Cu Mn

% ppm

Chicken Manure

7.6 16.16 2.10 3.76 3.74 5.8 0.41 7762 1371 54 571

Hog Manure

7.1 17.35 2.13 5.60 0.84 0.53 0.11 10262 442 535 502

Chemical composition of swine and poultry manures used in the preparation of organic fertilizers.

Raw Mat

pH

N

OC P K Ca Mg SO4 Fe Zn Cu Mn

% ppm

Alumino-*silicates

6.5 0.04 1.94 0.05 0.06 1356 814 1555 7121 16 5 142

Soybean oil cake

5.9 0.49 21.2 0.11 0.42 799 206 ND 167 19 ND 171

Carbonized rice hull

9.5 0.18 2.08 0.45 0.90 2415 384 ND 1466 56 8 222

Rice Ash 10.2 0.03 0.37 0.28 0.93 1168 233 ND 139 10 ND 86

Chemical characteristics of organic materials used in organic fertilizer production.

* CEC = 21.19 cmoles (+)/100 g soil)

Materials

pH

Total

N

OC P K Ca Mg SO4 Fe Zn Cu Mn

% ppm

CRhull 8.0 0.15 2.94 0.11 0.04 0.37 0.01 ND 218 42 5 118

Rice Bran 5.4 1.05 37.49 0.41 3.22 0.08 0.11 ND 122 58 8

221

Chemical characteristics of organic materials used in organic fertilizer production.

Swine Manure-Based

N P K OM OC pH

Total NPK

% %

Batch 1 0.93 3.09 1.32 28.80 14.40 7.30 5.34 Batch-2 0.60 3.64 0.83 8.56 4.28 7.20 5.07 Batch-3 0.86 5.13 0.87 10.96 5.48 6.90 6.86 Batch 4 0.72 3.46 1.38 15.36 7.68 6.92 5.56 Batch 5 0.89 3.96 1.26 33.74 16.87 7.52 6.11 Batch 6 still in progress (waiting for laboratory analysis) Batch 7 still in progress..compost curing Poultry Manure-Based Batch 1 1.44 4.27 1.18 26.38 13.19 7.20 6.89

Batch 2 0.56 2.60 2.75 7.74 3.87 9.30 5.91

Batch 3 1.00 3.26 3.36 9.54 4.77 8.00 7.62

Batch 4 0.71 2.48 4.02 11.28 5.64 7.91 7.21

Batch 5 1.04 3.99 3.31 19.72 9.86 9.25 8.34

Batch 6 still in progress (waiting for laboratory analysis) Batch 7 still in progress..compost curing

Quality of Organic Fertilizers Produced from Animal Wastes

in combination with other raw materials

Effect of fertilizer treatments on herbage dry matter

weight of corn (Zea mays L.).

d

b b

c cc c

a

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

He

rba

ge

dry

we

igh

t (g

/po

t)

Treatments

Treatments Number of Pods

Pods Fresh Weight

(g/pot)

T1 Control 25c 144.6c

T2 Dried Raw Swine manure 43ab 235.8ab

T3 Dried Raw Poultry Manure 37b 206.3b

T4 Densified Swine-based OF 46a 244.5a

T5 Densified Poultry-based OF 46a 267.4a

T6 Densified Vermicompost 36b 206.8b

T7 Fresh G. sepium 37b 205.7b

T8 Chemical Fertilizer 46a 246.0a

Effect of fertilizer treatments on the yield of bush sitao

(Vigna sesquipedalis x Vigna unguiculata).

Effect of fertilizer treatment on pechay (Brassica rapa chinensis L) fresh weight.

d

bc

ab

abcab

c

bc

a

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

Fre

sh w

eig

ht (

g)/

plo

t

Treatments

Soil Amendment OM (%) CEC (cmol(+)/kg soil) pH

Crop 1 Crop 2 Crop 1 Crop 2 Crop 1 Crop 2

T1- Control 2.85 2.80 31.23 32.53 5.80 6.46

T2- Dried Swine Manure 2.88 2.85 30.04 31.39 5.91 6.52

T3 Dried Poultry

Manure 2.85 2.77 31.33 30.26 5.83 6.54

T4 Densified Swine

Manure-based OF 2.93 2.91 29.31 29.53 5.73 6.60

T5 Densified Poultry

Manure-based OF 3.15 3.07 31.25 32.39 5.67 6.53

T6 Densified

Vermicompost 2.90 2.88 30.32 32.91 5.73 6.38

T7 Fresh Gliricidia

sepium 2.87 2.83 33.00 33.23 5.71 6.54

T8 Chemical Fertilizer 2.85 2.75 31.34 28.56 5.73 6.43

Organic Matter, Cation Exchange Capacity and pH of Alipit

Clay (Typic Tropudalfs) after corn- bush sitao croppings

Molding composted livestock wastes into pellets can solve problems such as:

(a) high moisture content,

(b) high volume per

unit of weight

(c) low density

(c) changing nutrient

composition

• It allows for a more uniform and efficient application.

• It releases nutrients slowly over time as plants need them.

• More stable aggregates.

Benefit of using pelletized compost

Benefits of densified organic fertilizers

Raw compost (a) and pelletized organic fertilizer (b).

Simple Aggregate Stability Test

Potential Impact to Organic Agriculture

Promotes the recycling of animal and plant wastes and the use of pelletized organic fertilizer to avoid soil NO3-N pollution and eutrophication.

The ‘products’ developed can be used as a method for slow-release of N fertilizer that reduces leaching losses and enhanced nitrogen uptake, as well

as positive effects on both health and soil nutrient levels.

Introduced methods of fertilizing crops which takes into account human health and the needs of the environment.

Established technology for producing high-quality organic fertilizer from animal farms which meets the crop requirement and demand of farmers.

Improvement of Soil Quality leading to better Soil Health, Plant Health and Ecosystem Health

SUSTAINABILITY---- Thru Improvement of Soil Quality

The role of erosion on sustainability

TOPSOIL is the capital reserve of every farm.

Ever since mankind started agriculture, erosion of topsoil has been the single largest threat to a soil's productivity—and, consequently, to FARM PROFITABILITY.

31

The surface soil: Farmer’s capital

When bacterial populations and SOM decrease,

aggregation declines, and no other glues are

being produced, hence, soil

degradation follows.

Protecting soil from erosion is the first step

toward a sustainable agriculture.

To sustain agriculture means to

sustain soil resources,

because that's the source of a

farmer's livelihood.

32

Conclusion The study showed the role of densification technology in producing a good quality organic fertilizers from animal wastes.

At the same time it highlighted the application of these fertilizers to different crops and takes into account the used of soil as receiver of wastes.

Results such as these suggest that densified organic fertilizers may be used as alternative to chemical fertilizers in an organic horticulture production systems.

Manure(s) Chemical Composition (%)

pH Total N P K OC

Poultry Manure 1 7.6 2.60 5.09 3.77 18.12

Poultry Manure 2 7.8 1.75 3.51 1.30 21.14

Poultry Manure 3 7.5 2.10 3.76 3.74 16.16

Swine Manure 1 7.4 2.42 3.43 0.75 34.25

Swine Manure 2 7.1 2.13 5.60 0.84 17.35

Sludge Manure 1 7.0 1.09 4.14 0.22 24.60

Chemical composition of swine and poultry manures

collected from selected farms.

Compost/Organic

Fertilizer N P205 K2O

Organic

Matter

Organic

Carbon

Moisture

Content pH

%

Hog manure-based

(5.34 NPK) 0.93 3.09 1.32 18.60 14.40 32 7.30

Poultry Manure-based

(6.89 NPK)

(bin container) 1.44 4.27 1.18 28.80 13.19 35 7.20

Poultry Manure-based

(6.75 NPK)

(Berkley composting

in screenhouse) 1.07 3.31 2.37 21.40 16.87 30 7.60

Chemical Characteristics of compost/soil conditioner and

organic fertilizer (1st batch)

(2nd batch)

Compost/Organic

Fertilizer

N P205 K2O

OM OC Moisture

Content Total

NPK

%

Hog manure-based 0.60 3.64 0.83 4.28 >20

Poultry Manure-based 0.56 2.6 2.75 11.2 3.87 20 5.91

Chemical Characteristics of compost/soil conditioner and organic fertilizer

(3rd batch)

Compost/Organic

Fertilizer

N P205 K2O OM OC

Moisture

Content Total

NPK

%

Hog manure-based 0.86 5.13 0.87 5.48 20

Poultry Manure-based

1.11

1.00

3.98

3.26

3.41

3.36

22.2

20.0

4.73

4.77 20

8.50

7.62