Composting is a natural process that stems through microbial succession, marking the degradation and stabilization of organic matter present in waste. The use of microbial additives during composting is considered highly efficient, likely to enhance the production of different enzymes resulting in better rate of waste degradation. In lesser developed countries, composting has emerged as a vital technology to recycle the biodegradable waste while generating a useful product. Depending on the composition of the waste material, it can either directly undergo composting or homogenized prior to secondary waste treatment methods such as landfilling. However, a relatively expensive downstream handling all along is a main hurdle towards economics of the process. Although basic methodology and recent approaches are known in crucial aspects of the process through various reviews, exploring the behavior of effective microbial additives will be resourceful. In this review, to fill in the gap, studies related to microbial composting of municipal solid and food waste were acknowledged. Here in, factors that could slow down the composting process and affect the compost quality were addressed. Lastly, the review pictured a positive simulation and stated how excellent results, can be achieved by microbial additives during composting.

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Experiments were conducted in lysimeters (1985) and field plots (1986) to evaluate changes in soil moisture and salinity status following irrigations with different blends of a saline water, SW (ECiw= 6.4 dS/m) and non-saline water, NSW (0.3 dS/m) and their effects on the growth and yield of Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek). Normalised to the yield of the treatment receiving NSW (100%), relative seed yields (RY) declined to 73, 11 and 3%, respectively, for the treatments receiving SW:NSW blends of 1:2 (2.5 dS/m), 2:1 (4.7 dS/m) and SW as such. RY increased to 64 and 74% when NSW was substituted for presowing irrigation and 2 : 1 SW : NSW blend and SW, respectively were used for postsowing irrigations. Due to moderating effect of rainfall (9.8 cm) during the growing season of 1986, valus of RY obtained with 1 : 2 and 2 : 1 SW : NSW blends were 81 and 42% and increased to 96 and 82% when these waters were applied after presowing irrigation with NSW. Irrigation at presowing with non-saline water leached the salts of shallow depths leading to better germination and initial growth. In addition, plants were able to extract greater amounts of water even from deeper soil layers. The RY of Mungbean was related to the weighted time averaged salinity of the 0-120 cm soil depth (EC e) by RY= 100-20.7 (ECe-1.8). The study indicated that applying NSW for presowing irrigation to Mungbean is more beneficial than using it after blending with saline water.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity has been considered an important factor in limiting the growth and nutrient acquisition of sensitive tree species in acidic soils. Mycorrhizal fungi may offset the negative impacts of Al in the root zone. Here, we report our studies on the effect of Al on the growth and mineral nutrition of Populus deltoides in the presence of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. Mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants were exposed to Al levels of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l for 10 weeks. The biomass of mycorrhizal plants increased significantly than non-mycorrhizal plants. The mycorrhizal plants showed higher levels of mineral nutrients such as phosphorus, calcium and magnesium compared to nonmycorrhizal plants in different concentrations of Al. Al content significantly decreased in shoots of mycorrhizal plants compared to non-mycorrhizal plants. The oxalic acid concentration was significantly increased in mycorrhizal plants over non-mycorrhizal plants. These results suggest that ectomycorrhizal colonization confer Al tolerance to P. deltoides plants and Al induced enhancement of organic acids by P. involutus is very likely to be associated with Al tolerance.

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SummaryField studies on leaching a highly saline sandy loam soil having a shallow groundwater table showed that application of 150 mm water in two equal parts at 10 days interval had no distinct advantage over a single application of the whole amount. On the contrary, the surface-accumulated salts were displaced to a lesser extent and the salt peak remained at a shallower depth under split application, particularly during periods of high atmospheric evaporativity when the leached salts tended to move upward between successive water applications. A soil mulch created by shallow tillage reduced evaporation losses and curtailed upward movement of salts, resulting in nearly 10% increase in leaching efficiency. Significantly a small quantity of water (0·41 cm leaching water per unit soil depth) sufficed for 70% chloride removal, indicating that under the prevailing conditions a larger fraction of the pores contributed to the leaching process. A compact layer, having a bulk density of 1·69 g/cm3, at the soil surface, also appeared to be related to the higher leaching efficiency by maintaining a preponderance of unsaturated flow.