Ligninolytic microbes have great potential in converting high lignin by-products to more utilisable products by decomposing the lignin-rich agricultural and industrial wastes. Thus, the aim of this study are to screen and identify the potential ligninolytic microbes from the termite (Coptotermes curvignathus) gut. The study was conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Malaysia. Twenty-seven microbes isolated from termite gut obtained from the Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, were used for the ligninolytic activity screening. Media with four different ligninolytic indicator dyes (Azure B, phenol red, methylene blue, and Remazol Brilliant Blue) were streaked with microbial isolates and incubated at 37 °C for 48 h. Out of twenty-seven microbe isolates, only three (CH2, CH5, and CH9) isolates showed decolourisation zone indicating the positive presence of ligninolytic activity. The 16S rRNA gene sequence data indicated the isolates are highly homologous to Bacillus spp.
Terung asam (Solanum lasiocarpum Dunal) is a native fruit vegetable that is gaining interest as a commercial crop in Sarawak and Malaysia. Malaysia is covered by soils that are highly weathered, acidic, and low in fertility and depend on chemical fertilisers to promote good plant growth. Alternative means to reduce dependency on chemical fertiliser, for example arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF), must be sourced. Very few research on terung asam has been documented particularly on nutrients uptake. The objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of indigenous and non-indigenous AMF on nutrient uptake by terung asam. A greenhouse experiment was conducted consisting of three treatments namely control (T1), indigenous AMF (T2), non-indigenous AMF (T3). The treatments were arranged in a complete randomised design with four subsamples and four replicates. Thirty-day-old seedlings were transplanted and measured for their heights and stem diameters for 90 days. Fresh and dry shoot and root weights were taken during harvesting. Plant nutrient analyses were conducted using Kjeldahl method for total N, single ashing for P and single ashing and double acid for K, Ca and Mg. The results revealed the addition of AMF spores at 200 spores per pot, increased plant height by 13 to 33% and stem diameter by 5 to 25% and more leaves were retained by T3 plants at harvesting. T3 recorded higher fresh shoot (11.27%) and dry shoot (14.98%) as well as fresh root (23.67%) and dry root (22.77%) weights than T1 plants. Addition of AMF in treatments T2 and T3 promoted better nutrient uptake by aboveground and belowground biomasses particularly for K, Ca and Mg. T3 was superior in terms of the nutrient uptake for most nutrients. AMF used in T3 showed better results as the AMF spores were proven effective in promoting plant growth while AMF used in T2 were obtained from the field and untested. The findings of this study showed the potential of indigenous and non-indigenous AMF in promoting growth and nutrient uptake by terung asam plants.
Paddy husk (PH) is a waste item generated from rice production that can be used as an organic fertilizer through composting. High lignin content is an issue with PH composting as it impedes the production of high-quality organic fertilizer. Improvements to the composting process can enhance the agronomic properties of compost produced from PH. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the ability of Bacillus spp. in enhancing the decomposition of PH and (ii) determine the ability of Bacillus spp. in increasing the macronutrient content of composted PH. Different ligninolytic active Bacillus spp. from termite gut (either singly or a cocktail) were added to 7 of 9 compost boxes containing PH compost mixtures and were allowed to decompose for a period of 60 days. Each treatment was represented by 3 samples, and the compost boxes were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 replications. Results showed that the addition of Bacillus spp. promoted the production of matured compost within 60 days with significantly higher amounts of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Germination index (GI) of all composted PH added with Bacillus spp. ranged from 82.51 to 95.83%, suggesting that composted PH has lower phytotoxicity than compost without Bacillus spp. isolate. In general, addition of Bacillus spp. to PH waste promoted the production of PH composts with improved macronutrient availability and lower phytotoxicity levels.
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