Composting of wine industry wastes and their use as a substrate for growing soilless ornamental plants

Abstract

To study the process of composting of grape marc and test the resulting compost as a substrate for the cultivation of ornamental plants, six composting processes, with mixtures of dealcoholised grapevine marc and grape stalk (DM + GS) in a 1:1 ratio (v:v), were carried out in Seville (Spain) between 2000 and 2006. The duration of the composting ranged between 20 and 24 weeks in the Spring-Summer season. Weekly, temperature, pH, EC, N-NO 3 -and N-NH 4 + , were measured. The maximum temperatures reached values of 65-73°C at a depth between 40 and 80 cm. The compost had a slightly alkaline pH, slightly salinity, high organic matter and total nitrogen contents. The final compost chemical composition in total elements showed values in the same range as those corresponding to plant material, except for Fe. The distribution in the size of the particles gives way to a total porous space that is close to the one considered as optimal in a substrate for soilless cropping. Pore size distribution showed a prevalence of big pores that produces unbalance in the water-air ratios, resulting in a material with a good aeration but with low water retention. The composts were tested as substrates for four ornamental species: geranium, petunia, carnation and gerbera. The results suggest that compost has no limiting characteristics for its use as a medium for the cultivation of ornamental plants in container, and can replace conventional substrates, such as peat and coconut fibre.Additional key words: compost; grape marc; growing media; soilless culture. ResumenCompostaje de residuos de la industria vinícola y su uso como sustrato para el cultivo sin suelo de plantas ornamentales Para estudiar el proceso de compostaje de orujos de uva y probar el compost resultante como sustrato para el cultivo de plantas ornamentales, se llevaron a cabo, en Sevilla (España) entre 2000 y 2006, seis procesos de compostaje, con mezclas de orujos de vid desalcoholizados y tallos de vid o raspón (DM + GS) en una proporción 1:1 (v:v). La duración del compostaje osciló entre 20 y 24 semanas en el período de primavera-verano. Se midieron semanalmente temperatura, pH, CE, N-NO 3 -y N-NH 4 + . Se alcanzaron temperaturas máximas de 65 a 73°C a 40-80 cm de profundidad. El compost resultante tenía pH ligeramente alcalino, moderada salinidad, altos contenidos en materia orgánica y nitrógeno total. Los análisis químicos del compost mostraron niveles de elementos totales en igual rango que los correspondientes a material vegetal, excepto Fe. La distribución del tamaño de partículas del material origina un espacio poroso total cercano al considerado óptimo en los sustratos para cultivo sin suelo. La distribución del tamaño de poros mostró una prevalencia de poros grandes, circunstancia que produce un desequilibrio en las relaciones aire-agua, dando como resultado un material con buena aireación, pero con baja retención de agua. Los composts se probaron como sustratos para cuatro especies ornamentales: geranio, petunia, clavel y gerbera. Los resultados no sug...

Improving green waste composting by addition of sugarcane bagasse and exhausted grape marc

“…DHA and b-GA were determined according to the methods of Gabhane et al (2012) and Carrnona et al (2012).…”

“…Effects of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and exhausted grape marc (EGM) on the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) during the two-stage composting of green waste (GW). Treatments T1-T9 are described in Table 2. used to monitor microbial activity during composting (Carrnona et al, 2012;Gabhane et al, 2012). DHA is related to a group of enzymes that catalyse metabolic reactions that produce ATP through the degradation of GW (Gabhane et al, 2012).…”

Use of Local Composted Winery Waste for Lettuce Production in Lebanon

“…It does not cause problems of high salinity compared to many other types of organic compost, however it has a high drainage (58%) which can cause problems of plant mortality due to drying out of roots (Scettrini and Jelmini, 2004). Literature has reflected a positive influence of using composted winery wastes on many crops like tomato, melon (D'Addabo et al, 2000), corn (Ferrer et al, 2001), mushroom (Pardo et al, 2007), onion (Stafne and Carroll, 2008), and on ornamental plants (Carmona et al, 2012). Also, grape marc compost could partially substitute peat without causing any loss in yield and in the nutritional status of lettuce seedlings (Bustamante et al, 2008) and when mixed with peat it produced good results for lettuce seedlings production (Carmona et al, 2003).…”

Nutrient‐rich compost versus nutrient‐poor vermicompost as growth media for ornamental‐plant production

“…This characteristic hinders their use at high proportion as growth-media constituents. Nevertheless, satisfactory growth of several ornamental plants with different sensitivity to salts has been achieved using compost-containing substrates: Impatiens and Antirrhinum on biosolids and garden-waste compost (Klock, 1997); Calendula and Calceolaria on brewery and olive industry-waste composts (García-Gómez et al, 2002); Geranium, Petunia, Gerbera, and carnation on wine industry-waste compost (Carmona et al, 2012).…”