THE EFFECTS OF DRIED FAECAL SLUDGE AND MUNICIPAL WASTE CO-COMPOST ON MICROBIAL LOAD AND YIELD OF CABBAGE (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) AND LETTUCE (Lactuca sativa)

Abstract

Municipal waste management has been of major concern to many developing countries and is presently one of the subjects under discussion due to rapid industrialization and population growth. Most of these municipal wastes have the potential of being recycled and use in crop production. They are gradually becoming a problem in Ghana instead of being used for purposes to benefit human kind. In this study, dried faecal sludge and municipal waste co-compost was used as an organic fertilizer to cultivate cabbage and lettuce to assess its effects on their microbial load and yield. The yields of vegetables increased significantly with the application of recommended doses of the co-compost. The analysis of microbial load on the vegetables also showed significantly low microbial load on vegetables cultivated on co-compost plots followed by the chemical fertilizer and control. The presences of faecal coliforms such as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella spp. were confirmed in all. The performance of vegetable cultivated on plots treated with the co-compost makes it a good source of plant nutrients to be recommended to farmers. This could also serve as prudent strategy for managing municipal waste and faecal sludge to avoid impact of unscientific disposal on public health and quality of life.

Agronomic potential of excreta-based biofertilizers made from treated human feces and urine for crop production

“…Yet, measurements taken on days 29 th and 35 th showed the biofertilizers were significantly lower than the chemical treatment. A previous study observed the most significant changes in the lettuce height happened between the 3 rd and the 5 th week of cultivation when fertilized with sludge cocomposted with organic waste (TORGBO et al, 2018), which was the period the chemical fertilizer stood out from the other treatments in the present study.…”

“…For Torgbo et al (2018), the use of co-compost from fecal sludge and municipal waste presented higher plant height than chemical fertilizers. Applying struvite supplemented with KCl in maize production led to a similar result in plant height, with no significant difference from chemical fertilizer (LIU et al…”

Penentuan Dosis Abu Sekam Padi sebagai Media Tanam pada Budidaya Tanaman Bawang Merah (Allium ascalonicum L.)

“…Oleh karena itu, kondisi tanah perlu diperbaiki dengan pemberian pupuk organik. Limbah pertanian dapat dijadikan sebagai bahan dasar bahan organik yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kesehatan tanah disamping untuk mengatasi limbah yang semakin melimpah (Yano dan Sakai, 2016;Matsuda, et al, 2017;Torgbo, et al, 2018). Pemberian bahan organik pada tanah dapat meningkatkan suatu daya produksi tanah karena bahan organik tersebut dapat memperbaiki sifat fisik, kimia maupun biologi tanah (Susanti, 2015;Danial, et al, 2020).…”

Impacts of different treatment methods for cattle manure on the spread of faecal indicator organisms from soil to lettuce in Nigeria

“…and Klebsiella spp. (mean value of microbial loads = 1.18 × 10 7 CFU per ml) on harvested vegetables than even chemical fertilizers (2.45 × 10 9 CFU per ml) or the control plot with no treatment (5.2 × 10 8 CFU per ml) (Torgbo et al, 2018). Soobhany (2018) observed that composting organic municipal solid waste led to significant reduction in total coliforms (from 3.13–3.57 to 1.52–2.89 log 10 most probable number [MPN] per gram) and E .…”

“…While reduction in pathogens is essential, it is also important that the beneficial impacts of the organic wastes are retained. In Ghana, Torgbo et al (2018) observed a significant increase in the yield of vegetables cultivated on agricultural soils amended with the recommended rates of N as compost. The head weight of cabbages grown with compost was significantly higher (53.3 g) than those grown with inorganic fertilizer (32.9 g) and the control with no treatment (31.4 g).…”