Physical and chemical indicators of wheat straw fermented with a biodestructor of domestic production

Abstract

Cereal straw, including wheat one, is widely used in animal husbandry. Wheat straw is used as bedding and a component of rations. Violation of storage conditions and excessive volumes of harvesting causes a large mass of straw to deteriorate every year, which has a negative impact on the environment. Uncontrolled rotting of straw increases the amount of gas emissions into the air. An effective way of disposing of spoiled wheat straw is its fermentation using biological preparations to obtain biocompost. The problem of the effectiveness of composting spoiled wheat straw using the domestic biodestructor BTU-CENTER remains unexplored. The aim of the work was to determine the effect of different doses of the BTU-CENTER biodestructor on the physical and chemical parameters of fermented wheat straw. For the experiment, 4 groups of piles were formed. In the piles from the control group, straw composting was carried out without the use of a biodestructor. A biodestructor was added to the straw from the 1st experimental group at the rate of 7.0 cm3/t of biomass with a moisture content of 65.5 %. Spoiled straw in the II and III experimental groups was treated with a biodestuctor solution, providing its doses in the range of 14.0 and 28.0 cm3/t. Aeration of the piles was carried out by stirring the straw periodically every 8 days. During composting, the temperature of the straw biomass in the middle of the piles was determined. The content of crude protein, Phosphorus, Calcium and Nitrogen was determined in the fermented straw. It has been established that the heating of straw in the piles started from the second day of composting. An increase in the temperature of the biomass in the experimental piles was observed up to the 12th day, and in the control group up to the 14th day of composting. It was found that the higher the dose of the biodestructor used during straw processing, the higher the temperature in the middle of the piles. In the III experimental group, on the 12th day of composting, the highest straw temperature was established in the middle of the piles. The difference with control, I and II experimental groups was 21.4; 15.9 and 4.1 % respectively. The longest fermentation of wheat straw under the thermophilic regime was established in the group where the highest dose of biodestructor was used – 18 days. It has been proved that the use of high doses of the biodestructor increases the content of crude protein, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Calcium in the fermented wheat straw biomass relatively to the control one.