Recycling of agricultural waste through anaerobic composting and its impact on soil biochemical health and Zea mays productivity

Composting of organic wastes is considered a distinguished approaches to effectively diminish waste volume while simultaneously maximizing energy production potential. Three types of feedstocks were selected for composting where we thoroughly monitored the production of CO, CH₄ and H₂S. Additionally, produced compost was applied in soil and investigated its impact on soil nutrient stock and microbial activity along with maize productivity. In our results, maximum production of biogases was observed between 5 and 6th week under cow dung (CD) feedstock. Co-application of all three biomasses along with chemical fertilizers increased soil NO₃-N, NH₄-N, Olsen P and K significantly by 171, 179, 53 and 22% respectively against control under pot experiment. Similarly, soil microbial biomass for instance microbial biomass C, N and P improved by 27, 112 and 83% respectively, meanwhile soil URE, DEH, PHO and PRO also showed their maximum activity under the integrated application of composts and chemical fertilizers. Plant height (15.43%), leaf area index (43%), chlorophyll content (74%) and grain yield (42) substantially improved under the combined treatment of CW + CD + SS and CF. We concluded that anaerobic digestion of biodegradable wastes produced substantial amounts of biogases as well as valuable compost, whose application to soil significantly improved soil physiochemical and maize productivity.

Graphical abstract