Compost and Farmyard Manure

Preparation methods, Characteristics, Effects

Kiyoshi Tsutsukihttp://timetraveler.html.xdomain.jp

Rice & wheat straw, husk Saw dust, bark

Animal manureCompostFarmyard M

Industrial wastes

Compost

Municipal refuse・Garbage

Human feces

Digested sludge

Organic fertilizer

Green manure

Agricultural soils

Slurry

Organic matter Input in Agriculture

Purpose of composting… 1

1 To make manure easy for handling andtransporting, by reducing dirty feeling, malodor,and stickiness.2. To prevent soil reduction and emission ofharmful gasses and the resulting inhibition incrop growth which is assumed to occur whenraw material is applied to soil.

Purpose of composting...23. To kill pathogens and parasites for human, animals,and plants.4. To kill the weed seeds which are mixed in feces,hays and feedstocks.5. To decompose phenolic compounds in feedstockssuch as straw and sawdust and low molecular weightorganic acids in feces which are assumed to causegrowth inhibition of plants.

Significance of composting

• Source of nutrients for crops.• However, the function of compost is not limited to

the value as nutrients.• Compost > Fertilizer

Significance of composting

• By composting, we can change the waste to resource.• Compost can supply energy to soil biota, and

stimulate their activity.• Compost is a source of humic substances, which

have physical, chemical, and physiological functions to crops.

Crops, forage

Plant residue

Soil animals

Microbes

Inorganic nutrients

Soil organic matter

Animals Human

FecesCO2

Reactions in composting

Aerobic and anaerobic treatments of cattle feces

Carbon compounds

Nitrogen compounds

Sulfur compounds

CO2

NH３

SO４－

NO３－

Low MW fatty acids

CH4・H2

NH３

H2S, CH3SH

Malodour & harmful substances

Anaerobic Aerobic

< 50℃2 days at

60℃Digitaria ciliaria Koeler 96 0Echinochloa spp. 72 0Cyperus spp. 56 0Chenopodiium album Linn. 26 0Percicara lapathiolia Linn. 8 0Portulaca olelacea Linn. 85 0Amaranthus lividus Linn. 68 0Acalypha australis Linn. 7 0Fatoua villosa Nakai 26 0

Germination rate of weed seeds in compost (%)

メヒシバ

ノビエ

カヤツリグサ

シロザ

オオイヌタデ

スベリヒユ

イヌビユ

エノキグサ

クワクサ

Japanese name

Digitaria ciliaria

Cyperus spp.

メヒシバ

カヤツリグサ

Chenopodium album Linn.

Percicara lapacifolia Linn.

シロザ

オオイヌタデ

Portulaca oleracea Linn.

Amarantus lividus Linn.スベリヒユ

イヌビユ

Acalipha australis Linn. Fatoua villosa Nakaiエノキグサ クワクサ

Compost turning (Ultra-high temperature composting plant)

堆肥Rの温度変化

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

切返し後日数

温度　(℃)

温度1温度2温度3外気温

切返し

切返し

切返し

３月２８日

４月１０日

４月１７日

４月２４日

切返し

５月２日

仕込み

切返し

切返し

５月９日

５月１５日

切返し

５月２４日 切返し

６月２日

Compost temperature from late March to June in the ultra-high temperature composting plant

Days after mixing of raw material

Tem

pera

ture

℃

Fig. 1. Ferm entation tem perature of cow m anure depending ondifferent m oisture contents

(Shintoku Experim ent Station of Anim al H usbandry, 1998)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0 5 10 15

Days of piling

Tempe

rature ℃

M oisture44%

M oisture64%

M oisture72%

M oisture79%

M oisture87%

Fig. 1. Fermentation temperature of cow manure depending on different moisture contents.(Shintoku Experiment Station of Animal Husbandry, 1998)

turningturning

Change in compost temperature

40

60

80

20

℃

Days after mixing0 10 20 30 40

Low molecular carbohydrate, amino acid

Hemicellulose,cellulose

Lignin

Decomposition rates of different constituents incompost

Cellulose, hemicellulose

Lignin

Carbohydrates, amino acids

Humic substances

Change in organic matter constituents during composting

Microbial biomass

CO2

H2O

NH3

Meso-fauna

Thermophilic bacteria

Actinomycetes

Fungi, mushroom (basidiomycetes)

Succession of microbial fauna during composting

Criteria for the maturity of compost

NH4+,

NH3

Temperature change

NO3-

Detection of ammonium and nitrate ions during composting

Fig. 2. Suppression of the evaporation of Am m onia N from cowm anure by m ixing calcium perphosphate(C PP) (Shintoku Experim ent Station of Anim al H usbandry, 1998).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0 5 10 15 20 25

Days of piling

NH3-N evapo

ration

(mg/

300g cow-compo

st)

C PP 0%

C PP 2.5%

C PP 5%

Suppression of the evaporation of Ammonia N from cow manure by mixing calcium perphosphate.(Shintoku Experiment Station of Animal Husbandry, 1998)

High temperature（thermophilic）stage

60℃Mature stage

Temperature change during composting (simplified)

Change in pH of compost

• First rise in pH is due to ammonia formation.• Following decrease is due to the formation of nitrate,carbonate, and humic substances.

7

8

6

Increase in cation exchange capacity（CEC)

• Increase in CEC is remarkable in composts madefrom rice straw, woods, bark, sewage sludge, andmunicipal refuse

HOOC COOH

COOH

COOH

OH

OH

C/N ratio

•C/N ratio was higher than 30 in thebeginning, then reaches 15-20, it will bethe sign of maturity. However, when theC/N was low from the beginning (suchas cow manure), this criteria cannot beapplied.

Carbon

Organic nitrogen

Inorganic nitrogen

Soil Microbes

When soil microbes proliferate utilizing organic matter with wide C:N ratio, they also absorb soil inorganic nitrogen.

This causes nitrogen starvation for crops.

CO2

Earthworm method

•Put a compost sample in a cup.•Place a few earthworms on it.•Cover the cup with a black cloth.• If the earthworms creep into thecompost, it is mature.• If they try to escape, it is immature.

Earthworm escapes if your compost does not taste good.

Vermi-composting

• Earthworm can also be used for preparing compost itself.• Earthworm is a powerful decomposer of vegetable

wastes, and turn the wastes into valuable and safe compost.• Earthworm cast is enriched with nutrients and it is

a soil aggregate already.

Germination test• Seeds of Komatsuna(Brassica campestris), Cress(Lepidium sativum), or radish (Raphanus sativus)may be used, because these seed are small, quickto germinate, and sensitive to phytotoxic (plantdamaging) substances like the organic acidstemporarily present in immature composts. Usingthe water extract of the compost, germinating rateis compared with the control (distilled water).

Control (Distilled Water) Starting time of composting

24 hrs after composting 2 weeks after composting

Example of Failure Case in Composting

Germination Test

Seedling growth method• Compost (150 g) and soil (350 g) are mixed andput in a Neubauer pot. The control is only the soil(500 g). Each 35mg of N, P2O5, and K2O are appliedto each pot in forms of ammonium sulfate,ammonium phosphate, and potassium sulfate.Water is applied to about 60 % of the waterholding capacity. Twenty seeds of Brassicacampestris are sawn on the surface of mixture,and germination rate and growth rate areobserved.

Seedling growth method 2• Compost (equivalent to 100, 200, 300, 400 mg ofnitrogen) are mixed with soil (500 g) in Neubauerpots. The control is only the soil (500 g). 25 mg ofN, P2O5, and K2O are applied to each pot in formsof ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, andpotassium sulfate. Water is applied to about 60 %of the water holding capacity. Twenty seeds ofBrassica campestris are sawn on the surface ofmixture, and germination rate and growth rate areobserved.

Growth of Brassica campestrisTo 500mL of soil, compost equivalent to 400mg of N was applied （1 week after seed sowing）

Soil + Chemical Fertilizer (control）

Raw Sewage sludge

After 1st

turningAfter 5th

turning

Effect of Sewage Sludge Compost on the Growth of Brassica campestris

To 500mL of soil, compost equivalent to 400mg of N was applied （19 days after seed sowing）

Soil + Chemical Fertilizer (control）

Raw Sewage sludge

After 1st

turningAfter 5th

turning

Difficulties in Compost Utilization

• Uneven distribution and deficiency of raw materials for compost making• Hard work for preparation and application of

compost• Special technology, skill, and facilities are required

for the production of compost• Variation in constituents and effectiveness of

compost

Difficulties in Compost Utilization 2

• Occurrence of microbes tolerant to antibiotics, and germ microbes (in case compost was produced at low temperature) • Enhancement of soil born plant disease for potato

and soy bean. • Contamination of raw materials by heavy metals（by radioactivity, recently)

Period, Quality, Amount

Obstacles in the Recycling of Organic Resources

Heavy metals

As

Residual Pesticides Antibiotics

Odor AmmoniaMoistureOil, salts

Foreign materials

50 ppm

5 ppm 2 ppm

Pathgenic microbes

Tolerant bacteria

Heaviness

O157, Foot and Mouth Disease, Potato scale

HeterogeneityMercaptane

VFA

CdHg

Conclusion 1• Production of compost is indispensable for

reducing the environmental load of dairy farming, maintaining the fertility of farm soils, and creating healthy soils and crops.The qualities of composts, however, differ considerably from product to product, because different kinds of raw materials are used besides animal feces and various methods of compost preparation are adopted.

Conclusion 2• Some of the composts may be unfavorable for

use in agriculture. It is important for us tokeep the principles in compost preparation(for example, activating aerobic process, experiencing the thermophilic period, providing enough duration for maturing, minimizing the mixing of heavy metals and foreign / artificial materials), in order to make safe and effective composts.

Conclusion 3• On the other hand, preparation and

utilization of compost both require a huge labor. Reward for this labor is not remarkable, because higher yield of crops can be achieved by the use of cheaper chemical fertilizers and cheaper crops may be imported from foreign countries.

Conclusion 4Community based organic matter recycling project --- Subsidyand the understanding from the consumer is,therefore, very important.

Awareness to environment, ecology, and healthhelps the utilization of compost.