ISSN : 0974 - 7451 Volume 8 Issue 9

EnvironmentalAn Science
Indian Journal
Current Research Paper
ESAIJ, 8(9), 2013 [333-343]

Composting and microbiological additive effects on composting

Li Yee Lim1, Lee Suan Chua1*, Chew Tin Lee2
1
Metabolites Profiling Laboratory, Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, (MALAYSIA)
2
Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, (MALAYSIA)
E-mail : [email protected]

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Nowadays, composting is the method of choice to reduce and recycle the Composting;
ever increasing organic wastes generated from human activities. The four Microbiological additives;
phases of composting and the factors affecting each phase, particularly Compost maturity,
carbon to nitrogen ratio, temperature, aeration, moisture content and pH Organic wastes;
are critically reviewed. The process of composting is believed dependent Sustainable agriculture.
on the microbial activities such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes under
the stipulated conditions. The inoculation of beneficial microbes in the
compost would further enhance the soil fertility and crop productivity.
However, the interaction between the species of microorganisms is still
unknown. Organic matters are composted into humid substances which
can be used for the promotion of sustainable agriculture. In addition to
plant growth promotion, microbiological additives inoculated compost is
also likely to increase plant stress tolerance and disease suppression
capacity. The completion of decomposition is usually measured based on
the physical appearance of compost, the chemical property of compost
substances, as well as the absence of toxins, noxious odor and pathogenic
microbes. The application of mature compost is of great importance because
direct application of organic matters into the soil may produce toxins and
threaten the ecosystem. 2013 Trade Science Inc. - INDIA

INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSTING our ecosystem. The incineration of organic wastes re-

leases green house gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2),
The increases of human population and human ac- methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)[1]. On the other
tivities have generated a lot of organic wastes from ag- hand, landfill of organic wastes is not a cost effective
ricultural, industrial and municipal sectors across the approach which might cause pollution to the soil qual-
globe annually. Till to date, landfill and incineration are ity. Furthermore, the land available for the development
the most commonly used methods for the disposal of of residential, industrial, infrastructural and agricultural
ever increasing organic wastes. However, these dis- projects is getting limited nowadays. Thus, recycling
posal methods are seriously threatening the health of these biodegradable organic wastes into humid sub-
334 Composting and microbiological. additive effects on composting ESAIJ, 8(9) 2013

Current Research Paper

stances that highly useful for agriculture have become paratory stage. It initiates the decomposition process
the method of choice as it is considered as eco-friendly and the temperature is between 20 and 40 oC. During
and sustainable approach. this phase, the compost pile is predominately colonized
Organic matter plays an important role for sustain- by mesophilic bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes due to
able agriculture since it possesses many desirable prop- the suitability of growing condition such as the ambient
erties such as high water holding capacity, cation ex- temperature, as well as the abundance of easily acces-
change capacity, sequestering contaminants (both or- sible nutrients. These mesophiles, especially mesophilic
ganic and inorganic) and other beneficial effects on the bacteria will initiate the decomposition process and raise
physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the inner temperature of compost into thermophilic
soil[2,3]. Somehow, direct application of raw organic mat- phase (40 – 65 oC)[5,6]. Those readily available and
ter to the soil is not appropriate due to the presence of easily decomposing organic compounds such as sugar
unknown substances, particularly pathogens, toxic com- and starch are rapidly decomposed with the produc-
pounds, weed seeds, heavy metals and foul odor[1]. tion of carbon dioxide and other volatile compounds,
These substances might change the ecosystem for plan- humus, organic acids and other incompletely oxidized
tation. Other metabolites such as ammonia could also compounds[7].
be produced by microflora which is not suitable for plant
growth[4]. Therefore, composting is considered as the
most appropriate way to obtain stable organic compo-
sition. Composting is a bio-conversion process which
converts organic wastes such as manure, sludge, fruits,
vegetables and other food wastes into an amorphous
dark brown to black colloidal humus-like product un-
der the optimal condition of temperature, moisture and
aeration. The black colloidal product is known as com-
post which is widely used as a soil conditioner or or-
ganic fertilizer in agriculture.
Figure 1 : Temperature profile of four phases composting. A
FOUR PHASES IN COMPOSTING is first mesophilic phase; B is thermophilic phase; C is sec-
ond mesophilic phase and D is maturity phase
The process of composting can be categorized into
four phases in a bell shaped curve. The temperature profile
of the four phases composting: first mesophilic phase (20
– 40 oC), thermophilic phase (> 40 oC), second meso-
philic phase and maturity phase are illustrated in Figure
1. Initially, organic wastes are breakdown by microor-
ganisms into stable organic matters with the production
of carbon dioxide. The organic matters are then decom-
posed into humid substances. Heat is generated during Figure 2 : Schematic diagram of organic waste decomposi-
tion to compost
this phase because of the extensive microbial metabo-
lism and water is being vaporized. Figure 2 describes the Approximately, more than 20 fold increment of mi-
process of composting in schematic diagram. The char- crobial population can be achieved during this phase, in
acteristics and factors affecting the composting for each particular mesophilic bacteria because they grow faster
phase are reviewed critically in the following section. compared to mesophilic fungi and actinomycetes. A
population up to 1010-1012 cfu/g of compost had al-
First mesophilic phase
ways been reported by previous investigators[5,6,8-10]. A
The first mesophilic phase is also known as the pre- small number of thermophilic bacteria and thermophilic

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ESAIJ, 8(9) 2013 Lee Suan Chua et al. 335

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fungi could also be detected during this phase[8,12]. This 108 to 109 cfu/g of compost. However, the population
phase normally could last for 5 - 14 days, and then the of fungi never reach 106 cfu/g of compost throughout
temperature of the compost pile could rise higher than this phase[17].
40 oC, due to the high metabolic activity and exother- Second mesophilic phase
mic processes. The increase of temperature would bring
the compost pile entering into the thermophilic phase. After the thermophilic phase, the temperature of
compost pile is dropped to the mesophilic stage, where
Thermophilic phase the re-establishment of heat resistant mesophiles such
During thermophilic phase, most of the heat-sensible as bacillus species, fungi, yeast and actinomycetes will
microorganisms are either killed or entered into the dor- be observed. The increase of bacterial and fungal popu-
mant state. The noticeable decrease in mesophilic bacte- lation was detected, but only to the limited number of
rial and fungal population were observed, while the popu- population. Davis et al. (1992), Goyal et al. (2005)
lation of actinomycetes were either maintained or having and Rebellido et al. (2008) reported that approximately
slight decrease in population[6]. As reported by Rebellido up to 40 % of bacteria and fungi were survived after
et al. (2008), the population of actinomycetes was 1010 thermophilic phase. The finding explains that most of
cfu/g of compost during this phase[10]. the heat-sensible microorganisms are destroyed during
Thermophiles will overtake the decomposition pro- thermophilic phase[8,10,17]. Probably, actinomycetes are
cess during this phase. The high temperature (40 - 65 able to withstand the adverse condition during thermo-
o
C) would ensure the stabilization and pasteurization of philic phase, therefore their population are either main-
compost. Therefore, the increase of temperature not tained or slightly dropped after thermophilic phase[5,10].
only accelerates the decomposition of organic wastes, In this second mesophilic phase, which is also
but also stabilizes and pasteurizes the compost pile from known as the cooling phase, both actinomycetes and
pathogenic microorganisms. Besides, the high tempera- fungi play important role in the degradation of the re-
ture also promotes the degradation of recalcitrant or- maining recalcitrant organic matters. They degrade mac-
ganic compounds such as lignocelluloses[11]. As shown romolecules such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and
by Tomati et al. (1995), about 70% of lignin was de- chitin and re-colonize the compost pile, particularly at
graded at the end of the thermophilic phase if the tem- the latter stage of the phase. The degradation is crucial
perature was maintained around 50 oC[13]. Some mi- for the release of inorganic nutrients and humus forma-
croorganisms could also increase the availability of or- tion[6,10,18]. This explains the major population of acti-
ganic elements such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and nomycetes in the compost pile after the second meso-
phosphate (P), as well as inorganic minerals such as philic phase. Therefore, it could be an indicator for com-
magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), cuprum (Cu) and Manga- post maturity[18]. In contradiction to the actinomycetes
nese (Mn)[2,3]. Thermophilic phase shall be maintained population, the population of bacteria remains constant
for more than three days for efficient composting[14]. until compost maturity is reached.
However, the temperature higher than 70 oC might slow The second mesophilic phase might be prolonged
down the decomposition process, since only a few spe- with the formation of newly synthesized, more stable
cies of thermophiles are metabolically active in this products and humid substances. This phase is also
range[15]. Hence, adequate aeration is necessary during known as maturity phase with the significant reduction
thermophilic phase in order to control the temperature of heat in compost pile (ambient temperature). The
between 55 and 65 oC, which is also the desirable tem- composted materials are usually lacking of toxic sub-
perature range for eliminating most of the thermo-sen- stances such as phenols and ammonia, detrimental mi-
sible plant and human pathogens[16]. crobes and noxious odor.
It is important to note that both thermophilic bacte-
rial and fungal populations are observed to have steep FACTORS AFFECTING COMPOSTING
increase during thermophilic phase[6]. The thermophilic
bacteria were found to be in the population ranging from A successful composting process is dependent upon

Environmental Science
An Indian Journal
336 Composting and microbiological. additive effects on composting ESAIJ, 8(9) 2013

Current Research Paper

various factors, namely carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio, in anaerobic system. In an aerobic decomposition (18
temperature, oxygenation, microbial activities, particle - 30% oxygen level), the process of composting is faster
size, moisture content and pH. A C:N ratio describes and does not produce foul odor[1]. This is because oxy-
the nutritional balance of a composting process. Since gen is used by microorganisms as a terminal electron
composting is highly dependent upon the activity of mi- acceptor for aerobic respiration and decomposition. An
croorganisms, it is necessary to supply the microorgan- oxygen level below 18 % might delay the process of
isms with adequate carbon and nitrogen sources. Be- decomposition and cause foul odor in compost pile[14,19].
sides as an essential energy source, carbon is also the However, the excess of oxygen content was reported
main building block of cellular material. While nitrogen to have no significant effect on the composting.
is the major constituent of amino acids, nucleic acids,
cell proteins, enzymes and co-enzymes which is required
for proper cell functions[7]. It is noteworthy to maintain
the initial C:N ratio in the range of 25 and 35 for high
quality compost[14,19]. The C:N ratio of common or-
ganic materials that usually employed for composting
such as 34-85 for leaves, 80-145 for wood materials,
5-25 for manure and 12 for organic municipal wastes
has been reported by Shilev et al. (2007)[7].
The higher C:N ratio (> 40) is likely to immobilize
Figure 3 : Temperature profile of compost by aeration at
the availability of nitrogen in compost and directly slow interval day
down the decomposition rate[20]. Microorganisms need
to go through many life-cycles in order to oxidize off The rate of oxygen consumption is highly related to
the excessive carbon until reach the desirable C:N ratio the temperature of compost pile. The temperature of
for metabolism. Thus, high C:N ratio would increase compost in the range of 30 and 55 oC would enhance
the composting time[19]. However, the low C:N ratio (< the microbial metabolism, and thus increasing the oxy-
25) might lead to the nitrogen loss in the compost pile gen consumption rate[21]. The aerobic decomposition is
through ammonia volatilization, which could also slow preferable because of its efficiency to achieve high tem-
down the composting process[1,19]. This phenomenon perature in short period of time (less than a week). An
usually occurs in compost pile with high temperature anaerobic decomposition is mostly conducted only if
and pH value. It is also a common practice to add sludge under the minimal manpower operation[1].
for the compost with high C:N ratio. The addition of The oxygen content in the compost pile could be
sludge is to increase the nitrogen availability for maintained by periodic aeration such as continuous turn-
composting. ing or forced ventilation[19]. The continuous turning of
As highlighted, the temperature of compost is an compost pile was reported to be cost ineffective and
essential parameter for the determination of compost might also interfere with the growth of some microor-
quality. The increase of temperature in the thermophilic ganisms such as filamentous fungi[16]. Therefore, con-
phase is due to the exothermic process and the high tinuous forced ventilation by blowing or vacuum induc-
metabolic activity of microorganisms. Therefore, the tion is always conducted for an aerobic decomposi-
temperature profile of compost strongly affects the rate tion.
of composting. High composting rate in conjunction with Particle size of the compost starting materials also
satisfactory microbial number and microbial activities, affects the movement of oxygen into the pile. A smaller
as well as adequate aeration and moisture content are particle size of starting materials increases the surface
likely to be getting high quality of compost. Figure 3 area available for microbial attack which accelerates
indicates the temperature profile during composting with the composting process and vice versa[14]. However,
the application of aeration at interval time. small particles tend to pack tightly together and prevent
Composting can be performed either in aerobic or the movement of air into the pile and the movement of

Environmental Science
An Indian Journal
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Current Research Paper

carbon dioxide out from the pile[14]. Therefore, larger tions[24]. For instance, temperature was found to be the
starting materials are usually chopped or shredded into major parameter influencing the microbial population,
smaller size, while smaller starting materials are used diversity and metabolism rate throughout this pro-
together with other bulking agents such as wood chips cess[10,25]. The microbial profile can be used not only
or tree bark with the particle size around 10 - 50 mm for monitoring the progress of composting, but also re-
for better aeration. flecting the compost maturity with the detection of spe-
Indeed, moisture content and aeration are corre- cific microorganism, namely Arthrobacter sp.[26].
lated during composting. The excess of water interferes Bacteria
the oxygen accessibility, while too little of water can
cause early dehydration, in which the diffusion of sub- Bacteria have smaller physical size (0.5 - 3.0 µm)
strate and biological process are hindered. Subsequently, and thus producing higher surface to volume ratio com-
the decomposition process is slowing down and giving pared to fungi and actinomycetes. They have advan-
a physically stable but biologically unstable com- tages in the colonization of compost pile by allowing
post[14,22]. A moisture content of 40 - 60 % was sug- rapid transfer of soluble substrates into the cells[27]. The
gested at the beginning of composting[22]. Somehow, rapid growth rate of bacteria on soluble proteins and
the compost needs to be dried for storage purpose, but other readily available substrates also allowed them to
only after the maturity phase of compost is achieved. dominate the colonization of compost pile in the early
There is no specific pH requirement for composting stage of composting[28]. Moreover, the capacity of bac-
since those organic wastes that suitable for composting teria produces extracellular hydrolytic enzymes to
are having a wide range of pH from 5 to 12[22]. How- breakdown the complex polymers such as polysaccha-
ever, the pH range between 5 to 8 was proposed by rides, nucleic acids and lipids also making Bacillus to
Bertoldi et al. (1983) as the optimum pH for be dominant throughout the composting process. Some
composting. It was reported that bacteria prefer in nearly bacteria such as Bacillus spp. are able to produce en-
neutral pH, while fungi developed better in a fairly acidic dospores which allow them to be dormant under the
environment. The change of pH during composting is harsh environment of high temperature, radiation and
dependent on the microbial metabolism[19]. A decrease chemical disinfection[29].
in pH will be noticed when organic acids are produced A wide range of bacteria species has been isolated
from the decomposition of carbohydrates and lipids, from different compost environments including
whereas the pH value will increase when the produc- Pseudomonas, Cohnella, Cellulomonas,
tion of ammonia is observed because of protein deami- Paenibacillus and Bacillus[30,31]. Among them, Bacil-
nation. lus dominates the colonization of compost pile, espe-
cially during the thermophilic phase[32]. It was found that
MICROBIAL PROFILE OF COMPOSTING 87 % of randomly colony samples was belong to the
genus of Bacillus under the species of B. licheniformis,
Composting is known as a microbial process, par- B. subtilis, B. coagulans type B, B.
ticularly involving the activities of bacteria, actino- stearothermophilus, and B. sphaericus. Besides Ba-
mycetes, yeasts and fungi[1,19,23]. These microorganisms cillus, the other species such as Cohnella,
are widespread in nature and indigenous to soil, dust, Thermotogae and Thermus species were also found
fruits and vegetables. The microbial diversity and the likely to be sustained at high temperature for more than
succession of microbial populations is a prerequisite to 70oC[27,30].
ensure the complete biodegradation of organic wastes, Fungi
especially the first three stages of composting. This is Fungi are aerobic chemoorganotrophs that secret-
because of the complexity of substrates and the pro- ing extracellular enzymes to digest complex organic ma-
duction of many intermediate products during terials such as polysaccharides and proteins into their
composting. The growth of microorganisms are always monomeric constituents[29]. The major ecological ac-
restricted by the environmental and nutritional condi-
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Current Research Paper

tivity of fungi is to decompose woods, papers, cloths are considered as the main group of microorganisms
and other recalcitrant organic matters such as hemicel- responsible for organic matter conversion during ther-
lulose, cellulose and lignin[27]. The degradation is usu- mophilic phase, as well as the latter phase of composting.
ally performed by fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, This is because actinomycetes are able to sustain in the
Malbranchea cinnamomea, Ganoderma colossum harsh environment[37,38]. Although the ideal growth tem-
and Heterobasidion annosum in the compost. perature of actinomycetes is within the mesophilic range,
As bacteria, the growth of fungi in composting is some species of actinomycetes can withstand at high
affected by the factors of temperature, moisture con- temperature during thermophilic phase, and even be-
tent and pH. Fungi requires acidic environment (pH 4.5 come more active when the temeperature is approach-
– 5.0) to grow, although most of them can tolerate to a ing to 60 oC[18,37]. This observation could also be hap-
wide range of pH; less than pH 7.5[27,31,33]. Since most pened during the condition of nutrient depletion.
of the fungi are mesophiles, they can grow at the tem- Microbiological additive and its application
perature of 5 to 37 oC, with an optimal range of 25 and
30 oC[27,34]. The detected mesophilic fungi population In order to speed up the composting rate, the addi-
within the first mesophilic phase is always low. The low tion of beneficial microbial inoculants and/or earthworms
population of mesophilic fungi, 105 to 107 cfu/g of com- is always proposed. The chemical additives such as ni-
post is due to the high water content at the beginning oftrogen and phosphorus, and plant growth regulators
composting. Even after the microbial proliferation phase,such as kinetin, indole-3-acetic acid and glibberellin acid
a population of greater than 108 cfu/g of compost was were also found to be beneficial to the compost[1].
not observed[5,8,17,35]. The microbial number of meso- The microbial inoculants which are also known as
microbiological additives are likely to accelerate the
philic fungi is always reestablished at the end of cooling
phase and the maturity phase[6,9,12]. composting process by increasing the decomposition
For thermophilic fungi, they are able to sustain at rate, especially with the inoculation of cellulolytic and
high temperature during the thermophilic phase. The lignoolytic microorganisms[39]. As reported by Medina
growth of thermophilic fungi is optimum between 40 et al. (2004), the decomposition of agrowastes was
and 50 oC with the upper temperature limit of 55 – 62 improved when some selected beneficial microbial in-
o [27-29]
C . The decline in the fungi population has alwaysoculants (arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi, Y. lipolytical,
been observed when the compost reaches the upper Rhizobium sp.) are inoculated together with the origi-
limit of temperature. nally presented fungal species of A. niger in sugar beet
and dry olive cake waste materials[40]. The availability
Actinomycetes of both organic and inorganic plant nutrients were re-
Actinomycetes are considered as a higher form of ported to be increased, in addition to the enhancement
bacteria that consisted of multicellular filaments. They of soil fertility in term of biochemical and biological char-
are common in many environments and able to utilize a acteristics.
wider range of carbon sources in order to sporulate Sasaki et al. (2006) also highlighted the successive
[35]
prolifically due to their ubiquity . In contradiction to effects of commercial microbiological additive on the
fungi and bacteria, the relatively low rate of coloniza- composting of beef manure[41]. The beef manure was
tion has restricted the growth of actinomycetes during likely to have higher microbial population and faster tem-
composting. The low colonization rate is significantly perature increment rate at the beginning of composting.
observed at the beginning of composting and are usu- Besides, the reduction in ammonia emission and nitrate
ally colonized up to 15 cm in diameter on the surface of production were also reported in the microbiological
an adequately ventilated material[36]. additive inoculated compost. The reduction was con-
Similarly, actinomycetes also secrete a wide range tributed by the constructive metabolism of microorgan-
of extracellular enzymes to degrade cellulose and lig- isms through the process of ammonia assimilation, in-
nin. Their degradation capacity for lignocellulose was stead of nitrification.
found to be lower than fungi. However, actinomycetes The positive effect of compost was likely to be fur-

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ESAIJ, 8(9) 2013 Lee Suan Chua et al. 339

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ther improved if beneficial microorganisms were inocu- would produce higher microbial activity to increase mi-
lated together with the compost. Meunchang et al. crobial persistence in EM inoculated compost[47].
(2006) reported the enhancement of plant growth for It is initially prepared for agricultural industry to en-
tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) when sugar mill hance the productivity of organic or nature farming. For
by-products compost was inoculated with the nitrogen instance, the production of papaya in Vietnam[48], pea-
fixing bacteria[42]. Hameeda et al. (2006) showed the nut in China[49], vegetables in New Zealand[50] and
growth of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) for apples in Japan[51]. Nowadays, its potential applica-
88%, 83% and 82% when Serratia marcescens EB67 tions in other sectors are being discovered. The appli-
inoculated rice straw compost, Gliricidia vermicompost cation of EM has been expanded and showed successful
and Pseudomonas sp. CDB 35 inoculated Gliricidia effects on animal husbandry, gardening and landscap-
vermicompost were applied, respectively[43]. Perner et ing, waste treatment or composting, bioremediation,
al. (2007) also highlighted the increase in buds and algal control, aquaculture and household uses. EM has
flower numbers of pelargonium (Pelargonium been proven to effectively control or suppress pests,
peltatum L’Her.) when three mycorrhizal inocula (Terra pathogens and diseases on plants. Pham and Nguyen
Vital Hortimix, Endorize-Mix and AMYkor) were in- (2010) reported that the reduction of disease infection
oculated into compost separately[44]. in papaya by Anthracnose, powdery mildew, papaya
At present, there are approximately 100 types of mosaic and ringspot diseases with the use of EM[48].
commercial microbiological additives widely used for Zimmermann and Kamukuenjandje (2008) showed the
deodorization and acceleration of composting in Ja- control of red spider mite attack in tomato[52].
pan[41]. However, the lack of scientific research and in- Besides the promoting effect of EM on crop pro-
vestigation, their performance on plant growth at dif- duction and being as a bio-control agent, the use of
ferent locations remains as a major challenge, in terms EM as an inoculants in compost is also likely to in-
of efficacy and consistency. The performance could vary crease the decomposition rate of organic materials, as
due to the variance in soil fertility, microbe composi- well as to reduce the unpleasant odors during waste
tion, plant type, and climate change. Effective microor- water treatment. The reduction of biological oxygen
ganisms (EM) is a commercial microbial inocula firstly demand, chemical oxygen demand and ammonia con-
proposed by Professor Teruo Higa from University of tent were also reported in the swine waste manage-
Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan in 1991[45]. It is a mixed cul- ment in Korea[53] and wastes management in Egypt[54].
ture of beneficial and naturally occurring microorgan- Moreover, Kengo and Xu (2001) also highlighted the
isms which more than 80 microorganisms is living in increase in electrical conductivity, humid substances and
synchronization including predominant populations of metabolites such as antioxidants, organic acids, nucleic
lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, small numbers of acti- acids, enzymes and minerals in EM-treated soil and
nomycetes, photosynthetic bacteria and other minor compost[47].
group of organisms[46,47]. Recently, EM has become one
of the most well known microorganism additives in Ja- COMPOST AS BIO-FERTILIZER
pan because of its effectiveness as a microbial booster
for organic waste degradation in composting. It has been Besides organic waste recycling or bio-remediation,
widely used for soil and crop management practices composting has become an attractive way to produce
such as crop rotation, use of organic amendment, con- bio-fertilizer. The introduction of compost as bio-fertil-
servation tillage, crop residue recycling and bio-control izer offers advantages for the promotion of sustainable
of pests. soil health and crop production. The promotion is mainly
The commercial EM is needed to be activated be- due to the increase of elemental nutrients in soil[55]. The
fore used. Activation can be performed by the addition nutrients might be plant hormones or phytoharmones
of molasses and incubated at ambient temperature until which are usually present in small quantity. The
the pH of EM solution reaches around pH 3 to 4[46]. phytoharmones such as indole-3-acetic acid, cytoki-
Kengo and Xu (2001) reported that the lower pH value nin, gibberellin and 5-aminolevulinic acid are well known
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as plant growth promoting metabolites. Indole-3-ace- tive bacteria population[67]. The reduction of black mold
tic acid and cytokinin had been reported to be extracted disease in onion was observed when the onion seeds
from the leachate of compost in many investigations[56,57]. were treated with sunflower compost[68].
It is believed that these metabolites are produced by The stress tolerance and disease suppression of
the microorganisms via the process of composting[58-60]. plants are of great importance for high productivity of
These metabolites are also of great importance for the crop, since world population is in the increasing trend.
other physiological processes including stomatal move- Besides plant growth promotion, compost could in-
ment, plant cell differentiation and development. crease plant resistance towards stresses and diseases
The beneficial effect of compost on the growth of due to the infection. Plant stress is a highly unpredict-
cucumber, and the germination and the early growth of able fluctuation which can be categorized into abiotic
four switch grass population had been observed after and biotic stresses. Abiotic stress includes extreme tem-
the introduction of composted humid substances[61]. The perature, drought, flood, poor edaphic conditions such
significant increase in plant height, biomass, chlorophyll as rock content, pH, high radiation, compaction and
content and photosynthetic rate and nitrogen content in contamination, whereas biotic stress includes those dam-
plant leaves was also reported with the application of age because of the presence of other living organisms
sewage sludge compost[62]. The growth of lettuce such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, harmful in-
(Lactuca sativa L.) had also been noticed with the sects and weeds. Plant stress might disrupt the equilib-
application of sugarcane bagasses sewage sludge based rium and regular metabolic pattern of plant that resulted
compost[63]. Recently, the advantages of compost is in injury, disease or aberrant physiology[64].
being recognized since the application of chemical fer-
tilizer often leads to high cost, environmental pollution DETERMINATION OF COMPOST
and depletion of soil organic matter. MATURITY
Unlike chemical fertilizer and pesticides, compost
causes no harm to the environment. It replenishes the The application of immature compost can be a prob-
soil nutrient content and improves the soil fertility. Be- lem to the ecosystem. This is because further decom-
sides, compost also increases the buffering capacity of position in soil can induce anaerobic condition, which
soil, particularly increasing the plant resistance towards the available oxygen in soil pores is utilized by micro-
acidic pH environment[64]. As reported by Marosz organisms. This phenomenon might deprive plant roots
(2012), the growth of plants (Acer platanoides, of oxygen, and leading to the generation of H2S and
Fraxinus excelsior, Robinia pseudoacacia, Cornus NO2-[69]. Therefore, the completeness of composting is
alba, Spiraea vanhouttei) could be better if green crucial to ensure the stability and maturity of compost
waste compost were applied even under saline stress, for agricultural application.
especially with arbuscular mycorrhiza inoculation[65]. It The maturity of compost can be determined by
is noteworthy that the use of green waste compost would the resistance of compost to further biologically break-
also increase the potassium and sodium uptake by the down into smaller metabolites. This can be measured
plants. based on the rate of microbial activities in the com-
Indeed, the mature compost is carrying millions of post. The microbial activity is usually evaluated by using
microorganisms, which forms a tightly knitted soil food respirometric measurement or by studying the trans-
web and creates natural immune system for the plants. formation of chemical properties of compost sub-
The system is likely to be natural predator against most stances[70]. On the other hand, the maturity of com-
of the plant diseases[64]. Significantly, the use of sludge post can also be determined by the degree of phyto-
compost had suppressed Fusarium wilt of cucumber toxic organic compound decomposition during the
due to the presence of fungus, Fusarium oxysporum[66]. active composting phase. The absence of pathogens
The growth inhibition of oomycete plant pathogens by and viable weed seeds is always referred to the com-
the chitin waste based compost from two-phase pleteness in decomposition. Some biological methods
composting was due to the increase in total Gram-posi- such as seed germination tests and plant growth bio-
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assays are also used for the compost maturity evalua- color. The maturity phase of compost is always ac-
tion. companied with noticeable reduction in heat[4,71]. Cur-
There is no single parameter can be used to de- rently, there were numerous methods being developed
termine the stability and maturity of compost. It is al- to assess the compost maturity such as C:N ratio,
ways referred to compost that lacking of toxins and moisture, formation of humid substance, production
detrimental bacteria, fungi and noxious odor. Mature of odor and stability of organic matters. TABLE 1
compost also has stable nutrient composition, more shows the list of parameters commonly used to evalu-
homogenous and uniformly dark brown or black in ate the maturity of compost.
TABLE 1 : Common parameters and their optimum values for mature compost
Parameter Optimum range for mature compost References
C:N ratio 10 – 15 Bary et al. (2002)
pH 6.5 - 7.5 Bary et al. (2002)
Organic substance 40 – 60 % Bary et al. (2002)
Odor Odorless (slight ‘earthy’ and inoffensive smell) Bary et al. (2002)
Electrical conductivity 0 - 4 dSm-1 Bary et al. (2002)
Bary et al. (2002)
Moisture 15 – 25 %
Ahmad et al. (2007)
Color Dark brown to black (Humid substances) Ahmad et al. (2007)
Texture Crumby (Particles is decomposed into smaller size) Ahmad et al. (2007)
Nitrogen 1–3% Ahmad et al. (2007)
Phosphorus 0.5 – 1 % Ahmad et al. (2007)
Potassium 1 - 1.5 % Ahmad et al. (2007)
[3] P.K.Padmavathiamma, L.Y.Li, U.R.Kumari;
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[4] F.Zucconi, A.Pera, M.Forte, M.D.Bertoldi;
The limited natural resources all over the world have BioCycle, 22, 54 (1981).
[5] D.Y.Liu, R.F.Zhang, H.S.Wu, D.B.Xu, Z.Tang,
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tainable agriculture. Composting is the effective way of
ogy, 102, 9040 (2011).
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