Effect Of Inoculating Microbes And Vermicomposting On Green Waste Composting

The aim of the study is to enhance the composting technology of green waste through the addition of bacterial reagent and vermicomposting and also find alternative substrate of the peat by means of the application of compost product.The final results can provide a theoretical support and practical basis for the recycling of green waste.The results are as follows:(1)Green waste was separately inoculated on day 0 and day 14 with either Trametes versicolor or Phanerochaete chysosporium to determine their effects on composting time and compost quality.Inoculation with Tversicolor and P.chrysosporium caused more rapid and higher increases in compost temperatures,increased the duration of the thermophilic temperature stage,and reduced the maturity time.Inoculation with Tversicolor and P.chrysosporium greatly increased the quality of the final composts in terms of pH,electrical conductivity,organic matter concentration,C/N ratio,germination index,and nutrient content.Inoculation with Tversicolor and P.chrysosporium also significantly increased the degradation of lignin by 7.1%and 8.2%,respectively,and increased the degradation of cellulose by 10.6%and 13.6%,respectively.(2)Five growing substrates were prepared by mixing modified GWC and the peat at the volume rates of 0%to 100%,25%to 75%,50%to 50%,75%to 25%,and 100%to 0%.In the first experiment,geranium and calendula seeds were sowed in each substrate and seedling was quantified after 35 days'cultivation.In the second experiment,geranium and calendula seedlings were grown in each medium and were quantified after 6 months' cultivation.The results showed that the increasing percentage of GWC in the growing substrate resulted in an increase in bulk density and decreases in total pore space,aeration porosity,and water-holding porosity.Besides,the increasing ratio of GWC in the growing substrates also induced an increase in pH and electrical conductivity values as well as the contents of macro-and micro-element.In the first experiment,Geranium seedlings grown in all compost-based substrate had lower quality than seedlings grown in control medium,even a low proportion of 25%GWC can cause damage to the seedlings.Calendula seedlings grown in substrates containing 25-50%GWC displayed equal quality to control medium.The second experiment showed that the addition of(,WC in the growing substrate significantly increased the shoot dry weight,plant height,stem diameter,and leaf surface of geranium and calendula,and the root weight and number of flowers per plant of calendula.Thus.green waste compost can partly replace peat in substrates as a seedling growth material for calendula and for geranium and calendula cultivation.(3)After 60 days of pre-composting of green waste,seven treatments were prepared for vermicomposting by mixing green waste(pre-composted materials)with cow dung at ratios(dry weight)of 100/0(without earthworm as control),100/0,98/2,96/4,94/6,92/8 and 90/10(treatments TO to T6,respectively).Growth and reproductive performance of Eisenia fetida in different treatments were measured after 60 days of vermicomposting.Physical and chemical properties of initial materials and final vermicomposts were also analyzed.Moreover,a plant cultivation experiment(Calathea veitchiana)was conducted to estimate the quality and maturity of the final vermicomposting.The results showed that,final products of all the treatments with earthworm(T1-T6)have significantly higher nutritional elements contents and better plant growth parameters than treatment without earth worm(TO).In comparison with pure green waste treatment(T1),treatments with cow dung addition significantly increased in the rate of growth and reproduction of earthworms,accelerated the degradation rate of cellulose and lignin,increased the nutrient contents of the final vermicomposting product.Moreover,increases in microbial population in vermicomposting were also recorded with addition of cow dung.Among treatments T2-T6,significant higher fertilizer value of final product as well as the growth and fecundity of Eisenia fetida were observed in T5 and T6,which is recommended.