Dados do Trabalho
Título
UTILIZATION OF BIOCHAR AS ADDITIVE OF COMPOSTING MIXTURES FOR THE DESING OF GROWING MEDIA
Resumo
The use of peat for organic growing media creates a significant ecological footprint. Sustainable materials that can replace, or reduce the use of peat, while maintaining or improving attributes in the growing media and plant growth are necessary. The use of compost has become a suitable way for reusing the organic waste produced by the agroindustry, with several aspects that represent an advantage over traditional organic substrates such as peat but also with some issues that need to be improved. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of biochar, as additive during the process of composting and end-products destinated to growing media design. Treatments, corresponding to the composting mixture (corn stalk and swine manure) as control treatment, the composting mixture and forestry biochar (450°C) at 10% or 20% v/v were evaluated. The analysis of pH, EC and water retention capacity among other were conducted. The activity of enzymes as sensitive indicators of the biological condition including fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA), acid phosphatase (acid P), urease (UA) activity was also measured. The stability and quality of the compost, through the Solvita® test and the germination index were analyzed. A significant improvement was observed in the quality of the end-compost where the water retention capacity (>400%) and germination index (>150%) increased with the addition of biochar. The application of biochar had also a significant influence on the activity of enzymes (p
Palavras-chave
Agricultural residues, composting, horticulture, stabilization
Instituição financiadora
ANID/FONDECYT
Agradecimentos
ANID/FONDECYT initiation project N°11201107 and regular project N°1201375
Área
Divisão 3 – Uso e Manejo do Solo: Comissão 3.2 – Corretivos e Fertilizantes
Autores
JORGE FELIPE MEDINA, GONZALO CARREÑO, RICARDO MARAMBIO, HUMBERTO APONTE, CLAUDIA ROJAS, MARCELA CALABI-FLOODY