Cultivation of Canola (Brassica napus L.) Using Composted Agro-industrial Waste 

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Cairo, Giza 12613, Egypt

2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Jeddah,21589, Saudi Arabia

3 Department of Water Pollution Research, National Research Center, Dokki,12622, Egypt

Abstract

Composting is an effective procedure for recycling of agricultural and industrial waste and converting into valuable material. This work focuses on conversion of solid waste of tobacco manufacturing to compost which is useful for agricultural application. As well the compost from tobacco waste was characterized using different techniques and employed as soil amendment for improving its properties. The produced compost showed variation in characteristics; pH, total phosphorus, total organic content, total nitrogen and C/N ratio with time of composting regarding to original waste. Noticeably, total organic was decreased by 35 % and C/N ratio was improved by decreasing from 26.6 to 13.48 after 75 days of composting process. Also, the Potential Toxic Elements (PTEs) in the composted material had been measured as it is a key to use of mature compost for land application. A mixture of sand and tobacco waste compost has a 46.61% of water holding capacity, while it was 25 % for sand alone. Canola seeds grow well in a mixture of sand and tobacco waste compost in referring to some physiological and morphological parameters. Therefore, tobacco compost may be used as a soil amendment for cultivation land. Conclusively, the waste was converted to wealth, and produced compost valorized added value of waste.

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