Vol. 11, Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
Monika Kayasth and Shikha Mehta

Abstract:
Organic wastes are generated from many sources such as agricultural waste, kitchen waste, market waste, municipal solid waste and urban solid waste. Organic wastes are generally biodegradable but this waste could create several environmental problems without proper management. However, composting has become a preferable option to treat organic wastes to obtain a final stabilized product that can be used as a soil conditioner. Therefore, composting is the alternative solution to overcome this problem as it is low-cost and environment friendly method. In the present investigation, composting of organic waste along with leaf litter was carried out in pit house located at CCS HAU, Hisar. Cattle dung was mixed with organic waste in different ratio. The compost samples were withdrawn at interval of 15 days and analyzed for change in organic carbon, N, P, K and C:N ratio. After 90 days of composting organic carbon decreased from 43.86 - 30.08%, nitrogen varied between 0.92 - 1.36% and C/N ratio decreased from 47.67 to 22.11. P % increased from 0.31 to 0.53 and K % increased from 0.79 to 1.09 respectively. Thus, utilization of organic wastes for the preparation of compost will provide new perspective in nutrient management of soil.