Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
Physical, Chemical and Biological Parameters
for Compost Maturity Assessment: A Review
Rajinder Singh Antil, Dev Raj, Nuha Abdalla and Kazuyuki Inubushi
Abstract
New livestock production system based on intensification of large farms
produces huge amounts of organic waste materials in the form of farm, animal,
domestic and agro-industrial waste all over the world without enough agricul-
tural land for their direct application as fertilizers. Compost stability/maturity has
become a critical issue for land application of composts because immature compost
can be determinant for plant growth and the soil environment. Evaluation of matu-
rity of compost has been widely recognized as one of the most important problems
concerning composting process and application of this product to land. In order
to provide and review the information found in the literature about composting of
different organic waste materials, the first part of this chapter explains basic con-
cepts of composting process. Then a summary of physical, chemical and biological
parameters affecting stability and maturity of high quality compost prepared from
organic waste materials.
Keywords
Physical
·
Chemical and biological parameters
·
Organic wastes
·
Compost quality
5.1
Introduction
Composting of organic wastes is a bio-oxidative process involving the mineral-
ization and partial humification of the organic matter, leading to a stabilized final
product, free from phytotoxicity and pathogens (Zucconi and de Bertoldi
1987
; Ber-
nal et al.
2009
). Composting is a controlled aerobic process carried out by successive
D. K. Maheshwari (ed.),
Composting for Sustainable Agriculture,
Sustainable
Development and Biodiversity 3,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-08004-8_5
83
