Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXVII, Issue 1
Written by Georgiana-Andreea IGNAT, Mirela DUŞA, Nicoleta VRÎNCEANU, Monica Mara STAICU
The increase of the amount of biodegradable waste that has occurred in the last decades is worrying and composting is a sustainable practice for managing these types of waste. Compost is generally used to build soil quality, water-holding capacity of the soil, and to encourage vigorous plant root system development. This article presents a study that included four types of compost produced from different biodegradable wastes, namely: wood ash + wheat straw; food scraps + eggshells; poultry litter + wheat straw and poultry litter + food scraps. An study was organized in the greenhouse, in pots, where lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seedlings were planted using soil-compost mixtures as follows: 30% compost + 70% soil; 50% compost + 50% soil; 70% compost + 30% soil. A control with 100% soil was also made. In this paper, the effects of the compost used as fertilizing material are presented in relation with the macronutrients (N; P; K; Ca; Mg) content of the lettuce plant and the pigments in the lettuce leaves (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid pigments).
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