Quality of Organic Compost for Vegetable Planting

Abstract

Composting is a technique used to obtain a nutrient-rich, plant-like organic compost. Considering that there are few studies that shows the efficiency of these composts in the cultivation of vegetables, the objective of this study was to evaluate, in the cultivation of lettuce, the quality of the final compost obtained from tree pruning, dairy sludge and coffee grounds—compost 1; grass, dairy sludge and coffee grounds—compost 2; grass, dairy sludge, coffee grounds and boiler ash—compost 3. Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.) were planted for the study with the three composts and a control object-without compost, and a portion with NPK fertilizer. The evaluated parameters were plant growth, head diameter, leaf number, dry mass and fresh mass. The results shows statistical similarities between the organic fertilizers and NPK fertilizer in the evaluated parameters and the control plot presented inferior results to the other plots, emphasizing the need for fertilization at each planting.

Keywords

• composting
• lactuca sativa l.
• dairy sludge
• boiler ash