Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Borazjani, Abdolhamid
Committee Member
Sloan, R. Crofton
Committee Member
Prewitt, M. Lynn
Committee Member
Diehl, Susan V.
Date of Degree
12-15-2012
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Forest Products
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
College of Forest Resources
Department
Department of Forestry
Abstract
The objectives of this study were: 1) To evaluate short-term composting of hardwood bark with combinations of poultry litter and ammonium nitrate and 2) To determine the suitability of composted material for ornamental plant media. In a 3-month accelerated composting study, hardwood bark was amended with (20% & 40%) poultry litter, (1% & 2%) ammonium nitrate, or unamended. Composting was run in fifteen 35- gallon containers and samples were collected at day 0, 45, and 90 for pH, moisture content, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, compost maturity, toxicity, and green house evaluations. The amendment containing 40% poultry litter showed significantly higher weight reduction than others at days 45 and 90. Also, this treatment showed significantly higher mass weight in transplanted zinnia and gardenia than other treatments and was comparable to commercial media. Overall, results indicated that the amendment of hardwood bark with poultry litter could produce comparable product to currently used commercial container media.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19498
Recommended Citation
Bakhshizadeh, Hoda, "Accelerated Composting of Hardwood Bark Amended with Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 355.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/355