Submit to Agronomy Review for Agronomy Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 54593

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Angeles Bustamante Muñoz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, EPS-Orihuela, Ctra. Beniel Km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Spain
Interests: organic waste management; compost; organic fertilization; co-composting; soil quality; sustainable agriculture; climate change mitigation; soil organic matter; soilless growing media
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Raul Moral Herrero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

GIAAMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Miguel Hernández University, EPS-Orihuela, Ctra. Beniel km 3.2, 03312 Alicante, Orihuela, Spain
Interests: organic waste management; compost; climate change mitigation; greenhouse gas emissions; organic fertilization; co-composting; soil quality; sustainable agriculture; soil organic matter; soilless growing media
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues，

Currently, agriculture faces the challenge of securing the production for an increasing human population, but also including environmental and sustainability aspects, reducing the use of non-renewable resources and energy and favoring climate change mitigation. The strategies that mainly contribute to a sustainable agricultural development are those based on the optimized management of the available resources, especially of the organic wastes generated and of the soil, to assure its conservation and protection and to maintain its fertility. Composting cannot be considered a new technology; however, this method supposes the management of organic wastes, the optimization of the resources contained in them, especially organic matter and nutrients, and a brake reduction to the greenhouse effect, with a notable potential of C sequestration, also associated to soil organic matter.

This Special Issue aims to study the strategies based on the use of compost in different agricultural scenarios (organic and conventional agriculture, soilless crop production, etc.) to achieve sustainable crop production and to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural systems. Original research, reviews, or opinions on the role of compost for sustainable agriculture, with special interest in the effects on C sequestration, soil quality and conservation and climate change mitigation in different environments are welcome.

Dr. Maria Angeles Bustamante Muñoz
Dr. Raul Moral Herrero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

compost
organic waste management
soil fertility
soil quality
C sequestration
organic fertilization
soilless substrates
agricultural soils
nutrient recovery
climate change mitigation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (11 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 985 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Agro-Livestock Wastes for Composting in Rural Zones in Ecuador: The Case of the Parish of San Andrés

by Víctor Valverde-Orozco, Irene Gavilanes-Terán, Julio Idrovo-Novillo, Lourdes Carrera-Beltrán, Sofía Buri-Tanguila, Kimberly Salazar-García and Concepción Paredes

Agronomy 2022, 12(10), 2538; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102538 - 17 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1702

Abstract

In Ecuador, the agriculture and livestock sectors are very important within the economy of rural areas. These activities generate a large amount of waste whose management is not optimized. Thus, the aim of this work was to characterize different agro-livestock wastes generated in a rural area, the parish of San Andrés (Chimborazo-Ecuador), in order to know their composition to design suitable composting processes for their treatment. To this end, different physicochemical and chemical parameters were determined in 24 crop residue samples and 18 manure samples, and two piles were elaborated with the same proportion of wastes (51% vegetable residue + 35% cow manure + 14% sawdust) and composted by turning or passive aeration. Throughout the composting process, the temperature and oxygen concentration were recorded and the evolution of different physicochemical, chemical, and biological parameters and the quality of the final composts were studied. The results indicated that the agro-livestock residues presented notable macro and micronutrient and organic matter contents and low levels of heavy metals, these properties being positive for their subsequent treatment in a co-composting experiment. This experiment demonstrated that the composting processes are a feasible strategy for the treatment of these residues and yield compost with an adequate agricultural quality (notable nitrogen content, low heavy metal and soluble mineral salt contents and 92–94% in germination index). Moreover, the passive aeration system can be recommended because this aeration method reduced composting times and the work associated with the process. However, more studies are required on this composting system and other agro-livestock wastes to establish a management protocol for all the waste generated, which will contribute to the sustainability of the agro-livestock sector in the area studied. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 622 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Validation of Alternative Palm-Derived Substrates for Seedling Production

by María Pilar Gomis, María Dolores Pérez-Murcia, Xavier Barber, Encarnación Martínez-Sabater, Raúl Moral and María Ángeles Bustamante

Agronomy 2022, 12(6), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12061377 - 8 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1810

Abstract

The constraints associated with peat use in horticulture has led to a search for alternative materials for their use as growing media. The organic materials derived from palm trees (composted or not) can constitute an alternative due to their ligneous and fibrous character, similar to coir fiber. This work studies the feasibility of using several palm-tree-derived (Phoenix dactylifera L.) organic materials as growing media ingredients for the transplant production of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. Senna). For this, the following substrates were studied: five mixtures for each palm-derived material (palm trunks and leaves and composts derived from palm trunk and leaves), in the proportions of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% by volume, mixed with coir fiber. Coir fiber at the proportion 100% was used as the control treatment. Physical, physico-chemical, and chemical analyses were conducted on the substrates, and the germination and morphological parameters of the seedlings were examined. Chemometric tools, such as random forest (RF) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were also used to evaluate the data obtained. The type and proportion of material used in the growing media principally affected the parameters studied in the lettuce seedlings. The substrates with a percentage of compost lower than 60% showed behavior closer to that observed in the growing media with 100% coir fiber and with the mixture of coir fiber and palm leaves or trunks at all proportions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 10980 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutrient Release Dynamics in Argentinean Pampean Soils Amended with Composts under Laboratory Conditions

by Luciano Orden, Gastón A. Iocoli, María Ángeles Bustamante, Raúl Moral and Roberto A. Rodríguez

Agronomy 2022, 12(4), 795; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040795 - 25 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2237

Abstract

Composted manure is the greatest nitrogen (N) source in organic agriculture, where the use of chemical fertilizers, except the use of rock phosphate as P source, is not allowed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the soil type and compost characteristics on the potential rates of mineralization and on the kinetics of the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) release patterns. For this, an aerobic incubation study was conducted over the course of 119 days at 25 °C using two different composts as amendments: a compost from biosolids and wood shavings (CRUB), and a compost from poultry manure with wheat straw (CSP). The composts were incorporated into two different soils of contrasting texture, sandy loam (S1) and silty clay loam (S2), at the dose of 160 kg N ha⁻¹. Samples were collected eight times during the incubation period. The N and C dynamics were studied separately according to the different soil type. In both soils, a predominance of the nitrification process immediately after compost application was observed, showing a higher mineralization in the sandy loam soil, this trend being followed by a decrease and even an immobilization process, associated with stable organic materials such as compost. Moreover, both composts presented high contents of available P, but without exceeding 50 mg P kg⁻¹, due to the slow release from the stable organic P fractions present in compost. The results obtained showed that despite the initial mineralization, both composts showed a significant period of N immobilization after their application into the pampean soils, which makes it necessary to anticipate their incorporation to avoid this lack period for crops. Furthermore, the application of these composts to the pampean soils implied an incorporation of available P, but with a slow release that avoided overfertilization, but also reducing N:P ratio and producing a relative deficit of N. Therefore, the results obtained suggested that it is necessary to study nutrient mineralization processes of the amendments prior to their use, according to the edaphoclimatic condition of each crop, in order to predict the release dynamics on soils and the fertilization potential to minimize potential environmental impacts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 740 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of Agro-Waste as a Source of Crop Nutrients in Intensive Horticulture System

by Isidoro Carricondo-Martínez, Domenico Falcone, Francesca Berti, Francesco Orsini and María del Carmen Salas-Sanjuan

Agronomy 2022, 12(2), 447; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020447 - 10 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2482

Abstract

The inadequate management of agro-waste in intensive agriculture has a severe negative impact on the environment. The valorization of crop residue as a source of crop nutrients is a valid alternative to close the nutrient cycle and reduce the use of external input. In this study, plant material was incorporated into the soil as fresh crop residue, after either composting and vermicomposting processes, to evaluate their effects on tomato yield and nutritional status (petiole sap analysis: NO₃ and K⁺ concentration) over three crop cycles. A control treatment with mineral fertigation and an organic control treatment with goat manure were also included. Enzymatic activity and microbial population in the soil were evaluated. Although no differences between treatments were observed in the first cycle, in the second and third cycles, the yield obtained with the application of organic amendments derived from agro-waste was comparable to the yield obtained with mineral fertilizers. Overall, the sap analysis did not reveal a clear relationship with yield performances. The compost treatment resulted in higher microorganism presence in the soil. Soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA), acid phosphatase activity (ACP), and β-glucosidase activity (β-GLU) were generally more stimulated when organic amendments were used. The study confirms the applicability of soil fertilizers derived from agro-waste as a good alternative to mineral fertilizers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Azolla Compost as an Approach for Enhancing Growth, Productivity and Nutrient Uptake of Oryza sativa L.

by Mahmoud F. Seleiman, Omnia M. Elshayb, Abdelwahed M. Nada, Sara A. El-leithy, Lina Baz, Bushra A. Alhammad and Ayman H. A. Mahdi

Agronomy 2022, 12(2), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020416 - 7 Feb 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 9694

Abstract

The excessive application of synthetic fertilizers can result in severe environmental risks, while composting green and fresh feedstocks can provide slow-release nutrients. Therefore, the aim of the current investigation was to study the effects of eight individual and combination treatments of azolla compost and NPK synthetic fertilizers (control = no fertilizer and compost; 100% NPK = full recommended dose of synthetic fertilizers as follows: 165 kg N ha⁻¹, 37 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹ and 50 kg K₂O ha⁻¹; 70% NPK; 40% NPK; 100% azolla compost (5 t DM ha⁻¹); 50% NPK + 50% azolla compost; 70% NPK + 30% azolla compost and 40% NPK + 60% azolla compost) on rice growth, productivity and nutrient uptake in semi-arid agro-ecosystems. The results indicated that the combination of 40% NPK + 60% azolla compost or 50% NPK + 50% azolla compost resulted in the most optimal growth and the highest yield components. In addition, the application of 40% NPK + 60% azolla compost exhibited similar rice grain yields (10.76 t ha⁻¹) as well as N, P, and K content and uptake compared with the full recommended dose of NPK fertilizer (100% NPK). This study declared that the utilization of azolla compost as an individual or combination application can reduce usage of synthetic fertilizers by up to 60% without significant reduction in the growth and grain productivity of rice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 5078 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Different Organic Fertilisation Systems Modify Tomato Quality: An Opportunity for Circular Fertilisation in Intensive Horticulture

by Isidoro Carricondo-Martínez, Francesca Berti and Maria del Carmen Salas-Sanjuán

Agronomy 2022, 12(1), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010174 - 11 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2980

Abstract

The valorisation of vegetal waste as a source of crop nutrients constitutes a circular strategy to improve the sustainability of intensive horticultural production systems. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of organic amendments derived from vegetal residues on the yield and quality of tomato. The following fertilisation treatments were carried out: fresh vegetal residues (4 kg m⁻¹), compost (3 kg m⁻¹), and vermicompost at two different doses (3 and 9 kg m⁻¹), all derived from previous tomato crop vegetal residues, an organic treatment with goat manure (3 kg m⁻¹), and a control mineral fertigation treatment. The highest yield was obtained with conventional mineral fertigation management, followed by vermicompost treatments at two different doses (3 and 9 kg m⁻¹), with no statistical differences. The organic treatments with fresh crop residues, compost and goat manure resulted in lower yield. Regarding quality parameters, the lycopene content was higher in the mineral fertilisation and vermicompost at 3 kg m⁻¹ treatment, while the other antioxidants measured were more concentrated in tomatoes fertilised with vermicompost treatment at 9 kg m⁻¹ and goat manure. The plant nutrient management with vermicompost is the best circular solution, as it allows to reintegrate the residues generated in previous crop cycles into the soil, obtaining a yield equal to chemical input management and tomatoes with high nutritional quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 2685 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reduction of Ammonia Emissions from Laying Hen Manure in a Closed Composting Process Using Gas-Permeable Membrane Technology

by María Soto-Herranz, Mercedes Sánchez-Báscones, Juan Manuel Antolín-Rodríguez and Pablo Martín-Ramos

Agronomy 2021, 11(12), 2384; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11122384 - 24 Nov 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3514

Abstract

Nitrogen losses during composting processes lead to emissions problems and reduce the compost fertilizer value. Gas-permeable membranes (GPM) are a promising approach to address the challenge of reducing nitrogen losses in composting processes. This study investigated the applicability of two GPM membrane systems to recover N released during the closed composting process of laying hen manure. The ammonia (NH₃) capture process was performed using two different systems over a period of 44 days: the first system (S1) consisted of 120 m of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane installed inside a 3.7 m³ portable, closed aerobic composter with forced ventilation; the second system (S2) consisted of 474 m of an ePTFE membrane placed inside as an external module designed for NH₃ capture, connected to a closed aerobic composter through a pipe. In both cases, a 1 N H₂SO₄ acidic NH₃ capture solution was circulated inside the membranes at a flow rate of 2.1 L·h⁻¹. The amount of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) recovered was similar in the two systems (0.61 kg in S1 and 0.65 kg in S2) due to the chosen membrane surface areas, but the TAN recovery rate was six times higher in system S1 (6.9 g TAN·m⁻²·day⁻¹) than in system S2 (1.9 g TAN·m⁻²·day⁻¹) due to the presence of a higher NH₃ concentration in the air in contact with the membrane. Given that the NH₃ concentration in the atmosphere of the membrane compartment directly influences the NH₃ capture, better performance of the GPM recovery system may be attained by installing it directly inside the closed aerobic composters. Regardless of the chosen configuration, this technology allows N recovery as a stable and concentrated 1.4% N ammonium salt solution, which can be used for fertigation. The presented GPM systems may be used in community composting systems with low volumes of waste to be treated or in livestock facilities that have implemented best available techniques such as solid–liquid separation or anaerobic digestion, provided that the use of GPM technology in combination with these techniques also contributes to odor mitigation and improves biogas yields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

9 pages, 631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management of Green Waste Streams from Different Origins: Assessment of Different Composting Scenarios

by Francisco J. Guilabert, Xavier Barber, María Dolores Pérez-Murcia, Enrique Agulló, Francisco Javier Andreu-Rodríguez, Raúl Moral and María Ángeles Bustamante

Agronomy 2021, 11(9), 1870; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091870 - 17 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2044

Abstract

The organic wastes of plant origin and, in particular, those coming from sources related to tourism activities, such as those generated from golf courses and touristic coasts, constitute an increasing concern due to the rise in their production and their unsuitable management. Thus, this work aimed to assess the use of different composting strategies to manage these specific green wastes, such as grass clippings and pruning waste from a golf course and marine plant debris, mainly from posidonia (Posidonia oceanica L.). To this end, two composting scenarios were established: the first only considered green wastes in the composition of the composting mixtures, and the second used sewage sludge as a co-composting agent. The temperature of the piles was monitored, and physicochemical and chemical parameters were also studied throughout the process. The results obtained showed that composting is a feasible method to manage and recycle this type of green waste, obtaining end products with suitable physicochemical and chemical characteristics. However, proportions of sea plant wastes in the composting mixture higher than 30% can compromise the fertilizing value of the final compost. Moreover, the use of an additional co-composting agent (sewage sludge) improved the characteristics of the end products obtained, provided that this co-composting agent had suitable initial characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 3049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Organic Amendment Addition on Soil Properties, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Grape Yield in Semi-Arid Vineyard Agroecosystems

by Antonio Marín-Martínez, Alberto Sanz-Cobeña, Mª Angeles Bustamante, Enrique Agulló and Concepción Paredes

Agronomy 2021, 11(8), 1477; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081477 - 25 Jul 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2800

Abstract

In semi-arid vineyard agroecosystems, highly vulnerable in the context of climate change, the soil organic matter (OM) content is crucial to the improvement of soil fertility and grape productivity. The impact of OM, from compost and animal manure, on soil properties (e.g., pH, oxidisable organic C, organic N, NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N), grape yield and direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in vineyards was assessed. For this purpose, two wine grape varieties were chosen and managed differently: with a rain-fed non-trellising vineyard of Monastrell, a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Monastrell and a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon. The studied fertiliser treatments were without organic amendments (C), sheep/goat manure (SGM) and distillery organic waste compost (DC). The SGM and DC treatments were applied at a rate of 4600 kg ha⁻¹ (fresh weight, FW) and 5000 kg ha⁻¹ FW, respectively. The use of organic amendments improved soil fertility and grape yield, especially in the drip-irrigated trellising vineyards. Increased CO₂ emissions were coincident with higher grape yields and manure application (maximum CO₂ emissions = 1518 mg C-CO₂ m⁻² d⁻¹). In contrast, N₂O emissions, mainly produced through nitrification, were decreased in the plots showing higher grape production (minimum N₂O emissions = −0.090 mg N₂O-N m⁻² d⁻¹). In all plots, the CH₄ fluxes were negative during most of the experiment (−1.073−0.403 mg CH₄-C m⁻² d⁻¹), indicating that these ecosystems can represent a significant sink for atmospheric CH₄. According to our results, the optimal vineyard management, considering soil properties, yield and GHG mitigation together, was the use of compost in a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard with the grape variety Monastrell. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Energy Budgeting and Its Indicator for Sustainable Nutrient and Weed Management in a Rice-Maize-Green Gram Cropping System

by Dibakar Ghosh, Koushik Brahmachari, Anupam Das, Mohamed M. Hassan, Pijush Kanti Mukherjee, Sukamal Sarkar, Nirmal Kumar Dinda, Biswajit Pramanick, Debojyoti Moulick, Sagar Maitra and Akbar Hossain

Agronomy 2021, 11(1), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010166 - 16 Jan 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3990

Abstract

Sustainability and climate change are the two major challenges to the agricultural production system. The trade-off between them is essential for higher profitability. The energy assessment is essential for judging the sustainability and vulnerability of a production system. Besides, nutrient management and weed management are equally imperative to sustainability. Thus, the present study was executed to assess the energy balance, key energy indicators and profitability of rice–maize–green gram system under different nutrient and weed management practices. Application of Brassicaceous seed meal (BSM) along with mineral fertilizer attributed the highest rice (5.62 t ha⁻¹) and maize (6.48 t ha⁻¹) yield which was 11.6%, 8.3% and 3.7% in maize and 10.0%, 6.2% and 8.7% in rice for the conjoint application with vermicompost, farmyard manure (FYM) and neem cake, respectively. Moreover, BSM recorded the highest net energy gain, energy use efficiency and energy efficiency ratio and the lowest specific energy in all the crops. Application of pre-emergence herbicides followed by hoeing was found to be best in all respects including yield, profitability, energy use efficiency, energy effectiveness, etc. The appropriate combination of integrated nutrient management with BSM and pre-emergence herbicide application followed by hoeing provided an additional advantage not only in terms of yield but also an efficient use of energy, profitability and environmental safety. BSM and neem cake could be the alternative organic manure in the integrated nutrient-cum-weed management module and they could be able to compensate the paucity of FYM and vermicompost in the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 848 KiB

Open AccessReview

Vermicomposting—Facts, Benefits and Knowledge Gaps

by Ana Vuković, Mirna Velki, Sandra Ečimović, Rosemary Vuković, Ivna Štolfa Čamagajevac and Zdenko Lončarić

Agronomy 2021, 11(10), 1952; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11101952 - 28 Sep 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 19269

Abstract

Industrialization and urbanization have led to an increased accumulation of waste materials that are transformed into a nutrient-rich and high-quality product called vermicompost by the vermicomposting process. Vermicomposting is an ecofriendly and economically favorable biotechnological process that involves the interaction of earthworms and microorganisms. Due to the importance of this process and its great potential in dealing with the consequences of waste accumulation, this review aims to provide key insights as well as highlight knowledge gaps. It is emphasized that there is a great challenge in understanding and clarifying the mechanisms involved in the vermicomposting process. The optimization of the factors affecting the possible application of vermicompost is crucial for obtaining the final product. Information on the composition of bacterial communities, amount of vermicompost, effect on heavy metal content, plant pathogens, diseases and organic waste selection is here recognized as currently the most important issues to be addressed. By answering these knowledge gaps, it is possible to enable wider utilization of vermicompost products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Composting as Key Driver for Sustainable Agricultural Scenarios

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (11 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI