THE SUITABILITY OF BIOLOGICALLY PREPARED COMPOST AS GROWTH MEDIA INGREDIENT FOR NURSERIES OF TOMATO AND CUCUMBER SEEDLINGS

7/30/2019 THE SUITABILITY OF BIOLOGICALLY PREPARED COMPOST AS GROWTH MEDIA INGREDIENT FOR NURSERIES OF TOM

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Research Bullen, Ain Shams Univ., 2012 1

1- Agric. Microbiol. Dept., Soil & Water Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt.2- Agric. Microbiol. Dept., Agric. Fac., Ain Shams Univ. Shubra El-Khema, Cairo,

Egypt.

(Received 12 November, 2012)

(Accepted 18 November, 2012)

THE SUITABILITY OF BIOLOGICALLY PREPARED

COMPOST AS GROWTH MEDIA INGREDIENT FOR

NURSERIES OF TOMATO AND CUCUMBER SEEDLINGS

[1]El-Tahlawy, Y.A.1; Wedad T. Ewada2; M.S. Sharaf2

and A.F. Abdel-Wahab1

ABESTRACTAn experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to assay the suitability of the

biologically prepared outcome composts, with different strategies, as a peat substituteinto the growing media, for nurseries of tomato and cucumber seedlings production.Control media consisted of peat moss, vermiculite and sandy soil in the ratio of 1:1:1v/v/v. The compost treatments were represented by 100% compost (Mix-1) orsubstitution peat moss ingredient of control with different types of compost (Mix-2).

The assessment was observed on the base of emergence status as well as some biometricaspects of seedlings. Generally, both tomato and cucumber seedlings behaved similar

trends toward such treatments on the seedlings emergences as well as biometric aspects.Despite of negative effects of the compost treatments on the seed emergence, thesubstitution of peat moss with compost led to promotion of seedling. Partially additionof compost increased the biometric indices, which were significantly correlated withgreenness index as compared with control. However, the absolute compost media led toinhibition of the seed germination as well as retarding the growth. The compost type

that was produced with action of lignocellulose decomposers or compost tea recordedthe best results for both vegetables, particularly when partially added to the growth

media.

KEYWORDS: Biologically prepared compost, Nurseries of tomato and cucumber,

Growth media.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of a container medium isto physically support the plant and tosupply adequate oxygen, water andnutrients for proper root functions. Theunfavorable practices of soils in container

media were relating to high costpasteurization, the risk of unavoidableherbicides, watering necessitate as well ascompaction. Many light weight

inorganics, such as vermiculite andperlite; non-biodegradable organics orvirtually bio-stable organic materials such


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2 El-Tahlawy, Y.A.; Wedad T. Ewada; M.S. Sharaf and A.F. Abdel-Wahab

Research Bullen, Ain Shams Univ., 2012

as old bark and peat moss also could be

potentially used. However, thesematerials are not as good at anchoring the

plants as the heavier soil nor do they

carry many plant nutrients (Mathur andBruce 1996; Ingram et al, 2003).

Peatmoss is major ingredient informulating growth media for startingvegetable seedling. Nowadays, Peat is anaccumulation of organic detritus that

forms in anoxic, waterlogged and acidicconditions of bogs and fens. With respectto greenhouse gas emissions, the compostis considered a saving, while peat isconsidered an emission, because peat in apeatland is considered stored biogenic

carbon. Moreover, the impact of

peatlands, transportation and biologicaldecomposition of excavated peat onclimate change, as determined by the netemissions of GHGs during the peatlifecycle, while CO2 released duringcompost degradation can be consideredneutral with respect to GHG(Christensen et al, 2007). Boldrin et al,(2010) compared the life-cycle-

inventories (LCIs) of the compost/peatalternatives, using life-cycle-assessment(LCA) modelling, considering a 100-yearperiod and a volumetric substitution ratioof 1:1. They assumed that for compost14% of the initial carbon was left in thesoil after 100 years, while all carbon in

peat was mineralized. As a LCA,compost performs better regarding globalwarming and nutrient enrichment, whilepeat performs better in some toxiccategories, because of the lower contentof heavy metals.

Therefore, the comparison of the useof compost against peatmoss in growth

media production should also payattention to our knowledge taking in mind

the environmental and/or financial

considerations. Allam (2005) found

significant increases in fresh and dryweight of tomato seedlings grown in

growing media where compost, prepared

by action of Phanerochaetechrysosporium and Trichoderma used asa natural substitute of peatmoss.Bustamante et al, (2008) published thatmedia containing composts revealedadequate physical, physico-chemical and

chemical properties as compared to peatin growing media for lettuce, chard,broccoli and coriander grown vegetables.The aim of the current study was to assaythe suitability of the biologically preparedoutcome composts, with different

strategies, as peat substitute into the

growing media, for nurseries of tomatoand cucumber seedlings production.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiment was conducted in a

greenhouse of Biofertilizers ProductionUnit, Microbiol. Dept., Soils, Water and

Environ. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt.Control media consisted of peat moss,vermiculite and sandy soil in the ratio of1:1:1 v/v/v according to Abou-Hadid etal, (1995). The compost treatments wererepresented by 100% compost (Mix-1) or

1:1:1 v/v/v of compost:vermiculite:sandysoil (Mix-2). Foam nursery trays filledwith various growth media were sownmanually in 6th January 2011, one seedper cell, and covered with vermiculite.Nursery trays were watered manuallyevery three days using a hose with a

sprinkler nozzle, and all media took wateramount to maintain the substrate at the

field capacity. Six compost types frompiles of rice straw which composted invarious scenarios under controlling ofmultifarious bio-inoculant sources,

represented with farmyard manure (FM),


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The suitability of biologica


Table 1. Some physiochemical, biological and maturity properties of composts.

Piles

Properties*

Pile-1 Pile-2 Pile-3 Pi

Bulk density(kg/m3) 408.78 1.24 366.41 0.76 346.67 1.85 333.9

WHC (%) 204.43 0.48 201.29 0.38 205.49 0.78 222.3

pHw 7.34 0.001 7.22 0.001 6.90 0.001 6.82

EC (dS/m -25oC) 6.41 0.13 5.34 0.18 5.58 0.07 4.44

OM content(g/Kg) 379.47 1.48 445.54 1.69 412.94 1.29 328.5

Total-N (g/Kg) 13.73 1.48 15.02 1.69 13.37 1.29 13.39

C/N ratio 18.45 0.01 20.22 0.02 19.70 0.02 16.49Total-P (%) 1.22 0.01 1.03 0.00 1.17 0.01 1.29

SPRI 1.87 0.49 2.59 0.24 2.30 0.31 0.86

DH-ase 0.38 0.03 0.44 0.03 0.34 0.03 0.20

Germination index 0.83 0.01 0.79 0.04 0.66 0.04 1.82

*WHC = Water holding capacity.

EC = Electrical conductivity.SPRI = Static potential respiration index.

DH-ase = Dehydrogenases activity.


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El-Tahlawy, Y.A.; Wedad T. Ewada; M.S. Sharaf and A.F. Abdel-Wahab 4


cultural inoculant (LC-Ino.) and/or

aerated compost tea (ACT) were used inthe current study (El-Tahlawy et al,2012). Some physiochemical, biological

and maturity properties of composts areshown in Table 1. Irish peatmoss, c.v.Shamrock, a coarse-leaved sphagnummosses and vermiculite were imported bythe Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Giza,Cairo. Sandy soils were collected from

Ismailia Agriculture Research Station,Ismailia governorate. Seeds of tomato(Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. CastelRock) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.cv. Eshrak ) were obtained from Dept. ofVegetable Res.; Horticulture Research

Institute, ARC, Giza. mergence

percentages were calculated until 15 daysafter sowing. Emergence was delayed insome substrates; therefore, the velocity ofemergence calculated as mean days ofemergence in each medium at the timeperiod set to 10 day intervals. At the endof seedlings growth period grown innursery, after 45 days from sowing, somebiometric measures were represented by

shoot height measured from the mediasurface to the shoot apex; root length,number of leaves per seedling excludingcotyledons as well as fresh and dryweights.

The seedlings leaf area were digitallydetermined by measuring the pixels of

images via adobe Photoshop CS5extended software in according toBradshaw et al, (2007). The N-nutritionstatus of plants were estimated usingdigital color image analysis whichcalculate a greenness index (Ipca) using

RGB color model, form histogram tool ofadobe Photoshop CS5 extended

software, of seedling image asdocumented by Pagola et al, (2009):

Where:

Ipca= Greenness index.R, G, B = the average values red,

green and blue color calculated for allpixels in each image.

One-way analysis of variance

(ANOVA) was performed for data ofgreenhouse experiment using GeneralLinear Model (GLM) approach in thesoftware package IBMSPSS statisticsver. 20. Significant differences betweentreatments were analyzed using the

Fisher's least significant difference (LSD)mean comparison test (=0.05).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Seedling emergence statusEmergence status represented by the dataof seedling percentage (S%) and seedlingpercentage in relation to control (SL%) oftomato are presented in Table 2. Ascompared with the control media, thecompost media led to negative effect on

the seed emergence especially in the caseof pile-1 during the first days. However,the rate of germination increasedgradually to attain the maximum values

after 35 days. The seedling number due to50% compost (mix-2) recorded highervalues than 100% compost (mix-1). On

the other hand, pile-4 explored best seedgermination followed by pile-6 and pile-5

as compared with other piles to attain100, 96.3 and 92.52% of all sown seedsin both S% and SL%, respectively.

Concerning the germination status ofcucumber seeds, all treatments nearlybehaved a similar trend as tomato but

with more obvious sensitive to the

compost types (Table 3). The mix-2

recorded higher values as S% ranged


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The suitability of biologically prepared compost as growth media 5


Table 2. Seedling (S%) and relative seedling (SL%) percentages over transplanting

period of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

Seedling percentage (S%) Relative seedling percentage (SL%)

15 days 25 days 35 days 45 days 15 days 25 days 35 days 45 days

Control 96.30 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

100%

Pile-1 0.00 11.11 11.11 11.11 0.00 11.11 11.11 11.11

Pile-2 3.70 22.22 29.63 29.63 3.85 22.22 29.63 29.63

Pile-3 18.52 37.04 55.56 55.56 19.23 37.04 55.56 55.56

Pile-4 70.37 81.48 81.48 81.48 73.08 81.48 81.48 81.48

Pile-5 22.22 59.26 74.07 74.07 23.08 59.26 74.07 74.07

Pile-6 55.56 85.19 88.89 88.89 57.69 85.19 88.89 88.89

50%compost

Pile-1 0.00 33.33 44.44 44.44 0.00 33.33 44.44 44.44

Pile-2 18.52 29.63 59.26 59.26 19.23 29.63 59.26 59.26

Pile-3 25.93 74.07 77.78 77.78 26.92 74.07 77.78 77.78

Pile-4 85.19 92.59 100.00 100.00 88.46 92.59 100.00 100.00

Pile-5 55.56 88.89 92.59 92.59 57.69 88.89 92.59 92.59

Pile-6 92.59 96.30 96.30 96.30 96.15 96.30 96.30 96.30

Table 3. Seedling (S%) and relative seedling (SL%) percentages over transplantingperiod of cucumber (Cucumis sativus).

Seedling percentage (S%) Relative seedling percentage (SL%)

15 days 25 days 35 days 45 days 15 days 25 days 35 days 45 days

Control 81.48 96.30 96.30 96.30 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.0

100%

Pile-1 11.11 14.81 18.52 18.52 13.64 15.38 19.23 19.23

Pile-2 14.81 18.52 22.22 22.22 18.18 19.23 23.08 23.08

Pile-3 18.52 18.52 25.93 25.93 22.73 19.23 26.92 26.92

Pile-4 48.15 51.85 55.56 55.56 59.09 53.85 57.69 57.69

Pile-5 18.52 22.22 25.93 25.93 22.73 23.08 26.92 26.92Pile-6 40.74 48.15 51.85 51.85 50.00 50.00 53.85 53.85

50%compost

Pile-1 14.81 29.63 37.04 37.04 18.18 30.77 38.46 38.46

Pile-2 33.33 33.33 40.74 40.74 40.91 34.62 42.31 42.31

Pile-3 33.33 59.26 51.85 51.85 40.91 61.54 53.85 53.85

Pile-4 74.07 81.48 81.48 81.48 90.91 84.62 84.62 84.62

Pile-5 55.56 59.26 59.26 59.26 68.18 61.54 61.54 61.54

Pile-6 70.37 77.78 77.78 77.78 86.36 80.77 80.77 80.77


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El-Tahlawy, Y.A.; Wedad T. Ewada; M.S. Sharaf and A.F. Abdel-Wahab 6


from 14.81 to 81.48% against 11.11 to

55.56 for mix-1. The notable sensitivitywas reflected by SL% values which

ranged from 18.18 to 84.62% and 13.64

to 57.69%, in the same order.Increased pH and EC in 100%

compost treatments (mix-1), especiallythat treated with farmyard manure,prompted a decline in the seedlingsestablishment rate while higher seedlings

emergence percentage was found forcontrol and/or 50% compost, speciallythose treated with LC-Ino. or ACT, withlower pH and EC values. A lowgermination rate when the relativeproportion of waste is high in the growing

media, resulting in higher media EC, was

also observed by Snchez-Monedero etal, (2004); Bustamante et al, (2008) indifferent studies using mixtures of peatand compost as growing media forhorticultural and ornamental plants.

Seedling growth

The growth aspects of tomato andcucumber seedlings are represented inTable 4 and Table 5, respectively. Ingeneral, the growth of seedling (fresh anddry weights, shoot height and root length,leaves number, as well as leaf area) was

significantly increased where the controlwas substituted with compost plusvermiculite at the rate of 50% ascompared with that of 100% absolutecompost. The best growth parameterswere mainly given by seedlings grown inrice straw that composted with white root

fungi (Bio-Ino.) and/or aerated composttea (piles 4,5 and 6) to attain heaviest

fresh and dry weights, highest shoots androots, outnumbered leaf, as well as widestleaf area. In contrast the seedlings grownin medium of rice straw composted by

farmyard manure and/or presented in

ratio of 100%, had lightest in fresh and

dry weights, shortest shoots and roots,little leaves as well as narrowest leaf area.

Even though the composts had some

physical properties that were outside theoptimal range, they were nonlimiting toplant growth in comparison to peat(Mazuela et al, 2005). Spiers and Fietje(2000) considered that compost alone isunsuitable as a growing medium due to

inadequate air space, high salt contentand high pH, which may reflect, in ourexperimentation, the negative effect ofpiles that received farmyard manureand/or applied as absolute growth media.Wilson et al, (2002) documented that

media with high proportions of compost

(50% or greater), having higher nutrientcontent, higher bulk density, andimproved porosity, may have moresubstrate compaction over time, there bypotentially contributing to smaller plantsand slower plant development.

In this concern, Belal and El-Mahrouk (2010) found thatbioconversion of rice straw by Ph.

Chrysosporium and Trichodermaharzianum into a soil-like substrate (SLS)could be considered as organic material,which improve the growth of hollyhockand scotch marigold seedlings. Also,Allam (2005); Nadia et al, (2007) foundsignificant increases in both fresh and dry

weights of tomato seedlings when sownin enriched rice straw compost preparedby microbial inoculation strategy. Theyattributed those results to the microbialinoculation in addition of the rockphosphate and feldspar of compost. They

added, the values of fresh and dryweights of seedlings were significantly

higher when mixing component of 50%vermiculite + 50%compost or peat moss


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The suitability of biolog


Table 4. Effect of compost types and/or ratio on some biometric characters of tonurseries.

Fresh weight

(g/seedling)

Dry weight

(mg/seedling)

Shoot height

(cm)

Root length

(cm) N

Control 0.44 0.02 62.22 8.39 7.33 0.29 6.72 0.25 2.0

100%Compost

Pile-1 0.16 0.03 23.33 0.00 5.00 0.58 5.20 0.74 1.3

Pile-2 0.32 0.08 66.67 20.00 6.16 0.29 5.68 0.29 1.6

Pile-3 0.27 0.06 75.56 11.71 6.00 1.00 4.39 0.35 2.0

Pile-4 0.50 0.05 80.00 56.67 9.06 0.41 6.27 0.40 2.6

Pile-5 0.32 0.07 66.67 31.80 6.83 1.04 5.48 0.85 2.0

Pile-6 0.54 0.04 83.34 51.32 7.38 0.20 6.75 0.25 2.0

50%compost

Pile-1 0.34 0.06 81.11 16.78 7.97 0.89 5.50 1.00 1.6

Pile-2 0.41 0.05 127.89 24.88 8.17 0.29 5.83 1.15 2.6

Pile-3 0.29 0.11 122.56 33.48 9.50 0.76 5.65 1.03 2.3

Pile-4 0.77 0.06 197.44 45.68 11.66 0.92 8.20 0.73 3.0

Pile-5 0.81 0.08 134.44 65.05 10.16 0.31 7.49 0.51 3.0

Pile-6 0.72 0.06 166.22 33.57 10.93 0.63 7.91 0.67 2.6

LSD0.05 0.10 60.07 1.10 1.67


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El-Tahlawy, Y.A.; Wedad T. Ewada; M.S.


Table 5. Effect of compost types and/or ratio on some biometric characters of

nurseries.

Fresh weight

(g/seedling)

Dry weight

(mg/seedling)

Shoot height

(cm)

Root length

(cm) N

Control 1.46 0.09 48.44 4.29 11.67 0.58 8.17 0.76 2

100%Compost

Pile-1 0.54 0.07 76.67 13.33 10.50 1.50 5.50 0.50 1

Pile-2 0.28 0.10 65.00 28.33 7.00 1.00 4.00 0.00 1

Pile-3 0.43 0.12 143.33 40.00 8.00 1.00 5.50 0.50 1

Pile-4 1.30 0.16 260.89 103.97 10.33 0.58 5.67 0.58 2

Pile-5 0.48 0.18 299.67 16.33 8.00 1.00 4.25 1.25 1

Pile-6 0.66 0.39 386.67 52.07 9.53 0.75 5.93 0.67 1

50%compost

Pile-1 0.19 0.19 126.67 31.72 7.33 1.15 4.00 0.87 1

Pile-2 0.33 0.16 165.11 20.67 7.00 1.00 3.67 1.04 1

Pile-3 0.59 0.11 166.56 16.79 8.50 1.50 5.00 1.00 1

Pile-4 2.03 0.15 300.11 21.72 14.00 0.00 6.83 0.29 2

Pile-5 1.14 0.21 220.67 14.00 11.00 1.00 5.33 1.15 2

Pile-6 1.17 0.06 247.89 12.62 12.33 0.58 7.17 0.76 2

LSD0.05 0.29 64.04 1.64 1.89


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than both (50%sand +50%compost) and100% compost or peat moss.

The seedlings grown in compost were

characterized by a predominance in mostbiometric parameters which obviouslyrealized the suitability of the compost ofpiles 4,5 or 6 when mixed with 50%vermiculite. The relative increases ingrowth values of tomato seedlings

reached to 183, 317, 159, 121 and 164%in fresh and dry weights, shoot height,root length and leaf area, respectively,against control media. While, thecucumber seedlings recoded 193, 619,5,120,87, and 134% for the same

parameters as compared with peat moss

media control.In this concern, Garcia-Gomez

(2002) found lower weight of thecalendula plants grown on peat comparedwith two composts might have been dueto the lower availability ofmacronutrients. Glenda et al, (2009)found a significantly higher relativegrowth rate (RGR) and its components

(net assimilation rate, leaf area ratio,relative stem elongation rate, relative leafexpansion rate, root to whole plant dryweight ratio, root to shoot dry weightratio and leaf dry mass against total plantweight) for cucumber seedlings grown in50% vermincompost + 50% peat

compared to commercial peat, during thenursery stage. Zhang et al, (2012) statedthat compared with the peat with perlite(1:1; v:v) used as the control (CK),increased plant height, leaf area, freshweight, dry weight and index of seedling

quality were found in the treatments ofspent mushroom substrate (SMS):

vermiculite (2:1; v:v) and SMS : perlite(4:1; v:v) growing media. They added,

SMS should be considered as an

alternative for the widely used butexpensive and resource-limited peat in

greenhouse cultivation. In a dissenting

view, Jahromi et al, (2012) publishedthat the mean comparison between 100%garden compost (mainly shredded fig andgrape trees wastes mixed with cowmanure in proportion of 8:1) and 100%peat treatments indicated no remarkable

differences among them. However,garden compost can be replaced with peator it can be used in mixtures for seedlingsproduction and transplanting of tomatoand cucumber.

Greenness index

As nitrogen is one of the mainstructural components of chlorophyll, itsnutrition status is highly correlated withthe greenness of leaves. Also, most ofphysiological disorders affect the

composition and proportion of pigmentson leaf tissue (Bacci et al, 1998).

Recently, many studies revealed a newmethod to calculate a greenness indexusing RGB components of digital colorimage analysis, which yields an estimateof the N-nutrition status or amount of Nin the plant (Kawashima and Nakatani

1998; Pagola et al, 2009; Mercado-Luna et al, 2010).Generally, under the presentcircumstances of the experiment, thegreenness index significantly correlatedwith other biometric indices (Table 6 ) inboth plants in reversible manner. This

ensure the possibility of the index toreflect the nutritional and physiological

status of the seedlings under influence ofdifferent types and/or ration of compostas well as the comparison with controlgrowth media. The greenness index of

tomato or cucumbers seedlings as a result


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El-Tahlawy, Y.A.; Wedad T. Ewada; M.S. Sh


Table 6. The overall correlation matrices between growth parameters of tomato or c

Parameters

Shoot fresh

weight

(g/seedling)

Dry weight

(mg/Seedling)

Shoot

height

(cm)

Root leng

(cm)

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Shoot fresh weight (g/seedling) 1 .617** .805** .794**

Dry weight (mg/Seedling) .617** 1 .743** .600**

Shoot height (cm) .805** .743** 1 .693**

Root length (cm) .794** .600** .693** 1

Leaves No./seedling .703** .641** .724** .536**

Leaf Area (cm2) .805** .741** .842** .795**

Greenness index -.625** -.579** -.550** -.556**

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Shoot fresh weight (g/seedling) 1 .273 .853** .709** Dry weight (mg/Seedling) .273 1 .264 .081

Shoot height (cm) .853** .264 1 .794**

Root length (cm) .709** .081 .794** 1

Leaves No./seedling .830** .396* .781** .694**

Leaf Area (cm2) .791** .609** .699** .496**

Greenness index -.712** -.396* -.605** -.483**

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

**. Correlaon is significant at the 0.01 level (2tailed).


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Table 7. Greenness index of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and cucumber (Cucumis

sativus) seedling in nurseries.

of certain treatments are showed in Table7. The results show that more greenseedlings recorded lower values in thetreatments of 50% compost. However, the

compost piles treated with bio-Ino. oraerated compost tea were superior in the

greenness levels either in absolute forman/or mixed with vermiculite. Regardingthe control media, a remarkable increasesin the leaf pigments of green color leveldue to the application of rice strawabsolutely composted with lignocellulosicinoculant or compost tea but where

diluted with 50% vermiculite. Thoseobservations obviously noted by tomatoplants which had lower values of greencolor against higher bluish red color.This is in agreement with Wilson et al,(2002) who found the visual color andquality of the plants suffered when plantswere grown in 100% compost as

compared to peat-based media. However,the excessive concentrations of plantnutrient elements raise the potential forenvironmental damage and may threatenthe safety of those consuming the

vegetables (Nancy 2001). The peat media

contain less nutrients which caused anutrient deficiencies in seedlings as thenursery time increase and led tophysiological disorders that affect the

composition and proportion of pigmentsin leaf tissue Bacci et al, (1998).

Moreover, highest green pigments due tomature compost of pile-4 or pile-5 reflectthe improved nutritional status, speciallynitrogen fixation, and consequentlychlorophyll content (Vollmann et al,2011).

REFERENCESAbou-Hadid, A.F.; A.S. El-Beltagy;

M.A. Medany and M.M. Hafez (1995).Performance of soilless media ongreenhouse production of cucumber(Cucumis sativus) in Egypt. Journal of

vegetable crop production, 1(1), 93-98.Allam, E.H.A. (2005). Studies of someagricultural environment wastes for

organic fertilizers production, pp. 35-95.Ph.D. Thesis, Soils Dept., Fac. Agric.,Benha Univ., Egypt.

Bacci, L.; M. De Vincenzi; B. Rapi; B.

Arca and F. Benincasa (1998). Two

Tomato seedlings Cucumber seedlings

Control -0.95 0.25 -1.02 0.07

100%Compost

Pile-1 -0.13 0.01 -0.42 0.06

Pile-2 -0.18 0.03 -0.40 0.04

Pile-3 -0.23 0.07 -0.72 0.16

Pile-4 -0.30 0.04 -1.04 0.11

Pile-5 -0.19 0.02 -0.96 0.53

Pile-6 -0.25 0.01 -0.67 0.45

50%compost

Pile-1 -0.21 0.03 -0.62 0.21

Pile-2 -0.32 0.18 -0.70 0.15

Pile-3 -0.27 0.03 -0.97 0.07

Pile-4 -1.41 0.57 -1.52 0.33

Pile-5 -0.95 0.23 -1.10 0.11

Pile-6 -1.35 1.37 -1.61 0.11


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THE SUITABILITY OF BIOLOGICALLY PREPARED COMPOST AS GROWTH MEDIA INGREDIENT FOR NURSERIES OF TOMATO AND CUCUMBER SEEDLINGS