Physico-Chemical Characterization and Biological Activities of a Digestate and a More Stabilized Digestate-Derived Compost from Agro-Waste.
Antonella VittiHazem S ElshafieGiuseppina LogozzoStefania MarzarioAntonio ScopaIppolito CameleMaria NuzzaciPublished in: Plants (Basel, Switzerland) (2021)
The excessive use of agricultural soils and the reduction in their organic matter, following circular economy and environmental sustainability concepts, determined a strong attention in considering composting as a preferred method for municipalities and industries to recycle organic by-products. Microorganisms degrade organic matter for producing CO2, water and energy, originating stable humus named compost. The current study analyzed the chemical composition of a cow slurry on-farm digestate and a more stabilized digestate-derived compost (DdC), along with their phytotoxic, genotoxic and antifungal activities. The chemical analysis showed that digestate cannot be an ideal amendment due to some non-acceptable characteristics. Biological assays showed that the digestate had phytotoxicity on the tested plants, whereas DdC did not induce a phytotoxic effect in both plants at the lowest dilution; hence, the latter was considered in subsequent analyses. The digestate and DdC induced significant antifungal activity against some tested fungi. DdC did not show genotoxic effect on Vicia faba using a micronuclei test. Soil treated with DdC (5 and 10%) induced damping-off suppression caused by Fusarium solani in tomato plants. The eco-physiological data indicated that DdC at 5-10% could increase the growth of tomato plants. In conclusion, DdC is eligible as a soil amendment and to strengthen the natural soil suppressiveness against F. solani.
Keyphrases
- sewage sludge
- heavy metals
- organic matter
- anaerobic digestion
- municipal solid waste
- risk assessment
- high glucose
- diabetic rats
- antibiotic resistance genes
- human health
- electronic health record
- drug induced
- candida albicans
- endothelial cells
- high throughput
- big data
- mass spectrometry
- physical activity
- high resolution
- weight gain