Starter
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What is STARTER?
STARTER is an agent for activating the composting process needed to degrade the farm residues. It is comprised of microbial enzymes, cellulose digesting microbes and nutrient supplements. It can be used for preparation of compost from a variety of agricultural waste. Its use saves time and labour greatly shortening the composting process. The quality of the compost obtained is better.
What is composting?
Composting is the controlled aerobic biological decomposition of moist organic (biologically derived carbon-containing) solid matter to produce a soil conditioner.
Need for composting with STARTER
Applying raw organic materials directly to the soil is not the best way for effective recycling of nutrients since such waste contains substances like cellulose, starch and lignin, which are resistant to microbial degradation. The natural process always takes much time for producing quality compost. The decaying organic matter may also tie up the nutrients by immobilization process and make them unavailable for plant growth. The composting process encourages creation of specific groups of organisms in its various stages. It converts the complex organic form of nutrients into simpler forms by a rapid mineralization process. The nutrients are released in a slow and steady manner from the compost which can such that they can be utilized by the plants as they grow.
Process of Composting
The composting microorganisms present in STARTER produce enzymes secreted outside the microbial cells. These transform molecules of organic matter into less complex chemicals and energy. The enzymes such as amylase, cellulase, lipase and protease produced by the STARTER are responsible for decomposition.
Windrow method of composting
n agriculture, windrow composting is the method of producing of compost by piling organic matter or biodegradable waste, like animal manure and crop residues, into long rows (windrows). This method is suited for producing large volumes of compost. These windrows are generally turned to improve porosity and oxygen content, to mix or to remove moisture and to redistribute cooler and hotter portions of the pile. In the process of composting, microorganisms present in STARTER break down organic matter and produce carbon dioxide, water, heat, and humus, the relatively stable organic end product. Under optimal conditions, composting proceeds through three phases
The mesophilic, or moderate-temperature phase (4 days).
The thermophilic, or high-temperature phase (20 days).
Cooling and maturation phase (6 days).
STARTER contains microbes which will withstand mesophilic and thermophilic range.
Microbial consortia in STARTER
Trichoderma spp.Trichoderma is an aerobic organism which grows at 25°c. It functions as an antagonist in the biological control of some important plant pathogenic soil born fungi, being a saprophyte which adapts and thrives in diverse situations and produces a wide array of enzymes.
Cellulomonas spp.Cellulomonas is an aerobic organism which grows at 25°c. It produces cellulases and xylanases to degrade organic matter containing cellulose.
Bacillus spp.Bacillus an aerobic organism which grows at 37°c. It is able to degrade starch and cellulose containing organic matters by production of various enzymes.
Streptomyces spp.Streptomyces is an aerobic organism which grows at 30°c and is widely distributed in nature. It produces lignin-degrading enzymes and also produce cellulase, antibiotics and plant growth regulators which help in improving the quality of the compost.
Pseudomonas spp.Pseudomonas is an aerobic organism which grows at 25°c. It is a gram negative bacteria capable of degrading lipid rich organic matter, it is a biocontrol agent effective against soil fungal pathogens.
Candida spp.Candida is an aerobic organism which grows at 28°c. It is able to degrade phenol rich organic wastes.
Method of using STARTER in composting
1 Kg of STARTER is mixed with 10 litres of 10% jaggery/sugar/10 litre of sugarcane juice and kept overnight for the regeneration and multiplication of the microbial cultures present in STARTER. After 24 hours of incubation, add enough water to made up 100 litres and spray this solution over 5 MT of farm waste.
Make a windrows of organic waste 3 feet high and 3 feet in width, where length of the windrow varies depending on the availability of organic waste. Every week the windrow is to moistened and mixed well. The temperature should be monitored on the 1st, 15th and 30th day. As the temperature of the heap comes to normal temperature, the windrow is considered to be fully composted. The duration of the composting process will be 30 days or a bit more.
Things to be monitored during decomposition process
Particle Size To enhance the speed of the composting process the bigger organic waste particles can be chopped into small pieces.
Aeration To ensure sufficient aeration composting, piles should be aerated by inserting 1-2 inch plastic pipes.
Composting piles may be turned either manually or mechanically.
Turning the compost may be repeated 3-4 times during composting process to bring the colder outside material closer to the hotter inner center of the windrow.
Moisture Requirement Sprinkle water at 5 days intervals during the early stage.
Maintain 50 -60 % initially .
30 days after composting C/N ratio should be checked.
Once the compost is mature the moistening operation can be stopped.
Maturity of Compost Analyze the quality of compost and finally dry to reduce the moisture to 15-20%.
Screen the compost to remove the undigested coarse material.
The compost can then be mixed with bio fertilizers and bio control agents to increase the nutrient availability and crop production.
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