Potential Production of Agricultural Substrates for Nurseries by Fermentation of Pruning Residues and Wastes of Agricultural Industry

Samer Ezaldin Naser
General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research-
Lattakia Research Center
Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University

Abstract

An application of aerobic fermentation (for 10 months) was suggested the heap method for olive pomace and milled pruning residues. With reaching the end of fermentation  process (10 months), the main results can be summarized as follows:
The value of moisture rate (%)increased in the milled residues for (1-1.5) compared with raw material. The olive pomace had absorbed a little proportion. The value of weight per volume in the olive pomace was larger twice than its value in the milled residues. The fermented substrates show temperate values of PH i.e. (7.42) for olive pomace and (7.28) for milled residues. Total Nitrogen increased twofold after fermentation of both compounds as compared with raw material. While this increase was slight for P.K. We tested the fermented substrates and their mixtures for seed germination and growth experiment. We used the nursery substrate as a control. The main results can be summarized as follows: For Pinus pinea the mixture of fermented material (for 6 months) between the olive pomace and milled residues, was the best as germination substrate. The milled residues substrate (fermented for 6 months) assured that it is a good substrate for Pinus brutia in most of germination and growth characteristics. The seeds germination of Ceratonia siliqua was not good in the fermented substrates (for 10 months) each one alone. Whereas the mixtures shows a good percent germination. We can say that most of the studied substrates (fermented for 10 months) were good as germination substrates for Melia azedarach seeds. On the other hand, the use of olive pomace (fermented for 10 months) as germination substrates for Melia azedarach seeds was uneconomic because the percent germination was so low (31.3 %). In general, the olive pomace ( fermented for 10 months) and the control and their mixtures offered good values to grow Quercus Cerris subsp Pseudocerris seedlings. Conversely, the milled residues (fermented for 10 months) was distinguished by its use as a substrate to grow Laurus nobilis  seedlings.

GCSAR