ISSN (Online) : 2277-4572
Author(s): Antara Seal, Ranjan Bera, Koushik Mukhopadhyay and Sudipta Mukherjee
Poultry litter waste is considered as hazardous raw material and source of environmental pollution, despite its high nutrient content. Poultry litter could be potential organic manure, if it can be treated through a proper biodegradation process to eliminate the pathogens and related phytotoxicity. In the present study Novcom composting method developed by Dr. P. Das Biswas was tried out to develop quality compost from poultry litter for organic soil management, at Howrah Krishi Vigyan Kendra (West Bengal) in 2014. Novcom poultry compost was produced within 21 days and the final compost was brownish in colour with earthy smell which indicated compost maturity. Quality analysis of Novcom poultry compost showed considerably high NPK (4.31 %), but the most significant finding was, very high self- generated microbial population (in the order of 1016 c.f.u.), which also pointed towards good post soil application effectivity. Most importantly, high temperature generated during composting (> 62.80C) as well as phytotoxicity bioassay test confirmed that Novcom poultry litter compost was completely free from pathogens and non-phytotoxic in nature and therefore could be safely used in agriculture. The findings indicated that Novcom composting method had the potential for large scale dissemination due to its short biodegradation period, easy adoptability (no infrastructural requirement) and generation of high quality end product (compost) from even a hazardous organic source
