Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Organic Amendments Produced from Selected Agro-Wastes with Potential for Sustaining Soil Health: A Laboratory Assessment

Kevin Muyang Tawie Sulok, Osumanu Haruna Ahmed, Choy Yuen Khew, Jarroop Augustine Mercer Zehnder, Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh, Adiza Alhassan Musah and Arifin Abdu
Additional contact information
Kevin Muyang Tawie Sulok: Research and Development Division, Malaysian Pepper Board, Kuching 93916, Sarawak, Malaysia
Osumanu Haruna Ahmed: Department of Forestry Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Bintulu 97008, Sarawak, Malaysia
Choy Yuen Khew: Research and Development Division, Malaysian Pepper Board, Kuching 93916, Sarawak, Malaysia
Jarroop Augustine Mercer Zehnder: Research and Development Division, Malaysian Pepper Board, Kuching 93916, Sarawak, Malaysia
Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh: Crop Production Programme, Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan Branch, Locked Bag No. 3, Sandakan 90509, Sabah, Malaysia
Adiza Alhassan Musah: Faculty of Business Management and Professional Studies, Management & Science University, University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga, Section 13, Shah Alam 40100, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Arifin Abdu: Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Sustaining soil health cannot be divorced from sustainable crop production. Organic, or natural, farming is being promoted as a good sustainable agriculture practice. One aspect of organic farming that could significantly enhance and sustain soil health, soil quality, and crop productivity is the use of high-quality soil conditioners or organic amendments produced from agro-wastes. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the chemical and biological properties of selected agro-wastes with potential for use as organic amendments in sustaining soil health. Standard procedures were used to produce and characterize the soil conditioners, namely fermented plant juice (FPJ), fermented fruit juice (FFJ), palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar, and kitchen waste (KW) compost. The fermented juices (FPJ and FFJ), PKS biochar, and KW compost exhibited chemical and biological properties with good potential as soil conditioners or organic amendments to sustain soil health. The fermented juices contained important microbes that can solubilize P and K in soil for crop use. The high pH and C content of the biochar and compost and the high cation exchange capacity of the biochar are good indicators of the potential of these materials to sustain soil health in terms of the liming effect of acid soils, nutrient and water retention, nutrient reserves, and a suitable habitat for microbial life. Moreover, the organic amendments contain reasonable amounts of macro- and micro-nutrients, which could be released to increase soil fertility. Despite these potential benefits, field application of these organic amendments is necessary to evaluate their effects on soil health and crop production in both the short and long term.

Keywords: organic farming; organic wastes; fermented juice; biochar; beneficial microbes; healthy soils; crop production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4919/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4919/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4919-:d:544818

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().