Spent Coffee Grounds, Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria, and Medicinal Plant Waste: The Biofertilizing Effect of High-Value Compost

Snežana Dimitrijević (), Marija Milić, Aneta Buntić, Suzana Dimitrijević-Branković, Vladimir Filipović, Vera Popović and Ivan Salamon
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Snežana Dimitrijević: Institute of Medicinal Plants Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Marija Milić: Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Aneta Buntić: Institute for Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Suzana Dimitrijević-Branković: Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Vladimir Filipović: Institute of Medicinal Plants Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Vera Popović: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Ivan Salamon: Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov, 17th November St., 080 01 Presov, Slovakia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Composting of mixed medicinal plant waste was performed with the addition of mixture of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), including Streptomyces sp., Paenybacillus sp., Bacillus sp., and Hymenobacter sp., and portions of spent coffee grounds (SCG). To assess the maturity and quality parameters of the compost, chemical and biological parameters (C/N ratio, loss of organic matter, CO 2 production, dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and phytotoxicity) were evaluated during the three months of the composting process. The results revealed that the control sample (without the addition of SCG and PGPB) had evidently lower values of DHA during the entire monitoring period in comparison to other samples, indicating lower microbial activity in the compost mixture. Also, according to the released CO 2 , the composting process was accelerated in all samples where the SCG and PGPB were added, enabling a reduction in time needed for mixed plant waste to decompose. The germination index (GI) of the tested seeds indicated that the produced compost was acceptable and safe, with regard to all of the evaluated samples. However, at the end of the process the samples contained SCG and PGPB, which caused an increase of more than 50% of the GI in comparison to the control sample, expressing a high phyto-stimulant effect and improving the biofertilization impact.

Keywords: compost; herbs waste; spent coffee grounds; PGPB; germination index; phytotoxicity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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