Chapter 4.11
4.11 - Compost improvement
Rebecca Rashev, University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Rashev,R. (2022) Compost improvement. In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org
Background
Soil fertility in crops is a constant problem and one of the main factors limiting crop production in subsistence farms globally (Becx et al., 2012). With the increased prevalence of cattle and livestock in some regions (for ex. in the northern regions of Ghana) that heavily rely on agriculture but are constant victims to the sub-tropical climate, collection and redistribution of animal manure can become a solution to restoring crop fertility (Becx et al., 2012, Thapa 1996). While the direct application of animal manure aids in fertilizing soils, it is essential to compost it alongside other organic wastes to create more efficient fertilizer in larger amounts (Tanner, Holden, Winugroho, Owen and Gill, 1995, Paudel and Thapa, 2004, Sotamenou and Laurent, 2013, Wondimagegn 2014, Harris 2002, Amisi and Doohan, 2010, Tilman, Cassman, Matson, Naylor and Polasky, 2002 and Quamruzzaman 2006). Composting is the biological process of decomposing organic wastes in which bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms break down organic materials into stable, usable organic substances called compost (Bernal, Alburquerque and Moral, 2009). Compost has nutritional and disease-suppressant benefits that restores organic matter to soil, increasing water holding capacity of soil and acts as a storehouse for nutrients.
Description of practice
Collecting ingredients: livestock, crop and household residue-Only organic materials should be used as composting ingredients, including crop, livestock and household residues (Harris 2002, FAO 2015). More specifically: (1) leftover crop residues from harvests or garden plants (mulch or dead coverage from crop waste/cultivated fallow), chopped branches, tree and shrub leaves, forages and dried grass; (2) household organic waste from the kitchen such as fruit and vegetables, damaged/expired food, crushed egg shells, coffee and tea waste, dried fruit and nuts shell, fruit peels, as well as napkins, tissues, hair or animal shear; (3) livestock manures and even livestock urine. If family does not own livestock, local villages usually have waste piles in which they could collect manure (Harris 2002, FAO 2015). .
Creating compost pile-Compost techniques can be divided into closed and open systems (FAO 2015, FAO 2003). Open systems are carried out outdoors, whether in piles above ground, or in dug up pits below ground. Closed systems are carried out in holding units, such as in plastic drums or containers made from bricks or wooden panels. The size (specifically height) of the compost pile directly affects moisture, oxygen content and temperature (which determine rate of decomposition of organic material), therefore it is recommended that compost (whether in open or in closed systems) should be 1.5-2 m high and 1.5-3 m wide (FAO 2015). This, along with downsizing and shredding of raw materials prior to composting, ensures high porosity and proper aeration when turning and mixing compost pile, so that microorganisms responsible for decomposition of organic materials can flourish uniformly (FAO 2003). The initial layout of the compost pile should be similar to that of lasagna, with alternating layers of manure and crop/household residue, with a bottom layer of stone to allow for water drainage. This design provides a proper ratio between plant matter and manure and avoids the risk of leaching nutrients from compost into soil (FAO 2003).
Monitoring compost-Once the system has been created with initial layering, compost should be left outside over a span of a few weeks to a couple of months (Tanner et al., 1995). During the first few days of decomposing, temperatures should increase in the compost pile, where the peak temperature destroys micro-organisms that are human or plant pathogens as well as weed seeds (FAO 2003). During the process of composting, one should perform frequent clump tests to determine the moisture content of the compost: if material is too dry and crumbles away in one’s fist, one should add more water, urine or manure to the compost; if the material is too wet and one can see excess water squeezed in the fist, one should modify the compost by adding more dry matter, such as dried grass or legume forages (FAO 2003). For optimal results, compost should be ventilated by mixing frequently (FAO 2003, FAO 2015). This increases aeration and oxygen exposure, which aids in the process of decomposition of organic matter. Aeration also removes excessive heat, water vapour and gasses trapped in the compost pile. When mixing, one should also be testing moisture content of soil as well as temperature in the soil in comparison to the ambient (outside) temperature (FAO 2003, FAO 2015). While the process varies from weeks to months, the final product of the compost can be characterised by soil in the pile being uniform, dark brown to black in colour, having a pleasant smell of earth, particles being reduced in size with a consistent, soil-like texture (FAO 2003, FAO 2015). It is vital for compost to complete all stages of decomposition and sterilization in order to be viable as a source of fertilizer without the possibility of spreading weeds or pathogens onto crops (Amisi and Doohan, 2010).
Benefits
Biophysical Benefits-Compost offers many benefits with respect to improving the physical and biological properties of soil. Having higher nutrient content, compost can be used to restore nutrients in soils that are needed to produce higher crop yields (Thapa 1996, Tanner et al., 1995, Harris 2002). Use of a compost can stimulate soil fauna and increase the water holding capacity in drought-prone soils in semiarid climates, which is a major biophysical constraint of subsistence farmers (Becx et al., 2012) and can also reduce runoff and soil loss in areas (e.g. Burkina Faso) (Baptista et al,. 2015). Compost has disease suppressant properties, especially for young plants not yet predisposed to infection, and can be used as a replacement to fungicides (which is not always readily available to subsistence farmers) (Ndiaye et el., 2010).
Economic Benefits-Increasing the use of organic matter that is accessible from home will decrease a farmer’s reliance on purchasing commercial fertilizers. The money saved by buying less fertilizer could be used to put children (especially daughters) in school, or to afford better tools that will make weeding or planting easier, and will decrease the labour and time requirements of farming in the long term (Wondimagegn 2014). Once subsistence farmers have incorporated these techniques in compost use and management and have begun to produce higher yielding crops, increased production could be the push for subsistence farmers to transition towards entrepreneurial farming, and being able to produce more for markets. With the ability to create a profit, these farmers will now be exposed to the possibility of investing in inputs and new technologies, which will eventually increase overall productivity (Becx et al., 2012)K
Labour and time requirements
Lack of knowledge is perhaps the main contributing constraint for subsistence farmers moving towards compost use, with extensive labour as second and lack of transport as third, with farmers stating that “soil is not yet that bad to do so much work” (Becx et al., 2012 and Akalu et al., 2016). Composting results in work pertaining to maintaining the compost as well as the need to manually collect, mix, monitor and applying the final product to fields (Paudel and Thapa, 2004, Shroeder 1985, Sotamenous and Laurent, 2013 and Quammruzzaman 2002). If some supplies are required that are not present on hand (e.g. if the family does not keep livestock on the farm), transportation and time would be needed to acquire those materials (Harris 2002).
Picture Based Lesson to Train Farmers
For the South Asian version (pictures only, text for you to insert), click this link for lesson 5.11:http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/5.11_south_asian.pdf.
For the East/South Asian version (pictures only, text for you to insert), click this link for lesson 5.11:http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/5.11e.s.a.pdf
For the Sub-Saharan Africa/Caribbean version (pictures only, text for you to insert), click this link for lesson 5.11:http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/5.11subsaharan_africa_carribean.pdf
For the Latin-America version (pictures only, text for you to insert), click this link for lesson 5.11:http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/5.11latin_america.pdf
For North Africa And Middle East version (pictures only, text for you to insert), click this link for lesson Chapter 5. 4.10:http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/4.10n._africa_middleeast.pdf
Source: MN Raizada and LJ Smith (2016) A Picture Book of Best Practices for Subsistence Farmers. eBook, University of Guelph Sustainable Agriculture Kit (SAK) Project, June 2016, Guelph, Canada.
Helpful hints and Further Reading
It is important to take into account that the nutrient balance in soils varies across regions and that areas adjacent to one another could be deficient in different nutrients (Smaling et al., 1997). In areas such as Northern Ghana, soils are coarse with low organic matter content, poor structure and fertility, with two most commonly deficient nutrients being nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). In order to help replenish these deficiencies, farmers can add residue from crops that are high in nutrients needed (e.g. crop residue from legumes, such as cowpea, soybeans and groundnut, which are high in N) to compost in order to re-supply soil and fertilise crops such as corn, that take up large amounts of N from the soil (Eghball 2002). Further information about composting is available in:
FAO’s Farmer’s Compost Handbook 2015 at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3388e.pdf
FAO’s On-farm Composting Methods 2003 at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5104e/y5104e05.htm
GardenAfrica's training film - Black Gold: The Secrets of Compost at: http://www.gardenafrica.org.uk/audio-and-visual/ (gives a step-by-step explanation of how to create a compost pile, specific towards subsistence farmers in African regions)
FAO’s Composting: let’s give the soil something back article at: http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/news/news-detail/en/c/280674/ (focuses on the impact of food wastage on soil sustainability and how to reduce one’s food waste footprint)
FAO’s Impact of compost use on crop yields in Tigray, Ethiopia by Sue Edwards, Arefayne Asmelash, Haily Araya and Teworld Berhan Gebre Egziabher, at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-ai434e.pdf
FAO’s Waste Management opportunities for rural communities – composting as an effective waste management strategy for gaarm households and others at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-k1455e.pdf
FAO’s How to make and use compost by Sue Edwards and Hailu Araya at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2230e/i2230e14.pdf
References
1.Akalu, T., de Graaff, J., Ritsema, C. and Kassie, M. (2016). Farmers’ perceptions about the influence of land quality, land fragmentation and tenure systems on sustainable land management in the North Western Ethiopian Highlands. Land Degradation & Development. 27(4), 884-898
2.Amisi, K. J., and Doohan, D. (2010). Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) seedling emergence and growth in soils amended with composted dairy cattle manure and fresh dairy cattle manure under greenhouse conditions. Weed Technology, 24(1), 71-75
3.Baptista, I., Ritsema, C., Querido, A., Ferreira, A. and Geissen, V. (2015). Improving rainwater-use in Cabo Verde drylands by reducing runoff and erosion. Geoderma.137-38. 283-297.
4.Becx, G., Mol, G., Eenhoorn, J., van der Kamp, J. and van Vilet, J. (2012). Perceptions on reducing constraints for smallholder entrepreneurship in Africa: the case of soil fertility in Northern Ghana. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 5(5), 489-496.
5.Bernal, M., Alburquerque, J. and Moral, R. (2009). Composting of animal manures and chemical criteria for compost maturity assessment. A review. Bioresource Technology. 100(22), 5333-5453.
6.Eghball, B. (2002). Soil properties as influenced by phosphorus- and nitrogen-based manure and compost application. Agronomy Journal. 94(1), 128-135.
7.Harris, F. (2002). Management of manure in farming systems in semi-arid West Africa. Experimental Agriculture, 38(2), 131-148.
8.Ndiaye, M., Termorshuizen, A. and van Bruggen, A. (2010) Effects of compost amendment and the biocontrol agent clonostachys rosea on development of charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) on cowpea. Journal of Plant Pathology. 92(1), 173-180.
9.Paudel, S. G. and Thapa, G. B. (2004). Impact of social, institutional and ecological factors on land management practices in mountain watersheds of Nepal. Applied Geography, 24, 35-55.
10.Quamruzzaman, M. "Improving plant nutrient management for better farmer livelihoods, food." (2006). http://www.fao.org/3/a-ag120e/AG120E10.htm
11.Schroeder, R. (1985). Himalayan Subsistence Systems: Indigenous Agriculture in Rural Nepal. Mountain Research and Development, 5(1), 31-44.
12.Smaling, E., Nandwa, S. and Janssen, B. (1997) Replenishing soil fertility in Africa: Soil fertility in Africa is at stake. Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy. Pg. 47-61.
13.Sotamenou, J. and Laurent, P. (2013). Sustainable urban agriculture and the adoption of composts in Cameroon. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 11(3), 282-295
14.Tanner, J.C., Holden, S. J., Winugroho, M., Owen, E. and Gill, M. (1995). Feeding livestock for compost production: A strategy for sustainable uplant agriculture on Java. Livestock and sustainable nutrient cycling in mixed farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa, 2, 115-128.
15.Thapa, G. B. (1996). Land use, land management and environment in a subsistence mountain economy in Nepal. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment, 57, 57-71.
16.Tilman, D., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R. and Polasky, S. (2002). Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature, 419, 671-677.
17.Wondimagegn, M. (2014). Crop mix and resource use pattern under risk: Case of smallholder farmers in Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia. International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences, 5(5), 251-261.