Effects of Two Composts and Seven Commercial Cultivation Media on Germination and Yield

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Abstract
Composts of centrally sorted and source separated municipal solid waste respectively were amended to peat with 10, 20, 30 and 40 percent by volume of each compost and used as cultivation media for five horticultural crops: lettuce (Lactuca saliva), garden cress (Lepidium sativum), ryegrass (Lolium perenne), radish (Raphanus sativus), and African marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia). A novel method for calculating compost amendment rate was developed. In cultivation experiments effects of peat-composts media on germination, emergence, fresh matter and dry matter were compared with effects of seven commercial horticultural cultivation media. Application of liquid fertilizer Superba S containing micronutriens was examined. The germination of seeds of lettuce and radish was late in peat-compost media compared with the commercial media, especially when composts from centrally sorted municipal solid waste were used, whereas the seeds of ryegrass, garden cress, and African marigold were not adversely affected. Fresh matter and dry matter of test plants indicate, that peat amended with source separated composts can give the same or higher yield than the commercial horticultural media one month after sowing. This was more evident when liquid fertilizer was added. Yield of the test crops, when peat was amended with composts made from centrally sorted municipal solid waste, was much lower.

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