International Journal of Agricultural

Science and Research (IJASR)

ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087
Vol. 6, Issue 1, Feb 2016, 211-216
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

TECHNOLOGY FOR RAPID COMPOSTING OF COTTON STALK

G. S. SUTARIA, V. D. VORA, P. D.VEKARIYA & K. N. AKBARI
Dry Farming Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University Targhadia, Gujarat, India
ABSTRACT
An experiment was under taken for rapid composting of cotton stalks at Main Dry Farming Research Station,
Junagadh Agricultural University, Targhadia (Rajkot) during 2009. There were seven treatments: T1: cotton stalk only
(control), T2: cotton stalk + compost culture, T3: cotton stalk + urea, T4: cotton stalk + urea + compost culture, T5: cotton
stalk + cow dung + compost culture, T6: cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture and T7: cotton stalk + cow
dung + urea + compost culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture. Total
carbon, N, C/N ratio, P, K, S and micronutrient content at 90 and 120 DAC were significantly influenced due to
application of various decomposing materials i.e. compost culture, urea, cow dung and rock phosphate. The highest
value for all the nutrients at 120 DAC was recorded with T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture + rock
phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture).
KEYWORDS: Cotton Stalk, Composting, Nutrient Content

INTRODUCTION
Composting

is

one

of

the

major

recycling

processes

in

which

organic

materials

are

biologically/biochemically converted into an amorphous humus like substance (under conditions of optimum

Original Article

Received: Jan 12, 2016; Accepted: Jan 23, 2016; Published: Jan 28, 2016; Paper Id.: IJASRFEB201630

temperature, moisture and aeration) that can be handled, stored and applied to land without environmental impacts
(Gallardo- Larva and Nogades, 1987). Over the couple of decades, compost production has got dramatic attention
in agricultural. This is mainly due to increased solid waste management costs, and heightened public enthusiasm
for organic waste recycling. Composting provides a way to manage high volume of organic waste in
environmentally sound manners (Hoitink and Fahy, 1989). In general, composted materials are highly regarded for
their ability to improve soil health and plant growth. Moreover, compost has also been found to aid in suppression
of pathogens and plant diseases.
Residue recycling is a key measure to enhance the soil fertility and productivity in crop production
systems (Somasundaram et al. 2007). Plant residues are made up of several constituents like proteins, nonpolymeric carbohydrates, cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignins, fats, waxes etc (Sridevi et al. 2003). Generally,
anything of plant or animal origin can be used for the compost. However, it is important to know the combination
of materials that can be used. An important aspect of this, is the amount of nitrogen compared to the amount of
carbon or the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N ratio) in the material. Numerous organisms take part in the
decomposition of organic residues. Some micro-organisms, help in the composting process by chewing, cutting
and tearing the waste materials into small pieces which are again more readily broken down by the microorganisms. These micro-organisms are bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes.
The area under rain fed cotton is 111.95 lakh hectares, which is 48.22 per cent of the total cultivated areas
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G. S. Sutaria, V. D. Vora, P. D. Vekariya & K. N. Akbari

of the Zone. Huge quantity of cotton stalks is left after the harvest of cotton. It is estimated that 50 mt of cotton wastes
mostly cotton stalks is available in India. The general practice is to remove the stalks manually and burn them. This present
practice of burning the cotton stalks in the field results in emission of GHGs (Tandon and Sudaramoorthy, 2009). In order
to avoid such a consistent environmental degradation by burning of cotton stalks every year after harvest, an effective
utilization of the cotton stalks will save the environmental degradation and reduce the burden for chemical fertilizers. The
cotton stalk are rich in nutrients having 51.0, 4.9, 1.0, 0.61, 0.08, 0.43 and 0.12 per cent C, H, N, K, P, Ca and Mg,
Respectively (Anil Kumar Dubey et al. 2004).
At present, the practice of recycling of cotton stalk is very rare. There is urgent need to develop technology for
easily recycling of cotton stalk for reduced the burden for chemical fertilizer and maintained the soil productivity along
with prevention of disease and pest. Thus, there is a potentiality for recycling nutrient elements through organics. Keeping
these views in mind, an experiment was conducted to develop Technology for rapid composting of cotton stalks under rain
fed agriculture.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An experiment was under taken for rapid composting of cotton stalks at Main Dry Farming Research Station,
Junagadh Agricultural University, Targhadia (Rajkot) during 2009. The various combination of chopped cotton stalk,
compost culture (contains: Trichurus spiralis, Trichoderma viride, Paceolomyces fugisporsus and Aspergillus spp) @ 500
g/t of cotton stalk, urea (N @ 0.5% by weight, cow dung @ 20% by weight, rock phosphate @ 5% by weight, castor and
neem cake each @ 3 % by weight and Azotobacter and PSM culture @ 500g/t. There were seven treatments: T1: cotton
stalk only (control), T2: cotton stalk + compost culture, T3: cotton stalk + urea, T4: cotton stalk + urea + compost culture,
T5: cotton stalk + cow dung + compost culture, T6: cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture and T7: cotton stalk +
cow dung + urea + compost culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture during
first turning in completely randomized design with three replications. The experiment was carried out in pit having size of
1.5 length m x 1.00 m width x 0.75 m depth. The cotton stalks used for composting is having 6.2, 1.8, 6.8, 0.9, 4 and 1.5
g/kg content of N, P, K, Mg, Ca and S, respectively. Its also contains considerable amount of micronutrients (324, 147, 27,
9 & 1.6 mg/kg of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu & Mo, respectively.
Chopped the cotton stalks into small pieces of 5-6 cm using cotton shredder and filled up the pit with chopped
cotton stalk having layer of 10-15 cm by adding compost culture @ 500 g per tonne, urea (N @ 0.5 per cent), cow dung @
20 per cent, rock phosphate @ 5.0 per cent and castor cake and neem cake @ 3 per cent by sprinkling water to maintain
adequate moisture and make layer. Repeat the process 2-3 times until the pit becomes full. Cover the upper most layer by
murrum to maintain temperature and to avoid evaporation losses from the pit. Periodic watering is made to maintain
sufficient moisture in the pit and turning of the top layer at least once during the decomposition process. Bring out the
partially decomposed material from pit after one and half month & fill the thoroughly mixed materials in the pit and then
after one month give second turn with addition of Azotobacter and PSM @ 500 g/t of material and fill the thoroughly
mixed materials in the pit. In the span of four months, turn out the material from pit, most of the cotton stalks are converted
into compost having dark-brown powder form and no foul smell and keep it under shed. The prepared compost is suit for
use.
Representative samples of compost from each treatment was taken at 90, and 120 days, dried and analyzed for
organic carbon (Walkley and Black 1934), total N, P and K (Jackson, 1973), total S (Williams and Steinbergs, 1959) and
Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

NAAS Rating: 3.53

Technology for Rapid Composting of Cotton Stalk

213

total micronutrients Zn, Fe & Mn ((Black, 1965). The data were statistically analyzed as per procedure outline by Panse
and Sukhatme (2000). Treatment means were compared at 5 per cent level of significance using least significant difference
(LSD).).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Total Carbon, Total N and C:N Ratio Content
The total carbon content was significantly decreased to the tune of 9.6, 14.1, 7.9, 17.1 and 29.4 per cent due to T3
(cotton stalk + urea) T4 (cotton stalk + urea + compost culture) T5(cotton stalk + cow dung + compost culture) T6 (cotton
stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture) and T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture + rock phosphate +
castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture) over that of cotton stalk (control) only (T1) at 120 days to
composting. Contrary to this, total nitrogen content was significantly increased to the tune of 70.5, 91.6, 32.6, 103.1 and
106.3 per cent due to T3 (cotton stalk + urea) T4 (cotton stalk + urea + compost culture) T5(cotton stalk + cow dung +
compost culture) T6 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture) and T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost
culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture) over that of cotton stalk (control)
only (T1) at 120 days to composting. The effect of different treatments on C/N ratio were found significant and it values
were varied from 14.14 to 41.23 and minimum value was recorded with T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost
culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture). Sridevi et al. 2003 was also
reported the dependence of decomposition of C mineralization of plant residues on the proportion of soluble and fibre
fractions in the residues, their N concentration and C/N ratio.
Total Phosphorus, Potash and Sulphur Content
The total phosphorus content was significantly increased to the tune of 17.9, 23.1, 23.6, 28.2, 38.5 and 376.9 per
cent due to T2 (cotton stalk + compost culture), T3 (cotton stalk + urea) T4 (cotton stalk + urea + compost culture) T5(cotton
stalk + cow dung + compost culture) T6 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture) and T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung
+ urea + compost culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture) respectively over
that of cotton stalk (control) only (T1) at 120 DAC. The maximum content of 1.86 per cent of total P was recorded with T7
might

be due to addition of rock phosphate @ 5.0 per cent and castor cake and neem cake @ 3 per cent for composting.

Tandon S.K. and C. Sundaramoothy (2009) also reported that the addition of rock phosphate can enhance the humification
process in plant residues by enhancing microbial population and activity and by weakening lignin structure. The
phosphates and micronutrients contained in rock phosphate make composts rich in plant nutrients. At 120 DAC, total K
and S contents were varied from 1.76 to 2.27 and 0.10 to 0.14 per cent, respectively and its maximum value was observed
with T7 (cotton stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter
and PSM culture). Such beneficial effect of addition of N-fixing and P-solubilizing cultures was also showed by
Mahimairaja et al. (2008).
Micronutrient Content
The micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Zn) content in compost materials at 120 DAC was significantly influenced due to
various treatments (Table 1) and total Fe, Mn and Zn content was varied from 421 to 605, 264 to 341 and 49 to 71 ppm,
respectively. The highest values for content of all micronutrients in compost at 120 DAC were recorded with T7 (cotton
stalk + cow dung + urea + compost culture + rock phosphate + castor and neem cake each + Azotobacter and PSM culture).

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214

G. S. Sutaria, V. D. Vora, P. D. Vekariya & K. N. Akbari

CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that the recycling of cotton stalk (which are either burned or wasted) by chopping into small pieces
of 5-6 cm using cotton shedder and composting with addition of compost culture @ 500 g per tonne, urea (N @ 0.5%),
cow dung @ 20 % as well as Azotobacter and PSM) @ 500 g each per tonne during first turning of cotton stalk to get
enriched compost within 120 days having higher content of all plant nutrients.
REFERENCES
1.

Anil Kumar Dubey, Pitam Chandra, Debasish Padhee and Gangil, S. ( ) Energy from cotton stalks and other crop residues.
CIAE, Bhopal, India.

2.

Gallardo-Larva, F. and R. Nogades. 1987. Effect of application of town refuse compost on the soil plant system A review.
Biological Wastes 19:35-62.

3.

Hoitink, H.A.J. and P.C. Fahy. 1989. Basis for the control of soil borne plant pathogens with composts. Annual Review of
Phytopathology 24: 39-114.

4.

Jackson, M. L. (1973) Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice Hall of India Pvt, ltd., New delhi

5.

Mahimairaja,S., P.Dooraisamy, A.Lakshmanan, G.Rajannan, C.Udayasoorian and S.Natarajan.2008.Composting technology

and organic waste utilization in Agriculture. A.E.Publications, P.N.Pudur, Coimbatore

6.

Somasundaram, E., Thirukumaran, K., Mohamed Amanullah M. and Chandrasekaran, R. (2007). Performance of implements
for in-situ incorporation of post-harvest cotton stalks. Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, 3(6): 835-837.

7.

Sridevi, S.; KatyalmJ.C.; Srinivas, K. and Sharma, K.L. (2003). Carbon mineralization and microbial biomass dynamics in
soil amended with plant residues and residue fractions. Journal of Indian Scociety of Soil Science, 51 (2):133-139.

8.

Tandon S.K. and C. Sundaramoothy (2009). Environmental preservation through use of cotton stalks for industrial purpose.
Paer presented during the International Workshop on Utilization of cotton Plants by- produce for value added Products held
at Nagpur on Nov, 2009.

9.

Walkley, A. and Black, I. A. (1934) An examination of the Degtijareff method for determining soil organic matter and a
proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37, 355-358.

10. Williams, C.H. and Steinbergs, A. (1959) Soil sulphur fractions as chemical indices of available sulphur in some Australian
soils. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 10, 340-352.

APPENDICES
Table 1: Composition of Compost Prepared from Cotton Stalk Days after Composting
DAC
90
120
S.Em.
C.D. 5 %
90
120
S.Em.
C.D. 5 %
90
Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

Total C (%)
44.67
34.69
0.63
1.44
Total P %
0.45
0.68
0.01
0.03
Total Fe ppm
409

Total N %
1.03
1.51
0.02
0.07
Total K %
0.99
2.00
0.02
0.05
Total Mn ppm
224

C/N Ratio
43.37
22.97
1.21
3.23
Total S %
0.124
0.164
0.003
0.009
Total Zn ppm
41.4
NAAS Rating: 3.53

Technology for Rapid Composting of Cotton Stalk

120
S.Em.
C.D. 5 %

215

509
3.9
11.2

Table 1 Contd.
300
3.8
11.2

61.7
1.0
2.8

Table 2: Effect of Different Treatments on Composition of Compost Prepared from Cotton Stalk
90
120 DAC
DAC
Treatment
Total C (%)
49.75
39.25
T1
47.5
38.01
T2
45.5
35.48
T3
44.5
33.73
T4
45.75
36.13
T5
44.25
32.55
T6
33.50
27.72
T7
1.69
1.70
S. Em
5.13
5.16
CD at 5 %
6.56
8.49
CV%
Total P (%)
0.23
0.39
T1
0.27
0.46
T2
0.28
0.48
T3
0.30
0.49
T4
0.32
0.50
T5
0.33
0.54
T6
1.45
1.86
T7
0.03
0.03
S. Em
0.08
0.10
CD at 5 %
9.58
8.59
CV%
Total Fe (ppm)
332
421
T1
381
467
T2
415
498
T3
431
530
T4
402
490
T5
428
555
T6
472
605
T7
9
12
S. Em
27
36
CD at 5 %
3.81
4.01
CV%
DAC= Days after composting
Days

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90
120 DAC
DAC
Total N (%)
0.84
0.95
0.87
1.01
1.01
1.62
1.15
1.82
1.06
1.26
1.18
1.93
1.12
1.96
0.06
0.07
0.18
0.22
10.10
8.21
Total K(%)
0.77
1.76
0.91
1.86
0.94
1.92
1.00
2.00
1.07
2.00
1.11
2.18
1.16
2.27
0.05
0.04
0.16
0.13
9.01
3.82
Total Mn (ppm)
174
264
205
278
211
288
242
301
225
299
249
327
261
341
9
11
26
34
6.66
6.55

90
120
DAC
DAC
C/N Ratio
59.23
41.23
54.72
37.71
45.14
21.84
38.76
18.53
43.00
28.67
37.63
16.85
31.70
14.14
3.76
1.64
11.40
4.97
14.57
11.05
Total S (%)
0.10
0.14
0.11
0.15
0.12
0.15
0.13
0.18
0.13
0.17
0.13
0.17
0.14
0.19
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.03
8.86
9.89
Total Zn (ppm)
32
49
38
59
39
60
42
61
45
63
46
69
48
71
2
3
7
9
9.08
7.99

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