Effects of raw sources on the fertility levels of bio- fertilizers

An experiment was conducted from 8^th February 2021 to 15^th March 2021 to determine the properties of bio-fertilizers (composts) using sawdust, cow dung, fish waste and urea at different ratios. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with ten treatments in three replications (total thirty) comprising of C1 (sawdust), C2 (sawdust + cow dung = 1:1), C3 (sawdust + cow dung = 2:1), C4 (sawdust + cow dung = 1:2), C5 (sawdust + 2% urea of total weight), C6 (sawdust + 4% urea of total weight), C7 (sawdust + 6% urea of total weight), C8 (sawdust + fish waste = 1:1), C9 (sawdust + fish waste = 2:1) and C10 (sawdust + fish waste = 1:2) by weight. The study revealed that after composting C6, C8 and C9 had the highest pH value (7.90) while C1 had the lowest pH value (7.37). In the case of EC, C8 showed the highest EC in all sampling time (0.87 mS/cm, 0.61 mS/cm, and 0.50 mS/cm in 21^st, 28^th and 36^th days respectively) although it decreased with time. On the other hand, C1 had the lowest EC value (0.05 mS/cm, 0.06 mS/cm, and 0.05 mS/cm in 21^st, 28^th and 36^th days respectively). The total organic matter of C10 decreased (16.52%) at the last stage of composting. The maximum value of bulk density was C1 (0.03 gm/cm³) and the minimum value was for C5 (0.02 gm/cm³) of the final compost. The C10 attained the most value (2.12 gm/cm³) of particle density while the C2 attained the least value (0.87 gm/cm³) on the last day of composting. The C7 had the highest (90%) water holding capacity and C1 had the lowest (40%) after composting. The results indicate that composting of sawdust and cow dung is a reliable and simple method for the production of organic fertilizer that would improve soil quality

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