LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF NITROGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE RELEASE OF PEAT AND PEAT-COMPOST MEDIA

Three methods were used to determine the microbial activity of several primary products in order to predict changes in microbial activity in their mixtures.
The primary products were peat and four composts made from domestic and garden waste.
The mixtures consisted of peat with 15%, 30% or 45% by volume of these composts.
Little difference between the microbial activity of the primary products or the combinations were found with the Dewar self-heating test.
The carbon dioxide release and the nitrogen release revealed more microbial activity in the composted products than in the peat.
However, neither the carbon dioxide release method nor the nitrogen release method found increased activity in the combinations containing 15% compost.
Both these methods showed increased microbial activity in the combinations with 30% or 45% composted domestic and garden waste.
But none of the methods could predict how microbial activity would change if peat is amended with composted domestic and garden waste.

International Symposium Growing Media and Plant Nutrition in Horticulture

A. A. Pronk

microbial activity, Dewar self-heating test, CO₂ release, N release

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.450.29