In the study carried out by the Soil, Water and Deserting Control Research Institute of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), compost with high organic matter value was obtained from poultry manure, sunflower and corn waste.

Experts working on the zero-waste slogan in agriculture at the Soil, Water and Deserting Control Research Institute have come to the end of the two-year work they started to bring the corn and sunflower waste left in the field after harvest to the soil.

In the project, corn, sunflower residues, and poultry manure were converted into fertilizer form through a series of processes. A high yield value was achieved in the compost fertilizer trial used in the silage corn field.

Organic waste was evaluated and brought into the soil with the study

The director of the project at the Institute, Expert Researcher Dr. Osman Mücevher told Anadolu Agency (AA) that organic matter is part of the living structure.

Mentioning that the organic matter value is less than 2 percent in the vast majority of agricultural lands in Türkiye. Mücevher pointed out the importance of encouraging practices that increase the amount of organic matter.

Mücevher stated that they aimed to use organic waste and bring it back into the soil, and said:

"With the increase in the presence of organic matter, there is an improvement in soil quality and an increase in plant yield. The use of organic fertilizers instead of chemicals plays an important role in increasing soil fertility, protecting it and ensuring sustainable food safety. In our two-year study, we found that poultry manure enriched with different materials and compost obtained from agricultural residues "It was aimed to determine the effects on soil quality and growth of silage maize plants. Within the scope of this project, which also has the characteristics of an academic study, 13 tons of yield per decare was achieved with an average increase of 42.54 percent in silage maize yield in field trials."

3.6 million tons of corn and sunflower waste is dumped into the soil annually

Emphasizing that the salinity problem and irritating odor in the direct use of poultry manure spilled on the fields are eliminated by making compost, Mücevher expressed that Türkiye's organic fertilizer production potential is very high.

Explaining that Türkiye has a potential of 2 million 497 thousand tons of agricultural waste in corn and 1 million 151 thousand tons in sunflowers, Mücevher noted that it is estimated that there is 10 million tons of wet poultry manure in the country annually.

6 million tons of organic fertilizer can be produced annually from agricultural waste

Mücevher stated that the compost to be obtained from agricultural waste and poultry manure will contribute to the recovery of organic residues, protection of the soil and increasing the welfare level of the farmer, and said, "It will also make a great contribution to the country's economy. In this study, we calculated that approximately 6 million tons of fertilizer can be obtained per year. Considering that 1 ton of compost is applied, it has been revealed that 6 million decares of agricultural land for the country and 300 thousand decares of agricultural land for Konya and Karaman can meet the organic fertilizer needs."

 

 

Source: Anadolu Ajansı