Biochar como aditivo no processo de compostagem

Abstract

The production of solid waste from anthropic activities is following a growing increase and the residues from agriculture and forestry do not escape this rule. In this context composting is a viable and inexpensive alternative to transform organic waste into compost with high potential for use as organic fertilizers. An alternative to optimizing the composting process, ensuring a compost as agronomic potential in a shorter time is the use of Biochar in the compost winder. Based on this assumption, the present work analyzed the behavior of pine sawdust compost piles and cattle manure added with different doses of Biochar (0,0; 1,0; 5,0 and 10,0% m/m). The agronomic potential of substrates generated by mixing different dosages of the composts with a dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol) was also analyzed to evaluate the influence of the compounds on soil characteristics and cucumber seedling development. As a result, it was observed that the application of Biochar in the composting layer provides a greater microbial activity, exposed by the higher temperature of the layer. The use of substrates made of any organic compound at 10% provided a higher seedling development. It was also observed that the use of added Biochar composts was responsible for generating substrates with higher pH values, electrical conductivity, microbial activity and assimilable phosphorus. Thus, it was possible to verify that Biochar contributed positively to the composting process as well as obtaining substrates with nutritional quality that favored the development of seedlings, a fact associated with the improvement of soil quality.