Figures (6)  Tables (2)

    • Figure 1. 

      Map of the experimental site.

    • Figure 2. 

      Changes in microbial populations with time during composting.

    • Figure 3. 

      Changes in temperature and pH with time during composting.

    • Figure 4. 

      Variation in moisture, carbon content, and C: N ratio with time during composting.

    • Figure 5. 

      Changes in total nitrogen and electrical conductivity with time during composting.

    • Figure 6. 

      Changes in concentration of mineral elements during the composting period.

    • Compost + soil combinationsPlant height (cm)Number of leaves
      100% compost66.04 ± 0.57a22 ± 0.57b
      75% compost + 25% soil60.96 ± 0.57b21 ± 0.57b
      50% compost + 50% soil58.42 ± 0.57b18 ± 0.57c
      100% soil50.80 ± 0.57c15 ± 0.57d
      Values are mean of three replicates ± SEM. Means with different superscripts within the column are significantly different at the 0.05 level.

      Table 1. 

      Effect of different combinations of compost and soil on the growth of Amaranthus amaranthus.

    • Physicochemical parametersBacterial count
      (× 106 cfu/mL)      		Fungal count
      (× 106 cfu/mL)      		Plant height (cm)Number of leaves
      Temperature–0.1320.4530.604*0.776**
      pH–0.474–0.790**–0.874**–0.853**
      Moisture0.4260.836**0.872**0.890**
      Carbon0.3930.798**0.934**0.957**
      Nitrogen0.1370.4470.806**0.830**
      C/N-ratio0.4480.873**0.858**0.898**
      Electrical conductivity–0.575*–0.912**–0.871**–0.874**
      Cobolt0.3830.776**0.934**0.973**
      Copper–0.340–0.791**–0.732**–0.810**
      Phosphorus–0.587–0.878**–0.890**–0.904**
      Potassium–0.468–0.854**–0.883**–0.897**
      Lead–0.504–0.865**–0.886**–0.878**
      Chromium0.3450.768**0.941**0.990**
      ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

      Table 2. 

      Relationship between the microbial count, plant height, number of leaves and the physicochemical parameters.