Changes in Characteristics of Bark and Piggery Manure By-Product Fertilizers During the Composting

Objective of this research was to draw the basic criteria of the compost maturity evaluation, by assessing the stability of chemical and physical properties of the bark and piggery manure byproduct composts during the composting. Colors of the mature composts were black and dark brown for the bark and piggery manure by-product composts, respectively. Good earthy odor was detected for both by-product composts after approximately 40 days composting, by which odors of the original raw materials were disappeared. pH and EC of the mature bark: compost were stabilized at 6.5 and 1dS/m, respectively. The respective values for the piggery compost were stabilized at 7.2 and 6dS/m. Organic matter contents were decreased with time to be stabilized at about 60% at the end of composting. During composting, total N contents of the bark and piggery composts were maintained at , and , respectively. For both fertilizers, contents were increased at the initial stage bur. decreased after the middle stages of decomposition, resulting in the increase of contents. Total inorganic N contents were increased with time. C/N ratios of both mature composts were stabilized at . CEC of the bark compost was increased logarithmically with time and that of mature compost was 87cmol(+)/㎏. CEC of the piggery manure compost was hyperbolic function with rime and reached at 70cmol(+)/㎏ at the mature stage. Crude fiber analysis indicated that relative contents of lignin were increased with composting by compensating for the decreases of cellulose and hemicellulose contents.