Composting Olive Mill Waste and Sheep Manure For Orchard Use

Abstract

An industrial-scale composting plant has been designed for producing organic fertilizers from olive mill waste using the windrow pile system. Materials to be composted, two phase olive mill waste (TPOMW) and sheep litter (SL), were characterized and made into three piles consisting of different proportions of each. Throughout the composting process, temperature (T), moisture (M), organic matter (OM), total organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (NT), germination index (GI), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were monitored. The potential agronomic value of the final composts was ascertained by analyzing the bulk density, OM and Corg concentration, pH, EC, macro and micronutrient content ( N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, B), the concentration of humic and fulvic acids and inorganic nitrogen (NH4+,NO2-, NO3-). Each compost was applied to an area of one hectare within a six year-old olive plantation. Four months after application, the soils showed an increased OM concentration and cationic exchange capacity (CEC).