Growth of eucalyptus rooted cuttings in toxic organic waste compost of textile industry

ABSTRACTBiodegradation techniques may help contaminated organic wastes to become useful for plant production. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of composting in the biodegradation of toxic residues from the textile industry and its use as substrate in saplings production. Cotton cloths contaminated with oil and grease, used in loom maintenance, were composted in a mixture with cattle manure. The composted material replaced coconut fiber in the substrate for the production of eucalyptus rooted cuttings: mixture of vermiculite, carbonized rice husk and coconut fiber in the ratio of 2:1:1 (v/v) and using it as control. Thus, the amount of rice husks remained unchanged and the amount of vermiculite and compost varied. The compost proportion in the tested substrates were 0, 19, 37, 56 and 75%. The compost produced from textile wastes showed high nutrient levels and low levels of heavy metals. In general, the survival, growth and some growth indices of rooted cuttings produced on substrates with 19 and 37% compost were similar to those of rooted cuttings grown in commercial substrate. Composting is efficient and the material is useful for rooted cuttings production

Growth of seedlings and young plants of coffee in composts of textile industry residues

ABSTRACT The final destination of solid industrial waste is one of the main environmental problems currently facing, due to its potential for contamination. With the evolution of environmental policy and awareness, the proper destination of these wastes is stimulated, seeking new technologies to fulfil the demand for the products generated. One of the solutions to this environmental problem is to use these residues as fertilizers in agriculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of toxic textile residues as a substrate component of coffee seedlings and as fertilizer in the initial growth of coffee plants. The study was divided into three experiments: production of seedlings, initial growth of potted plants and in the field. In the production of seedlings, the treatments consisted of different proportions of organic compost residues from the textile industry: 0, 4, 8, 16 and 32% and a conventional treatment of seedling production. In pots and in the field, the same treatments were used with organic compound, and a conventional planting treatment. In the three experiments, plant growth and nutritional analyses were performed. The conventional treatment provided better development of the seedlings and the potted and field coffee plants for most of the evaluated parameters. The treatments between 8 and 16% of organic compost showed an acceptable development of coffee plants, demonstrating their potential as fertilizer