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Recycling of wastes from fish beneficiation by composting: chemical characteristics of the compost and efficiency of their humic acids in stimulating the growth of lettuce

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Abstract

Waste from the beneficiation of fish was composted with crushed grass aiming to characterize their chemical composition and investigate the possibility of the use of the final compost as source of humic acids (HA) able to stimulate the growth of lettuce. Compost presented pH value, C/N ratio, and electrical conductivity that allow its use as an organic fertilizer. The element content was present in the following order of abundance in the compost: P > Ca > N > Mg > K > Fe > Zn > Mn > Mo > Cu, and the humus composition was similar to that observed in others kind of organic residues composted. The high content of oxygen pointed out a high level of oxidation of HA, in line with the predominance of phenolic acidity in the functional groups. The 13C-NMR spectra showed marked resonances due to the presence of lipids and other materials resistant to degradation as methoxy substituent and N-alkyl groups. A concentration of 20 mg L−1 HA increased significantly both dry and wet root matter in lettuce but the CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, and number of lateral roots of the plants were not affected. However, increases of 64% in the water-use efficiency was observed due to the HA addition, probably related to the root morphology alteration which resulted in 1.6-fold increase of lateral root average length and due to the higher H+ extrusion activity. Reuse of residues from the fish beneficiation activity by composting may represent a safe tool to increase the value of recycled organic residues and generate HA with potential use as plant growth stimulants.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil (CNPq 475152/2012-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Caixa Postal 4508, Brasília, DF, 70910-970, Brazil

    Jader Galba Busato, Caroline Moreira de Carvalho & Rodrigo Diana Navarro

  2. Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ecologia e Desenvolvimento Sócio-ambiental, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida São José Barreto, 764, Macaé, RJ, 27965-045, Brazil

    Daniel Basilio Zandonadi

  3. Instituto de Química, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Caixa Postal 4478, Brasília, DF, 70910-970, Brazil

    Fernando Fabriz Sodré, Alan Ribeiro Mol & Aline Lima de Oliveira

Authors
  1. Jader Galba Busato
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  2. Caroline Moreira de Carvalho
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  3. Daniel Basilio Zandonadi
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  4. Fernando Fabriz Sodré
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  5. Alan Ribeiro Mol
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  6. Aline Lima de Oliveira
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  7. Rodrigo Diana Navarro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jader Galba Busato.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlights

• Waste from the beneficiation of fish was composted with crushed grass.

• Humic acids from the compost were tested as plant growth stimulator to lettuce.

• Elements were present in the compost in the order: P > Ca > N > Mg > K > Fe > Zn > Mn > Mo > Cu.

• Increases of 64% in the water-use efficiency was observed due the HA addition.

• Concentration of 20 mg L−1 HA increased dry and wet root matter in lettuce.

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Busato, J.G., de Carvalho, C.M., Zandonadi, D.B. et al. Recycling of wastes from fish beneficiation by composting: chemical characteristics of the compost and efficiency of their humic acids in stimulating the growth of lettuce. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 35811–35820 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0795-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0795-3

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