Study of the effect agricultural waste compost on seed germination of Pinus pinea L. and seedlings growth and development

Abstract

Aerobic fermentation using the heap method was applied to both sawdust with leguminous residues for 6 months and leguminous residues with Poaceae for 4 months. The suitability of the resulting organic media and mixtures of media with mineral soil as media for germinating Pinus pinea L seeds was examined. The effect of these media on the longitudinal, quantitative and weight growth indicators of seedlings at the end of the growing season. The results showed that the germination rate in the treatments that included compost of leguminous waste in the form of a single medium or mixture reached 90%, and 85% in the mixture of sawdust compost with the nursery mixture. All treatments were significantly superior to the control treatment (the nursery mixture), as the germination rate in the control treatment reached 63.33%. The results showed that the highest average length of the root and shoot systems was in the treatments that included compost of leguminous wastes individually or in mixtures, and there was an improvement in the dry matter weight of the root and shoot.