Bioconversion of marine trash fish (MTF) to organic liquid fertilizer for effective solid waste management and its efficacy on Tomato growth

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to deal with utilization of marine trash fish (MTF) in the production of organic liquid fertilizer for effective solid waste management in urban locations.

Design/methodology/approach

Chopped MTF was treated with molasses and allowed to bacterial degradation. Spectroscopic tools – FT-IR and GC-MS were employed to characterize the biomolecules were employed to characterize the biomolecules. Nutrient content in final organic liquid fertilizer was estimated by physico-chemical analysis. The liquid fertilizer was treated to soil and applied as a foliar spray on leaves of Tomato plants and growth parameters such as height of plants (cm), number of leaves and diameter of leaves (cm) were monitored.

Findings

MTF was converted to organic liquid fertilizer using Bacillus subtilis. GC-MS analysis of the final product detected presence of fatty acids that could enrich organic carbon (OC) upon soil application. The final product possesses various organic nutrients to assist plant growth. Tomato plants treated with 5 and 10 per cent organic fertilizer showed highest height than plants treated with chemical fertilizer.

Originality/value

Urban solid waste management is essentially required in developing countries to reduce its impact on the environment and this approach would be helpful for effective utilization of MTF in organic agriculture.

Citation

Aranganathan, L. and Rajasree S.R., R. (2016), "Bioconversion of marine trash fish (MTF) to organic liquid fertilizer for effective solid waste management and its efficacy on Tomato growth", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 93-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-05-2015-0074