Recycling of Organic Waste through Four Different Composts for Disease Suppression and Growth Enhancement in Mung Beans

Abstract

Compost is beneficial for agriculture fields in many ways such as soil conditioner, fertilizer, and natural pesticide and above all it helps to manage organic wastes and adds vital humic acids to soil. Four indigenous composts prepared from readily available organic wastes viz. vermicompost, banana, NADEP, and Calotropis were used in the present investigation for growth and disease suppression in mung beans. The composts were amended with Trichoderma viride in the concentration of 0.1 and 0.2% to determine their influence on length and weight of roots and shoots, disease incidence, soil moisture, and soil microflora in plants. The best results were observed in the treatment with T. viride (0.2%), followed by T. viride (0.1%) in vermicompost, while the treatment T. viride (0.1%) with Calotropis compost showed little growth and suppression of disease. All composts enhanced the soil moisture content and microbial populations in amended soil resulting in the reduction of disease incidence. Among T. viride enriched composts, the counts of fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes were higher in the vermicompost and banana compost-amended soils. Thus, preparing these composts from readily available organic wastes and amending soil with T. viride enriched composts hold a great promise for improving soil fertility and suppressing the soilborne plant pathogens for sustainable agriculture.