Assessment of the Fertilizer Potential Generated in Anaerobic Co-digestion Process from Swine and Cattle Residues in Maize Crop

Abstract

For continued increases in food production in order to growing demand of the population becomes necessary actions to minimize the effects caused by wastes when released into the environment. It was studied anaerobic co-digestion process of cattle and swine manures, as an alternative treatment of these wastes and to investigate the efficiency of biofertilizer produced in a maize crop. There was a process of anaerobic co-digestion with the mixture of swine and cattle residues (3:1) and solid fraction of 8.9%. The produced biofertilizer was applied in cultivation of maize and evaluated according to the growth and development of the plant by Tukey’s test. There was reduction of organic matter and stabilization of the process 20 days of treatment. According to the evaluation of the fertilization potential, in crops with biofertilizers, the results were similar to commercial fertilizer considering as parameters plant height and diameter of the stem. The produced fertilizer in the study has biological stability, organic matter that can help to hold nutrients in soil, therefore, may be considered a good source of nutrient for maize crop.