Quality of organic compounds prepared with different proportions of gliricídia (Gliricidia sepium) branches

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of organic compounds produced with different proportions of gliricidia branches and elephant grass. The experimental design was completely randomized with three replications. Five treatments were evaluated as defined for five ratios of biomass gliricídia mixed with elephant grass (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%). Were evaluated: organic carbon, C/N ratio, pH, N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S. Increased proportions of gliricidia linearly increased content of organic matter, nitrogen, sulfur, calcium and magnesium content. However, there was a linear decrease in pH, possibly due to the advantage of the nitrification process that releases H+in the middle. The levels of P and K were not affected by the proportions of mixtures of gliricidia and elephant grass. The study indicates that gliricídia is an alternative to replace or reduce the using of manure in organic composting.