Organic Agriculture: Module 4: - Prepare Composting Area and Raw Materials Quarter 1, Week 4 Aussie Charity T. Calibo
Organic Agriculture: Module 4: - Prepare Composting Area and Raw Materials Quarter 1, Week 4 Aussie Charity T. Calibo
Organic Agriculture: Module 4: - Prepare Composting Area and Raw Materials Quarter 1, Week 4 Aussie Charity T. Calibo
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Module 4: – Prepare Composting Area
And Raw Materials
Quarter 1, Week 4
Aussie Charity T. Calibo
Management Team:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
1.4. Gather materials for organic fertilizer based on production requirements and
PNS ;
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What I Know
A. True or False
Direction: Write True if the statement is correct, False if it is incorrect. Write your
answer on a sheet of paper.
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Lesson PREPARE COMPOSTING
4 AREA AND RAW MATERIALS
What’s In
What’s New
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
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What is It
I. Plant Residues
Plant residues are chemically complex organic materials that enter the
soil and play an important role in maintaining soil productivity by providing
source of nutrients and inputs to organic matter (Allison 1973). They are
known to affect soil physical properties, availability of soil nutrients, and soil
faunal populations.
Crop residues
Crop residue remaining after harvest accounts for large portion of the
organic matter added to soils. The amount of nutrients contributed by crop
residue depends on the crop and the stage at which it is incorporated.
Most of the crop residues are not collected for composting and nutrient
recycling, but are used as animal feed (straw/stovers), burnt or left in the filed
for natural decomposition.
Most important biofertilizers for lowland rice are azolla and blue green
algae (BGA). Azolla is an aquatic fern that lives in symbiotic association with
the N-fixing blue –green alga Anabaena azollae. The biomass of azolla is a good
source of organic fertilizer after decomposition. Azolla can be used for green
manuring, which could contribute from 20kg to 60 kg N/ha per season. It is
considered an efficient scavenger for K and serves as a source of K for rice
crops (FADINAP 2002).
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hedgerows in alley cropping system can contribute significant quantities of
nutrients to many crops.
Green manures
Green manures are crops that are incorporated into the soil while they
are still green and succulent in order to improve the soil and to supply N to
the associated cash crop. If the primary reason for growing a green manure is
to provide N, then some types of legumes should be planted. For other reasons,
green manures are good materials for compost production, The Sesbania
species (Sesbania sesban, Sesbania rostrate, and Sesbania aculeate), N-fixing
shrubs used to improve soil organic matter and fodders, are widely promoted
in the humid tropics. Aeschynimene afraspera is a stem-nodulating legume
that can grow also in upland and lowland conditions. This legume is less
sensitive to photoperiod than Sesbania. These shrubs re-grow vigorously after
being cut, producing abundant source of organic material.
Poultry
The most important manures in the country are broiler litter and egg
layer manure. Because poultry excrete liquid and solid waste together, poultry
manure is higher in N than manure of other farm animals.
The physical and chemical properties of cow manure may also depend
on the feed proportion and method of waste collection and disposal. In general,
cattle dung consists of 70-88% moisture, 20% OM, 3% mineral matter, and
both macro- and micronutrients.
Cows are kept in dirt-floor corrals where manure and accumulated
urine is periodically scraped and stacked. In some dairy farms, cows are kept
in barns that are cleaned daily. The wastewater flows into settling basin and
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lodged into lagoons. When it is necessary to dredge the lagoon. The wastewater
is dumped in the nearest waterway and the sludge is used as soil amendment.
Although carabao and cattle manure are not directly applied in the filed
as fertilizer, they are commonly deposited on pasture areas, and others are
collected and used in composting.
Horse
Since there is only a small number of horse in the country, very little of
horse manure is available. Horse manure is often mixed with high proportion
of crop residues such as straw, rice hulls, and coir dust.
Swine
Bagasse
Many sugarcane processing factories produce substantial
quantities of organic by-product such as bagasse, pith, and mud press.
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Sugarcane has been one of the most important agricultural
crops in the country for several decades, and produces million tons of
bagasse per year as a by-product of sugar production. Bagasse is a
solid waste produced after extracting the juice from the sugarcane
stalks. Bagasse has high C/N ratio (>150) and percentage of acid
detergent fiber (ADF, 41-62%)but low crude protein (CP, 2.5%) and total
digestible nutrients (TDN, 10-39%). Nevertheless, it has served as a
good soil conditioner when plowed back into the soil. Much of the
bagasse is used as fuel. The bagasse ash contains 0.28% N, 0.84%P
and 2-5%K.
Mud press/filtercake
Sugarcane slop
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Coir dust
Coir is a fibrous material that constitutes the thick mesocarp
(middle layer) of coconut fruit (Cocos nucifera). The long fibers of coir
are extracted from the coconut husk and utilized in the manufacture of
brushes, automobile seat and mattress stuffing, drainage pipe filters,
twine, and other products. The short fibers (2mm or less) and dust
(‘pitch’) left behind accumulate as waste product. The high lignin and
cellulose content of the pitch prevents the piles from further
decomposition.
Lumbang meal and castor bean meal are the residues after oil
extraction from “lumbang” and castor plants. The materials contain 6-7% N.
In beer making, used hops and sludge are produced. The used hops
contain 2.5-3.5% N and 1.0%P.
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Household waste
Wet garbage – kitchen waste such as leftover food, fruits, and vegetable
peelings, fish wastes.
Dry garbage – papers/cartons (junk mails, newspapers, shoe boxes, etc.);
garden wastes (plants, dried leaves, tree branches); used clothing,
shoes
Municipal Waste
Wet garbage – solid fruit and vegetable wastes from the market; solid
biodegradable waste from slaughterhouse.
Dry garbage – packing wastes cartons, wooden crates from market;
biodegradable packaging materials from commercial establishments.
Utilization of raw organic materials are usually more expensive per unit
nutrient (to collect, purchase, transport, store and apply) than inorganic
fertilizers. When evaluating the cost and benefits of various materials,
however, consider the two additional benefits in utilizing organic materials.
First, the organic materials can supply organic matter which improves soil
physical and chemical properties, Second, organic materials provide ‘energy’
for microorganisms, thereby promoting nutrient cycling within the production
system, and in some cases, suppressing harmful pathogens. It is, therefore,
difficult to assign a peso value to these non-nutrient benefits.
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What’s More
Directions: Read the items inside the box. Circle the ones that are crop
residues, cross the ones that are farmyard manure, double line that
are animal residues, check that are agri-industrial waste of raw organic
materials. Copy and answer on a sheet of paper.
What I Can Do
Instruction: Go out and gather different raw organic materials found outside your
home. Do not forget to wear your protective equipment while doing the activity. Be
careful in using sharp objects. Please observe Occupational Health and Safety
always. Take photos of every activity that you perform.
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Rubrics
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Assessment
MULTIPLE CHOICES
Direction: Read each item carefully. Write the correct answers in a separate sheet
and submit it to your teacher.
1. This is an aquatic fern that lives in symbiotic association with the N-fixing blue –
green alga.
a. Azolla b. green manure
c. Indigenous plants d. mud press
2. How many percent of urban trashes are considered biodegradable organic
materials?
a. 30% b. 40% c. 50% d. 60%
3. Oyster shells and egg crust are high in;
a. Phosphorous b. Potassium c. Calcium d. Nitrogen
4. What is the nitrogen content of goat and sheep manure?
a. 1.8% b. 2.8% c. 3.8% d. 4.8%
5. These residues are similar to synthetic fertilizers.
a. crop residues b. animal residues
c. farmyard manure d. agri-industrial waste
6. Rice hulls have ______ high content.
a. zinc b. nitrogen c. potassium d. silica
7. In household waste, what is often a major problem for homeowners?
a. shredded branches b. leftover
c. fish waste d. fruits
8. Coir is found in the _____________ of coconut fruit.
a. first layer b. middle layer c. last layer d. all of the above
9. What is the composition of coir that prevents it from decomposition?
a. lignin b. cellulose c. pitch d. none of the above
10. This is a sugarcane product when the juice is already extracted from the plant.
a. mud press b. bagasse c. sugarcane slop d. all of the above
11. Which of the following is NOT an example of animal residues?
a. blood b. feathers c. manure d. oyster shells
12. Chicken manure is higher in ___________.
a. nitrogen b. phosphorous c. potassium d. zinc
13. When is the best time to incorporate the green manure?
a. when still green b. when still very young
c. when its dry d. when it’s wilted
14. Which of the following is correct?
a. plant residues are chemically simple organic materials
b. plant residues are physically simple organic materials
c. plant residues are chemically complex organic materials
d. plant residues are physically complex organic materials
15. This is a type of plant residues.
a. bagasse b. coir dust c. azolla d. all of the above
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Additional Activities
Direction: Write an item that can be compostable for each of the letters in the word
―COMPOST‖. The first letter is done for you. Answer in a separate sheet.
Corn stalk
O
M
P
O
S
T
Answer Key
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References
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