CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

Organic fertilizers comprise a variety of plant-derived materials that range from fresh or dried plant
material to animal manures and litters to agricultural by-products (Wohlfarth and Schroeder, 1979;
Das and Jana, 2003; Kumar et al., 2004). The nutrient content of organic fertilizers varies greatly
among source materials, and readily biodegradable materials make better nutrient sources.
Nitrogen and phosphorus content is lower, often substantially lower, in organic fertilizers compared
to chemical fertilizers. Moisture content is another factor that reduces or dilutes the nitrogen and
phosphorus concentrations of organic fertilizers. Thus, it can be cost ineffective to transport
high-moisture organic fertilizer long distances. However, use of locally available sources is perfectly
reasonable if its use is consistent with the production strategy. Nutrient value of animal manures is
more variable than that of agricultural by-products. The animal's diet, the use and type of bedding
material, manure age, and how it was stored are factors that affect manure nutrient value; these
factors can vary seasonally on and among farms, and regionally or on a larger geographic scale. In
contrast, nutrient content of agricultural by-products is less variable but can be affected by the
industrial process used to produce the by-product. However, it always is advisable to analytically
determine the nutrient content of the organic fertilizer. The organic carbon content of organic
fertilizer can be of equal or greater importance than its nitrogen and phosphorus contents.
Application of organic fertilizer promotes increases in heterotrophic bacterial biomass, which
stimulates other secondary productivity and mineralizes nutrients to stimulate primary productivity
(Schroeder, 1978; Anderson, 1987; Colman and Edwards, 1987; Qin et al., 1995; Barkoh et al.,
2005). Furthermore, through respiration the increased bacterial population generates carbon dioxide,
which increases dissolved inorganic carbon available to phytoplankton, dissolves limestone to
increase pond total alkalinity, and can moderate increases in pH during periods of intense
photosynthesis. Also through respiration, the bacterial population consumes oxygen and heavy
applications of organic matter can result in low predawn pond dissolved oxygen concentration (Qin
et al., 1995). However, organic matter decomposition and nutrient mineralization occurs over days in
contrast to immediate nutrient availability from chemical fertilizer