PJB-2017-627
COMPOST MADE WITH YOGURT STARTER CULTURE BACTERIA ENCOURAGES PLANT GROWTH
Saira Malik
Abstract
Yogurt is appraised as a good source of probiotics throughout the world and is usually made with commercially available starter culture bacteria, such as Streptocococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Although, starter culture bacteria are generally known to make a variety of dairy products, the objective of the current study was to use yogurt culture bacteria for compost preparation. In our study, yogurt culture bacteria were isolated from commercially available yogurt sample and identified by biochemical tests and 16S ribotyping. The ribotyped strain of Streptococcus thermophilus (ATCC 19258) was inoculated with peels of banana, apple, bitter gourd, onion, and with coffee powder separately for compost preparation. The compost was later applied to soil in pots and its effects on seed germination and plant growth was observed. The best growth was obtained with onion compost which was made with the help of bacterial inoculum. The compost made of, banana peel with inoculum, apple peel with inoculum and bitter gourd peel with inoculum also showed improved growth as compared to the above peels without inoculum. The current study adds valuable information to the literature by showing the evident role of probiotic organisms for compost preparation and thereafter conferring drastic effects on seed germination and overall growth of plants. The promising results of the current study necessitate us to plan large scale production of compost by using different combinations of probiotic organisms and organic waste.
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