Abstract

As a remedy to meet the current alarming situation caused by chemical fertilizers, agricultural sectors are now refocusing on organic manure production from food waste. Banana wastes have potential biomass and nutrients which could be reutilized. This study aimed to assess the potential of fermented banana waste as a biofertilizer. Banana fruit waste was fermented using cow dung and cow urine. The Physico-chemical components, total bacterial load, phosphate solubilizers count, fecal coliforms count, and germination index of the prepared Fermented Banana Waste – Biofertilizer (FBW-B) was studied. pH of 6.72 and EC value of 19.41 ± 0.09 ms/cm were observed in Fermented Banana Waste - Biofertilizer (FBW-B). The mineral content of FBW-B was: total nitrogen (0.26 ± 0.001), phosphorus (0.35 ± 0.02), potassium (0.04 ± 0.00 %), calcium (2096 ± 12.08 mg/kg), magnesium (595 ± 4.23 mg/kg), sulphur (169 ± 10.7 mg/kg), iron (122.6 ± 0.92 mg/kg), zinc (8.38 ± 0.9 mg/kg), copper (2.41 ± 0.1 mg/kg), lead (4.34 ± 0.02 mg/kg) and manganese (9.83 ± 0.7 mg/kg). In the bacterial population, phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) in a considerable count were noted in FBW-B with the absence of fecal coliforms. Germination test shows that FBW-B has growth promotion potential after 50 fold dilution. The outcome of the study contributes to the development of organic liquid fertilizer from fruit waste and alleviates the effect of disposed of fruit waste and harmful effects of chemical fertilizers on the environment and humans.

Key words: Banana waste - Biofertilizer (FBW-B), Germination test, Phytotoxicity, Trace Elements.