EFFECT OF SEASONAL VARIATIONS ON COMPOST QUALITY OFEICHHORNIA CRASSIPES AND IPOMOEA CARNEA WITH FISHPOND SEDIMENTS. Shyam, T. Das, G.V.P. Kumar and T. KarakAbstract Co-composting of invasive aquatic/wetland plants with sediment is an environment-friendly and cost-effectivetechnique that can help in managing the socio-economic and ecological problems arising due toweed invasion and accelerated sedimentation. We hypothesize that the quality of composts prepared duringdifferent seasons may differ because of variations in environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, weconducted a study that assessed the efficacy of compost prepared from two dominant aquatic/wetlandinvasive plant species (viz., Eichhornia crassipesand Ipomoea carnea) in India along with fish pond sedimentsas the bulking agent across two different seasons viz., summer and winter. Our study revealed a significantchange in the compost quality with respect to seasons. We found that the compost quality was betterduring winter compared to summer season. The study therefore highlights some facts related to variationsin the compost quality with respect to seasons and application of such information in fertility managementof soil. |