Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Compost as a Tomato Transplant Medium

Compost Science & Utilization, (2004), Vol. 12, No. 1, 86-92

J.E. Castillo1, F. Herrera (1), R.J. López-Bellido (2), F.J. López-Bellido (3), L. López-Bellido1 and E.J. Fernández (4)

1. Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
2. Departamento de Producción Vegetal, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
3. Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Tecnología Agraria, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
4. Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Producción Vegetal y Ecología, University of Almería, Spain

For 3 years, different types of growing media were evaluated in nursery-produced tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. cv “Atletico”). Five mixtures of substrates were used: old peat (65%) + white peat (30%) + perlite (5%), old peat (65%) + MSW compost (30%) + perlite (5%), MSW compost (65%) + white peat (30%) + perlite (5%), MSW compost (95%) + perlite (5%) and MSW compost (50%) + cocofiber (50%). Various seedling indices were measured in order to assess the quality of the nursery-produced plant. The quality of the MSW compost used (pH, salinity, organic matter) bore a strong influence on results. Electrical conductivity (EC) values of the MSW compost of over 9 dSm-1 produced poorer quality tomato seedlings in the mixture of substrates with peat. The use of MSW compost as the only substrate and the mixture of MSW compost with cocofiber had a lower growth index and poorer performance than the standard peat mixture. However, growth and development of the tomato seedlings in the mixture: old peat (65%) + MSW compost (30%) + perlite (5%) were similar to that obtained with the standard mixture: old peat (65%) + white peat (30%) + perlite (5%).

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