Chemical analysis of compost using pineapple leaves and cow dung as bio-activator

Abstract

The number of area planted with pineapple at Malaysia is now increasing, especially after the fruit was recognized as one of the key crop under National Key Economic Area (NKEA). In practice, the pineapple plant remains only for one round of harvest cycle. After the fruit harvest, the leaves is usually pruned in order to stimulate the growth of suckers for the subsequent planting cycle. The pineapple leaves contained immense potential to be developed into products such as compost. In this study, the pineapple leaves were developed into compost by using the cow dung as the bio-activator and its chemical composition was then compared with the commercial organic fertiliser by using the proximate analysis. The composting process was performed in a styrofoam box and the decomposition process took 24 days for the compost to reach the constant ambient temperature at around 35°C. At the end of the composting, the pile turned to darker black colour, and has inert earthy odour. The result showed that the compost produced using the pineapple leaves with the cow dung has 2.86% nitrogen content, 0.93% ash content, and 33.47 moisture level. These values are significantly lower in comparison to the commercial organic compost. The study signified the potential of the pineapple leaves to be developed into compost to improve the soil condition. Nevertheless, the method and its composition need to be expanded in order to improve its elements availabilities suitable as organic compost.