Aim: This research aimed to investigate the effects of compost sites on yam-farms in Zaki-Biam metropolis.
Methods: Three samples were obtained from a compost site. A hand full of samples were received in a clean polythene bag, labelled and transported to the Laboratory. One gram (1 g) of the sample was weighed and transferred into a sterile centrifuge tube, 9 mL of sterile water was added and vortexed to mixed well. A serial dilution of the homogenate sample was made .The process started by transferring 1ml of the sample into 9ml of distilled water the samples were serially diluted using the pour plate method. The isolated bacterial and fungal colonies were sub cultured to obtain a single, pure culture. The isolates were identified and characterized using normal biochemical tests on the basis of their morphology appearances.
Results: Bacterial and fungal growth was found in all three of the soil samples that were collected. The total bacterial load of 6.0x103CFU/g was found to be the highest bacterial load and 1.6x103CFU/g was the lowest bacterial load, the total fungal load of 7.0x103SFU/g was found to be the highest fungal load while 1.2x103SFU/g was the lowest fungal load in this study. A total of 3 bacterial CFU/g and 3 fungal SFU/g were recovered from the compost soil samples. Bacillus spp (3; 50%) was the most prevalent bacterium, followed by Pseudomonas spp. (2; 33.3%), then Staphylococcus sp. (1; 16.7%). Of the 3 fungal isolates, Aspergillus fumigatus (3; 50%) was the most prevalent, followed by Aspergillus niger (2; 33.3%), then Aspergillus flavus (1; 16.7%). The results obtained shows that the fungi were higher compared to bacteria isolates.
Conclusion: The various bacteria and fungi genera were involved in the decomposition of compost making it suitable for the growth of yam. The pure cultures of these bacteria could be incorporated into agricultural wastes in a controlled fermentation unit.
Key words: Microorganisms, Compost site, Yam farm, Bacillus spp., Aspergillus spp., Zaki-Biam
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