Processing Dewatered Faecal Sludge into Un Pelletized Fertilizer for Crop Production in Greater Accra-Ghana

Abstract

Organic wastes such as Fecal Sludge (FS) and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are readily available in large quantities in the Ghanaian environment especially in urban cities and towns where human populations are constantly swelling like Accra, Ghana. These wastes are observed to be rich in good amounts of organic matter and nutrients which when treated and managed well can be reused in agricultural production by improving soil fertility for plant growth. This study seeks to present first extensive assessment of the physicochemical and Microbial characteristics of mixing dried Fecal Sludge (DFS) and municipal organic Compost and the formulation mix effect on lettuce production in greater Accra region. Analysis of the characteristics of Dry Fecal Sludge and Compost informed in three (3) different formulations of Mix accordance with estimated variation on percentage nitrogen of 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%. The ratios were 1:3.3, 1:1.1 and 1:0.4 (w/w) of Dry Fecal Sludge and Compost respectively. Analyses of the physicochemical parameters confirmed that, formulation Mix of Dry Fecal Sludge and Compost had significant effect (p<0.05) on physicochemical parameters studied. The different treatments mix were tested on the growth of lettuce. Data on plant height and girth showed that there was a significant (p < 0.05) variation between the treatments. Formulated mix 1 showed high growth yield of lettuce as compared to other treatments in terms of number of leaf, wet and dry weigh of lettuce.