Used Diapers and Waste Papers as Alternative Fertilizer: A Comparative Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In some agricultural fields, fertilizers were being used to supplement the required elements that were found naturally in the soil. These were materials that provide one or more nutrients that plants need, helping to improve soil's physical and chemical properties, and raising soil fertility. on the other hand, papers and diapers were material which was commonly used by humans in their daily living. in this study, we wanted to lessen the environmental waste and at the same time, produce an effective organic fertilizer to be an alternative to expensive fertilizers in the market.

METHODS

This study used an experimental research design for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data. The study focused on the significant differences in terms of efficiency on the growth of pechay plants (Brassica Rapa) between three soil mixtures (¾ loam soil and ¼ waste paper vermicompost, ¾ loam soil and ¼ hydrogel, and ¾ loam soil and ¼ ammonia). Specific data was collected using mechanical tools, specifically ruler, weighing scale and SpeakColor, a smartphone application developed by RamelTec in determining the exact color of the leaves.

RESULTS

A five-week long experiment was conducted and, specific characteristics were observed, such as the height, weight, color of leaves, and several leaves. After the experiment, in terms of height, weight, and several leaves, hydrogel had the most extended average value, most massive and had the most number of leaves followed by commercial fertilizer then lastly the vermicompost. Therefore, it was concluded that there was no significant difference in using waste paper vermicompost, hydrogel, and commercial fertilizer in concern with the growth of the pechay plant. However, the color was recorded by the aid of observation, and the researchers obtained the different intensity of colors. Hydrogel extracted from diapers had the darkest shade of green followed by commercial fertilizer then vermicompost.

DISCUSSIONS

This research study concluded that hydrogel had the highest mean but, vermicompost and hydrogel had almost achieved the same result as the commercial fertilizer. Therefore, hydrogel and vermicompost can be considered as an alternative fertilizer with low cost, but with the same efficient result as the commercial fertilizer.