The reuse of peanut organic wastes as a growth medium for ornamental plants

Background The reuse of organic wastes in agricultureis an appropriate method of environment management.Most plants with ornamental leaves are cultivated insoilless media, in which peat is the basic medium; but theuse of peat is questionable due to ecological damage tothe environment and economic disadvantages to ornamentalplant producers. Peanut shells as remained wastesof cultivating peanut has a considerable volume, compostof which can be used as available sources of ornamentalplants medium. A pot experiment was conducted to investigatethe possibility of using peanut shell compost inthe appropriate bed in the cultivation of ornamentalplants. Dracaena marginata was selected as the test plant.The control treatment consisted of a 2:1 ratio of peat toperlite, and peat was replaced by 15, 30, 45, 60 and100 % v/v of peanut shell compost. The study was donebased on a complete randomized design in three repetitionsin the ornamental plants and flowers research station,Lahijan, Iran.Results The results showed that the bulk density of theplanting beds decreased with the addition of peanut shellcompost in comparison to the control. Peanut shell compostincreased total nitrogen and available phosphorus andpotassium of the media. Peanut shell compost increasedplant growth indices, but the growth was reduced in 100 %in the compost treatment. The compost led to increase innutrient uptake by plants.Conclusion In conclusion, it became known that peanutshell compost is an appropriate alternative to peat as thegrowth medium of ornamental plants. Because of the favorableproperties and high porosity, peanut shell compostcan be mixed with low-porosity substrates and applied as asubstitute to peat in the cultivation media. It is not suggestedto increase peanut compost level by 60 and 100 %.