Influence of Ammonium Sulphate from anaerobic pasteurization digester latrines (APDLs) effluent on soil pH

Abstract

Improper disposal of human waste is one of the most serious health problems in developing countries due to pollution of the  environment. The use of chemical fertilizers for agriculture increase the plant growth to meet the food security of the world, but also causes environmental problems including lowering of soil pH. On the other hand, anaerobic pasteurization digester systems enable the recovery of nutrients from human faces and urine for the benefit of agriculture, thus helping to preserve soil fertility. Therefore, the present work aims to assess the potential of using ammonium sulphate processed from anaerobic pasteurization digesters latrines  (APDLS) effluent to stabilize soil pH. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with four treatments replicated four times. The treatments were Ammonium sulphate, Compost manure, Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and control. The results showed that soil pH increased significantly (p<0.05) from 4.7 -4.9 before planting to 5.6 - 5.7 after planting. The organic and inorganic fertilizers as well as the interaction between the fertilizer and time did not have significant effect on soil pH (p > 0.05). The Ammonium sulphate recovered from APDLs final effluent could act as effective as a chemical fertilizer without significant reduction in the yield.