New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

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Effects of extraction and fractionation time on the yield of compost humic acids

O. H. Ahmed
M. H. A. Husni
A. R. Anuar
M. M. Hanafi

Department of Land Management
Faculty of Agriculture
University Putra Malaysia
43400 Serdang
Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract  The yield of humic acids (HA) partly depends on the period of isolation (extraction and fractionation), extractants used, and conditions such as temperature, pre-treatments, and compost:extractant ratios of extraction. This study was conducted to investigate whether a relationship could be separately established between extraction time, fractionation time, and the yield of HA from composted pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaves, as well as the relationship between both variables (extraction time and fractionation time) on the yield of HA from this compost. Standard procedures (with some modifications) using 0.1M NaOH were used to isolate HA from compost. Although there was a quadratic relationship between extraction time and HA yield, there was no relationship between fractionation time and HA yield. This observation enables the isolation of HA of compost within 24 h or less instead of the existing average time of 48 h, hence helping in facilitating the idea of producing potassium humate as a foliar potassium fertiliser from composted pineapple leaves and related crop residues instead of open burning, a practice that has undesirable environmental effects.

Keywords   pineapple leaves; trend analysis; humic acid; compost

H04063; Online publication date 13 May 2005 Received 29 July 2004; accepted 15 January 2005
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2005, Vol. 33: 107-110
0014-0671/05/3302-0107 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005

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