Sugarcane bagasses sewage sludge compost as a plant growth substrate and an option for waste management

The possible utilization of sugarcane bagasses sewage sludge-based compost (BSC) as a substitution for widely using expensive peat in growth media for a horticultural crop, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), was evaluated. Five different treatments having different percentages of BSC and peat were established. Percentages of BSC addition to peat were 0, 10, 25, 40, and 60% v/v, respectively. Physical and chemical characteristics of different growth media were undertaken. Plant growth parameters and nutrient composition of lettuce plants were determined. In general, the proposed growing media created with peat and BSC had adequate physical and chemical properties and notable contents of plant nutrients, mainly P, K, Ca, and Mg. Moreover, BSC addition to peat enhanced the nutrient content in lettuce plants compared to plants grown in peat-only substrate. The highest increases of growth and yield parameters were obtained in the treatment having BSC and peat at 25 and 75% of the total volume, respectively. The shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight, and root dry weight obtained from the media having BSC and peat at 25 and 75% were increased by 53.25, 43.32, 36.27, and 56.88%, respectively, compared to peat control. In addition, the mixture with the most BSC (60%) gave the greatest contents of K, Mg, Ca, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Pb. Trace element concentrations in plant tissues grown in media with BSC and peat were far below than the ranges considered phytotoxic for plants. These results indicate that these BSC-based media is a viable alternative to expensive peat for cultivation of lettuce.