FOOD INDUSTRIES WASTE AS A VALUABLE SOURCE OF LIQUID ORGANIC FERTILIZER AND THEIR EFFECTS ON IMPROVING SALINE CALCAREOUS SOIL AND PLANTS

The objective of this work is to assess the suitability of utilizing food industry wastes (molasses yeast and lemon waste) to produce natural liquid organic fertilizer and evaluation their effects on plants grown on saline calcareous soil. A preliminary experiment was conducted at the greenhouse of Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) at El-Giza Governorate, Egypt. This experiment was carried out to test the effect of molasses yeast or lemon waste extract on the growth of maize ( zea maize) during the summer season of 2011 followed with barley (Hordeum vulgare) during the winter season of 2011/2012. The field experiment was carried out to verifying the effect of molasses yeast or lemon waste extract on maize plants. The experiment was carried out at the experimental farm of Nubareia Research Station ARC. (El-Behira Governorate), Egypt. Grains of maize were sown in summer growing season of 2012. The obtained results showed that applying both molasses yeast or lemon waste extract to soil increases the amount of soil organic matter and decreases the ECe of the soil. Avery slightly differences were observed in pH and CaCO3 % of soil. There is a positive effect of both molasses yeast or lemon waste on the growth of field crops. The application of molasses yeast and lemon extract significantly increased grain and straw yield as well as improved nutritional values of grain, i-e., total carbohydrates, crude protein, oil %, total amino acids, organic acids, and hormones. The efficiencies of molasses yeast or lemon waste extract as a fertilizer or as amendments compared to control treatment are very different. There was excellent potential to obtain a natural fertilizer and amendment using molasses yeast. On the other hand, the best results of lemon waste extract were obtained as amendment only.