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Elucidation of functional chemical groups responsible of compost phytotoxicity using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy under different initial C/N ratios

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Abstract

More than 1 million tons of fresh organic wastes is produced in the Souss-Massa region in Morocco. Tomato organic residues represent more than 25% of the total organic wastes and are deposited in uncontrolled landfills. Thus, composting can represent a valuable and pertinent solution to this environmental problem. The objectives of this experiment are to identify the potential functional groups responsible for compost phytotoxicity and to determine the optimum initial carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) for maximum recovery of tomato residues. The experiment consisted of the variation of the initial C/N ratios (25, 30, 35, and 40) using mixtures of different raw materials (tomato residues, melon residues, olive mill pomace, and sheep manure). Physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, C/N ratio, and humic acid/fulvic acid ratio) were determined and spectroscopic analyses (UV-vis and NMR-13C) were performed during the composting process along with quality parameters (germination and phytotoxicity tests) at the end. The results showed that the compost with the initial C/N ratio of 35 is the most humified with the least phytotoxic effect. The germination and phytotoxicity tests were negatively correlated with the methoxyl/N-alkyl-C ratio and O-alkyl-C. These two functional groups are probably the origin of phytotoxicity expression in compost quality tests. Thus, a simple and precise quality test could be performed to evaluate directly the phytotoxicity and maturity of compost.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Fabio Ziarelli for performing 13C NMR analysis; Dr. Pascal Mirleau for 13C NMR deconvolution and integration; and Dr. Tarek Amine for language support.

Funding

This research was supported by both the research project of AMABIO-INRA and the Campus France research project PRAD 13-09 [Grant Number 28050PE].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit of Integrated Crop Production, Regional Center of Agronomy Research, INRA-CRRA, B.P. 124, Inzegane, CP: 80350, Agadir, Morocco

    Khalid Azim

  2. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, IAV Hassan II, B.P. 6202. Madinat Al Irfane, Rabat, Morocco

    Khalid Azim & Brahim Soudi

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Mohamed I, Bd Mohammed VI. B.P. 717, CP: 60000, Oujda, Morocco

    Youssef Faissal

  4. Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE) Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, Campus de l’Etoile, Centre Saint-Jérôme, Avenue Escadrille Normandie-Niemen, 13397, Marseille cedex 20, France

    Claude Perissol & Sevastianos Roussos

  5. Laboratory of Microbiology, Regional Center of Agronomy Research, INRA-CRRA, Avenue Mohamed Belarbi Alaoui B.P. 6356, CPP: 10101, Rabat, Morocco

    Imane Thami Alami

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  1. Khalid Azim
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  2. Youssef Faissal
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Correspondence to Khalid Azim.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Pearson correlation between bioassays and chemical groups
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Table 6 Pearson correlation between bioassays and chemical groups in compost C/N35
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Azim, K., Faissal, Y., Soudi, B. et al. Elucidation of functional chemical groups responsible of compost phytotoxicity using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy under different initial C/N ratios. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 3408–3422 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0704-9

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