Coffee husk composting: An investigation of the process using molecular and non-molecular tools

Highlights

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  Addition of cow dung to coffee husks improved composting kinetics.

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  Use of manure and fruit/vegetable wastes led to higher losses in total carbon.

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  DGGE indicated distinctive bacterial and fungal community shifts during composting.

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  COMPOCHIP revealed differences in quality and species diversity among composts.

Abstract

Various parameters were measured during a 90-day composting process of coffee husk with cow dung (Pile 1), with fruit/vegetable wastes (Pile 2) and coffee husk alone (Pile 3). Samples were collected on days 0, 32 and 90 for chemical and microbiological analyses. C/N ratios of Piles 1 and 2 decreased significantly over the 90 days. The highest bacterial counts at the start of the process and highest actinobacterial counts at the end of the process (Piles 1 and 2) indicated microbial succession with concomitant production of compost relevant enzymes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of rDNA and COMPOCHIP microarray analysis indicated distinctive community shifts during the composting process, with day 0 samples clustering separately from the 32 and 90-day samples. This study, using a multi-parameter approach, has revealed differences in quality and species diversity of the three composts.