The influence of dregs age and addition of decomposer and biochar in the production of palm sugar tree stem dregs as bio-compost

Abstract The composting process of palm sugar tree stem dregs into bio-compost takes an extended time and produces compost with inconsistent qualities. The duration of burying the palm tree dregs plays a significant role in the time needed for its decomposing process. The current study evaluated the duration of burying (dregs age), decomposer, and biochar in producing palm tree stem dregs into bio-compost. The study employed a Completely Randomized Design in an experimental approach. The dregs maturation level (fresh (M F ) and mature (M M )), decomposer application (added (D 1 ) and not (D 0 )), and biochar addition (added (B 1 ) and not (B 0 )) were varied to obtain eight treatment groups. Physical (temperature, moisture content, and color) and chemical (total carbon, organic matter, and total nitrogen) were measured in triplicates. The study found no significant effect of dregs age, decomposer, and biochar on the produced compost’s physical attributes. However, shorter compost burial duration, regardless of the decomposer and biochar addition, results in improved chemical characteristics in bio-compost, as evident in the higher total N content.