Evaluation of Fish Waste Compost as a Fertiliser for Agricultural Use: A Study in Mizoram, India

Nearly 75% of the total weight of the fish is generated as solid waste in the form of gut, head, skin, bones, fins and frames after processing. The fish wastes (FW) rich in nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and trace minerals can serve as raw material for the production of many nutritive and non-nutritive products. The study aimed to evaluate the compost prepared from fish waste, which was used as a fertiliser for agricultural use. The study was conducted under pot culture experiment was conducted in a pot culture with broccoli crop (Brassica oleracea) at KVK, Aizawl farm, C.V. Sc. & A.H., CAU (I), Selesih, Mizoram, India. The research was conducted with eleven treatments with three replications. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effectiveness of this compost on broccoli. Data for yield attributes such as plant height (cm), no. of leaves per plant (nos.), stem diameter (cm), width of the curd (cm) and weight of the curd per pot (g) were recorded. All the data of observations recorded in the experiments were statistically analysed, and the critical differences (CD) were worked out at a 5% probability level. There was a positive correlation between the plant height, no. of leaves per plant, stem diameter (cm), width of curd (cm) and weight of the curd per pot (g). Treatments (T11) recorded the highest among all treatments, i.e., 25.2 (no. of leaves per plant), 4.58 (stem diameter, cm), 15.97 (width of the curd, cm) and 272.20 (weight of the curd per pot, g). Ascorbic acid content in broccoli crop was recorded higher in 100% fish waste compost with vermiwash (50%) and Phlogacanthus pubinervius(50%) (T11), i.e., 70.25 (mg/100g). Hence, results from these experiments show that this fish waste compost was highly effective on the broccoli and conclude that fish compost can be used as a fertiliser in agricultural practices. It is an effective compost which can enhance yield, yield attributes and quality of broccoli.