Biocontrol and plant growth-promoting potentiality of bacteria isolated from compost extract.

The use of compost extracts is steadily increasing, offering an attractive way for plant growth enhancement and disease management replacing chemical pesticides. In this study, potential mechanisms involved in plant growth promotion and suppressive activity against fungal diseases, of a compost extract produced from poultry manure/olive husk compost, were investigated. Results of physico-chemical and microbiological investigations showed high ability to reduce Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger and Botrytis cinerea growth. The suppressive ability detected using confrontation test and the phytostimulatory effect tested on tomato seeds were related mainly to its microbial population content. Among 150 bacterial strains, isolated from the compost extract, 13 isolates showed antifungal activity against the four tested plant pathogenic fungi. Their identification based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed they belonged to different species of the genus Bacillus, Alcaligenes, Providencia and Ochrobactrum. When tested for their ability to produce cell wall degradation enzymes using specific media, the majority of the 13 isolates were shown to synthesize proteases, lipases and glucanases. Similarly, the best part of them showed positive reaction for plant growth promoting substances liberation, biosurfactant production and biofilm formation. In vivo tests were carried out using tomato seeds and fruits and proved that 92% of strains improved tomato plants vigor indexes when compared to the control and 6 among them were able to reduce decay severity caused by B. cinerea over 50%. Principal component analysis showed an important correlation between in vitro and in vivo potentialities and that Bacillus siamensis CEBZ11 strain was statistically the most effective strain in protecting tomato plants from gray mould disease. This study revealed the selected strains would be useful for plant pathogenic fungi control and plant growth promotion.

Geochemical behaviour of PM10 aerosol constituents under the influence of succeeding anticyclonic/cyclonic situations: case of Sfax City, southern Tunisia.

The present study investigates the geochemical behaviour of PM10 aerosol constituents (Cl, Na, Si, Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Zn, S) at Sfax City (Tunisia) under succeeding meteorological conditions, including short-lived anticyclonic, cyclonic and prolonged anticyclonic situations. The results revealed daily total concentrations fluctuating between 4.07 and 88.51 µg/m(3). The highest level recorded was noted to occur under the effect of the short-lived anticyclonic situation characterized by low wind speeds. It was 1.5 times higher than those recorded during cyclonic and long-lived anticyclonic situations characterized by moderate to high wind speeds. During the cyclonic situation, the marked increase of (Na and Cl) concentrations is associated with relatively high sea wind speeds (6 to 9 m/s), which are in turn responsible for a slight increase of crustal elements such as Al, Ca, Si, Fe and Mg, by the entrainment in the air of dust from roads and undeveloped areas. During the two anticyclonic situations, the simultaneous increase (due to communal transport) of crustal (Ca, Si, Al, Fe, Mg) and man-made (Mn, S, Pb, Zn) elements was noted to be associated with the dominance of terrigenious wind flows with speeds varying between 1.5 and 4 m/s. However, the significant contribution rates observed for Cl under the prevalence of such winds as compared to other crustal elements such as Fe suggested the influence of the sebkhas of Southern Tunisia.

Polyphenolic compounds progress during olive mill wastewater sludge and poultry manure co-composting, and humic substances building (Southeastern Tunisia).

In Mediterranean areas, olive mill wastes pose a major environmental problem owing to their important production and their high polyphenolic compounds and organic acids concentrations. In this work, the evolution of polyphenolic compounds was studied during co-composting of olive mill wastewater sludge and poultry manure, based on qualitative (G-50 sephadex) and quantitative (Folin-Ciocalteu), as well as high pressure liquid chromatography analyses. Results showed a significant polyphenolic content decrease of 99% and a noticeable transformation of low to high molecular weight fraction during the compost maturation period. During this step, polyphenols disappearance suggested their assimilation by thermophilic bacteria as a carbon and energy source, and contributed to humic substances synthesis. Polyphenolic compounds, identified initially by high pressure liquid chromatography, disappeared by composting and only traces of caffeic, coumaric and ferulic acids were detected in the compost. In the soil, the produced compost application improved the chemical and physico-chemical soil properties, mainly fertilising elements such as calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Consequently, a higher potato production was harvested in comparison with manure amendment.

Characterization of olive mill wastes composts and their humic acids: stability assessment within different particle size fractions.

Compost stability assessment within different particle size fractions was studied. Humic acids (HAs) were extracted from two kinds of co-composts prepared using evaporated olive mill wastewater (OMSW) or solid waste from olive oil extraction (OC) and poultry manure (PM). The elemental composition, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and 13C-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) analysis and molecular weight distribution were investigated to assess the composted organic matter stability in different fractions. In both composts, organic matter content was higher in the > 2 mm fractions than in the < 2 mm fractions, because of fractions' richness in hardly biodegradable compounds. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that OMSW compost fraction < 2 mm and OC compost 2-4 mm fraction were rich in aromatic compounds and oxygenated groups but poor in aliphatic structure. Moreover, the HA distribution reflected a high stabilized compost < 2 mm fraction, especially from evaporated effluent known as phytotoxic. However, the 4-6 mm fraction included high aliphatic compounds besides aromatic structures and did not exhibit any phytotoxicity, confirming compost fraction maturity. However, the low C/N ratio, the high OMSW compost mineral nutritive elements and the high aromatic C rate reflected highly stabilized products. Consequently, the performance of both prepared organic fertilizers for agriculture use contested the previous negative effect ascribed to olive mill wastewater.

Climatological aspects of aerosol physical characteristics in Tunisia deduced from sun photometric measurements.

Atmospheric and climatic data measured at Thala site (Tunisia) for a long-time period (1977-2001) are used to analyse the monthly, seasonal, and annual variations of the aerosol optical depth at 1 µm wavelength. We have shown that aerosol and microphysical properties and the dominating aerosol types depend on seasons. A comparison of the seasonal cycle of aerosol optical characteristics at Thala site showed that the contribution of long-range transported particles is expected to be larger in summer as a consequence of the weather stability typical of this season. Also, the winter decrease in atmospheric turbidity may result from increases in relative humidity and decreases in temperature, leading to increased particle size and mass and increased fall and deposition velocities. The spring and autumn weather patterns usually carry fine dust and sand particles for the desert area to Thala region. The annual behaviour of the aerosol optical depth recorded a period of stead increase started in 1986 until 2001. Trends in atmospheric turbidity after 1988 could be explained other ways by the contribution of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and by local or regional changes in climate or in aerosol emissions.

Biological activity during co-composting of sludge issued from the OMW evaporation ponds with poultry manure-Physico-chemical characterization of the processed organic matter.

Olive mill sludge (OMS), a by-product resulting from natural evaporation of olive oil processing effluent, poses a major environmental threat. A current cost-effective practice of OMS management is composting. A mixture of OMS (60%) with poultry manure (PM) was successfully composted for 210 days. During the process, effluents of olive oil mill and confectionary were used to keep moisture at optimal level (40-60%). Biological indicators reflecting stability of the compost (microbial biota respiration and enumeration, and germination index) were analysed for the assessment of the product quality. The composted mixture showed a high microbial activity with a succession of microbial populations depending on the temperature reached during the biodegradation. The pathogen content from PM decreased with composting as did phytotoxic compounds. Phenols and lipids were reduced, respectively, by 40% and 84% while germination index increased with composting progress. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis revealed that the final compost improved the aromatic content compared to the starting materials, with a decrease in aliphatic groups and a reduction in the easily assimilated components by the microflora acting during the biological process. The final compost was characterized by relatively high organic matter content (26.21%), a low C/N ratio (16.21), an alkaline pH (8.32), a relatively high electrical conductivity (9.21mS/cm) and a high level of nutrients. The germination index for Lepidium sativum L. was 87.71% after 210 days of composting, showing that the final compost was not phytotoxic.

Elimination of polyphenols toxicity from olive mill wastewater sludge by its co-composting with sesame bark.

Olive mill wastes represent a significant environmental problem in Mediterranean areas where they are generated in huge quantities in a short period of time. Their high phenol, lipid and organic acid concentrations turn them into phytotoxic materials, but these wastes also contain valuable resources such as a large proportion of organic matter and a wide range of nutrients that could be recycled. Composting is one of the technologies used for the valorization of this effluent, producing a fertilizer useful for poor soils.The present work deals with the changes that occur in the content of phenolic compounds and the biotoxicity of the oxidized substrate which result from the composting of olive mill wastewater (OMW) sludge with sesame bark. The total organic matter decreased 52.72% while water-soluble phenol degradation decreased 72% after 7 months of processing. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy was used to confirm the elimination of polyphenols during composting. Initially, the analysis showed three abundant polyphenolic compounds, one of which was identified as the 4-hydroxyphenyl-ethanol (tyrosol), a well-known antioxidant in OMW. After 7 months of composting, all of the phenolic compounds disappeared. The phytotoxic effects of OMW sludge, assessed by the plant index germination, increased during the composting to reach 80% after 210 days. This trend was confirmed by the correlation between physico-chemical and toxicity parameters. The results obtained confirmed the stability of the compost prepared from OMW sludge with sesame bark and indicated a gradual detoxification as the compost matured.

Maturity assessment of composted olive mill wastes using UV spectra and humification parameters.

In this study, two olive mill wastes - exhausted olive cake (EOC) and paste of olive mill wastewater naturally dehydrated (POMW) - were co-composted and mixed with 25% sesame bark (SB). The humification process was evidenced by quantifying the humic substances and the generally accepted humification indices: (i) the ratio of humic acid (HA) carbon to fulvic acid (FA) carbon (CHA/CFA), (ii) the ratio of water soluble organic carbon (CW) to total organic nitrogen (Cw/Norg), (iii) and the ratio of humic acid carbon to total organic carbon CHA/Corg and by determining the absorbance ratios: E2/E4, E2/E6 and E4/E6. The results showed that the time required to reach maturity was dependant on the chemical properties of the initial raw materials used. The compost including EOC had more nitrogen and synthesised more polymerised HA, the POMW compost also had acceptable degrees of stability and maturity at the end of the process. Maturation was confirmed by a decline in Cw below 1.7, an increase in nitrogen, in HA, in CHA/CFA and an elimination of phytotoxicity. Composts produced with olive mill wastes, experimented on potato culture in the field, can be considered beneficial to soils because of their humification indexes and no toxicity.

Quality assessment of composts prepared with olive mill wastewater and agricultural wastes.

The co-composting of solid residue from olive oil production process, exhausted olive cake (EOC), with poultry manure (PM) watered with olive mill wastewater (OMW) was considered as an efficient method for the treatment of olive oil extraction effluent having high organic content including phenolic polluting compounds. The process was carried out by using three aerated windrows of variable compositions. OMW was used continuously during the bio-oxidative period, which lasted three months, to replace water for windrow moistening. The main process parameters (temperature, pH, humidity and C/N) were monitored over four months to ascertain the maturity of the compost. The composting process lasted four months during which 26 moistenings of the mixtures were performed with OMW or water to keep moisture within the ideal range of 45-60% (w/w). At the maturity stage, the C/N ratios were less than 16, pH of the resulting products were slightly alkaline (pH=8) and electrical conductivity was relatively high in the OMW mixtures (5.46-5.48 Sm(-1)) when compared with water application. Nitrates increased (0.16-0.42%) and phenol contents were reduced by more than 49%. Mature composts were then used as an amendment for potato production in a field where no inhibitory effect was observed. Potato productivity increased 10-23% as a result of compost application. No noticeable negative impact of OMW on the soil system was observed. Phenolic compound concentrations in the stabilised composts were comparable in the three studied mixtures (different sites) and averaged 0.24%. Considering previous results and this three year study, it has been observed that the benefit of these composts demonstrated the potential sustainable agronomic production of potato while using locally available recycled organic materials.