Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production

Abstract This study investigated the nutrient properties of four organic materials and a mixture of these four materials to ascertain their potential for the production of organic fertilizer and substrate. The organic materials are coconut husks (CH), corn leaves (CL), oil palm fiber (OP), and corn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fatima Eshun, Samuel Joe Acquah, Shine Francis Gbedemah, Richard Amfu-Otu, Michael Tuffour, Anthony Amoah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-07-01
Series:Discover Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00211-w
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849761716175372288
author Fatima Eshun
Samuel Joe Acquah
Shine Francis Gbedemah
Richard Amfu-Otu
Michael Tuffour
Anthony Amoah
author_facet Fatima Eshun
Samuel Joe Acquah
Shine Francis Gbedemah
Richard Amfu-Otu
Michael Tuffour
Anthony Amoah
author_sort Fatima Eshun
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study investigated the nutrient properties of four organic materials and a mixture of these four materials to ascertain their potential for the production of organic fertilizer and substrate. The organic materials are coconut husks (CH), corn leaves (CL), oil palm fiber (OP), and corn stem (CS), and their mixture is dubbed ‘CLOPS mixture’. Laboratory analysis was conducted to characterize these organic materials, thus testing for Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Sulphur (S), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (M), Organic carbon (OC) and Organic matter (OM). 200 g of each milled material was mixed to form one uniform mixture. The mixture and the individual materials were separately analyzed in the laboratory for their nutrient components. The standard method of wet digestion using 1:3 (HNO3:HCl) aqua regia for elemental analysis was adopted. The results show that these organic materials have good nutrients for plant growth. The nutrients recorded fall within the range and the CLOPS mixture recorded higher concentrations of Zn (23.64 mg/kg), OC (40.30%), and OM (69.31%). The study recommends the application of the CLOPS mixture to soils and as a substrate to enhance crop yield.
format Article
id doaj-art-c4b5985677db4c66a46a1d21382b31ec
institution DOAJ
issn 2731-9598
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Agriculture
spelling doaj-art-c4b5985677db4c66a46a1d21382b31ec2025-08-20T03:05:56ZengSpringerDiscover Agriculture2731-95982025-07-01311910.1007/s44279-025-00211-wAnalyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop productionFatima Eshun0Samuel Joe Acquah1Shine Francis Gbedemah2Richard Amfu-Otu3Michael Tuffour4Anthony Amoah5University of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentUniversity of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentUniversity of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentUniversity of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentUniversity of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentUniversity of Environment and Sustainable DevelopmentAbstract This study investigated the nutrient properties of four organic materials and a mixture of these four materials to ascertain their potential for the production of organic fertilizer and substrate. The organic materials are coconut husks (CH), corn leaves (CL), oil palm fiber (OP), and corn stem (CS), and their mixture is dubbed ‘CLOPS mixture’. Laboratory analysis was conducted to characterize these organic materials, thus testing for Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Sulphur (S), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (M), Organic carbon (OC) and Organic matter (OM). 200 g of each milled material was mixed to form one uniform mixture. The mixture and the individual materials were separately analyzed in the laboratory for their nutrient components. The standard method of wet digestion using 1:3 (HNO3:HCl) aqua regia for elemental analysis was adopted. The results show that these organic materials have good nutrients for plant growth. The nutrients recorded fall within the range and the CLOPS mixture recorded higher concentrations of Zn (23.64 mg/kg), OC (40.30%), and OM (69.31%). The study recommends the application of the CLOPS mixture to soils and as a substrate to enhance crop yield.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00211-wSoil fertilityFood productionFood securityCrop healthClimate change
spellingShingle Fatima Eshun
Samuel Joe Acquah
Shine Francis Gbedemah
Richard Amfu-Otu
Michael Tuffour
Anthony Amoah
Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
Discover Agriculture
Soil fertility
Food production
Food security
Crop health
Climate change
title Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
title_full Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
title_fullStr Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
title_full_unstemmed Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
title_short Analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
title_sort analyzing a novel organic substrate and fertilizer formulation for sustainable crop production
topic Soil fertility
Food production
Food security
Crop health
Climate change
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44279-025-00211-w
work_keys_str_mv AT fatimaeshun analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction
AT samueljoeacquah analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction
AT shinefrancisgbedemah analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction
AT richardamfuotu analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction
AT michaeltuffour analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction
AT anthonyamoah analyzinganovelorganicsubstrateandfertilizerformulationforsustainablecropproduction