Evaluation of Compost Quality Produced in Saudi Arabia

Compost facilities are recently widely spread in Saudi Arabia and they do not comply with the specifications of quality compost and therefore may produce low quality compost. The current study was conducted to (1) evaluate the quality of the locally produced composts comparing with international standards of compost quality, (2) study the effect of local compost application on crop and soil properties, (3) propose specifications and quality standards for local composts. Thirty compost facilities were identified, described and representative samples of the different compost production stages were collected and transferred to laboratories for analysis. Physical, chemical and biological characteristics were investigated. In addition, local composts were applied to soils grown with lettuce in rates (1%, 2%, 4%, 6%) in the greenhouse to study the effect of compost application on crop growth and soil characteristics