Executive Summary : | India is the largest producer of livestock, and its blood, rumen contents, skin and feathers are the major abattoir wastes that causes severe environmental contamination. Considering the concept of ‘waste to wealth', various composting/ treatment procedures have been developed to valorize this huge nitrogenous waste. The proposed study aims to demonstrate the contribution of indigenously isolated protease and keratinase producing microbial resource for fermentation of poultry slaughterhouse waste into amino acid - peptide rich end products, which will be used as renewable nitrogen resource for enrichment of conventional vermicompost as alternative to chemical fertilizer. The previously isolated and well characterized protein and feather degrading bacteria (co-culture) will be employed for fermentation (in 10L fermenter) of pretreated mixed slaughterhouse waste. Response surface methodology (RsM), a statistical approach, will be adopted for parametric optimization of fermentation towards the large scale. The amino acid - peptide, and phosphate - micronutrient rich fermented liquid (microbiologically pure) will be blended with the vermicompost in a standardized ratio to improve C/N ratio, and to overcome all the inherent deficiency of vermicompost. The newly formulated non-conventional fertilizer would be an ideal organic fertilizer to supply nutrients, curb the load on synthetics and improve soil health. The effectiveness of the newly formulated fertilizer will be validated under field trial on wheat (Triticum aestivum) and mung bean (Vigna mungo). The germination efficiency, plant growth, crop yield and soil health will be monitored to establish the new formulation as an effective and healthy fertilizer. The proposed solution will be a safe way to minimize sanitary-epidemiological risk of slaughterhouse hazardous waste via technological mobile installation, and at the same time formulation of a plant growth promoting healthy organic fertilizer considering the recent policy of the Govt. of India. |