Evaluation of Different On-farm Compost Quality & their Role in Made Tea Productivity and Development of Acid Tea Soils

A study was conducted at Maud T.E., Assam, India as part of FAO-CFC-TBI Project (2008-2009 to 2012-2013) to evaluate the quality of on-farm compost produced under different composting method and its effectivity on soil quality development. Comparative nutrient content in terms of N + P^sub 2^0^sub 5^ + K^sub 2^0 was highest in Novcom compost (3.98 %) followed by Biodynamic (3.56 %), Vermi (3.16 %) and Indigenous (2.96 %) compost. But comparative evaluation of microbial population (total bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, ammonifiers, nitrifiers and phosphate solubilizing bacteria) in all the compost samples revealed distinctly different status of Novcom compost as compared to the rest. In case of vermi, Biodynamic and Indigenous compost, microbial population varied between 10^sup 7^ to 10^sup 12^ c.f.u., where as that of Novcom compost varied from 10^sup 12^ to 10^sup 16^ c.f.u. The comparatively high microflora population in Novcom compost could be due to its intense biodegradation process, which led to their natural generation within compost heaps.