A SAWDUST-DERIVED SOIL CONDITIONER PROMOTES PLANT-GROWTH AND IMPROVESWATER-HOLDING CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOILS

Sawdust, a bulky waste generated by wood processing industries, has ve ry few profitable and ecofriendly uses and poses a problem of proper d isposal, Treatment with the fungus Volvariella volvaceae and a dilute solution of urea converted sawdust from a phytoinhibitory material to a phytostimulatory soil conditioner. In different types of soils, the soil conditioner increased the moisture retention and facilitated the cohesive interaction of particles, Analyses of the major biopolymers o f sawdust after fungal treatment indicated that levels of cellulose, h emicellulose and lignin decreased; however, these changes did not acco unt for the plant growth stimulatory property attained by this materia l.