Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Waste and Biomass Valorization https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-017-0132-6 ORIGINAL PAPER Evaluation of Performances of Some Organic Waste in Organic Strawberry Cultivation Gulden Balci 1  · Husnu Demirsoy 2  · Leyla Demirsoy 2 Received: 4 August 2017 / Accepted: 31 October 2017 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2017 Abstract This trail aimed investigate the benefts of the use of wastes such as hazelnut husk and rice hull composts in organic straw- berry cultivation and their efects on productivity and fruit. The research was carried out in the Ondokuz Mayis University’s (OMU) Faculty of Agriculture Research and Practice garden in Samsun in 2010 and 2011. In the research, efects of some organic wastes (hazelnut husk, hazelnut husk compost, rice hull, rice hull compost and farmyard manure) on yield and qual- ity of strawberry cvs. “Camarosa”, “Sweet Charlie”, “Redlands Hope” and “Fern” were examined. In the experiment, yield per plan (g/plant), amount of rotten fruits (g/plant), fruit weight (g), total soluble solid (TSS) (%), titrable acid content (%) and vitamin C content (mg/100 g) were examined in order to determine impacts of organic wastes on yield and quality. No statistical diference could be established with regard to yield criteria among organic wastes in the experiment. Diferent organic waste practices have occasionally had signifcant impacts on some properties of fruit quality. In the experiment, the heaviest fruits were obtained from garden soil (S) and hazelnut husk compost (2010) application; the highest TSS content was obtained from the S and hazelnut husk compost (2011) applications and the highest vitamin C content was obtained from the hazelnut husk compost (2010), garden soil (2011) and hazelnut husk compost applications in 2011. Keywords Strawberry · Organic cultivation · Organic waste · Farmyard manure · Productivity and quality Introduction Organic wastes are a concept that includes harvest, food processing, some industrial wastes and animal manures. Organic wastes are not a typical and primary product of industrial or municipal activities and in general they are called “waste”. Organic wastes are mostly used in manure and soil improvement, energy recycling (heat, liquid fuels, electricity) and chemical manufacturing (volatile organic acids, acids, products with ammonium and alcohols) [23]. In traditional agriculture, animal manures are used more than organic wastes and composts for the purpose of improving physical and chemical properties of soil. However, animal manures must mature well to get a good result. Furthermore, animal manures might incorporate problems of weed seeds and harmful micro-organisms and increase production costs since matured animal manure is very expensive [16]. Compost has been used for a long time as a source of organic material in agricultural production. Ripened com- post plant is known to raise food and organic material nec- essary for its growth to optimum levels [15, 18]. Besides, compost prevents the development of pathogens and is also used as mulch to hinder weed seed growth and as a cover- ing medium. It has been declared that compost is benefcial in the production of fruit, vegetables and ornamental plants [13, 14, 22]. The tendency towards good farming practice has stimulated interest in compost use. Also, rising manure prices and decreasing benefts acquired from manures have also led to certain manufacturers turning to renewable organic sources [19]. Plant residues creates environmental problem in areas where farming is prevalently practiced; tons of crop resi- dues, which form in the months of plant harvest, and mostly * Gulden Balci gulden.balci@bozok.edu.tr Husnu Demirsoy husnud@omu.edu.tr Leyla Demirsoy demirsoy@omu.edu.tr 1 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Bozok University, 66900 Yozgat, Turkey 2 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ondokuz Mayis University, 55270 Samsun, Turkey