Sarwar et al., J. Anim. Plant Sci. 21(4):2011 710 APPLICATION OF GREEN COMPOST FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF DRY MATTER YIELD AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LOLIUM PERENNE (GRASS) G. Sarwar, H. Schmeisky * , M. A. Tahir, Y. Iftikhar and N. U. Sabah University College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, * University of Kassel, Germany Correspondence author e-mail: ghulamsarwar@uos.edu.pk ABSTARCT A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of greencompost for improvement of dry matter yield and chemical composition of Lolium perenne grass. For this purpose, three different types of soils i.e. normal cultivated soil, nutrient deficient sandy soil and soil from industrial area dominant in CaSO 4 coded as soil A, B and C were used. Greencompost was applied to all soil types (A, B and C) @ 5 and 10 % of soil volume. Greencompost was analyzed for various chemical properties like pH and C: N ratio before adding to the soil. Lolium perenne grass was grown in all the pots those were replicated four times arranged in CRD factorial. After harvesting the grass, plant samples were collected and oven dried at 60 0 C. These plant samples were, then analyzed for organic matter, N, Ca, Mg, K and P contents. All data were analyzed statistically. It was observed that organic matter, N percentage and potassium contents in plant samples increased with the application of greencompost. The resultant improvement in chemical composition of plant samples contributed toward significant enhancement in dry matter yield of Lolium perenne grass. Key words: Greencompost, Lolium perenne, soil types, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. INTRODUCTION Organic matter content is very low in Pakistani soils due to which over all fertility status is not higher enough to give the enhanced yield of different crops (Zaka et al., 2004). High temperature, low rainfall and removal of almost all the crop residues are some major reasons of low organic matter content. For good crop production, this level of organic matter has to be increased. But after the introduction of chemical fertilizers, the conventional sources of organic matter like farmyard manure (FYM) and green manure have almost been left. Resultantly, the organic matter status of Pakistan soils has already reached the bare minimum. Organic matter is regarded as a very important parameter of soil fertility and productivity. It plays number of roles in soil both in their physical structure, sink for plant nutrients and medium for biological activities. It also provides nutrients to the soil, improves water holding capacity and has greatest contribution to the soil productivity. Organic matter helps the soil to maintain better aeration for seed germination and plant root development (Zia, 1993). Compost is very good alternative supplement for increasing the organic matter content of soil. But in Pakistan, this very good alternative source has not been benefited so far. Huge amounts of leaves, grass clippings, plant stalks, wines, weeds, twigs and branches and the food wastes like fruit and vegetables scraps, and egg shells are wasted / burnt every day. If this material is piled at the farm level, composted and added into the soil, the fertility status can be improved and crop yields can significantly be increased (Sarwar, 2005). The role of compost in salt-affected soils is very vital because the organic source is ultimate opportunity to improve the physical properties of such soils which have been deteriorated to the extent that water and air passage become extremely difficult in such soils. Resultantly, the water stands on the surface of these soils for weeks long. The plants when grown under these conditions often die due to deficiency of sir root respiration. The compost can be a very good organic amendment in saline agriculture as well as reclamation of salt-affected soils (Zaka et al., 2003). The combined application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers gave significantly higher yield of rice and wheat (Sarwar et al., 2008). Soil organic matter encourages granulation, increases cation exchange capacity (CEC) and is responsible for up to 90 % adsorbing power of the soils. Cations such as Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and K + are produced during decomposition (Brady and Weil, 2005). Greencompost is the form of compost prepared from green wastes such as garden and farm wastes and its effects were investigated for the improvement of dry matter yield and chemical composition of Lolium perenne grass, as indicator plant. The concentration of various ions in the soil solution is one of the major factors that will be depicted into ionic concentration in plants. Keeping in view the situation of low organic matter status and low fertility of Pakistani soils, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the usefulness of greencompost for enrichment of nutrition in Lolium perenne grass. The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences, 21(4): 2011, Page: 710-714 ISSN: 1018-7081