Alcorn Collaborates with U.S. Army to Release Advanced Composting Technology

The Soil and Water Conservation Society of America (SWCS) held its 73rd International Annual Conference July 29 - Aug 1, 2018 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The theme for this year's seminar was "Culture, Climate, and Conservation. " Dr. Girish K.S. Panicker, director of Conservation Research within the School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, delivered a lecture on "Slow-Release and Environmentally Friendly Compost Production with Magnesium and Poultry Wast for improving Soil Health and Sustainable Crop Production. The research for this lecture was conducted on the basis of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (RADA) between Alcorn State University and the U.S. Army. This advanced composting technology was developed under farm atmospheric conditions by Panicker in collaboration with Dr. Charles A. Weiss, research geologist, Dr. David B. Ringelberg, microbiologist, and Dr. Philip G. Malone, research geologist, all from the U.S. Army.

Composting is the process of breaking down or decomposing organic matter. The U.S. Army has made recent advances in the development of new composting procedures (U.S. Patents 6,206,945 and 6,776,816). In his lecture, Panicker discussed how groundwater pollution and climate change are some of the biggest issues in the world. The new technology promotes the bacterial production of low solubility ammonium magnesium phosphate (also known as Struvite) in an alternative organic composting process.

Struvite is produced by mixing animal manure with a pre-specified amount of a magnesium-rich compound. This technique reduces the ammonia air pollution problem and will also prevent ground water pollution

According to Panicker, one of the most serious sources of non-point pollution is animal waste. This sources of non-point pollution is animal waste. This compost is a new type of organic fertilizer that will be a storable, marketable, enhanced high-nitrogen and high-phosphorus product that any animal farm can economically produce and sell.

"This is one of the greatest achievements in my professional life," said Panicker in response to this research being accepted for publication in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Society it is his belief that the impact of this work will be significance.

For more information, you may contact Panicker at 601-877-6598 or panicker@alcorn.edu.