THE ABILITY OF NITRIFYING BACTERIA IN THE BIODEGRADATION OF ORGANIC WASTE AT DIFFERENT INCUBATION TIMES

Abstract

Nitrifying bacteria play a key role in converting ammonium into nitrate, which helps eliminate foul odors and increase nitrate availability during composting. This study aimed to determine the effect of the addition of nitrifying bacterial consortium and varying incubation times on organic waste degradation, as well as to identify the nitrifying bacterial isolates involved. This research was conducted using a completely randomized design with a factorial pattern. Data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by the Tukey HSD test. Identification of nitrifying bacterial isolates was conducted based on Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The results showed that the nitrifying bacterial consortium of SA14, SA37, BA26, and BA38 could oxidize ammonium but had no significant effect on the increased nitrate content. However, the incubation time and its interaction with the bacteria significantly increased the nitrate content of the compost. The highest nitrate content was achieved at the interaction of bacterial consortium and 42 days incubation at  0.304 ppm. Phenotypic characterization identified isolates SA14 and SA37 as belonging to the genus Nitrosomonas, BA26 as a species of the genus Nitrobacter, and BA38 belonging to the genus Nitrococcus.