ANIMAL WASTE AND FOOD WASTE AS FERTILIZERS FOR MORINGA

OLEIFERA (MALUNGGAY)

By

Shiloh Myrrh A. Subrabas

Maggie D. Taylaran
Princess Aubrey B. Canon
Ed Andrie Tolentino

Clarin National High School

Oct. 2021
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Quite a number of literature and studies underscore the fact that organic

fertilizers do exert a significant impact on different types of plants. Several of

these evidence-based studies are discussed below. Along with this literature is a

discussion on the imperative of increasing the production and yield of the plant.

There are an estimated 5.56 million farms are here in the Philippines.

However, according to the latest Census of Agriculture of the Philippine Statistics

Authority (PSA), the Philippines has 5.56 million farms/holding covering 7.19

million hectares. But as of today, there are 39, 466.81 hectares devoted to

organic agriculture in the whole region with 7,586 practitioners, according to

Organic Agricultural Program.

According to a study about The Principle Role of Organic Fertilizer on Soil

Properties and Agricultural Productivity by Sisay Assefa, Debre Berhan

University, Collage of Agriculture and Natural Resources Sciences, Ethiopia on

2019 August 09, The use of organic fertilizers has the advantage of being cheap,

improving soil structure, texture, and aeration increasing the soils water retention

abilities, and stimulating healthy root development. It also says that Organic

fertilizer has many sources such as minerals, animal sources, sewage sludge,

and plants.
 As an agricultural country, the Philippines is rich in nature that should help

provide access to food, but there are factors that jeopardize it. In the past few

months, we have seen typhoons wreck many places like houses, beaches, and

even farmlands growing crops, which evidently caused prices to increase, even

to this day. Similarly, the outbreak of Covid-19 that hit the food industry

decreased supply, thereby raising prices. Known threats are natural calamities

and even virus diseases, and yet we do not prepare sufficiently to ensure that

food remains available to everyone.

Although access to emergency foods such as canned goods is in place,

surviving on this processed food alone is insufficient and potentially risky, and

hazardous to the physical wellbeing of the consumers. According to Health line,

while it's extremely rare, canned foods that weren't processed properly may

contain dangerous bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. Consuming

contaminated food can cause botulism, a serious illness that can lead to

paralysis and death if left untreated. Some contain added salt, sugar, or

preservatives.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), eating a healthy diet is

very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect

our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections. As many of us
know, consumptions of vegetables boost one’s stamina and are the best shield to

combat Covid-19. During this world health crisis, one must not underestimate the

need for a safe and balanced diet. A combination of protein-rich foods,

carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals that can be obtained from a variety of food

sources, including grains, meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables are life-saving. (Food

and Nutrition Research Institute, 2020).

Due to high prices, access to all of these in the midst of the pandemic is

minimal. Consequently, a significant portion of the population due to the

pandemic turns to backyard gardening for supplemental food and decorations.

The rise of hobbyist plantitos and plantitas, researching plants to improve their

yield, become evident as Filipinos are stuck inside their homes as the Philippines

had the world’s longest lockdown.

This study focuses on what fertilizers would be more suitable for the

Moringa oleifera, most commonly known as the Malunggay plant. Because this is

one of the plants that are very easy to grow. We Researchers wanted to know if

food waste or animal waste would be more effective for research.

Statement of the Problem

According to the United Nations; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally each year, accounting the one-third of
all food produced for human use. Whereas livestock and poultry on the greatest
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) produced 369 million tons of
manure in 2012, this was over 13 times more trash than the whole US population
of 312 million.
Therefore, this study was undertaken; only goal to know the impact of
animal waste and food waste on biomass production of Moringa Oleifera whether
this fertilizer is suitable for cultivation or not.

Research Objectives
1. To determine what are the germination rates of Malunggay plants categorized
as Group A exposed to animal waste and Group B that are exposed to food
waste and Group C that wasn’t exposed to any of the mentioned organic
fertilizers.
2. To determine it after harvest, what is the quality of the Malunggay growth rates
in this Groups?

Research Hypothesis
Ho1: Application of bio-fertilizers do not increase plant growth.
Ho2: Application of bio-fertilizers increase plant growth.

Significance of the Study

The study is a significant endeavor to improve the growth and yield of
Malunggay as one of the main sources of vegetable food in the Philippines.
Malunggay as a staple nutrient-filled vegetable, is also a potential source of
income and food supply. Hence, potential positive results of the study could help
in alleviating the food crisis in the country that is aggravated by the current
pandemic.

Scoop and Limitations of the Study

This study was conducted to reuse food waste and animal waste for us to grow
plants. We want to know what are the components these fertilizers have to make
a plant grow faster and healthier. It can be an alternative for chemical fertilizers
and it would be a big help to prevent the harmful side effects of the chemicals.
 The biggest disadvantages to utilizing an organic fertilizer is whether or not
it contains any primary nutrients. Fertilizer contains nutrients and are still
considers organic, but many other organic fertilizers don’t contain significant
quantities.

Conceptual Framework

GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C

Plants Plants Plants with no
exposed with exposed with fertilizers
animal waste food waste as
as fertilizer fertilizer

Fresh Weight
Number of leaves per plant
Plant height (cm)
Stem girth (mm)

The effects of using animal and food waste on

Malunggay plants

Operational Definition of Terms

Moringa Oleifera – is the scientific name for Malunggay and will be the plant to
be tested in the study. Minerals such as calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium,
iron, and copper are abundant. Vitamins such as vitamin A beta-carotene,
vitamin B such as folic acid, pyridoxine, and nicotinic acid, and vitamins C, D,
and E are also found in M.
Organic fertilizer - It is the replacement of the chemical fertilizer which will be
used to help improve the plants growth and to keep it healthy but in a more
sustainable and nontoxic way. It contains Carbon, together with nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium, as part of the chemical makeup of organic fertilizer,
and it is the carbon, along with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, that feeds
microbes and allows them to make nutrients accessible to plants in a naturally
occurring biological process.
Food waste – It is leftover food will be composted and will be used as a fertilizer
as replacement of chemical fertilizer. Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and traces
of inorganic materials make up the majority of the composition. The composition
changes depending on the type of food waste and the contents.
Animal waste – It is an animal manure that is to be used as a fertilizer as
replacement of chemical fertilizer. The feces retain almost half of the nitrogen,
most of the phosphates, and about 40% of the potassium contained in the initial
meal. Fresh manure provides nitrogen that is both instantly available and slowly
available.