Response of growth characteristics and nutrients uptake of basil (Ocimum basiilicum L.) to concomitant use of municipal waste compost and three species of Trichoderma

In order to investigate the effects of municipal waste (MSW) compost and beneficial fungi of Trichoderma on seedling emergence parameters, growth and some micronutrients uptake of basil (Ocimum basiilicum L.), a pot experiment was carried out in a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete blocks design with 3 replications. The treatments were consisted of three levels of municipal solid waste compost (15, 30, 45 Mg ha-1 alone and plus 50% chemical fertilizer), recommended chemical fertilizer (90 kg ha-1 N, 50 kg ha-1 K2O and 45 kg ha-1 P2O) and a control (no compost or chemical fertilizer application) and three species of Trichoderma (T. viridae, T. harzianum, T. hamatum). The orthogonal contrasts revealed that municipal solid waste compost significantly decreased final seedling emergence percentage (8.02%), mean emergence time (52.32%) and cumulative emergence rate (15.67%) compared to chemical fertilizer. In contrast, this group of fertilizers increased aerial and root fresh weight (13.10 and 33.59%, respectively) and dry weight and length of root (28.30 and 13.24%, respectively) rather than chemical fertilizer. In this experiment, the MSW compost markedly increased plant tissue Cu, Zn and Fe content (26.85, 14.14 and 20.09%, respectively) compared to chemical fertilizer. Also, enriched MSW increased plant Fe and Cu content (9.03 and 12.27%, respectively) compared to non-enriched MSW. Among Trichoderma speceices, T. harzianum was superior in terms of aerial and root dry weight (16.05 and 17.27%, respectively), plant height and root lenght (8.44 and13.03 %, respectively) and plant tissue Cu content (31.14%) compared to T. hamatum. Generally, in this experiment, the 30 and 40 Mg ha-1of compost despite the limitation of seedling emergence, could improve the growth and quality of basil.