Isolation and Characterization of Compost Accelerating Microbes

A study was conducted to isolate compost accelerating microbes from rural composts. A total of five bacterial cultures and two fungal cultures were isolated in respective media and selected on the basis of qualitative & quantitative test. Qualitative screening was done on the basis of clear zone formation by growing the cultures in their respective media. The release of reducing sugars was estimated colorimetrically and was found to be highest in CDM B₁ (150 μg/ml/hr) followed by CDM B₂ (120 μg/ml/hr) and CDM F₂ (205 μg/ml/hr) in case of bacteria and fungi respectively. In case of silicate solubilizing bacteria (SSB) the amount of silica release was recorded maximum in SSB₃ (55 μg/ml/hr).