Compost is beneficial for crop production due to the following reasons

Compost is beneficial for crop production due to the following reasons:

(i) Compost prepared from municipal solid waste contains about 1% each of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).

(ii) During composting, the plant nutrients are converted to such forms which get released gradually over a longer period and do not get leached away easily.

(iii) It also contains micronutrients such as Mn, Cu, Bo, Mo, etc., which are essential to the growth of plants.

(iv) It is a good soil conditioner and increases the texture of soil, particularly in light sandy soil.

(v) It improves the ion exchange and water retaining capacity of the soil.

(vi) The organic matter in soil in tropical climates gets depleted rapidly by microbial activity. Compost adds stabilised organic matter, thus improving the soil.

(vii) It increases the buffering capacity of the soil.