Anaerobicdigestionisaprocessthatiswidelyusedforthetreatmentoforganicwastes.Thedigestatecanbeusedasasoilamendmentorcropfertiliser.Theaimsofourworkweretoevaluate1)thephysicochemicalcompositionandpathogencontentinadigestatefrompoultrymanure,accordingtointernationalregulations,and2)theeffectofitssoilapplicationonthemajorchemicalandbiologicalsoilpropertiesandonthegrowthofLactucasativa.Theexperimentconsistedoftwogroupsofpots(withandwithoutcrop).Treatmentsappliedtoeachgroupwereasfollows:lowandhighdosesofdigestateandinorganicfertiliser,andnoapplication(control)(lowdose:70kgnitrogen(N)ha-1and21kgphosphorus(P)ha-1;highdose:210kgNha-1and63kgPha-1).Soilsamplesweretaken7and34d(harvest)aftertreatmentapplications.Heavymetalandpathogencontentsinthedigestatewerebelowtheupperlimitvalues.DespitethehighpHandelectricalconductivityvaluesofthedigestate,bothsoilparameterspresentedacceptablevaluesforcropgrowth.AlthoughtherewerenoinitialincreasesintotalinorganicNandavailablePinsoilwithdigestateapplication,anincreaseinthefreshweightofcropwasobservedwiththehighdoseapplication.Thisisprobablyassociatedwiththeslownutrientreleasefromthedigestateduringthedevelopmentofthecrop.Changesinthemicrobialcommunityweretemporaryandoccurredattheinitialsamplingstageoftheexperiment.
