ArticleBMC microbiology2025
Enhancing spinach growth with a biofertilizer derived from chicken feathers using a keratinolytic bacterial consortium.
Article in BMC microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Development of a multi-strain bacterial consortium: Enhancing cow manure composting efficiency and maize growth.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Keratin-Integrated Latex-Hydrogel Coatings: Biopolymer Design for Functional Agrotextile Materials.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Harnessing Microbial Consortia for Efficient Keratinous Biomass Biotransformation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study was conducted to develop a cost-effective and environmentally friendly biofertilizer by utilizing chicken feather waste. Two bacterial strains were employed to biotransform the abundant keratin protein in feathers. The keratinolytic bacterial strains used in this study were identified as Bacillus licheniformis MW45 and Bacillus paralicheniformis MW48. The feather hydrolysate was assessed for its effectiveness as a nitrogen fertilizer with slow-release properties. The study employed a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates, and statistical analysis, including ANOVA followed by Tukey's test, was used to validate the differences between treatments. The test plant was spinach, and various growth parameters were observed. The growth promotion activity of the produced biofertilizer was compared with a commercially available NPK fertilizer. The results showed that the growth promotion effect of chicken feather hydrolysate was significantly higher than the control and commercially available NPK fertilizer. The feather hydrolysate displayed the highest germination percentage (48%), vigor index (1081.44), number of leaves (17), height (22.53 cm), and weight (3.493 g), compared to the chemical fertilizer's germination percentage (31%), vigor index (714.4), number of leaves (13), height (18.5 cm), and weight (1.904 g). Statistical analysis showed that the fermented chicken feather hydrolysate can be effectively applied as a slow-releasing nitrogen fertilizer in agricultural fields. The novelty of this study lies in the use of a bacterial consortium to transform chicken feathers into high efficiency biofertilizer. This production may not only supports the national economy by increasing crop yield but also contributes to a cleaner and greener Pakistan by recycling feather waste.
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