COMPOSTING AS AN ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR WILD TARO (COLOCASIA ESCULENTA) AND BROWN ALGAE (SARGASSUM FLUITANS AND SARGASSUM NATANS) by Jen A. Sembera A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education with a Major in Agricultural Education December 2013 Committee Members: Tina M. (Waliczek) Cade, Chair James Kimmel Andrew Sansom COPYRIGHT by Jen A. Sembera 2013 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94- 553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Jen A. Sembera, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my entire family and dear friends who have supported me with patience, realism, understanding and comedy during my graduate school journey. Dad: Thank you for my love of gardening, watching Central Texas Gardener with me that fateful Saturday morning and teaching me much of what I know about hope, strength and love. Mom: You’re an incredible role model worthy of more praise than I’m able to communicate. Nancy, Paul and John: Thank you for fully understanding me and my situation when few others did. Aunt Dorothy: Whenever I plant a purple bloom, I think of you. Daniel and Michael: Thank you for taking my mind off of pH levels and millimhos when I wanted it most. Beth, Paul and Mark: You just wait for your Christmas gifts. Dag, Ben, Jen and Willy: Best office-mates ever. Aunt Di: Thanks for reminding me how to listen again. Jason: Thank you for laughing at me. A heartfelt thanks to my committee members, Dr. Jim Kimmel and Dr. Andy Sansom, for answering my questions and providing me with counsel in various arenas. Another shout-out goes to the incredible staff and volunteers of Bobcat Blend during my time at Texas State. Thank you for putting up with me, trusting me, teaching me how to believe in you and actively changing the world by taking tiny (albeit messy) steps. Additionally, thank you to all of the field experts, governmental employees and researchers who have supported this project. Organizations include: Bartlett Tree Experts, Chartwells, Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Texas General Land Office (GLO), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas State University (Agriculture Department, iv College of Applied Arts, Environmental Service Committee, Facilities Department and Meadows Center for Water and the Environment), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Composing Council. Individuals include: Kevin Biediger, Robert Hager, Derek Herzog (City of Corpus Christi), Nathan Lawrence, Dr. Frances Le Duc, Dr. David Lemke, Henry Lloyd Mullins (USACE), Flo Oxley, Mario Perez (TCEQ), Jason Pinchback (GLO), Jacqui Poole (TPWD), Dr. E.V. Ramasamy, Al Rattie (U.S. Composting Council), Linda Saladino (TCEQ), Aaron Wallendorf and Dr. Paula Williamson. Finally: Dr. Cade. Perhaps one day I’ll call you Tina, but for now I’ll call you Dr. Keynote. One of the most wonderful gifts life has brought to me is the opportunity to work with you for the past 2+ years. Thank you. And you’re welcome. * wink! * v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Background ........................................................................................................1 Problem Statement .............................................................................................2 Purpose ...............................................................................................................3 Objectives ..........................................................................................................3 Hypotheses .........................................................................................................3 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................4 Limitations ....................................................................................................... 11 Basic Assumptions ...........................................................................................12 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................13 Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) .....................................................................13 Description ..................................................................................................13 History .........................................................................................................14 Utilization of Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) ...........................................15 Current Management Practices ...................................................................16 Brown Algae (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) .............................16 Description ..................................................................................................16 History .........................................................................................................17 Utilization of Brown Algae (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) ..18 Current Management Practices ...................................................................18 The Complicated Issue of Raking ...............................................................20 Compost ...........................................................................................................22 The Composting Process .............................................................................22 Composting Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) ............................................24 Composting Brown Algae (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) ....25 III. METHODS ......................................................................................................28 Purpose .............................................................................................................28 Objectives ........................................................................................................28 vi Location ...........................................................................................................28 Harvesting Wild Taro ..................................................................................29 Harvesting Brown Algae .............................................................................30 Viability Tests ..................................................................................................31 Wild Taro Growth Tests ...............................................................................32 Wild Taro Oven Kill Tests ...........................................................................35 Compost Pile Recipes and Management..........................................................37 Compost Quality and Testing ...........................................................................41 Laboratory Screening Tests .........................................................................41 Quality Tests ................................................................................................43 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................45 IV. RESULTS .........................................................................................................46 Purpose .............................................................................................................46 Objectives ........................................................................................................46 Identification of Invasive Species ....................................................................46 Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) .................................................................46 Sargassum (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) .............................49 Growth and Propagation Methods ...................................................................49 Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) .................................................................50 Vegetative Propagation ...........................................................................50 Sexual Reproduction ...............................................................................51 Sargassum (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) .............................52 Vegetative Propagation ...........................................................................52 Viability...................................................................................................52 Viability Test Results .......................................................................................53 Wild Taro Growth Test Results ...................................................................53 Wild Taro Oven Kill Test Results ................................................................54 Compost Management Results ........................................................................55 Compost Quality and Testing Results ..............................................................58 Laboratory Screening Test Results ..............................................................58 Quality Test Results .....................................................................................60 V. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................65 Purpose .............................................................................................................65 Objectives ........................................................................................................65 Identification of Invasive Species ....................................................................65 Growth and Propagation Methods ...................................................................66 Viability Test Results .......................................................................................66 Compost Management Results ........................................................................67 Compost Quality and Testing Results ..............................................................68 Management Implications ................................................................................70 vii Recommendations for Future Studies ..............................................................71 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................73 LITERATURE CITED...............................................................................................102 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta) growth tests conducted on turgid and dried rhizomes in size in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species. ..................................................................34 2. Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta) oven kill tests conducted on turgid, whole rhizomes with 20 to 50 cm of the petiole attached, the top 1 cm of the rhizome attached to the petiole or the top 1 cm of the rhizome without petiole attached in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species ................................................................................................36 3. Four compost pile recipe percentages and total cubic yards using 2 invasive species subjected to different treatments including dried wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), turgid wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) and non-treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species. .............................................................................................................40 4. Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta) oven kill and post-oven kill growth tests results conducted on whole rhizomes with 20 to 50 cm of the petiole attached, the top 1 cm of the rhizome attached to the petiole or the top 1 cm of the rhizome without petiole attached in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species .................................................55 5. Four compost pile recipe percentages and total cubic yards using 2 invasive species subjected to different treatments including dried wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), turgid wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) and non-treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) following biomass shrinkage in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species .................................................57 6. Compost quality test results of 4 composite compost samples analysed at Pennsylvania State University using dried wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), turgid wild taro (Colocasia esculenta), treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) and non-treated brown algae (Sargassum spp.) as feedstocks in the study of using large-scale composting as an alternative means to manage invasive species ..............................................................................................................62 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Sargassum (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) observed at various stages of decomposition after reaching the Corpus Christi shoreline varying in appearance and structure from day 5 (left), day 3 (middle) and day 1 (right) (photo by researcher) .......................................................................................53 2.1. Total wild taro (Colocasia esculenta) biomass (25 mL) rendered inviable following the composting process using turgid wild taro as a feedstock (photo by researcher). ..................................................................................................60 2.2. Total wild taro (Colocasia esculenta) biomass (25 mL) rendered inviable following the composting process using turgid wild taro as a feedstock (photo by researcher). ..................................................................................................60 x