Optimizing the conditions of anaerobic fermentation in pig manure to produce volatile fatty acids and its efficiency in killing root-knot nematodes

To concurrently control root-knot nematodes and treat pig manure and further clarify the mechanism of anaerobic digestion slurries on nematodes, the optimal conditions for producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were studied, and the relationship between the carboxyl group in anaerobic fermentation and the mortality rate of root-knot nematodes was also researched. When the fermentation condition parameters were set as initial pH=10.0, temperature of 25 °C, and total solid (TS) loading of 15%, the largest quantity of VFA production was obtained through orthogonal experiments and range analyses. When the concentration of VFA in the anaerobic fermentation slurry was enhanced to 3.2 g/L, the rate of root-knot nematode mortality was up to 43.3% and was significantly different from that of the control. However, after the concentration of VFA reached 4.3 g/L, no significant difference was observed for the treatments with even higher concentrations of VFA. This indicated that the pig manure slurry with anaerobic digestion exhibited a limited range to kill root-knot nematodes. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for producing acid from anaerobic digestion in pig manure and for slurry applications.