Enhancing cow manure composting via staged inoculation of functional microbial consortia

Aerobic composting of cattle manure is often limited by slow humification and long duration. This study evaluated a staged inoculation strategy using phase-specific microbial consortia to enhance composting efficiency. Cow manure and rice straw were composted under four treatments: no inoculant (W), staged commercial EM inoculant (EM), single initial composite inoculant (TF), and staged targeted consortia (YF). The YF treatment achieved the longest thermophilic phase (11 days, peak 62.87 °C), the highest humic substances (122.02 g/kg) and humic acid (92.32 g/kg), and the highest total nitrogen (19.20 g/kg) with a seed germination index of 90.63%. Pot experiments using the resulting composts on pakchoi showed that the YF-derived organic fertilizer (YFP) significantly improved soil available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, increased plant height and root length, enhanced chlorophyll content, and reduced superoxide dismutase activity compared to other treatments. Staged inoculation with targeted consortia effectively modulated microbial community succession, promoting lignocellulose degradation and humus synthesis. These findings demonstrate that phase-synchronized microbial management is a promising strategy to accelerate composting, improve product maturity, and enhance agronomic performance, supporting sustainable agricultural waste recycling.