CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to Chemical Online, the demand for artificial Fertilizer

has boosted since 2000 to 2005 with the average of 665.0 metric tons to

809.0 metric tons. Due to the rising of artificial fertilizers for boost of plants,

the soils are getting intoxicated. Based on the availability of many products

for plants increases the risk factors of soils to be in danger due to abundance

of chemicals that are mixed into it. Intoxication and amalgamation of plants

with dangerous chemicals might make their way to fruits and vegetables

(Day, 2017). Also, incorrect usage of fertilizers might lead to groundwater

contamination and environmental complications (Hallberg, 1987).

Unfortunately, as unsustainable farming and gardening practices continue

our soil is stripped of its health and we depend on amendments even

greater. This leads to some pretty negative effects of chemical fertilizers.

According to Sustainable Baby Steps, “fertilizer is any substance used to add

nutrients to the soil to promote soil fertility and increase plant growth. “ but

it states that not all fertilizers are helpful and safe for the plants.

One of the biggest problems of the uses of chemical fertilizers is

groundwater contamination (Hallberg, 1987). Nitrogen fertilizers decompose

into nitrates and travel easily through the soil. Because it is water-soluble
and can remain in groundwater for years, the increasing number of nitrogen

over the years has a gradual effect.

Also, using fertilizer might cause harmful effects on people. At the

University of Wisconsin, Madison, they discovered the effects of chemical

fertilizers are compounded when a single pesticide is mixed. They found out

altered immune, endocrine and nervous system functions in mice, as well as

influence on children's and fetus's developing neurological, endocrine and

immune systems. These findings "portend change in ability to learn and in

patterns of aggression”.

According to Sustainable Baby Steps, groundwater contamination has

been linked to gastric cancer, goiter, birth malformations, and hypertension;

testicular cancer and stomach cancer.

Perhaps one of the effects of chemical fertilizers caused by

groundwater contamination is called methemoglobinemia or Blue Baby

Syndrome. The risk most often occurs when babies are given solution

reconstituted with nitrate mixed with water. The condition causes a decrease

in oxygen in the blood and results in a blue-grey skin color, resulting in

lethargy and/or irritability (Gill MD, 2017). And knowing outreach places like

mountains, people who live there used to fetch their water from

underground. They might also use this water for their daily needs and
purposes. That’s why they are at risk although they are not the direct users

of fertilizers.

That’s why, the researchers conduct this study in order to conserve tha

nature, especially the soil and also to prevent further damages to

environment and humans by creating a safer and natural fertilizer. And that

is the rotten eggs as fertilizers.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. The researchers would like to determine the effects of rotten egg to

the soil specifically;

- What are the components of the rotten egg that could make te soil

fertilized?

- What is the ratio of soil and egg needed to make a fertilizer out o rotten

egg?

- Is there a significant difference between the soil with rotten egg and

control variable?
 FORMULATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS

1. There is no significant difference between soil with rotten egg as

fertilizers and soil without fertilizers.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 For agricultural sectors, this study will serve as a remedy for

farmers who frequently use market fertilizers. Using rotten

egg as a fertilizer will not only be safe for the users but also a

big help for financial budget.

 As for the Department of Agrarian Reform, there will be an

increased distribution of financial budget to the farmers and

DAR if ever the rotten eggs will be proven as a fertilizer.

According to Rappler, DAR’s 2015 budget, P10.26 billion,

showcases that -

 The researchers conclude that this study will help the Local

Government Units in our community by proposing this

research findings as an alternative for their future plans on

agricultural purposes, such as programs for farmers and

fertilizers. Using egg will not only benefit them financially but

also environmentally because egg is natural and doesn’t

contain any harmful and riskful chemicals. Also, instead of

 disposing rotten eggs, it will have a better purpose now that it

might be a fertilizer.

 As for the future researchers, this study will lead them to

another studies about the undiscovered uses of egg, beside

from cooking and fertilizer (if ever this study wil be provn

right).

 One of the essence why the researchers conducted this study

was in order to formulate and produce another fertilizer in the

soil, for a lower price compared to the fertilizers that are sold

in the markets and also to add more uses to the eggs, not

just in cooking.

 To create another fertilizer with safer and natural content.

 The importance of the rotten egg is to help the agricultural

sectors to make soil healthier and avoid using chemical

fertilizers. Mixing rotten eggs in the fertilizer helps it to be

rich in nutrients. Calcium, Nitrogen, Potassium and

Phosphorus is one of the important nutrients for soil to make

plants grow and egg contains a lot of it. It can also be the

solution to the common problem in plants like blossom rot. It

is physiological condition that results in a brown or yellow

water-soaked spot which appears on the one of a plant, And it

occurs when the soil lacks of calcium.

 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study ranges on using garlic and soil as the main

components to prove that rotten eggs can be a fertilizer. The research

mainly tackles the elements inside a rotten egg that can be used and

gradually, to fertile the soil. The research will run with the limit of 45 days

(as what is stated at the research design). Within 45 days, the researchers

will observe the progress of plants with and without rotten eggs and wil

determine the changes.

Everyday observation will be the basis of this study to produce the

sufficient answers needed to prove and answer the problem.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Fertilizer - is any substance used to add nutrients to the soil to promote soil

fertility and increase plant growth

Intoxication – an abnormal state that is essentially a poisoning (carbon

monoxide intoxication)

Amalgamation – the state of uniting (two or more things, such as two

business) into one thing

Contamination – the state of making (something) dangerous, dirty, or

impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it

Malformations – a condition in which part of the body does not have the

normal or expected shape

Blue Baby Syndrome - refers to at least two situations that lead

to cyanosis in infants: cyanotic heart disease and methemoglobinemia

Lethargy – a lack of energy or a lack of interest in doing things: a lethargic

feeling or state

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Soil Acidity

-Soil Degradation is one of the common problems in the world. ”About six

(6) million hectares of agricultural land worldwide become unproductive

every year due to the various soil degradation processes.” said Asio (2010).
One of the causes of soil degradation is soil acidification (Asio, 2010). Soil

acidification “this is a problem becoming increasingly more common in

cultivated soils. Soil acidification is the increase in the ratio of hydrogen ions

in comparison to 'basic' ions within the soil.” according to acsgarden.com

Soil acidification needs alkalinity in order for the soil to be neutral.

That’s why we, researchers, got an idea of using rotten eggs as fertilizers.

Rotten eggs has a compound called Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2S) that has pH level

that ranges from 7 to 9, based from the article of Evoqua Water

Technologies. When it is mixed with acidic soils, we assume that the pH level

of the acidic soil will become neutral.

Rotten Eggs

-Rotten eggs have elements that a soil is needed (Nitogen, Potassium,

Phosphorus, Sulfur). 50 mg of Potassium is present in hen’s raw egg whites

and 34 mg of Potassium in hen’s raw egg yolk according to

wholecatalog.info. One jumbo egg contains 125 milligrams of phosphorus

based on Ipatenco (2007). One jumbo egg also contains 6.3 grams of

protein according to healthyeating.sfgate.com. Protein has amino-acids, that

contains nitrogen according to International Plant Nutrition Institute (2012).

These are the importances of each element to the soil and plant growth

according to LaLiberte (2018)

Nitrogen helps plants make the proteins they need to create new tissues. In

nature, nitrogen is always in short supply so plants need to evolve to take

up as much nitrogen as possible, even if it means not absorbing other

important elements. If too much nitrogen is available, the plant may grow

abundant foliage but not grow fruit or flowers. Growth may actually be dull

because the plant isn't absorbing enough of the other elements it needs.

Phosphorus takes control of root nutrition. It helps the plant set buds and

flowers, improves vitality and increases seed size by helping transfer energy

from one section of the plant to another. To absorb phosphorus, most plants

need a soil pH of 6.5 to 6.8. Organic matter and the activity of soil

organisms also increase the availability of phosphorus.

Potassium improves overall vigor of the plant. It helps the plants make

carbohydrates and provides immunity. It also helps regulate metabolic

activities.

Garlic (Alium sativum)

 Here's an idea for soil composition for growing (Capellini, 2017):

 pH: Between 6.0 and 7.5 is the ideal pH for garlic.

 Nitrogen: Garlic needs more nitrogen than other plants, mostly during

its starting growth phase as it spreads its leaves.

 Phosphorus: Phosphorus is needed for root development.

  Potassium:  Potassium is significant for leaf growth and bulb

formation.

 Sulfur: Sulfur compounds are directly related to garlic's healing

benefits and flavors.

Nitrogen, Potassium, Sulfur, and Phosphorus are present in Rotten

eggs, which is needed by the garlic to grow well.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

Chemistry of Rotten Eggs

-Organisms that produced sulfur compounds give a defensive

odor. Rotten eggs get their distinctive aroma because of hydrogen sulfide. It

is characterized by a colorless, foul-smelling gas and it is also flammable and

corrosive. It often results from the microbial breakdown of organic matter

when there’s lack of oxygen gas. According to Compound Interest, the

longer an egg is cooked, the greater the amount of hydrogen sulfide will be

produced. Rotten eggs smell malodorous because of higher levels of

hydrogen sulfide.
Chemistry of Soil

-Soil chemistry is affected by organic matter, compositions of

mineral and environmental factors. According to Katharine Brown and

Jeremy Lemon, cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of a soil’s

ability to hold positively charged ions. Soils with large quantity of negative

charge are more fertile because they keep more cations but crops and lands

covered with grass can be grown on low CEC soils. Based on the article of

June 2016 by Liz Baessler, sodium, calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus,

magnesium and potassium are the important nutrients needed by a soil.

According to Mark Longstroth, the amount of sulfur needed is dependent on

soil texture. As of sands, little sulfur is required but soils high in clay or

organic matter demands much more.

According to Crop Nutrition, soil pH is a measure of the acidity

and alkalinity of a soil. It is said that the optimal pH range for most of the

plants is between 5.5 and 7.0. Some crops grow best in the 6.0 to 7.0 pH

range. Soil becomes acidic when its basic elements are replaced by

hydrogen ions whereas it may be alkaline due to over-liming acidic soils.

The organic matter components of soil consists of partially

decomposed plant and animal residues, humic substances, non-humic

substances ,cells and tissues of soil organisms and other transformed

products. Organic matter in a soil is important because it serves as a storage

of plant nutrients and also it improves soil structure.

CHAPTER III

THE SUBJECT OF THE STUDY

This research mainly tackles the probability of egg, or to be specific, a

spoiled egg, to be used as a fertilizer. As for the population, there are the,

soil, a plant, and egg. For the sample, it includes an acidic soil, garlic and

spoiled egg. The reason why the researchers choose acidic soils instead of

alkaline ones was because acidic soils are more frequent here in the

Philipines due to the tropical climate.

THE PROCEDURE

1. The researchers will prepare acidic soil, a garlic plant, and spoiled

eggs.

2. The following prepared materials will be measured rationally according

to the needed results. These are the measurements for each.

- Acidic Soil (10 pounds)

- Number of eggs (2 eggs- rotten)

3. First, find two empty container.

4. Put acidic soils and garlic plant on both container. Put and mix the

spoiled eggs on the second container. Name the containers “With Egg”

and “Without Eggs”.

5. Place the containers in place wherein it will get enough sunlight and

heat. Water the pants everyday and wait for the results until 45 days.

The container which contains the longest leaves of the plant specifies

the most probable soil to be planted on, soil with egg or without?

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Garlic Plant

Rotten egg (Allium Sativum)

Soil Acidic Soil

RESEARCH DESIGN

Input

In this study, the researchers need rotten eggs, acidic soil and garlic plant

(allium sativum).
Process

The researchers’ way of finding the efficient results and to prove the theory

is by daily observation until they reach the 45 days limit. The researchers

will take a daily report about the progress of each plant and will try to make

a summary of it. The researchers will also include the factors that might

affect the expected results of the study like weather etc.

Output

Week by week, the researchers will take note of the progress of

lengths of the leaves of the plants. According to Pakistan Agriculture, signs

of a healthy plant are the absences of grey mould ( botrytis), red spider mite

or leaf bronzing, rust and a low chances of plants to have a falling and

yellowing leaf. If ever the plant that has the the rotten egg as its fertilizer

has a healthier body and structure, this will purely prove that egg fertilizer is

true.
USING ROTTEN EGG AS A FERTILIZER TO THE SOIL

Researchers:

Layog, Noemi

Carangiuan, Brigitte Feye

Dador, Jumil

Panerio, Alvin

Santiago, Kashmir Althea

Cuajao, Andrea Nichole

Fualo, Arabella

Pigar, Cyron

Ramirez, Jhenielyn

Mujar, Johan Paolo

Riego, Judie Ann

Zamora, Karen

Mahumok, Mark Reniel

Dela Cruz, Rico

Amarillo, Vanessa

Canumay West National High School – Lingunan Annex

S.Y. 2017-2018