Analysis of Dry Leaf Compost Quality Using Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) with EM4 Addition
1
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 
2
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
3
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Published
2025-12-28
Keywords:
Compost quality
Dry leaf waste
EM4
Mealworm
Tenebrio molitor
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Abstract
Background: Dry leaf waste is commonly discarded or burned, which may contribute to environmental pollution despite its potential for biological conversion into useful products. Bioconversion using mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) combined with EM4 offers an alternative approach for converting dry leaf waste into compost.
Aims: This study aimed to analyze the quality of dry leaf compost produced using T. molitor with EM4 addition and to evaluate its conformity with SNI 19-7030-2004.
Methods: This experimental study applied a bioconversion method for 25 days using four treatment reactors: dry leaves with EM4 and polar (R1), dry leaves with polar (R2), dry leaves with EM4 (R3), and dry leaves without EM4 or polar (R4). Mealworms were used as bioconversion agents, with 100 g of feed provided every five days. Compost quality was evaluated based on moisture content, pH, temperature, color, feed consumption, phosphorus, and C/N ratio. The results were descriptively evaluated against SNI 19-7030-2004.
Result & Conclusion: Moisture content and temperature met the SNI requirements in all reactors, whereas phosphorus remained below the required minimum. Conformity with the pH, color, and C/N ratio requirements varied among treatments. R3 showed the closest overall conformity with the standard, meeting the requirements for moisture content, temperature, color, and C/N ratio, while meeting the pH requirement at most observation points. However, its phosphorus content remained below the required level. These findings indicate the potential of mealworm-assisted bioconversion with EM4 for dry leaf waste composting, although further optimization is required to improve nutrient quality.
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Andjani, R., Lathifah, A. N., & Iresha, F. M. (2025). Analysis of Dry Leaf Compost Quality Using Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) with EM4 Addition. Open Soil Science and Environment, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.70110/osse.v3i2.57
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Raehal Andjani, Annisa Nur Lathifah, Fajri Mulya Iresha
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