Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

we would like to use turkey tail, a bracket fungi to decompose the banana peelings for our research proposal and use it as a fertilizer. i would like to ask what is the chemical component of turkey tail?, can it can decompose banana peelings? And what are the chemical component of banana peelings that can be used as a fertilizer?

thank you very much...

There are millions of chemicals in bannanas and turkey tails. A complete listing would be prohibitive.

If you don't know if turkey tail decomposes bananna peelings, do an experiment to find out.

thank you for your response......

i decided to use kitchen waste instead of banana peelings.. so what are the substances or chemical components of the turkey tail that can degrade the kitchen waste??

thank very much.....
i will wait for your response....................

The turkey tails and banana peels will not in themselves degrade the kitchen waste. This is done by microorganisms and other creatures, especially those that live in the soil. If you plan to use the end product as garden or agricultural fertilizer, what you are doing is a variant of composting.

These links should get you started:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting

Please let us know if this helps, or if you had a different idea.