# The Quantity and Composition of Leachate from Hop Plant Biomass during Composting Process
## 3 Results and Discussion
### The Impact of Composting Procedure on Biomass Properties Related to Time Stamp  
When nutrients in biomass were monitored, significant differences among piles and time stamps were discovered (Table 4). The mean nutrient values for the procedure (pile) and time stamps are shown in Table 4. Mean values for all time stamps are included in the procedure (pile), and mean values for all protocols are included in time stamps. The only exception is the total P content, which did not differ significantly among the piles. Because the NO\({}_{3}\)-N content of the biomass increased significantly during composting/degradation, the highest content was recorded in pile LES in the final compost. Similar results were obtained in the study conducted by [PERSON] et al. [37], which examined the components' content in different ages of cattle manure compost. The lowest content was found in 18-day-old compost (20 mg/kg), while the highest was found in 224-day-old compost (483 mg/kg). Our study revealed that the interaction between Time stamp and Procedure had an s.s. (\(p\) = 0) effect on NO\({}_{3}\)-N at the 95% confidence level; the response of this nutrient was comparable in piles ROZ and ZUP, but different in pile LES (Figure 6). The interaction between the composting procedure and Time stamp with NO\({}_{3}\)-N content were both s.s. at the 95% confidence level. NH\({}_{4}\)-N increased significantly right until the end of the thermophilic phase, after which it remained stable until the end of the process. It was found that both Time stamp and the Procedure had an s.s. effect (\(p\) = 0.0002 and \(p\) = 0.0001) on NH\({}_{4}\)-N at the 95% confidence level. However, the interaction of Procedure \(\times\) Time stamp for NH\({}_{4}\)-N was significant (\(p\) = 0); we can see that NH\({}_{4}\)-N content increased in the first month of composting in piles ROZ and ZUP, then dropped in the second month, and then slightly increased in the maturation phase. It can be seen from Figure 6 that it was the complete opposite in pile LES (Figure 6). Total N, total P, and total K, on the other hand, increased from the start of composting to the end of the thermophilic phase, then fell dramatically in the maturation phase. The drop in the total K content was the most significant. The same trend was also observed for pH; first, it increased significantly in the thermophilic phase, and then dropped dramatically in the maturation phase. The interactions of Time stamp with pH and Procedure with pH \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **NH\({}_{4}\)-N** & **NO\({}_{3}\)-N** & **Total N** & **Total P** & **Total K** & **C ORG** & **Humus** & **Dry** \\  & **(mg/kg)** & **(mg/kg)** & **(\%)** & **(g/kg)** & **(g/kg)** & **(\%)** & **(\%)** & **Matter (\%)** & **pH** \\ \hline PROCEDURE & Mean & & & & & & & & \\ \hline ROZ & 186.8 a, **\({}^{**}\)** & 61.3 a & 2.8 a & 3.9 a & 15.3 a & 37.0 b & 63.8 b & 30.1 a & 7.9 a \\ ZUP & 368.0 b & 260.7 c & 2.9 a & 4.2 a & 19.4 b & 33.1 a & 57.1 a & 31.9 a & 8.2 b \\ LES & 403.5 b & 161.3 b & 3.4 b & 4.2 a & 15.8 a & 39.1 b & 67.4 b & 31.3 a & 7.8 a \\ \hline TIME STAMP & & & & & & & & \\ \hline
0 & 169.6 a & 0.8 a & 2.6 a & 2.8 a & 16.7 b & 48.1 c & 82.9 c & 27.8 a & 7.0 a \\
1 & 291.7 b & 7.8 a & 3.5 b & 4.8 c & 19.6 c & 37.5 b & 64.6 b & 33.9 b & 8.5 c \\
2 & 412.6 c & 259.8 b & 3.4 b & 5.0 c & 20.2 c & 37.3 b & 64.3 b & 31.5 a,b & 8.4 c \\
3 & 403.8 c & 375.9 c & 2.7 a & 3.8 b & 10.8 a & 22.8 a & 39.2 a & 31.2 a,b & 7.8 b \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
\({}^{**}\) Different letters denote statistically significant differences between the means at 95% confidence level.  
\end{table} 
Table 4: Mean nutrient content in piles (procedure) and time stamp. were both s.s. with \(p\) = 0. On average, the highest pH was recorded in compost pile ZUP, whereas the lowest was in compost pile LES. Figure 6: Biomass: Two-factor interactions.