The purpose of this paper is to review published literature which provides information to support the cultivation of vegetable crops using vermicompost in comparison to chemical fertilizers. With the systematic method, “Google Scholar,” a web search engine which provides an easy way to search for published articles, journals or books was used to research works of literature on “Vegetable crops cultivation using vermicompost in comparison to chemical fertilizers.” Then a subjective approach was used to select the themes that were discussed by reading through the abstracts and findings from the related works of literature. The subtopics discussed were: vermicompost, components of vermicompost, impacts of vermicompost, chemical fertilizers, components of chemical fertilizers, impacts of chemical fertilizers along with the use of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers on crops. The published papers established that vermicompost is an excellent organic medium which can be used to cultivate vegetable crops in comparison to chemical fertilizers because growing crops with vermicompost improves plant health with a positive influence on the yield and growth parameters of many plants, it has a high nutrient content, has pesticidal properties and slowly releases nutrients as compared to the chemical fertilizers which is depleted faster due to its release of nutrients too quickly. Chemical fertilizers on the other hand are useful in crop cultivation as it provides what is needed quickly but it has several negative impacts on plants, the soil and its surroundings.

This study compared the effects of vermicompost and chemical fertilizer on the production and economics of eggplants (Solanum melongena). The study consisted of two phases which were carried out along the East Coast of Berbice. Phase one studied the vermicomposting process and phase two was a field trial of vermicompost on eggplants. The treatments used in the study were the control (T 1 ), vermicompost (T 2 ), and the NPK fertilizer (T 3 ). Vermicompost was applied @ 500 g plant -1 at transplanting, 250 g plant -1 at flowering, and 250 g plant -1 at fruiting. However, the recommended dose of NPK fertilizer was used which was 2.5 g plant -1 at transplanting and then every 21 days. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the plant height, the number of leaves, the diameter of the main stem, and the number of days it took to reach 50% flowering yet there were significant differences in the root (P=0.005) and shoot (P=0.004) length of eggplant after applying vermicompost compared the use of the chemical fertilizer. There were no significant differences in the physicochemical properties (pH, EC, OC, N, P, K) of the soil. There was a significant difference in the economics of eggplant cultivation when using vermicompost compared to the chemical fertilizers. The study indicated that vermicompost can be an excellent soil conditioner with indications of better conditions for plant growth, and it is also cost effective.

This purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate published literature on the biology and chemistry of lichens and their ecological, ethnopharmacological, pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential. A systematic method was used to gather literature on “the biology and chemistry of lichens and their ecological, ethnopharmacological, pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential.” A total of fifty-five research papers published between the years 1963 to 2022 were selected and utilized for this review. Tables were used to present the results. The subtopics were then chosen using a subjective method: lichens and their benefits/ importance. In this paper, eight (8) ecological functions and fourteen (14) pharmaceutical properties and therapeutic potentials were evaluated and presented. Lichen biology and chemistry and their roles in ethnopharmacological are also discussed. Additionally, lichens as pioneer and keystone species and their role as bioindicators to assess ecosystem health, sustainability and productivity was also addressed in this research. The published papers established that lichens have many benefits and importance, they are capable of synthesizing a range of chemicals that are beneficial to us and they are used in both traditional and pharmaceutical preparation of different treatments to combat many different diseases that affect human beings. More studies to investigate the uses of lichens should be done, especially in neotropics as there is a paucity of data and in this biodiversity rich region.