Effects of earthworm casts and compost on soil microbial activity and plant nutrient availability

Chaoui, Hala; Zibilske, L. M.; Ohno, Tsutomu

doi:10.1016/s0038-0717(02)00279-1

Cited by 275 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In spite that the amount of nutrients in these amendments varies depending on the parent material from where they are originated, both compost and vermicompost constitute a slow release source of nutrients that supply the plants with the nutrients when they are needed (Chaoui et al, 2003;Nevens and Reheul, 2003). Further, several examples in the literature show that compost and vermicompost are able to enhance the growth of a wide range of plant species further what can be expected because of the supply of nutrients (Edwards et al, 2004;Grigatti et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of compost in horticulture has shown to be occasionally limited by the high electrical conductivity and the excessively high amount of certain ions causing phytotoxicity (García-Gómez et al, 2002) as a consequence of the chemical properties of the initial waste and/or inadequate operation processes. These adverse effects, although possible, are less likely to occur when vermicompost is used as potting amendment (Chaoui et al, 2003). Nevertheless the most remarkable differences among compost and vermicompost are related to their biological properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

Lazcano

Arnold

Tato

et al. 2009

Span. j. agric. res.

151

101

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Post transplant success after nursery stage is strongly influenced by plant morphology. Cultural practices strongly shape plant morphology, and substrate choice is one of the most determining factors. Peat is the most often used amendment in commercial potting substrates, involving the exploitation of non-renewable resources and the degradation of highly valuable peatland ecosystems and therefore alternative substrates are required. Here the feasibility of replacing peat by compost or vermicompost for the production of tomato plants in nurseries was investigated through the study of the effect of increasing proportions of these substrates (0%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 75% and 100%) in target plant growth and morphological features, indicators of adequate post-transplant growth and yield. Compost and vermicompost showed to be adequate substrates for tomato plant growth. Total replacement of peat by vermicompost was possible while doses of compost higher than 50% caused plant mortality. Low doses of compost (10 and 20%) and high doses of vermicompost produced significant increases in aerial and root biomass of the tomato plants. In addition these treatments improved significantly plant morphology (higher number of leaves and leaf area, and increased root volume and branching). The use of compost and vermicompost constitute an attractive alternative to the use of peat in plant nurseries due to the environmental benefits involved but also due to the observed improvement in plant quality.Additional key words: peat moss, plant nursery, soil-less substrate, Solanum lycopersicum L. Resumen Compost y vermicompost como componentes de sustratos artificiales de cultivo en viveros: efectos en el crecimiento y morfología del tomateTanto las prácticas de cultivo en los viveros como la elección del tipo de sustrato tienen una gran influencia sobre la morfología de las plántulas y por lo tanto en su adaptación post transplante. Aunque la turba es uno de los sustratos más utilizados en viveros, su uso conlleva la explotación de un recurso no renovable y la degradación de las turberas, por lo que se hace necesaria la búsqueda de sustratos alternativos que puedan reemplazarla total o parcialmente. En este trabajo se investigó la posibilidad de reemplazar la turba por compost o vermicompost en la producción de plántulas de tomate, mediante el estudio de los efectos de proporciones crecientes de estos sustratos (0%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 75% y 100%) en parámetros morfológicos y de crecimiento claves para la adaptación post transplante. Compost y vermicompost mostraron ser sustratos adecuados para el crecimiento de las plántulas. La sustitución total de la turba sólo fue posible con vermicompost mientras que las dosis de compost mayores que el 50% produjeron la mortalidad de las plántulas. Las dosis bajas de compost (10 y 20%) y altas de vermicompost, produjeron incrementos significativos en la biomasa aérea y radicular de las plantas. Además estas dosis mejoraron de forma significativa su morfología (número de hojas, superficie foliar, volume...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

Lazcano

Arnold

Tato

et al. 2009

Span. j. agric. res.

151

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The different letters in the same figure indicate significant differences at P≤0.05. Traditional compost: cattle manure-traditional compostmaize system; vermicompost: cattle manure-vermicompostmaize system both vermicompost and traditional compost are considered to be slow-release fertilizers, the former differed from the latter in being a product of the biodegradation and stabilization of organic materials through the interaction between earthworms and microorganisms (Chaoui et al 2003;Arancon et al 2005;Singh et al 2008).…”

Section: Dry Weight Of Total Aboveground Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vermicomposting with maize increases agricultural benefits by 304 %

Guo

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Pollution of agricultural ecosystems is due to the excessive use of mineral fertilizers and mass discharge of livestock manure. Therefore, there is a need for disposing manure safely, for instance by transforming manure into valuable compost. Traditional composting is, however, time-consuming with considerable nutrient losses. Vermicomposting is an alternative method, but so far, there are few quantitative evaluations of vermicomposting. We therefore compared vermicomposting and traditional composting of cattle manure with maize. Our results show that the amount of nutrients from vermicomposting is lower than that from traditional composting. Nonetheless, vermicomposting yielded 2172.0 kg of earthworms per hectare, which provided an additional income of US$4008.1 to farmers. Moreover, vermicomposting increased aboveground biomass by 7.7 % and maize grain yield by 18.3 %. The global output of vermicomposting was thus higher by 304 % due to higher grain yield and earthworm income.

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“…Vermicompost has been scientifically proved as miracle plant growth enhancer (Chaoui et al 2003;Guerrero 2010). Ansari and Ismail (2012) reported that worm's vermicast contains 7.37% nitrogen and 19.58% phosphorous as P 2 O 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vermicompost and plant growth enhancers on the exo-morphological features of Capsicum annum (Linn.) Hepper

Rekha

Kaleena

Elumalai³

et al. 2018

Int J Recycl Org Waste Agricult

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Purpose Vermicomposting is an environmentally and economically friendly process to decompose organic waste. India's agro-industrial sector contributes huge resources of plant materials in the form of compost. In this study, 50% of vermicompost was compared with plant growth enhancers on the exo-morphological features of C. annum. A significant plant growth was recorded in plants treated with Vermicompost. The present study aims to promote soil health and its plant growth providing effects further substantiating the use of organic amendments instead of fertilizers. Vermicompost contains a combination of macro-and micro-nutrients and the uptake of the nutrients has a positive effect on plant nutrition, growth, photosynthesis and chlorophyll content of the leaves. Methods Pot studies were carried out in ten replicates and four soil amendment treatments: (1) Control, 100 ml distilled water (2) 50% Vermicompost of soil (3) 10 ml of Gibberellic Acid + 90 ml deionised water (GA + 100 µg/ml)-10 ml Indole Acetic Acid + 90 ml deionised water. Pots were planted with C. annum and the measurements of studied traits (length of shoot, length of internode, leaves number and number of branches were determined. Results The effect of plant growth enhancers like GA, IAA was compared with 50% vermicompost applications. Significant improvement in all the parameters, like length of shoot, length of inter node, number of leaves and number of branches was observed in plants at the end of 3rd, 4th and 5th weeks of treatment. Conclusion Plants treated with 50% vermicompost showed significant growth than Gibberellic acid (GA)-and Indole acetic acid (IAA)-treated plants. These results clearly indicate that vermicompost can be exploited as a potent biofertilizer.

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Effects of earthworm casts and compost on soil microbial activity and plant nutrient availability

Cited by 275 publications

References 22 publications

Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

Vermicomposting with maize increases agricultural benefits by 304 %

Effects of vermicompost and plant growth enhancers on the exo-morphological features of Capsicum annum (Linn.) Hepper

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