Efficacy of Different Substrates on Vermicompost Production: A Biochemical Analysis

Abstract

The rapid increase in the volume of waste is one aspect of the environment crisis, accompanying global development. Earthworms play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter and soil metabolism through feeding, fragmentation, aeration, turnover and dispersion. The type of substrates used and species of earthworms introduced plays a significant role in plant growth and yield. The waste to be stabilized should support an adequate biomass needed for effective processing. In the present study the vermicompost produced from banana as a substrate did not show a significant increase in NPK content from that of the control. On the other hand poultry waste and vegetable waste with goat dung showed significant increase in the NPK content. The enhancement of the vermicompost was probably due to mineralization of the organic matter containing proteins and conversion of ammonium nitrogen into nitrite. Mineralization and consequent mobilization of phosphorous by enhanced bacterial and phosphatase activities during vermicomposting leads to increase in Phosphorus. The earthworm processed waste materials contain high concentration of exchangeable potassium, due to enhanced microbial activity during the vermicomposting process, which accordingly enhanced the rate of mineralization. Vermicompost tends to hold more nutrients over larger periods without adverse effects on the environment.

Impact of earthworm species and growth habitats on the quality of vermicompost

“…The increasing of total nitrogen in the vermicompost is due to the reduction of dry mass in terms of carbon dioxide during the oxidation of organic matter. In addition, the earthworms can enhance nitrogen levels during vermicomposting through the digestion of substrate in their gut and simultaneous addition of nitrogenous excretory products, mucous, body fluid, enzymes which are retained to the vermicomposat as a casts; besides the decay of dead tissues of warms in the vermicomposting system (Joseph, 2019). Garg et al (2006), Repoted that analyzed the nutrients content of the cast of E. fetida from different types of organic substances i.e., textile sludge, textile fiber, institutional waste, kitchen waste, and agro-residues.…”

“…Vermicompost is a nutritive "organic fertilizer" rich in humus, macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), micronutrients, minerals, nutrients, vitamins, proteins, and enzymes, beneficial soil microflora, actinomycetes and plant growth regulators, which is used as an alternative to agrochemicals (Adhikary, 2012;Sharma et al, 2017;Singh et al, 2013). The benefits of vermicompost include improving soil fertility and soil health, water holding capacity, soil productivity, soil biodiversity, and crop growth and yield, enhancing soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (Joseph, 2019;Zuhair, 2011). In addition, vermicompost is frequently considered a supplement to fertilizers and it releases the nutrients slowly with a significant reduction in C/N ratio, concurrent with the requirement of plants (Sharma and Garg, 2019).…”

Vermicomposting of Tofu Dregs and Cow Dung to Improve Nitrogen Availability and Growth of Bok Choy Plants

“…Tofu dregs contain relatively small crude fiber ranging from 6% [8] to 19.44% [9]. Cow dung has a relatively dense texture and contains higher crude fiber so that the use of cow dung as an earthworm medium must be mixed with other ingredients to improve the media porosity, thereby facilitating the earthworms to consume the organic matter [10,11]. Based on these reviews, it can be concluded that the decomposition of organic matter in P1 (25% tofu dregs and 75% cow dung), P2 (50% tofu dregs and 50% cow dung) and P3 (75% tofu dregs and 25% cow dung) was higher than in P5, which was only cow dung.…”

“…The decrease in pH occurs due to the release of organic acids, while the increase in pH occurs due to the release of NH3 from nitrogen compounds and the release of base cations from the mineralization process. The changes in pH can also occur due to microbial activity in organic matter decomposition [11].…”

“…According to Tripathi and Bhardwaj[17], earthworms can increase N content in vermicompost through the results of excretion of ammonia, nitrogenase enzymes, and mucous fluid. Lol., et al[12] and Joseph[11] added that the high nutrient content in vermicomposts was thought to originate from the digestion and mineralization of organic matters containing nutrients in high concentrations.Analysis of the soil after harvest was performed to determine the effect of vermicompost application on the soil chemical properties. Based on the results of the analysis of variance and posthoc test (LSD 5%), there was a significant improvement in the soil chemical properties after harvest compared to the soil chemical properties before treatment.…”