Feasibility of vermicomposting for vegetable greenhouse waste recycling

Fernández-Gómez, Manuel J.; Romero, Esperanza; Nogales, R.

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2010.07.109

Cited by 75 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…This suggests that P could boost the fungal growth in these vermibeds. These results are supported by Fernández-Gómez et al (2010), who reported that earthworms greatly transformed different initial substrates into vermicomposts which were characterized by quite similar fingerprints to each other. These authors concluded that the dissimilarities found among those fingerprints can be attributed to the different chemical composition of each initial substrate vermicomposted.…”

Section: Assessment Of Waste Transformation Through Plfa Analysissupporting

confidence: 80%

“…In organic wastes, salt concentrations exceeding 8 dS m -1 have been considered lethal for E. fetida (Edwards 1988). In line with this result, Fernández-Gómez et al (2010) found that Eisenia andrei, an earthworm species closely related to E. fetida, died after 24 h when placed in a vermibed constituted of different greenhouse plant wastes due to the great salinity (17 dS m -1 ). Therefore, P cannot be vermicomposted as single waste by using E. fetida.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…In the particular case of greenhouse tomato-plant waste, previous studies have concluded that waste has a bioavailable carbon content that is insufficient to develop a satisfactory thermophilic phase, which is necessary for its proper composting Ghaly 2005, 2006). The vermicomposting of greenhouse tomato-plant waste has also been reported to be unfeasible as that waste has concentrations of salts and ammonia that are lethal to earthworms (Fernández-Gómez et al 2010). Consequently, to date, there are no studies which have successfully transformed greenhouse plant wastes into organic materials with agricultural value using composting or vermicomposting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Recycling of environmentally problematic plant wastes generated from greenhouse tomato crops through vermicomposting

Fernández-Gómez

Díaz-Raviña

Romero

et al. 2013

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The enormous quantity of plant waste produced from greenhouse tomato crops is an environmental problem that should be solved by recycling that waste into valuable organic products through low-cost technologies, such as vermicomposting. Feasibility of vermicomposting greenhouse tomato-plant waste (P) using paper-mill sludge (S) as complementary waste was investigated by this study. Earthworm development in P, S, and two mixtures of both wastes was monitored over 24 weeks and compared with that in cow dung (D), an optimum organic-waste to be vermicomposted. The effectiveness of vermicomposting to biostabilize those wastes was assessed by analysing phospholipid fatty acid composition, chemical features, plant-nutrient content, metal concentration, enzyme activities, and germination index (GI). A commercial vermicompost was also analyzed and taken as a reference of vermicompost quality. Earthworms did not survive in P alone, but a mixture of P with S at a ratio of 2:1 or 1:1 resulted in earthworm development similar to that observed in D. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis revealed that earthworm activity strongly transformed initial microbiota inhabiting the wastes, giving rise to vermicompost microbial communities which were similar to that of a commercial vermicompost. Both mixtures of P and S were properly biostabilized through vermicomposting, as indicated by decreases in their C:N ratio and enzyme activities together with increases in their degree of maturity (GI * 100 %) after the process. This study demonstrates that the vermicomposting of tomato-plant waste together with paper-mill sludge allows the recycling of both wastes, thereby improving the environmental sustainability of greenhouse crops.

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Section: Assessment Of Waste Transformation Through Plfa Analysissupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Recycling of environmentally problematic plant wastes generated from greenhouse tomato crops through vermicomposting

Fernández-Gómez

Díaz-Raviña

Romero

et al. 2013

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…An increase of 10-28 % in the earthworm biomass was observed after 45 days of vermicomposting of sewage sludge (Khwairakpam and Bhargava 2009b). In another study, the maximum individual biomass was recorded after 4 weeks of vermicomposting of vegetable greenhouse waste with the addition of cow dung and straw (Fernández-Gómez et al 2010). Suthar and Singh (2008) found the maximum individual biomass in month four of a 5-months-long study involving the vermicomposting of domestic waste.…”

Section: Pre-composting Of Feedstockmentioning

confidence: 85%

Processing separated digestate by vermicomposting technology using earthworms of the genus Eisenia

Hanč

Vašák

2014

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In the current study, pre-composting and subsequent vermicomposting of separated digestate (also called separated biogas plant slurry) were verified to improve its properties for use as a soil conditioner. Increasing the proportion of straw in combination with separated digestate had a positive effect on reducing both weight and volume during vermicomposting. The pH value decreased and was found to be between 7.3 and 7.7 in the final vermicomposts. Due to a loss in organic matter, the total content of macro-elements increased at the end of vermicomposting with the exception of calcium. Similarly, the available contents of phosphorus and potassium increased, which was positive in terms of the use of vermicompost for agricultural purposes. After 5 months of vermicomposting, the earthworm biomass increased from 282 to 896 % depending on the treatment. The best results were achieved during the vermicomposting of a mixture of straw (25 vol %) with separated digestate (75 vol %).

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“…Earthworms also have a role in a number of applied areas, including land restoration , organic waste recycling (Fernández-Gómez et al, 2010), and ecotoxicology (Byung-Tae et al, 2008). A demand for earthworms therefore exists to satisfy these scientific and commercial applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%