Articles

Vermitechnology: A Sustainable Approach to Manage Organic Waste in Urban Areas

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Vermicomposting is the natural process of compost formation by converting organic wastes into organic fertiliser utilising earth worms and cow dung. It is being widely used for solid waste management. Many species of earthworms are utilised in this process such as Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia andrei, Lampito rubellus and Drawida willis. They feed on the organic waste to produce vermicompost, vermiwash and more earthworms as resultant products. Composting process with this technique takes around 28-120 days and it depends upon the type of worms and organic waste used. Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi is pioneer in adopting the vermicomposting on a large scale. It has put 15 beds in place in its nursery. This set of fifteen composting beds is able to utilise about 1.7 tons of dry leaves in a single cycle and converts them into very nutritious fertilizer. As we could run four such cycles in a year, the Kirori Mal College has the potential of consuming about seven tons of dry leaves annually and put it to a better use, which otherwise, would have been a responsibility of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Along with the vermicompost, the process also produces vermiwash, a concentrated liquid fertilizer, which is stored and is being utilized after dilution. The vermicomposting also leads to rapid multiplication of earthworms, which can be sold in the market and the spare ones can be utilised for the next cycle. Vermicomposting for the disposal of the dry organic waste is very cost effective and energy efficient.

Integrated Nutrient Management in Bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol) Standl.] variety Kashi Ganga under Malwa condition of Madhya Pradesh

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The present experiment “Integrated Nutrient Management in Bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol) Standl.] variety Kashi Ganga under Malwa condition of Madhya Pradesh” was carried out during Kharif season of 2019 -2020 at the Horticulture Experimental Field, College of Agriculture, RVSKVV, Indore (M.P.). The objective of the trial is to study efficacy of soil amendment on growth, yield and quality traits. The experiment consist of 15 treatments and three replication under randomized block design. The treatment T10 (50% NPK+25% Vermicompost +25% Compost) was found significantly superior as compared to other of treatments in following characters like vine length(cm), length of internode /vine (cm), no of primary branches. Treatment T0 (No application of INM control) observed minimum as compares to other of treatments. The treatment T10 (50%NPK+25%Vermicompost+25%Compost) was found significantly good result in phenological characters like no of node /vine up to first male and female flowers, days to first appearance of male and female flower, Treatment T0 ( No application of INM control) observed minimum as compares to other of treatments. The results regarding the yield parameters like days to first picking , avg. fruit weight at every picking (g) ,fruit length (cm) , fruit diameter (cm) , fruit yield /plot (kg), fruit yield (q/ha) number of seeds per pod, pod yield per plant(g) and pod yield (q/ha) were significantly affected by the application of different combination of integrated nutrient management. The maximum result was noted in treatment T10 (50% NPK + 25% Vermicompost + 25% Compost) However, minimum result was noted in T0 (No application of INM control).

Vermicomposting in Silver Oak Plantation Areas for Sustainable Waste Management and Enhanced Livelihood: A Case Study of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

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Silver Oak plantation on farmlands growing coffee and black pepper has gained importance in recent times in the areas surrounding the Kolli hills in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Silver Oak trees shed significant quantities of dry leaves during the summer season which the local Malayali tribal community burns and/or leaves on ground. The current case study is based on an experiment of vermicomposting using local Silver Oak leaf litter, cow dung and earthworms. The results show that joint production of manure from agroforestry practices is an option in self-sufficiency for the rural communities and has the potential for a business model. Moreover, this ensures environmental sustainability by avoiding green-house gas emissions that are caused by the practice of burning leaves and/or leaving the mulch to rot. The present paper attempts to develop a sustainable model of vermicomposting in the Kolli hills region that can offer triple solutions encompassing organic manure production, environmental quality improvement and livelihood opportunity enhancement. Based on field surveys and physiochemical experiments in the Perungiraipatti village of the Kolli hills, the study presents a sustainable model of vermicomposting with specifications on nutritional quality, environmental sustainability and economic development.