Articles

Physico-chemical and nutritional analysis of vermiwash produced from leaf litters of Pongamia pinnata using an Earthworm Eudrillus eugineae (Kinb.)

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Vermiwash production has become an innovative discipline of vermitechnology that is aimed basically at the culture of earthworms for waste recycling and the use of its castings for sustainable agriculture. This experiment was carried out to assess the physic-chemical and nutrient status of the vermiwash obtained using the popular composting earthworm species, Eudrillus eugineae (Kinb.) from leaf litters of Pongamia pinnata. The results showed substantial increase in the nutrient quality of the vermiwash produced with time in all the cases. However, the vermiwash produced from P. pinnata leaf litter showed more content of phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and other parameters compared with the vermiwash produced in without leaf litters considered as control. Such variations observed in the nutrient quality of the vermiwash produced from leaf litters indicate that the nutrient quality of the vermiwash produced could be largely influenced by the nature of the composting material thereby providing scope for further investigations in this field.

Effect of Vermiwash and Vermicompost on the Growth of Fenugreek (Trigonella Sp.)

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Vermicomposting is a useful and completely environmentally friendly technology that changes biodegradable waste into nutrient rich organic matter. This technology can also be used for obtaining vermiwash, nutrient rich bio liquid. It is a liquid extract, which is both useful and environmentally friendly. Vermicompost enriches the soil with nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, while vermiwash can provide a nutrient boost directly to the plant. The present study was done to assess the effect of different concentration of vermiwash and vermicompost on growth of Fenugreek through vermiponics and pot method respectively. The 25% vermiwash showed increase in shoot length as compared to control whereas 50% of vermiwash was found to be phytotoxic to the growth of Fenugreek plant as compared to control.  Similar trend was observed in pot method using different concentrations of vermicompost. 25% vermicompost was found to increase the shoot length as compared to 50% and 75% vermicompost. Both vermicompost and vermiwash can be valuable addition to fenugreek cultivation. It is essential to use these products (vermiwash and vermicompost) in moderation i.e. 25% for maximizing the growth during cultivation.

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.