Compositional Evaluation of Vermicompost Prepared from Different Types of Organic Wastes using Eisenia fetida and Studying its Effect on Crop Growth

Background: Vermicomposting or the conversion of organic wastes into fertile manure by earthworms has long been used in agriculture to increase production of crops. Chemical composition of vermicompost determines the quality and its use in increasing crop yield. It is important to carry out compositional analysis of the vermicompost samples if different substrates are used for their preparation. Methods: In this study, we prepared vermicompost using earthworm Eisenia fetida (old name Eisenia foetida) and different organic wastes, namely wheat straw, bagasse, grass, neem leaves etc. The nutrient content (C, H, N, S, P, K and Humic Acid) was determined for each sample and the effect on plant growth was also observed. Result: It was observed that despite the source of vermicompost, nutrient content was always higher in vermicompost than control organic waste. It was also seen that among the different sources, neem leaves and wheat straw gave rise to the most nutritious compost. The effect on plants was also seen to be much better with these vermicompost samples compared to control without added vermicompost. It was observed that the C/N ratio of the organic wastes significantly decreased during vermicompost, which indicates the increase in nitrogen concentration easily available to plants. Not only were we able to obtain better growth of plants, we were also able to transform some agricultural wastes into useful products, which otherwise would have been dumped into a landfill or burnt, both of which would have been a waste.