A study on utilization of biowastes for production of vermicompost

Abstract

A STUDY ON UTILIZATION OF BIO-WASTES FOR PRODUCTION OF VERMICOMPOST The thesis contains five chapters under the broad headings of (i) Introduction (ii) Materials and Methods (iii) Experimental (iv) General Discussions and (v) Summery. CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION Vermicompost is the nutrient rich organic manure resulted due to activities of earthworms and microbes on biodegradable wastes. The beneficial role of earthworms was mentioned by Darwin (1881) and Aristotle called them as quotthe intestine of earthquot. Vermitechnology is an old concept which started in the middle of twentieth century and first vermicompost plant was set up at Holland in 1970. The introductory chapter of the thesis describes about the problems of bio-wastes disposal and their management strategies with the help of vermibiotechnology. This chapter also highlights the international, national and regional scenario of vermicomposting through reviewed literature and provides a base to carry out the present work. As the present work focused on the utilization of biowastes for production of vermicompost, the suitable condition for vermicomposting, beneficial role of vermicompost in crop production, sustainable soil health and microbial content of vermicompost have been highlighted in this chapter. Some selected literatures relevant to the issues addressed have been reviewed for better understanding of the problems under study. The present study was carried out with the following objectives - (i) Isolation and selection of suitable earthworms for production of vermicompost. (ii) Study of bio-wastes for suitability as raw material for vermicomposting. (iii) Role of certain ecological factors on the production of vermicompost. (iv) To study the growth and development of certain agricultural crops through application of vermicompost. (v) To study the impact of vermicompost for sustainable development of soil health. CHAPTER-2: MATERIALS AND METHODS This chapter describes the detail of the materials and experimental procedures undertaken for the investigation.