NUTRIENT VARIATIONS IN VERMICOMPOST PREPARED FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRAW WASTES
ANAND KUMAR*, R. K. GUPTA, SHIV KUMAR AND SURESH KUMAR
Department of Zoology and Aquaculture,
CCS Haryana Agricultural University,
Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : anand_rozha@yahoo.co.in)
(Received : 5 January 2017; Accepted : 25 March 2017)
SUMMARY
The field experiment was carried out to study the chemical changes in different organic wastes
during vermicomposting with time interval in rainy season in CCS Haryana agriculture university, Hisar during 2011-12. The agricultural wastes like wheat straw, millet straw, pulse brawn and mustard straw were used as substrates for vermicomposting. The earthworm Eisenia fetida was found most useful for conversion of vermicompost so Eisenia fetida was used in preparation of vermicompost. In vermicompost process, several physical, chemical and the biological reactions took place resulting in changes in the organic matter in a certain period of time. Vermicomposting allowed obtaining organic sources of nutrients which were physically, nutritionally and biochemically improved over composts. In the present studies increased the nutrient content in vermicompost so as changes in nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus (NPK) were studied in different agricultural wastes with time.
Key words: Agricultural wastes, Eisenia fetida, straw, vermicompost