Anon
Chaulagain, Dhurva P. Gauchan, Janardan Lamichhane*
Department
of Biotechnology, School of Science, Kathmandu University, Nepal
ABSTRACT
Intense use of agrochemicals, including
inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, since “green revolution” of 1960s boosted
crop productivity but at the expense of environment and health. This led to the
exploration of alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides among
scientific communities. Several researches on potential of earthworms to
degrade solid organic matter and analysis of worm cast have demonstrated the
use of earthworm cast (vermicompost) in sustainable agriculture. Vermicompost
is a nutritive organic fertilizer enriched with plant available forms of macro
(Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) and micro (Iron, Copper, Zinc, etc.)
nutrients, beneficial soil microbes; nitrogen-fixing and phosphate solubilizing
bacteria, actinomycetes and plant growth regulators like auxins, cytokinins and
gibberellins. In addition, composition of vermicompost show antagonistic
ability against soil-borne pathogens thereby improving plant health. This
article presents the importance and use of vermicompost in plant growth and
protection and provides the insight on vermicomposting research in Nepal.
Key words: Vermicompost, Earthworm, Plant
Growth Hormones, Soil Supplement, Vermisystems
INTRODUCTION
Vermicompost is finely divided peat-like
material with low C:N ratio, high porosity, aeration, drainage, water holding
capacity, microbial activity and is the end product of non-thermophilic
biodegradation of organic materials by combined action of earthworms and
associated microbes (Edwards and
Burrows, 1988; Atiyeh et al., 2000a,
2000b; Arancon et al,. 2004). Earthworms act as mechanical
blenders and by comminuting the organic substrate they alter its physical and
chemical status thereby increasing the surface area favorable for microbial
decomposition (Dominguez, 2004).
Earthworms after consuming soil and
organic substances excrete tiny pellets
or vermicast which is a nutritive organic fertilizer rich in humus, macronutrients
(nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), micronutrients, beneficial soil
microflora, actinomycetes, and plant growth regulators (Adhikary, 2012). Earthworm gut plays a vital
role in processing of soil and organic matters.(Drake and Horn, 2007) Activities of endosymbiotic
microbes and gut enzymes (cellulase, protease, chitinase acid and phosphatase) of
earthworm aid in transformation of ingested soil and organic matters into valuable
product constituting essential nutrients and active components of microbial
biomass (Zhang et al., 2000).
NUTRITIONAL
QUALITY OF VERMICOMPOST
Important nutrients such as nitrogen,
phosphorus, potassium, and calcium present in the feed material are converted
through microbial action into available forms for plants (Kaushik and Garg, 2003). Vermicompost is abundant with macronutrients NKP (Nitrogen 2-3%,
Potassium 1.85-2.25% and Phosphorus 1.55-2.25%) and micronutrients with
beneficial microbes (Actinomycetes, Azotobacter,
Rhizobium, Nitrobacter and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria, ranging from 102
- 106 per gm of vermicompost) and plant growth regulators (auxins,
cytokinins and gibberlins) which are mandatory for plant growth (Edwards et al., 2004; Sinha et al.,
2010). Quality of vermicomposts are in correlation with the type of feeding
materials for vermicomposting and the earthworm species used. Perionyx excavatus (Perrier) was found
to decompose waste resources generated from agricultural practices (crop
residues, farm yard manure, and cattle dung) with the significant decrease in
organic C content (21-29%), increase in total N (91-144%), available P
(63-105%) and exchangeable K (45-90%) (Suthar, 2007). Use of E. fetida and post-harvest residues of wheat, millet and pulse as
feeds for earthworms resulted in a significant increase in total N (97.3-155%),
available P (67.5-123.5%), exchangeable K (38.3-112.9%), and exchangeable Ca
(23.3-53.2%) and decrease in organic C content (20.4-29.0%) in the different vermibeds
(Suthar, 2009). Humic acid present in worm
casts provides binding sites for nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium,
sulfur, iron, calcium; releases these elements when plant requires and
stimulates plant growth even with small amount of humic acid in the
vermicompost (Canellas et al., 2002; Zandonadi et
al., 2007; Adhikary, 2012).
SOURCES
OF VERMICOMPOST
The ability of some earthworms to
consume a wide range of organic residues has been fully established.
Vermicomposting has been shown to be successful for processing sewage sludge (Domínguez, et
al., 2000; Gupta and
Garg, 2008; Ludibeth et al.,
2012), cotton waste
from hospitals (Pramanik and Chung, 2010; Mathur et al., 2006), fresh water weeds (Najar and Khan,
2013), institutional
and agro-residues (Garg et al.,
2006; Suthar 2009) and animal manures (Chan and
Griffiths, 1988; Garg et al., 2005). Eco-friendly conversion of
these organic remains via earthworms provides a best alternative to manage
solid wastes and generate valuable organic fertilizers.
POTENTIAL
SPECIES OF EARTHWORM FOR VERMICULTURE
Eisenia
fetida
(Savigny 1826), Dendrodrilus rubidus
(Savigny 1826), Dendrobaena veneta
(Rosa 1886), Lumbricus rubellus
(Hoffmeister 1843), Drawida nepalensis
(Michaelsen 1907), Eudrilus eugeniae
(Kinberg 1867), Perionyx excavatus
(Perrier 1872), Polypheretima elongata
(Perrier 1872) are the species of earthworms found in the world that show
potential for vermicomposting while, most vermiculture operations in Southeast
Asia use Eisenia fetida (Savigny
1826) and Eisenia andrei (Bouché
1972) because these species being epigeic (Bouché 1977) display characteristics like high rates of processing of
organic wastes, high reproductive rates and tolerant to wide range of
environmental factors (Dominguez, 2004; Gunadi, 2011).
ROLES
OF VERMICOMPOST IN PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Vermicompost accelerates plant growth
directly by supplying nutrients and indirectly by enhancing the communities of
plant friendly microbes by suppressing soil borne diseases (Canellas et al., 2002; Zandonadi et al.,
2007; Lazcano and Dominguez, 2011).
1.
Source of plant
nutrients:
From earlier findings it is evident that
vermicompost provides all necessary nutrients in plant available forms and also
enhances uptake of nutrients by plants. Significant accumulation of N, P, K, Ca
and Mg in root and shoot system with the application of humic acids derived
from vermicompost was correlated to uptake of nutrients by plants (Baldotto et
al., 2009). Moreover, integrated application of vermicompost and inorganic
fertilizer showed increased nutrient content in plant body. Vermicompost
enriched with P2O5 demonstrated its superiority over
other treatments for yield and uptake of major nutrients like N, P, K, Ca and
Mg (Kumari and Ushakumari, 2002).
2.
Greater
diversity of beneficial microbes:
Earthworm enhances microbial diversity
and enzymatic activities of ingested microbes through gut associated processes (Drake and Horn, 2007). As a result, vermicompost
consisted of greater pool of soil friendly bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes (Brown, 1995; Chaoui et al.,
2003). Digestive enzymes (lipases,
chitinases, and cellulases) are secreted into the intestine of earthworms by
worm and ingested microorganisms which function in decompostition of ingested
organic wastes (Urbasek and Pizl, 1991).
Earthworm gut provides home for anaerobic
nitrogen-fixing bacteria and excrete them along with nutrients in its cast (Singleton et al., 2003). Changes in biochemical
properties of cow manure during processing by earthworms (Eisenia andrei (Bouché) and the effects on seedling growth of
lettuce and tomato established the effect of earthworms to enhance the activity
of microbes responsible for nitrogen mineralization and increase the rates of
conversion of ammonium-nitrogen into plant available forms (Atiyeh et al., 2000c).
Phosphorus is usually considered as
limiting element for plants as it is present in insoluble forms in greater
amount in the soil but plant can uptake only phosphate in a soluble ionic form
(Pi) (Goldstein, 1986). Enrichment of vermicompost with
phosphate solubilizing bacteria like Pseudomonas
striata aids in conversion of phosphorus in plant available form when
phosphorus containing substances are added in the organic feed (Kumar and Singh, 2001). (Kaushik et al., 2008) demonstrated that enrichment of
vermicomposts (prepared from cow dung spiked solid textile mill sludge) with
nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria resulted in greater
phosphorus content (20.8 ± 0.20 g kg–1) in Pseudomonas maltophila inoculated cow dung vermicompost as compared
to cow dung plus sludge vermicompost (0.45 g kg–1) after 75th day of
inoculation. Fungi capable of degrading cellulose can be part of the diet of
earthworms and get excreted along with worm cast. When, earthworms ingest
cellulolytic fungi along with the organic feed, cellulolytic activity in their
gut is attributed to those fungi and the cellulase enzymes of earthworms gut.
In presence of earthworms (Eisenia fetida)
rate of cellulose decomposition was significantly increased (0.43 and 0.26%
cellulose loss day-1, with and without earthworms, respectively) (Aira et al.,
2006). However, the
direct contribution of E. fetida to
cellulose degradation was not pronounced, although its presence augmented
microbial biomass and enzymatic activity (cellulase and b-glucosidase) that can
be associated to fungi (Aira et al. 2006).
Earthworms along with beneficial
microbes show greater enzymatic activity for processing of organic substrates.
In addition, the number of microbes is also increased in the vermicompost as
compared to compost. Comparative assessment of enzyme activities and microbial
population in vermicompost and normal compost resulted in maximum enzymatic
(cellulase, amylase, invertase, urease and protease) activity in vermicompost
than compost (Haritha Devi et
al., 2009). Additionally,
most of the enzymes showed positive correlation with change in number and types
of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes during vermicomposting with maximum number
of 126x106, 28x104, 93x105 CFU gm-1
of sample, respectively. Vermicompost is reported to contain microbial produced
plant growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins (Tomati et al.,1988). Growth promoting activity of
vermicompost was assessed in Zea mays
(Nagavallemma et al. 2004). The marked differences in
plumule length of maize seedling soaked in vermicompost water (18.6 cm) and
normal water (16.6 cm) for 48 hours was correlated with the plant growth
promoting hormonal activity in vermicompost.
3.
Vermicompost as
soil supplement:
Vermicompost not only adds beneficial
microbes and nutrients in the soil but also modulates soil's physio-chemical
properties which stimulate better growth and development of crops. It is
observed that supplement of vermicompost at the rate of 20 t ha-1 to
an agricultural soil in two consecutive years significantly ameliorated soil
porosity and aggregated stability (Ferreras et al., 2006). The effects of vermicompost on
soil physio-chemical properties evaluated in tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. Super Beta) field (Azarmi et al.,
2008) showed that
application of vermicompost at rate of 15 t ha-1 significantly (P
< 0.05) increased contents of soil total organic carbon and nutrients,
decreased soil pH, improved bulk density, total porosity and electrical
conductivity in soil as compared to the control plots (without vermicompost).
Effect of vermicompost on soil properties, soil losses and soil restoration
showed positive result with decrease in soil loss (31.2% compared with
unamended soil) and increase in soil quality (Tejada et al.,
2009).
4.
Plant growth,
yield and fruit quality:
Vermicompost can induce plant growth and
increase yield when supplemented to the soil. Substitution of vermicompost
prepared from different sources into soilless nutritive medium Metro-mix 360 in
different ratios resulted in increased germination, flowering and growth of Petunia (Arancon et al., 2008). (Joshi and Vig, 2010) had studied the effect of vermicompost on growth, yield and
quality of tomato (Lycopersicum
esculentum L). They demonstrated growth, yield and quality parameters that increased
significantly in tomatoes grown in soil amended with vermicompost as compared
to soil without fortified with vermicompost.
Supplement of vermicompost in soil is
dose dependent for better yield of plant and soil properties. Increase in total
yield of tomato was found when using vermicompost dosage to cow manure of
500g/m2 that can be attributed to the improvement of soil quality
with application of vermicompost (Alidadi et al.,
2014). (Gutiérrez-Miceli et al., 2007) demonstrated that yields of tomatoes were significantly greater
when vermicompost:soil ratio was 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3, 100 days after transplanting.
There is sufficient scientific evidence
that humic acid fraction in vermicompost can trigger plant growth and increase
yield. Growth of tomato and cucumber seedlings in terms of plant heights, leaf
areas, shoot and root dry weights was observed with increasing concentrations
of humic acids (shows hormone like activity) derived from vermicompost and the
plant growth increased by treatments of the plants with 50–500 mg/kg humic
acids (Atiyeh et al.,
2002). (Arancon et al., 2003;
Arancon et al., 2006) observed the
growth of greenhouse plants (peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and marigolds)
with the substitution of humates by 250-1000 mg/kg. The structural analysis
revealed the presence of exchangeable auxin groups in the macrostructure of the
humic acid fraction of vermicompost which aid in the root growth and
development of maize (Zea mays)
seedlings with increase in H+-ATPase activity (Canellas et al.,
2002). Vermicompost
not only increase growth and yield but also improve nutritional quality of some
vegetables (Gutiérrez-Miceli et al., 2007), strawberries (Singh et al., 2008), lettuce (Coria-Cayupan
et al., 2009) and Chinese
cabbage (Wang et al., 2010).
Vermicompost fertilizers also increases
the essential oil content of aromatic plants (Argüello et al., 2006). Moreover, integrated use of
vermicompost and NPK fertilizer showed positive effect on essential oil content
in Foeniculum vulgare (Valiki et al., 2015). Application of 15 t/ha of vermicompost had the highest oil
content (57.1%) in F. vulgare over
control with no fertilizer (24.8%).
5.
Suppression of
plant diseases:
Vermicompost provides biological control
of plant diseases (bacterial and fungal); yet, data on plant disease inhibition
mediated by this organic use is scarce (Rivera and Wright, 2009). Presence of bacterial and
fungal load in vermicompost has been confirmed (Anastasi et al.,
2005). Suppressive
effect of vermicompost on some root infecting pathogens i.e., Phytophthora nicotianae var. nicotianae,
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici
of cabbage and tomato has been identified (Szczech et al. 1993). Vermicompost application is
dose-dependent, the highest level of root rot (a complex disease of Coleus forskohlii under involving Fusarium
chlamydosporum and Ralstonia
solanacearum) disease suppression (percent wilt incidence and percent
disease incidence; 73 % and 82 %, respectively), was found when using
vermicompost at the concentration of 5t h−1(Singh et al.,
2012). Also,
vermicompost has proven to be the best option in management of tomato bacterial
spot disease caused by Xanthomonas
campestris (Reddy et al.,
2012).
Control of fungal plant pathogen Rhizoctonia spp. and Sclerotium spp using vermicompost is
equally important (Ersahin et al.,
2009; Rivera et al.,
2013). Vermicompost
is enriched with beneficial bacteria and fungi (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes,
Verrucomicrobia, Actinmycetes, Aspergillus, Trichoderma and Firmicutes) which shows antagonistic
effect against various plant pathogens like Fusarium
species and protect plant health (Szczech, 1999; Yasir et al., 2009; Gopalakrishnan et al., 2011; Usha et al.,
2012). Severity of
infections of Phytopthora spp. in
plants was reduced with the application of vermicompost and vermicompost
extract (Szczech and Smolinska, 2001; Zaller, 2006). Use of aqueous extract of
vermicompost in control of powdery mildew (Erysiphe
cichoracearum) of pea was correlated with the induction of phenolic acids
and antifungal activity (Singh et al., 2003). Moreover, worm cast also
enhances the performance of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria against fungal
pathogens. Performance of Pseudomonas
syringae (PUR46) was enhanced in the presence of 25% (v/v) vermicompost and
reduced the mortality percent of collar rot of chickpea caused by Sclerotium rolfsii by 76% (Sahni et al., 2008). Biological management of common
scab of potato through Pseudomonas
spp. has also confirmed the enhancement of performance of beneficial bacteria
in the presence of vermicompost (Singhai et al.,
2011).
6.
Protection
against arthropod and nematode pests:
The ability of vermicompost to protect
plants against arthropod and nematode pests by suppressing, killing, repelling
or by inducing biological resistance in plants to fight against them have been
demonstrated. Significant decrease in arthropods (aphids, buds, mealy bug,
spider mite) number and following reduction in plant damage, in tomato, pepper
and cabbage trials was observed with 20% and 40% vermicompost supplementations (Edwards
and Arancon, 2004). Other
successful experimental trials against arthropods have been performed by many
researchers (Yardim et al., 2006; Arancon et al., 2007; Edwards et al., 2010a, 2010b).
Application of vermicompost also
regulates the diversity of nematode communities in the soil (Arancon et al., 2003). Soils from all of the
vermicompost treated plots contained smaller populations of plant parasitic
nematodes and increment in population of fungivorous and bacteriovorous
nematodes as compared to soil from inorganic fertilizer treated plots. Also,
vermicompost has been proven effective against infestation of nematode i.e. Meloidogyne incognita (Pandey and Kalra, 2010; Nath et al.,
2011).
VERMICOMPOSTING
RESEARCHES IN NEPAL
Although,
Nepal is an agricultural country, only few researches regarding vermicomposting
have been conducted so far. Assessment of fruit and vegetable waste at
wholesale markets in Nepal for vermicomposting showed greater potential for
vermicomposting (in terms of nutrient content) from leafy vegetables waste,
composite waste, leguminous vegetable waste and fruit waste, however, root
vegetables waste contained significantly lower N,P,K values (Devkota et al,
2014).
Feeding
materials for earthworms show pronounced effect in growth, reproduction and
quality of vermicompost. Effect of feeding materials (cow dung, cabbage, banana
stem, grasses and mixture of all in equal ratio) on yield and quality of
vermicompost and multiplication of Eisenia
fetida was conducted in sub-tropical environment of Nepal (Tripathi et
al, 2015). The result showed total N, P, K content significantly higher in
cow dung vermicompost (2.1%, 1.7%, 1.9%) followed by mixture, cabbage, grasses
and banana stem vermicomposts. Moreover, multiplication of worms was shown to
be highest in cow dung (3854 worms) followed by mixture, banana stem, grasses
and cabbage. In another study, elephant vermicompost showed significantly
higher phosphorus and potassium content (2.8475% and 3.7425%) as compared to
rhino dung, garbage and litter vermicomposts (Dhimal et al., 2013).
Solid wastes generated from Kathmandu Valley (Ayurveda industry, sugar mill,
wood mill, kitchen and vegetable and fruit market) was vermicomposted using Eisenia foetida and resulted
significantly higher N,P,K content and organic matter in Ayurveda industry
waste (woddy and non-boiled waste and boiled and non-woody wastes) but rapid
multiplication of worms was found in sugarcane bagasse (sugar mill) (Pant et
al., 2008). Utilization of different types of feeding material (Sericulture
waste, leaves of Populus deltoides and whole plant of Eupatorium adenophorum) for production
of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) biomass
through vermiculture was conducted (Patrabansh, 2002). Maximum no. of cocoon
and earthworm biomass was obtained in sericulture wastes (239±14 and 252.29%) and minimum in E. adenophorum plants (8±2.9 and
42.37%). However, feeding materials along with inoculation of beneficial
microbes also shows significant difference in earthworm population and NPK
content in the final vermicompost. Using Eisenia
foetida, sawdust + Rhizobium sp.
showed best for earthworm multiplication, Ageratina
adenophora + Trichoderma + Rhizobium showed highest potassium
content, Lantana camara + Trichoderma +
Rhizobium sp. showed highest phosphorus content and Lantana camara + Rhizobium sp. showed highest nitrogen content (Baral
et al., 2012).
Evaluation
of different vermisystems (bed, cement ring and bin systems) for recycling of
fruit and vegetable wastes in Bharatpur area of Chitwan was conducted (Shrestha
et al., 2014). The bin system was found superior in terms of production
of superior quality (nitrogen content significantly higher i.e., 2.5%) and
quantity (11.44kg/100kg of waste) of vermicompost along with significantly
higher earthworm density (5485 earthworms/m3), however, phosphorus
(1.9%) and potassium (1.8%) content was found to be significantly higher in
cement ring system.
Vermicompost
alone or integrated use of vermicompost and mineral fertilizers shows plant
growth promotional effect and yield. The application of vermicompost at
6.25mt/ha in the study area resulted in increment of height, diameter and yield
of cauliflower by 15.62%, 37.58% and 38.95%, respectively over farmyard manure
(Aryal et al., 2013). Furthermore, vermicompost produced highest vitamin
C content in cabbage (Brassica Oleraceae
L. var. Capitata) (80mg) as compared to chemical fertilizers (56mg) (Kafle et
al., 2011). Vermicompost sole (100%) and integration of vermicompost (50%)
and urea (50%) showed superiority in vegetative growth and fruit weight
(V100:91.14gm and V50+U50:82.96gm) of sweet pepper cv. California Wonder as
compared with NPK chemicals (74.26gm) (Ghimire et al., 2013). Moreover, recommended dose of NPK
(750gm:375gm:750gm)+50Kg vermicompost and 3/4 recommended dose of NPK+68.75kg
vermicompost were effective for improvement of leaf nutrient status of walnut (Juglans regia L.) (Bhattarai and Tomar,
2009).
The
integrated use of vermicompost and farmyard manure shows effect on growth and
yield of plants. Head weight (2.56kg/plant) and marketable yield (20.07kg/plot)
were found higher in the cabbage field where combination of farmyard manure and
vermicompost was applied (Bhattarai et al, 2011). Moreover, plant growth
(height: 16.27cm and no. of leaves: 11.3cm) and root yield (59.66gm) of carrot
(Daucus carota) were found best in
combination of vermicompost and farmyard manure (Bhattarai and Maharjan, 2013).
However, integrated use of vermicompost, farmyard manure and recommended dose
of NPK chemicals also shows plant growth promotional effect. Maximum plant
height and number of leaves per plant along with fruit yield of 25.74mt/ha were
observed in tomato (Lycopersicon
lycopersicum (L.)) plant with treatment of 16.66mt/ha farmyard
manure+8.33mt/ha vermicompost+NPK (100:80:60kg/ha) (KC and Bhattarai,
2011).
The use
of vermicompost along with inoculation of rhizospheric organisms shows
beneficiary response on growth of plants. Application of Azotobacter chroococcum + Piriformospora indica + vermicompost
showed significant increase in growth parameters (shoot length, root length,
fresh shoot and root weight, dry shoot and root weight and panicle number) of
rice plant (Prajapati et al., 2008). Moreover, integrated use of
vermicompost, bacterial and mineral fertilizers also shows significant effect
in yield of plants. Combined application of vermicompost, Rhizobium and mineral fertilizer had positive effect in yield of
vegetable green soybean (Bajracharya et al., 2007).
Vermicompost
provides biological control of plant and soil pathogens. Among 38 Actinomycetes
isolated from saw dust and husk containing vermicompost samples, four (VAH1,
VAH3, VAH8 and VAS9) of them belonged to Streptomyces
genus and were active against at least one of the tested phytopathogenic fungi
i.e., Fusarium oxysporum, F. moniliforme,
F. proliferatum, F. eridiforme, Sclerotium rolfsii, Stemphylium botryosum,
Candida albicans, Aspergillus spp. and Exoserohilum
turticum (Baniya and Vaidya, 2011).
CONCLUSION
Vermicompost has been shown to have
several positive impacts on soil, plant growth and health. In addition, it is
considered as a promising alternative to harmful chemical fertilizers and
pesticides in crop production. It is becoming popular as a major component of
organic agriculture to produce healthier foods and better option for management
of organic solid wastes. Exploration of potential species of earthworms in
vermiculture technology along with soil friendly microbes, use of different
high nutrient organic substances, efficient vermiculture system, dose specific
use of vermicompost, integrated use of vermicompost with other inorganic
fertilizers and research on earthworm-microbe interactions provide bright
future of vermicompost use in organic farming systems. To sum up, this article
opens the scope for further researches regarding vermicompost in sustainable
agriculture and provides the potential of vermicomposting in Nepal.
Acknowledgements
Authors
acknowledges the financial support given by Korean International Corporation
Agency (Academic Partnership Project for Advance Organic farming), Chonbuk
National University, South Korea for scientific support and Department of
Biotechnology, Kathmandu University, Nepal for laboratory facilities.
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