Influence of vermicomposting methods and season on the biodegradation of organic wastes

An experiment was conducted during 1997-98 to study the effect of vermicomposting and season on the biodegradation of organic wastes. Organic wastes chiefly comprising agricultural wastes were effectively degraded using earthworms in field pits (10 m x 1 m x 0.3-0.6 m) followed by composting in above ground brick columns (3 m x 1m x 0.5-1.0 m) and ground heaps (5 m x 1 m x 0.5-1.0 m), as indicated by higher worm biomass (41-42 worms/sample unit) in pits, 29-36 in brick columns and 1-23 in ground heaps. The cocoon numbers and vermicompost produced were also higher (5.1-5.8 and 12.0-12.4 kg) in pits compared with those in columns (3.5 and 7.3-8.0) and ground heaps (1.8-3.1 and 5.5 kg) Biodegradation was quite efficient during rainy and winter compostings as compared to summer composting. This is indicated by higher vermicompost production (8.9 and 9.7 kg in rainy and winter compostings) and lower amount of undegraded wastes (914, 1 225 g) than summer composting (6.0 kg and 212 g of vermicompost and undegraded waste respectively.