Research Journal of Chemical Sciences ______________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.Sci. International Science Congress Association 49 Vermicomposting of Vegetable Wastes Amended With Cattle Manure Khwairakpam Meena and Kalamdhad Ajay S.Department of Civil Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, INDIADepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in (Received 30th August 2011, revised 12th September 2011, accepted 22nd September 2011)Abstract Three different earthworm species Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae and Perionyx excavatus in individual (Monocultures) and combinations (Polycultures) were utilized to compare the suitability of worm species for vermicomposting of vegetable waste amended with cattle manure. Eight different reactors including three monocultures and four polycultures of Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae and Perionyx excavatus and one control were used for the experiment. Compost stability studies revealed that compost from monoculture reactors became very stable with final oxygen uptake rate and CO evolution of 2.60-1.53 mg/g volatile solids (VS)/day, 1.38-1.88 mg/g VS/day respectively. However, the compost obtained from the polyculture reactors attained maturity faster than the monoculture reactors as confirmed by the oxygen uptake rate results, with a reduction of 70 to 80%. The results show that vegetable waste amended with cattle manure produced high quality stable compost free from pathogens but the waste is not ideal for the growth and reproduction of earthworms. Keywords: vermicomposting; Eisenia fetida; Eudrilus eugeniae; Perionyx excavates; vegetable waste. IntroductionFor the past decades, the environmental pollution problems originated from municipal solid waste (MSW) call for more sustainable waste management systems. As shown in table 1 vegetable waste comprises as major portion of the Indian MSW. The vegetable waste in MSW is mainly contributed by waste from vegetable markets, restaurants, canteens and household kitchens. All cities, towns, districts have major vegetable markets producing significant amount of this waste. At present, the collection, transportation and disposal of this waste is a big problem. The organic kitchen waste produced, form a major component of organic waste that end up in landfill sites or disposed off into roadsides and waterways in many developing countries. All these valuable organic wastes need to be fully utilized by vermicomposting before final disposal at the landfills. Owing to its high organic content and moisture content it can be looked upon as a very useful and promising feedstock for vermicomposting. The main problems encountered with kitchen waste composting are its high moisture content, need of bulking substrate and constituents unacceptable for worms. Vermicomposting has been identified as one of the potential activities in managing MSW since it is a natural process, cost effective and only shorter duration needed to accomplish. Vermicompost in recent years has gained importance because of its higher nutrient value such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium etc. Most vermicomposting experiments have used epigeic earthworm species because they possess higher composting potential. The introduction of foreign species has been justified by a few scientists2, 3 though it is extremely unnecessary and undesirable to tamper with local biodiversity. Native species of earthworms are well-adapted to local conditions. Hence choosing local or native species is a first pre-requisite for launching a vermicomposting programme. Table - 1 Typical MSW components from Indian cities Waste components Percentage amount Vegetable, fruit and animal matter 27.0 Dry grass and leaves 5.6 Paper and paper products 10.9 Plastic materials 5.4 Leather, foam and human hair 3.7 Cotton, jute and burlap 6.1 Rubber including cycle and auto tyres 2.9 Metals (tin, iron and aluminium) 2.0 Concrete, pebbles, earth, sands and dust 25.0 Ash and coal 9.0 Wood 0.4 Glass and ceramics 2.0 Total 100.0 Therefore, vermicomposting of vegetable waste was carried out amended with cattle manure and blended with saw dust. And keeping in view about the use of local species of earthworm, the present study was carried out using two exotic species (Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae) and one local species (Perionyx excavatus). Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 50 Material and methodsThree composting species of earthworms two exotic (Eisenia fetida and Eudrilus eugeniae) and one indigenous (Perionyx excavatus) were chosen for the experiment. In the present study exotic earthworms E. fetida and E. eugeniae were cultured in the laboratory and were randomly picked for experimentation. The indigenous species, . excavatus was collected from the drainage area in Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee campus by hand sorting method. The species were identified at National Zoological Survey of India, Solan, India, before culturing in the field laboratory. Vegetable waste was procured from the hostels of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. After size reduction of fresh vegetable waste to 1-2 cm, it was kept in shade for 2-3 weeks before using for the vermicomposting process. The partially degraded vegetable waste (0.85 kg) was then blended with saw dust (0.1 kg) and cattle manure (0.25 kg) to improve the C/N ratio. The obtained vegetable waste mixture (VWM) is used as the raw material for the vermicomposting process. The main characteristics of VWM are: pH, 8.47±0.2; electrical conductivity (EC), 0.24±0.05 S/m; ash content, 23 ±0.3 %; total organic content (TOC), 1.61±0.2%; total nitrogen (TN), 1.74±0.11%; total phosphorous (TP), 6.09±0.1 g/kg; C/N, 25.70±1.5; sodium (Na), 0.6±0.05%; potassium (K), 1.60±0.5%; calcium (Ca), 3.02±0.75%. The experiments were conducted in triplicate, in perforated cylindrical plastic containers of capacity 6 L. The containers were kept in temperature controlled experimentation room of 25±1C which is the optimum temperature range for all the three species. Bedding (10 cm) was kept in all the containers using old vermicompost. Approximately 50 g (~100-120 in numbers) of earthworms, having both clitellated and juvenile, were inoculated in the bedding for acclimatization of the earthworms to the new environment for 15-20 days then VWM was added the next day. Eight different reactors including three monocultures and four polycultures of E. fetida, E. eugeniae and . excavatus and one control were used for the experiment which are: i) E. fetida (R), ii) E. eugeniae (R), iii) . excavatus (R), iv) E. fetida + E. eugeniae (R), v) E. fetida + E. eugeniae + . excavatus (R), vi) E. eugeniae + . excavatus (R), vii) E. fetida + . excavatus(R), viii) Control (R). The polycultures were prepared using the earthworm species in equal proportions and one control (without any worms) was kept for degradation. Initial substrate (1.2 kg, VWM) was added to each of the reactors. The quantity of VWM was decided based on the findings that the earthworms can consume the material half their body weight per day under favorable conditions. The moisture level was maintained about 50-60% throughout the study period by periodic sprinkling of adequate quantity of tap (potable) water. To prevent moisture loss, the reactors were covered with gunny bags. Homogenized wet samples (free from earthworms, hatchlings and cocoons; 110 g) were taken out at zero day and 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting period. The zero day refers to the sample taken out before earthworm inoculation. Triplicate samples were collected and stored at C for stability parameters i.e. oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and CO evolution bacterial population (1:10 w/v waste:water extract) including total coliforms (TC), fecal streptococci (FS) and fecal coliforms (FC) was measured by multiple fermentation method using lactose broth. Sub-samples were air dried, ground to pass to 0.2-mm sieve and stored for further analysis. Each sub-sample was analyzed for the following parameters: pH and (EC) (1:10 w/v waste:water extract), ash content (550C for 2 h) (loss on ignition), TN using Kjeldahl method, ammonical nitrogen (NH-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO-N) using KCL extraction10, TOC determined by Shimadzu (TOC-VCSN) Solid Sample Module (SSM-5000A), TP by acid digestion using stannous chloride method, K, Ca and Na by acid digestion using Flame Photometer. In addition earthworm growth related parameters like earthworm biomass; and total mortality were measured at the end of the vermicomposting process. All results reported are the means of three replicate. The results were statistically analyzed at 0.05 levels using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s HSD test was used as a post-hoc analysis to compare the means (SPSS Package, Version 16). Results and Discussion pH: The changes in pH from the initial alkaline (8.47) to a more neutral condition was observed for all the reactors as shown in table 2. pH reduced in all the reactors during the vermicomposting period. The maximum pH reduction was for R followed by R, R, R, R, R, R and R respectively. The decrease in pH was caused by the volatilization of ammonical nitrogen and H+ released due to microbial nitrification process by nitrifying bacteria11. The great reduction in pH level for monoculture reactors (R, R) and polyculture reactors (R, R) suggests the greater mineralization rate in it. Other researchers12 have shown higher reduction in pH in the polyculture reactors. On analyzing the results by ANOVA, the pH value varied significantly (P0.05) on 15th, 30th and 45th days of vermicomposting period. Electrical conductivity (EC): Increment in EC was observed for all the reactors on 15th day of the composting. With the increase in time EC was observed to be reduced on 30th and 45th day of composting as shown in table 2. The increase in EC might have been due to release of different mineral salts in available forms. As the composting process further progressed the available salts were converted into insoluble salts which may be the reason for the reduction of EC at the latter stage. There was no significant variation (P&#x-5.7;ä”´0.05) on 15th day of sampling for all the reactors. But as composting progressed, significant variation (P0.05) was observed for all the reactors on 30th and 45th days of sampling as per ANOVA. Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 51 Table - 2Variation in pH and EC during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorspH EC (S/m) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days 7.84±0.15a 7.65±0.1a 7.32±0.1a 0.31±0.09a 0.27±0.09ac 0.17±0.08a 7.93±0.1a 7.67±0.1a 7.52±0.1ab 0.38±0.09a 0.21±0.06ad 0.13±0.08ab 8.28±0.2a 8.03±0.2ab 7.64±0.1bcd 0.41±0.1a 0.29±0.07abc 0.19±0.08ab 8.12±0.2a 7.91±0.15ab 7.60±0.1bc 0.25±0.1a 0.14±0.05bd 0.11±0.09ab 8.06±0.1a 7.88±0.1ab 7.62±0.1bcd 0.34±0.1a 0.28±0.04d 0.18±0.08a 8.28±0.15a 8.10±0.1b 7.88±0.1cd 0.33±0.1a 0.21±0.05bd 0.16±0.08ab 8.22±0.2a 8.01±0.2ab 7.82±0.1bcd 0.36±0.1a 0.26±0.05c 0.14±0.08a 8.28±0.1a 8.13±0.1b 7.94±0.2d 0.48±0.1a 0.39±0.09d 0.32±0.1b Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different Table - 3Variation in ash content and TOC during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorsAsh content (%) TOC (%) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days 25.2±1.4a 31.4±2.4ah 36.0±2.4ah 44.8±3.8a 41.1±3.8a 38.4±2.5ah 38.0±1.5b 42.1±2.4bc 50.2±3.5bd 37.2±2.8bfd 34.8±2.7b 29.8±1.4bd 39.8±1.4c 41.6±2.4c 62.4±3.4c 36.1±2.9b 35.0±2.9ab 22.5±1.5c 33.4±1.3def 34.0±1.5dg 51.8±3.5d 39.9±3cfgde 39.6±2.8ab 28.8±2.3dg 34.0±1.6e 36.1±1.9ef 45.2±3.0e 39.6±3.5fde 38.4±2.2ab 32.8±2.3e 34.0±1.3fe 36.0±1.8f 69.0±3.8f 39.6±3de 38.4±2.6ab 18.6±1.5f 32.0±1.3g 34.2±1.6d 52.8±3.6gd 40.8±3.9e 39.6±2.7a 28.3±2.4g 30.1±1.3h 32.0±1.3h 33.9±2.4h 42.0±4e 40.8±3.8a 39.6±2.7h Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different Ash Content: The ash content increased till the last day of observation in all the reactors with similar trend. The increment in ash content for monoculture reactors were 1.6 (R), 2.2 (R) and 2.7 (R) folds while in polyculture reactors 2.2 (R), 1.9 (R), 3 (R) and 2.3 (R) folds were observed as shown in table 3. Similar results were observed for the substrate filter mud. Minimum increment was observed in control reactor with 1.5 (R) fold while maximum increment was observed in polyculture reactor R (3 fold). Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th days of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Total organic carbon (TOC): Table 3 shows the TOC losses amount to 16.66 (R), 35.32 (R) and 51.16% (R) for monoculture reactors, 37.51 (R), 28.83 (R), 59.74 (R) and 38.78% (R) for polyculture reactors and 14.15% (R) for control respectively. Maximum reduction was observed in R(59.74%) which indicates a high organic matter mineralization when compared to other reactors. The observed results are supported by those of other researchers13,14 who have reported 20-45% and 40-50% reduction of TOC as CO during vermicomposting of municipal or industrial wastes and filter mud respectively. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Nitrogen dynamics: Total nitrogen (TN) was 1.61% before composting and increased by 1.4 (R), 1.8 (R) and 1.6 (R) folds in monoculture and 1.9 (R), 2.0 (R), 1.4 (R) and 2.1 (R) folds for polyculture reactors, respectively. Earthworm activity enriches the nitrogen profile of vermicompost through microbial mediated nitrogen transformation, through addition of mucus and nitrogenous wastes secreted by earthworms. Decrease in pH may be an important factor in nitrogen retention as N is lost as volatile ammonia at high pH values. The maximum increment was observed in R and minimum was observed in R with 1.1 fold. Other researchers12, 15 have also observed similar nitrogen profile during the vermicomposting process. NH-N showed a declining trend and correspondingly an increase in NO-N was also observed which clearly indicated the nitrification of the feedstock as depicted in table 4 and 5. Decrease in NHN occurred which corresponded with an increase in NO-N at the end of the vermicomposting process. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA for TN, NHN and NO-N respectively. Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 52 Table - 4Variation in TN and NH-N during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorsTN (%) NH 4 -N (%) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days R 1 1.906±0.22a 2.07±0.41ac 2.52±0.52ac 0.28±0.03a 0.24±0.03ac 0.14±0.01a R 2 2.06±0.18a 2.51±0.32ac 3.19±0.38ab 0.39±0.02b 0.38±0.02b 0.37±0.03b R 3 1.80±0.21a 2.63±0.28ab 2.79±0.33abc 0.40±0.02b 0.35±0.03bc 0.31±0.02bc R 4 1.76±0.19a 2.72±0.33ab 3.27±0.42ab 0.40±0.02b 0.38±0.02b 0.36±0.02b R 5 1.78±0.21a 3.46±0.29b 3.58±0.39b 0.39±0.03b 0.38±0.04b 0.37±0.04b R 6 2.10±0.22a 2.36±0.26ac 2.48±0.33ac 0.27±0.03a 0.21±0.01a 0.12±0.01a R 7 1.89±0.11a 2.74±0.23ab 3.71±0.32b 0.2±0.03c 0.17±0.04a 0.10±0.01a R 8 1.77±0.12a 1.82±0.31c 1.86±0.22c 0.32±0.01a 0.29±0.02c 0.25±0.02c Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different Table – 5 Variation in NO-N and TP during vermicomposting of vegetable wasteReactorsNO 3 -N (%) TP (g/kg) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days R 1 nil 0.05±0.01a 0.09±0.03a 4.78±0.52a 7.88±0.71a 11.55±0.92a R 2 0.15±0.01b 0.20±0.05bc 0.21±0.03abc 4.06±0.58b 6.95±0.62b 9.09±0.78bd R 3 0.09±0.01cd 0.12±0.03ab 0.23±0.05abc 3.87±0.31b 6.02±0.58d 8.24±0.73b R 4 0.13±0.03bc 0.18±0.03bc 0.25±0.06bc 4.19±0.49b 7.57±0.63ab 10.89±0.82a R 5 0.15±0.04bc 0.23±0.05c 0.30±0.05c 4.36±0.41ab 7.83±0.69a 10.81±0.89ad R 6 0.07±0.01d 0.11±0.04ab 0.21±0.07abc 3.87±0.32b 6.98±0.66b 9.14±0.83bd R 7 0.04±0.01d 0.15±0.02bc 0.23±0.06abc 4.01±0.41b 6.72±0.63bd 9.78±0.82d R 8 nil 0.05±0.01a 0.11±0.03ab 2.84±0.22c 3.28±0.31c 4.18±0.42c Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different Total phosphorous (TP): The amount of TP increased gradually with increase in composting period because of the gradual mineralization of organic matter as shown in table 4. TP increased by 5.2 (R), 4.1 (R), 3.7 (R) folds for monoculture reactors while the increment was 4.9 (R), 4.9 (R), 4.1 (R) and 4.4 (R) folds for polyculture reactors. The minimum increment was observed in control (R) with just 1.9 fold increase. The result obtained has much lower increment in TP as compared with other studies by researcher16. The earthworm affects phosphorus mineralization in wastes if reared for long periods in it17. In the present study, vermicomposting was done only for 45 days whereas in other studies it was done for 105 days. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. C/N ratio: Variation in C/N ratio is given in figure 1. If the C/N ratio of compost is more, the excess carbon tends to utilize nitrogen in the soil to build cell protoplasm. This results in loss of nitrogen of the soil and is known as robbing of nitrogen from the soil. On the other hand if C/N ratio is too low the resultant product does not help improve the structure of the soil. It is hence desirable to control the process so that the final C/N ratio is less than or equal to 2018, 19. The reduction of organic C as CO and total N increase has led to a decreasing trend in C/N ratio with increase in composting time. C/N ratio reduced by 42.62 (R), 64.73 (R) and 69.59% (R) for monoculture reactors while for the polyculture reactors the reduction was 66.76 (R), 65.44 (R), 71.78 (R) and 71.29% (R) respectively. The maximum reduction was observed in R6 of the polyculture and minimum in control (R) with 19.69%. Significant variation (P 0.05) was observed on 15th, 30thand 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Other nutrients (K, Na, Ca and Fe): Nutrients i.e. K, Na, Ca and Fe increased with the composting time for all the reactors. Potassium increased by 1.25 (R), 1.82 (R) and 1.92 (R) folds for monocultures and 1.9 (R), 2.2 (R), 1.9 (R) and 2.2 (R) folds for polyculture reactors respectively as shown in table 6 and 7. Significant variation (P 0.05) was observed only on 30th and 45th days of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Sodium increased by 0.8 (R), 2.5 (R) and 2.8 (R) folds for monoculture reactors and 3.4 (R), 3.6 (R), 2.5 (R) and 1.5 (R) folds for polyculture reactors. Significant variation (P 0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th days of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Calcium increased by 3.38 (R), 1.9 (R) and 2.0 (R) folds for monocultures and 3.9 (R), 2.1 (R), 2.3 (R) and 2.9 (R) folds for polyculture reactors respectively. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th days of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Iron increased by 86.42 (R), 52.5 (R) and 50% (R) in monoculture reactors and 50 (R), 67.79 (R), 52.5 (R) and 51.28% (R) for polyculture reactors. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 53 Figure - 1Variation in C/N ratio during vermicomposting Table - 6 Variation in K and Na during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorsK (%) Na (%) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days 11.22±1.34a 12.11±1.37a 13.72±1.72a 1.33±0.11a 1.58±0.12a 2.08±0.22a 11.62±1.45a 15.68±2.42ab 20.02±3.77ab 2.20±0.22b 2.63±0.22b 3.24±0.33bf 12.50±1.67a 16.84±2.71ab 21.12±3.56ab 3.30±0.32d 3.46±0.33c 3.58±0.33c 14.40±1.88a 18.60±2.93ab 21.70±4.81ab 2.60±0.22bd 2.71±0.22d 4.46±0.44d 15.24±2.1a 19.40±3.13b 24.40±4.17b 4.50±0.43c 4.62±0.43e 4.70±0.44e 11.80±1.5a 16.51±1.89ab 21.72±2.28ab 2.84±0.23ed 3.04±0.33f 3.28±0.33f 13.56±2.31a 17.66±1.97ab 24.22±2.86b 1.79±0.12ab 1.86±0.11g 1.97±0.12g 11.46±1.32a 12.86±1.56ab 13.52±1.28a 1.37±0.12a 1.41±0.11h 1.44±0.11h Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly differentTable - 7 Variation in Ca and Fe during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorsCa (%) Fe (%) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days 0.93±0.08ac 1.69±0.42ab 2.61±0.65ab 0.031±0.001a 0.077±0.003a 0.140±0.01a 0.89±0.06ac 1.02±0.21a 1.51±0.23a 0.025±0.001b 0.037±0.002b 0.042±0.003b 0.95±0.10ac 1.08±0.18a 1.60±0.54a 0.020±0.001cd 0.031±0.001cef 0.038±0.001b 1.33±0.31a 1.69±0.51ab 3.06±0.86b 0.021±0.001cd 0.025±0.001dg 0.037±0.001b 1.15±0.23acb 1.19±0.13ab 1.68±0.19ab 0.021±0.001cd 0.031±0.002ef 0.059±0.007c 1.43±0.12b 1.61±0.17ab 1.84±0.13ab 0.022±0.001c 0.031±0.002f 0.040±0.001b 1.55±0.17b 1.88±0.19b 2.30±0.74ab 0.020±0.001cd 0.025±0.002g 0.039±0.001b 0.86±0.02c 1.02±0.15a 1.33±0.12a 0.019±0.001d 0.020±0.001h 0.017±0.001d Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different 1216202428R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8C/N ratioVermireactors 15 days 30 days 45 days Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 54 Coliforms: Coliforms reduced for all the reactors as the composting time increased. Total coliform reduced by 2 log (R, R), 3 log (R) in monocultures and 3 log reduction in all the polyculture reactors as shown in table 8. The reduction in control was comparatively very less that is 1 log reduction. Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Fecal streptococci reduced by 4 log for monoculture reactors (R, R, R) and polyculture reactors (R, R, R, R), while only 2 log reduction was observed in the control (R). Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Fecal coliform reduced by 2 log for monoculture reactors (R, R, R) and 2 log (R, R), 3 log (R, R) for polyculture reactors respectively (table 6). Significant variation (P0.05) was observed on 15th, 30th and 45th day of composting for all the reactors as per ANOVA. Growth and reproduction of earthworms: The changes in worm biomass for all reactors with mono as well as polycultures over the experimentation period are illustrated in table 9. In monocultures the increase in biomass was 26 and 4% for R and R, but there was no change in biomass for R. In polyculture reactors the percentage increase in earthworm biomass was 36, 29, 14 and 4 (R, R, R, R) respectively. The lower reproduction of earthworms as compared to previous study may be due to addition of higher proportion of earthworms to the substrate. In the present study, as substrate was consumed, the earthworm castings may have become dominant and would likely not have supported the growth of the earthworms. Oxygen uptake rate (OUR): Oxygen uptake rate was observed to reduce for the reactors with monocultures by 66.88, 73.14 and 74.79% (R, R, R) where as the percentage reduction for the reactors with polycultures was observed to be 72.81, 70.67, 75.94 and 80.06% (R, R, R, ) as shown in figure 2. A low decrease (20-32%) was observed in the initial 15- 30 days for all the reactors however, a higher decrease was observed in the last 30-45 days for R with 65.02%. The compost obtained from the polyculture reactors attained maturity faster than the monoculture reactors as confirmed by the OUR results. Similar results were also observed in other studies13. On analyzing the results by ANOVA, decrease in OUR varied significantly (P0.05) for all the reactors on 30th and 45th day sampling however, no significant difference was observed for the sample on 15th day. Table - 8 Variation in FS and FC during vermicomposting of vegetable waste ReactorsCa (%) Fe (%) 15 days 30 days 45 days 15 days 30 days 45 days 2.3×10 5 ±822a 9.3×10 4 ±541a 230±32a 9.3×10 4 ±402ae 9.3×10 3 ±181a 7.5×10 3 ±154a 8.0×10 4 ±618b 2.3×10 3 ±132b 230±29a 4.3×10 5 ±615c 2.3×10 4 ±312bf 2.3×10 3 ±108bc 9.3×10 4 ±721c 2.3×10 4 ±528cde 750±43b 7.5×10 4 ±351b 2.3×10 4 ±358bf 2.3×10 3 ±93c 4.3×10 5 ±791d 2.3×10 4 ±433de 230±36a 7.5×10 5 ±613d 4.3×10 5 ±673c 9.3×10 3 ±162dg 2.3×10 5 ±784a 2.3×10 4 ±480e 750±54b 7.5×10 4 ±265b 4.3×10 4 ±360d 230±36e 2.3×10 5 ±802a 7.5×10 3 ±356f 430±34ab 9.3×10 4 ±356e 7.5×10 4 ±449e 930±34f 2.3×10 4 ±511e 4.2×10 3 ±243g 750±47b 2.3×10 5 ±661fg 2.3×10 4 ±323f 9.3×10 3 ±145g 9.3×10 5 ±812f 7.5×10 4 ±531h 2.3×10 4 ±422c 2.3×10 5 ±688g 9.3×10 4 ±444g 7.5×10 4 ±232h Values followed by the same letter within each column are not significantly different Table - 9 Live biomass production during vermicomposting of vegetable waste Vermireactor Mean weight of Earthworms (g) Live biomass (% change) Cocoons/worm/day No. of Juveniles hatched/100g Initial Final 50 63 26 0.01 2 50 52 4 0.25 11 50 50 0 0.02 3 50 68 36 0.01 2 50 60 29 0.01 5 50 57 14 0.01 0 50 52 4 0.01 0 Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 55 Figure – 2 Variation in OUR during vermicomposting Figure - 3Variation in CO evolution during vermicomposting R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8OUR (mg/g VS/day)Vermireactors 15 day 30 day 45 day R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8COevolution (mg/g VS/day)Vermireactors 15 day 30 day 45 day Research Journal of Chemical Sciences __________________________________________________________ ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 1(8), 49-56, Nov. (2011) Res.J.Chem.SciInternational Science Congress Association 56 CO evolution: Carbon dioxide evolution rates was observed to reduce for the reactors with monocultures with 68.02, 76.36 and 76.53% (R, R, R) where as the percentage reduction for the reactors with polycultures was observed to be 74.82, 73.63, 80.95 and 75.34% (R, R, R, R) as shown in figure 3. ANOVA results showed significant variation (P0.05) in CO evolution among reactors. The greatest decrease in CO evolution (80.95%) was observed in R after 45 days of composting period. The highest decrease in rate of respiration activity occurred during between 30-45 days for . ConclusionsThe results obtained prove the potential of vermitechnology for degradation of vegetable waste amended with cattle manure. The earthworms have enriched the end product with high nitrogen profile as confirmed by many fold increases in TN. Many fold increases in other essential plant nutrients i.e. TP, K, Na, Ca and Fe were also observed in the end product. On the other hand reduction in coliforms (TC, FS, and FC), C/N ratio and CO evolution confirms that vegetable waste amended with cattle manure produced high quality stable compost free from pathogens. However, lower number of cocoons and hatchlings may be due to addition of higher number of earthworms. Hence, separate culture pits will be required to start and make up the loss in between if any. 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