Earthworms and vermicomposting
The suitability or otherwise of different species of earthworms to ‘bioprocess’ different types of organic waste and the impact on plant growth of vermicasts produced in reactors fed with aquatic weeds or agrowaste are brought out.
Abstract
A review is presented summarizing the global state-of-the-art, including the gist of the studies conducted by the authors, on vermicomposting. Studies on the impact of vermicast on plant growth are also reviewed. The paper brings out the suitability or otherwise of different species of earthworms to ‘bioprocess’ different types of organic waste. The paper also presents the gist of the studies–which are surprisingly few and far between–on the impact on plant growth of vermicasts produced in reactors fed with aquatic weeds or agrowaste.