Vermicomposting of industrial tea waste using the earthworm Eisenia fetida (savigny)

Abstract

Earthworms have been used in the vermiconversion of urban, industrial and agro-industrial wastes to produced biofertilizers. The objectives of this work were investigating the potential of industrial Tea waste, Cow Dung and Kitchen wastes are mixed and using earthworm E. fetida. There are four treatments containing T1-control 100% soil; T2-TW 40%+CD20%+KW 40%; T3- TW 50%+CD 10%+KW 40%; T4- TW 60%+CD10%+KW 30% in different ratio under the laboratory conditions. The maximum growth and reproduction was obtained TW 60% +CD 10%+KW 30% in T4 treatment and minimum in T1 treatment. In all the four treatments (T1-T4) are decreases in pH, OC and C: N ratio but increase in N, P and K compared and were recorded at end of the experiments. Comparatively T4 treatment showed great increases in N, P and K than the other treatment T3, T2 and T1. The present study that clearly indicates TW could be potentially useful as raw substrate in vermicomposting of mixed with kitchen waste and cowdung.