Waste management through Vermicompost intervention

Introduction: India with its varied agro climatic zones is amenable to grow a wide variety of food crops and horticultural products. These crops form a significant part of the total agricultural produce in the country comprising of cereals, pulses, cotton, fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, flowers, ornamental plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, condiments, plantation crops and mushroom. The agriculture sector in India contributes about 17 percent of country’s GDP and provides employment to approximately two third of the population. The Indian commodities are facing tough competition in the international market when it comes to quality, pesticide residues, varieties with more shelf life, packaging etc. This implies that Indian produce need to be more competitive to face the international competition which again demands the maintenance of quality standards throughout the value chain including good agricultural practices.   Horticulture plays a significant role in Indian Agriculture. It contributes 30% GDP from 11.73 % of its arable land area. India is the second largest producer of both fruits and vegetables in the world (52.85 Mt and 108.20 Mt respectively). Fruits and vegetables are of immense significance to man. However a considerable amount of fruits and vegetables produced in India is lost due to improper post-harvest operations; as a result there is a considerable gap between the gross production and net availability. Furthermore, only a small fraction of fruits and vegetables are utilized for processing (less than 1%) and exported (Fruits – 0.5% and Vegetables – 1.7%) compared to other countries. There is lack of basic as well as specialized infrastructure such as cold storages, refer vans, cool chains, ripening chambers etc. Also there is a missing link between production and research system and international consumers. Scenario of post harvest losses: Post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables are very high (20-40%). About 10-15% fresh fruits and vegetables shrivel and decay, lowering their market value and consumer acceptability. Minimizing these losses can increase their supply without bringing additional land under cultivation. Improper handling and storage cause physical damage due to tissue breakdown. Mechanical losses include bruising, cracking, cuts, microbial spoilage by fungi and bacteria, whereas physiological losses include changes in respiration, transpiration, pigments, organic acids and flavor. Recycling of fruit and agricultural waste is one of the most important means of utilizing it in a number of innovative ways yielding new products and meeting the requirements of essential products required in human, animal and plant nutrition as well as in the pharmaceutical industry.   Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. Concern over environment is being seen a massive increase in recycling globally which has grown to be an important part of modern civilization. The consumption habits of modern consumerist lifestyles are causing a huge global waste problem. Industrialization and economic growth has produced more amounts of waste, including hazardous and toxic wastes. There is a growing realization of the negative impacts that wastes have had on the local environment (air, water, land, human health etc.). Thus, Vermicomposting can play an important role in converting the post harvest waste from fruits and vegetables into vermicompost for economic utilization of the waste and further widening the scope for its recycling. Vermicomposting: Vermicomposting is simple low cost, low energy biotechnology of multiplying earthworms by providing them optimum conditions for rapid multiplication by feeding bio-degradable materials available in every household every villages, every town municipality in India. What wastes can be used for vermicomposting ? 1.    Wastes materials from livestock and poultry such as farm yard manure (FYM), poultry droppings and pig manure etc. 2.    Agriculture wastes (Straw, maize stalks, fruits and vegetables wastes and waste products from vegetables and fruits processing industries), weeds and plant debris. Steps involves in vermicomposting: a.    Selection of site: Site should be selected at higher elevation free from water stagnation, red ants and termites. b.    Collection of wastes and sorting: Collection of animal wastes and bio-decomposable waste from Agriculture, fruits and vegetable. Proper sorting of compostable and non compostable materials like plastics, stones, glass ceramic and metals are required. c.    Preliminary treatment of composting material: Separated compostable materials are chopped spread in a layer up to 1 feet, exposed to sun for a day or two after that spread or mixed with animal dung in a ratio of 3:1 and water it alternate days for 15 days to make the material soft, less bulky and readily acceptable to earthworm for vermicomposting. d.    Filling of the vermin beds/tanks: Fill the preliminary treated waste materials layer by layer in the bed/tank to its capacity. e.    Watering: Water management is most important criteria in vermicompost as worms required moisture for their survival. Too little water yields the worms and too much chases them away. Watering and monitoring of red ants in the unit should continue till harvest. Juvenile earthworms should appear by 30 days indicating a healthy sign. f.    Cover of feed substrate: This is required for reducing moisture loss and also to save worms from extra movement. Moist gunny bag helps in conservation of moisture. g.    Shade: A thatched roof shed preferably open from all sides should be erected in East-West direction length wise to protect the site from direct sun light. h.    Harvesting and storage: When the vermicompost are ready top layers appear somewhat dark brown granular as if used dry tea leaves have been spread over the layer. At this point watering should be stopped for 5-7 days. Compost should then be scrapped from top layers gently and left undisturbed for 6-24 hrs which will force the adult earthworm to move downward. The above material is further sieved to avoid any adult / coccons being removed, dry in shade for 12 hours and pack it at convenient size for storage.   Advantage in applying vermicompost: 1.    Vermicompost is rich in plant nutrients and provides almost all the essential elements. 2.    Encourage new shoots and leaves and promote plant growth. 3.    Improves soil structure, soil aeration, water holding capacity. 4.    Prevents nutrient losses and increases fertilizers use efficiency. 5.    Minimize pest and diseases incidence in crops. 6.    Does not have bad odor or side effect, free flowing, easy to handle and store. Method of application: 1.    Field crops: -Apply 1.5-3 t/ha one week before sowing or planting of the crops. It can also be top dress in standing crops as it is friable. 2.    Fruit crops: Apply 1-3 kg/ plant followed by light incorporation. 3.    Vegetable crops: Apply 40-60 gm/plant encircling the base of the plant or seedling followed by light incorporation. Conclusion: A huge amount of agricultural wastes are generated at every stage of the food supply chain such as harvesting, transportation, storage, marketing and processing. Due to their nature and composition, they deteriorate easily incurring huge expenditure in disposal but also cause foul smell resulting in adverse effect on human health, hygiene, and environment. Thus vermicomposting can be the answer not only for reducing the huge expenditure in disposal but also to effective manage vegetable and fruit wastes in producing nutrient rich compost for reuse in productive purpose and earn additional income. Optimum conditions required for vermicomposting: Conditions    Requirements Temperature    15-200 C (Limit 4 -300C) Moisture Content    30-40 % Oxygen requirement    Aerobic pH    5-9   Shri. Z. James Kikon SMS (Soil Science) ICAR, KVK Dimapur