“Organic Vermicompost- An effective way of fertilizing the soil”
Introduction
One of the most objectives of each organic rancher is to construct long-term soil richness and tilth by feeding the soil with a variety of common improvements. The regular addition of compost is one of the most excellent ways to improve the soil’s natural and humus substance, which helps to build a rich soil structure. This soil structure makes better utilization of water and nutrients. It is easier to till and, overall, is better able to achieve ideal yields on a long-term basis.
Since compost has already deteriorated, its impacts are much more long-lasting than crop residues and green or animal excrements that quickly degrade when added to the soil. Composting also gives ranchers a way to reuse excrements and plant residues that otherwise might show some environmental issues.
What is Vermicompost?
Vermicompost is the product or process of composting utilizing different worms, usually ruddy wigglers, white worms, and other worms, to form a heterogeneous blend of breaking down vegetables or nourishment squander, bedding materials, and vermicast, which are too called worm castings, worm humus or worm excrement. It is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by a nightcrawler. These castings have been appeared to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of supplements than do organic materials before vermicomposting.
Benefits of Vermicompost
Soil
- Improves soil aeration
- Enriches soil with micro-organisms
- Microbial action in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and natural matter that the worm ingests
- Attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present within the soil
- Improves water holding capacity
- The castings are rich in humic acids, which condition the soil and help to adjust pH
- Improves nutrient reusing
Plant Growth
- Improves germination,
- Plant development, and
- Crop yield
- Improves root growth and structure
- Enriches soil with micro-organisms
- Finished vermicompost can be blended directly into the soil as a soil amendment, as plant medium, or utilized to make compost tea.
Nutrients
- Provides plants with basic supplements and helps in the suppression of plant diseases.
- Worm castings contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus, and 11 times more potassium than conventional soil, the most minerals required for plant growth.
Objective of Vermicomposting
The most objective of vermicomposting is to produce natural excrement of exceptional quality for the naturally starved soil. Agrarian wastes, squander from dairy, and animal ranches are usually dumped into places resulting in a foul mess. By vermicomposting these wastes, they are not only utilized productively but also offer assistance in making a value-added product.
Earthworms Secret
Worms feed on the rotting natural matter and survive in soil. Amid digestion within the alimentary canal, all the natural waste gets transformed into natural fertilizer. The pH is neutral and it is an odorless organic matter. After digestion, the undigested food is excreted. There’s a thin oily layer on the excreted fabric or casting which takes as much as two months to erode. In other words, the castings that are wealthy in plant supplements are made accessible gradually since they are discharged gradually into the soil. Thus, they last longer. These castings too contain organisms and subsequently the process of decomposition proceeds through microbial action outside the body of the nightcrawlers.