Chemical and thermal changes during vermicomposting of different agricultural waste using Eisenia foetida

Abstract Transformation of organic waste through synergistic action of earthworm species is a sustainable tool for waste management. An experiment was conducted to prepared quality vermicompost using wheat straw, paddy straw, moong straw, presmud and buffalo dung at Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda, UP in 2023–24 and 2024–25. Vermicomposting was prepared using Eisenia foetida with five treatments i.e. V1: Buffalo dung (150 kg), V2: Pressmud + Buffalo dung (100 + 50 kg), V3: Moong straw + Buffalo dung (100 + 50 kg), V4: Paddy straw + Buffalo dung (100 + 50 kg) and V5: Wheat straw + Buffalo dung (100 + 50 kg). The results showed that 32–36% of raw material was reduced during the preparation of vermicompost from different raw materials. The highest recovery (%) was found in V1 (67.37) followed by V2 (66.62), V4 (65.77), V3 (65.70) and V5 (64.23). The maximum days are counted for the preparation of vermicompost in V5 (85 days) while lowest in V1 (64). The average changes in Total N was highest in V1 (280.87%) fallowed by V4, Total P (271.4%) in V2 followed by V3, Total K (243.18%) in V5 fallowed by V4, Total Fe (229.16%) in V3 followed by V4, Total Zn (63.915%) in V2 followed by V3, Total Mn (776.66%) in V4 followed by V5 and Total Cu (278.57) in V3 followed by V2 were recorded during chemical analysis.