Development of a modified vermireactor for efficient vermicomposting: a laboratory study

Waste has become an index of growth. Utilization of waste materials for productivity purposes is important for both economic and environmental reasons. Vermicomposting is an important aspect as it converts waste to wealth. In this context, a modified vermireactor in place of the conventional vermireactor for efficient vermicomposting has been developed. In the conventional low- and high-rate vermireactors, the space for vermicomposting is reduced due to the thick layer of vermibed at the bottom of the reactor, thus a small amount of worm casts is produced. In the modified vermireactors there was only a thick moist cloth at the bottom in place of the thick vermibed which allowed a comparatively large quantity of organic waste to be vermicomposted as compared to conventional vermireactors. Laboratory studies showed that the modified vermireactor performed better than the conventional vermireactor in average vermicast produced and mg castings l(-1) (digester volume) day(-1). The study further showed that only the volume of the vermireactor was responsible for the high yield of worm casts. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.