Biodegradation of water hyacinth, sugarcane bagasse and rice husk through vermicomposting

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management 2008 - Vol. 2, No.6  pp. 601 - 609

Biodegradation of water hyacinth, sugarcane bagasse and rice husk through vermicomposting

Vivek K. Saini, R.C. Sihag, R.C. Sharma, S.K. Gahlawat, R.K. Gupta   Email author(s)

Department of Zoology, K.M. Government College, Narwana – 126116, India. ' Department of Zoology and Aquaculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar – 125004, India. ' Department of Zoology, Meerut College, Meerut – 250002, India. ' Department of Zoology and Aquaculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar – 125004, India. ' Department of Zoology and Aquaculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar – 125004, India

Water hyacinth, sugarcane bagasse and rice husk are major bio-organic wastes causing severe environmental problems. For their biodegradation, Eisenia fetida was used as a vermicomposting worm in outdoor open field conditions. The above wastes were mixed separately with fresh cow dung in the ratio 1 : 5 (by weight). The mixtures were vermicomposted for 90 days in pits of size 2 × 0.5 × 0.6 m (l × b × d). The population and biomass of earthworms, and C:N ratios in the resultant vermicomposts were studied at the end of experiment.

 Keywords:        bio-remediation; vermicomposting; earthworms; Eisenia fetida; worm population; biomass; environment; water hyacinth; sugarcane bagasse; rice husk; biodegradation; solid waste management; bio-organic wastes.

DOI:      10.1504/IJEWM.2008.021863