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Vermicompost and Soil Quality

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Farming for Food and Water Security

Part of the book series: Sustainable Agriculture Reviews ((SARV,volume 10))

Abstract

Sustainability is a major issue for policy makers, researchers and extension workers worldwide. Achievement towards sustainable agriculture has not been satisfactory so far. Negative impacts of industrial agriculture are threa­t­ening biodiversity and biodiversity role in maintaining functional biosphere. Vermicomposting is a promising solution for the loss of biodiversity due to recycling of natural resources. Though almost all soil processes are regulated by soil microbes, the role of vermicompost in maintaining microbial diversity and soil functions is not fully understood. Here we review the major advances and benefits of vermicomposting. The major points are the following. Extracellular enzyme activity is increased upon application of vermicompost in soil. Initial enhancement of microbial growth is also observed and explained by the initial activation of the microbial enzymes and intracellular enzyme activity. Upon aging of vermicomposting the enzymatic activity decreases. Higher microbial population in vermin-cast is observed versus the surrounding soil. Major changes in bacterial and fungal communities are observed. Improvement in mineralization of nutrients is reported in most studies. Specifically, C and N mineralization is highly changed by the application of vermicompost. Enhancement of crop yields achieved on soil amended with vermicompost is explained by better mineralization of nutrients.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are to be given to many scientists who have contributed information and help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Agricultural Chemicals, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

    Supradip Saha

  2. Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata, India

    Debashis Dutta & Rajib Karmakar

  3. National Institute for Research on Jute and Allied Fibre Technology, Kolkata, India

    Deb Prasad Ray

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  1. Supradip Saha
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Correspondence to Supradip Saha .

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  1. INRA, UMR1347 Agroécologie, rue Sully 17, Dijon, 21000, France

    Eric Lichtfouse

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Saha, S., Dutta, D., Ray, D.P., Karmakar, R. (2012). Vermicompost and Soil Quality. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Farming for Food and Water Security. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4500-1_10

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