Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Pollution Control Board has given permission to distilleries and breweries to use effluents in
vermicomposting as one of the means to curb groundwater pollution and pollution of other water
bodies in the vicinity.
An aromatic oil extraction unit near Bangalore city had a problem in disposal of flower and
plant wastes after extracting the oils using organic solvents. The quantity of organic wastes generated
was very high relative to the quantity of the oil extracted. The materials disposed in the dump sites
caused bad odors and were not properly decomposed, even after 1 year. Now, the unit has tested
the efficiency of earthworms at converting this material into vermicomposts. Encouraging results,
both in terms of composting time and the nutrient value of the recovered compost, have prompted
this unit to enter into much larger scale production. After achieving the success in the central unit
at the factory premises, it has decentralized the activity by providing the know-how to the farmers
of the neighboring villages. Now, farmers are collecting the organic wastes from this site and are
using them for producing vermicomposts to use in their fields. Thus, the factory has found the way
to shift the waste generated from their site of production for better cause.
A public sector machine tool factory has taken up the vermicomposting of sludges from a
domestic sewage plant. The agriculturists from the surrounding areas are not prepared to use the
sludge directly on the fields, and it is not used for the gardens in the factory. Instead, it is currently
heaped up near the treatment plant and wasted. Now, the factory is mixing other plant residues
from pruning with the sludge and converting the sludges successfully into vermicompost.
The competition and awareness of the potential of using organic wastes for vermicomposting
will maintain the cost of the wastes at reasonable levels to meet the needs of the users. For big
units, this is a means to dispose of the unwanted wastes. It also provides an additional income to
the units and creates job opportunity for the unemployed. The organic waste has turned into profits
with the use of earthworms in these units. A vegetable seed production and tissue culture division
in Bangalore produces organic wastes in the form of ripened rind of fruit after the seeds are
separated. Because they are producing a large number of plants by adopting tissue culture tech-
niques, from agar to cotton buds and paper, lots of organic waste is generated. The unsold seeds
after the expiration date have to be destroyed. This unit is now using these materials for vermi-
composting. As the nature of the waste generated is different kinds, vermicompost is produced
using different suitable combinations of these wastes.
DEVELOPMENT OF VERMICOMPOSTING TECHNOLOGY IN
RURAL AREAS
The green revolution in India encouraged the indiscriminate use of fertilizers to obtain two to three
crop yields per year using irrigation and pesticides. As a result, tropical soils, which are prone to
loss of nutrients and depletion of carbon levels, are becoming unproductive. There is concern about
sustaining productivity rather than enjoying the high, but short-lived, yields and financial returns.
High temperatures during most of the year and the unequal and unpredictable rainfall provide
much less scope for the activity of soil organisms. Only termites and ants can be active in such
situations. Moisture-sensitive organisms such as earthworms are active for only very short periods.
Low moisture contents in the rain-fed soil, regular plowing, little available organic matter in the
land, and heavy pesticide applications have further decreased their populations. All these factors
contribute to unawareness among farmers about biological processes in soil and the importance of
earthworms in the processes. The overall populations of soil organisms that contribute to the
formation of topsoil by fragmenting the organic material and mixing into the soil strata are declining.
The productivity status of the soil is showing the same downward trend. At this juncture, because
of a lack of availability of manure at the right time in required quantities, many farmers are looking
for different resources to build up the topsoil. It is essential to restore the carbon level in tropical
soils, in which the depletion of carbon takes place at a rapid rate.
