Browsing by Author "Dhatt, Jasgeet Sofia"
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ThesisItem Restricted Biomanagement of sugarcane bagasse and paddy straw through vermicomposting and its use on growth of vegetable crops(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Dhatt, Jasgeet Sofia; Hundal, S.S.The ever-growing population and increasing urbanization has necessitated the need to produce large amount of food and resulted in intensive farming leading to accumulation of various crop wastes, thereby imposing stress on environment. The disposal of these wastes has become a mandatory issue for maintaining sustainable and pollution free environment. Thus, vermicomposting is an environmentally sound and economically viable technology to recycle these wastes for the production of organic fertilizer. The present study deals with the efficacy of Eisenia fetida in bioconversion of agricultural crop residues: sugarcane bagasse (SB) and paddy straw (PS) amended in farm yard manure in the ratio 1:1. The results revealed that the maximum weight gain of 46.42% and the shortest life cycle of 45 days was recorded in PS+SB+FYM. The longest life cycle of 56 days was observed in control and the maximum number of cocoons produced per worm and per day was observed in PS+SB+FYM (1.85 and 5.60 respectively). The duration of conversion of substrate into vermicompost was recorded maximum in sugarcane bagasse (SB) of 80 days as compared to control. The nutrient analysis of the vermicompost showed a general trend in increase in the level of macronutrients i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (%) and decrease in the level of pH and total organic carbon content (%). It was inferred that among the test substrates studied, vermicompost from paddy straw+sugarcane bagasse+FYM (PS+SB+FYM) in 1:1 ratio was the best for its nutrient value and worms showed better growth and reproduction, thereby concluding that E.fetida exhibited a better efficacy in this substrate than others. Vegetable crops viz. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) and Indian palak (Beta vulgaris. var. bengalensis) were grown in soil amended with vermicompost in 1:1 ratio in the earthen pots. Growth, yield and quality attributes were analyzed using Randomized Block Design (RBD). It was inferred that the vermicompost prepared from test substrate paddy straw and sugarcane bagasse (PS+SB) i.e. treatment T5 revealed beneficial outcomes with improved quality of both the crops. In conclusion, vermicomposting can be regarded as ecofriendly and economical technology to convert agricultural crop wastes into value added manure for sustainable farming.