Study on efficient utilization of different livestock wastes
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Date
2019-07
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G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
India has the largest livestock populations in the world (13% of total global livestock population). In India, millions of tones of livestock excreta are produced. Vermicomposting and vermiwash are commonly adopted potent technique for the utilization of different livestock wastes for their economic utilization. However, there is very less data regarding vermicomposting of combination of different livestock wastes. So, present study explores the potential of an epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida to compost different livestock excreta and their different combinations (cattle, buffalo, goat and poultry) into value added products (vermicompost and vermiwash) at the laboratory scale. For the present study, pits were made of 8ft, 2ft, 2ft, length, width, height respectively. Total 16 treatments were made, in which 15 treatments consist of livestocks dung and poultry manures and their combinations of different proportions and one treatment is of bio gas slurry were tested. Sample was taken from each treatment at the period of 0, 20 and 90 day and was analyzed for physico-chemical properties, growth of worms and economic viability of vermicompost and vermiwash production from livestock waste management point of view. Vermicomposting result in lowering of pH ranges from 6.26 – 7.09 at final compost with lowest pH in goat dung and highest in poultry manure. As the decomposition of substrate were in process, dry matter and total organic carbon (TOC) content getreduced due to utilization of organic matter by microbes for feed and release of CO2. NPK content was higher in vermicompost than the fresh manure, with highest NPK value seen in poultry manure. C: N ratio is used as an index for maturity of organic wastes. C: N ratio was higher in fresh manure as compare to final vermicompost and minimum ratio was seen in poultry manure due to high N content in poultry manure in final cast. Production of vermicompost, recovery per cent of vermicompost and increase in vermiculture were higher in cattle and buffalo dung as compare poultry manure. There were high monetary return and B: C ratio in buffalo and cattle dung treatment as compare to other treatments. In vermiwash production, B: C ratio was very high because of production of vermiwash liquid along with vermiculture and vermicompost. It can be concluded that economically vermicompost of
cattle and buffalo dung was better but nutritionally vermicompost obtained from poultry manure was better than rest all other treatments.
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