Vermiculture Technology: A Novel Approach in Organic Farming

Nowadays researchers are searching for a technology which should be cost effective, ecological sustainable with no adverse effect on environment and beneficial to the society too. Vermiculture appears to be a novel sustainable technology for waste treatment which has a great future in the field of organic waste management. This review focuses on the vermiculture technology in which nontoxic organic residues of plant and animal wastes are used as substrates to produce vermicastings. Organic wastes are converted into usable form of nutrients by bio-oxidation and stabilization with the synergism of earthworms and microorganisms. Vermicompost has a great potential as plant growth media and also served as soil conditioner. It is highly rich in nutrients and beneficial microbes. In addition, during the vermicomposting process, a honey brown colored leachate is produced called vermiwash. It also contains macro and micronutrients along with microbes which have important plant growth promoting attributes and antagonistic activities. Thus, the organic waste can be excellently recycled and converted into useful vermiproducts that have been proved to be essential component in plants growth and productivity and also maintaining the soil health. Despite the major advances have been made, but there is still a need and scope to undertake investigations in this technology and identification of a group of microorganisms which have profound effects on maintaining soil health and increasing crop production.