Evaluation of Microbiological Quality of Vermicompost Prepared from Different Types of Organic Wastes using Eisenia fetida

Vermicomposting is the agricultural technique of conversion of organic wastes to a fertile product, which can result in better crop growth and production. However, even though earthworms are the main organisms participating in the process, the microbes associated with it also have an important role to play. These microbes degrade the waste products biochemically and are responsible of the conversion processes. Few studies are carried out on microbial diversity and related enzymes activities in the vermicompost prepared from different organic waste materials.

In this paper, we isolated both bacteria and fungi from seven different types of vermicompost, using different selective media. We also studied the activity of hydrolytic enzymes that are associated with the isolated microbes.

It was observed that bacteria like Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, Micrococcus, Actinomycetes, Pigment producing Actinomycetes, Streptomyces, Azotobactor and fungi like Penicillium purpurogenum, Aspergillus sp., Alternaria alternata, Fusarium solani, Rhizopus sp., Mucor hiemalis, Myrothecium verrucaria etc. were present in our vermicompost preparations. The presence of nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solubilizing microorganisms and PGPR indicated the good fertilizer value of the vermicompost samples. It was also observed that the diversity of microbes present supported significant levels of CMCase Exoglucanase, Xylanase, β-Glucosidase, Phosphatase and Urease activities.