Effect of vermicompost produced from industrial wood waste on vegetables under field conditions

To promote the organic cultivation of vegetable crops the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala has been supporting several large and small scale schemes in various localities in the state. In 2014 the department financially supported The Western India Plywoods Ltd under this scheme for an organic vegetable cultivation programme. As part of this scheme studies were undertaken to assess the impact of vermicompost produced from wood waste on growth enhancement and productivity of vegetable crops like tomato, chilli and brinjal grown under field conditions. The growth performance of the crops raised in the soil mixed with appropriate quantity of vermicompost was compared with that in the normal soil. Observations recorded at 5 weeks’ interval up to 15 weeks showed growth enhancement in the crop plants with vermicompost-added soil. Although the significant effect of vermicompost on growth of tomato and chilli was not profound as that of brinjal its impact on overall plant productivity was quite evident. However remarkable differences could be observed in brinjal plants grown in both the normal soil as well as vermicompost-treated soil. Enhancement in growth parameters such as leaf number, plant height and fruit yield was observed.