A STUDY ON INTEGRATING EM TECHNOLOGY WITH VERMICOMPOSTING FOR EFFECTIVE COMPOSTING OF COIR PITH

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to find out a suitable technology to compost the coir pith. For this, pre-composting of coir pith by Effective Micro organism (EM) technology followed by subsequent vermicomposting was studied. The earthworm species used for the experimental study was Eudrillus eugeniae (Kingberg) and Eisenia foetida (Savigny). Reduction in pH, bulk density, particle density, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, phenol contents, CO2 evolution and C:N ratio in the coir pith composted by combining the EM technology and vermicomposting. However when a comparative study was made between the worms on its influence on the macro and micronutrient levels, significant difference was not observed except for iron.