Pulp and paper mill sludge waste Or agro-waste, which one substrate best for vermicomposting and after vermicomposting which compost has more nutritive value?
Off course , earthworms will be most comfortable with agro - waste than industrial sludge due to possible contamination of heavy metals in latter source ..
According to Romero et al. (2018), the worm population was higher in the treatments “peanut shell-bovine manure” and “peanut husk-sheep manure-bovine manure” (196.50 and 197.33). It was concluded that the combination of bovine manure with peanut shell is a suitable substrate for earthworm production.
Romero Romano, Carlos Osvaldo, Ocampo Mendoza, Juventino, Sandoval Castro, Engelberto, & Tobar Reyes, José Refugio. (2018). Evaluation of substrates for the production of earthworm (Eisenia foetida). Agricultural Center, 45 (4), 68-74.
Among the two situations , the soil biota earthworms will flourish better on the agro-waste which is mostly organic than the chemical treated industrial sludge.
agro-waste is better because it is not having many chemicals which might harm the worms.
Agro-waste is better because carbon and nitrogen present in the agro waste acts as nutrient source to the worms besides industrial waste will be having harmful chemicals contamination
Agro-waste will be better because industrial waste may be toxic for earthworm
Agro waste would be good for earthworms, but paper mill sludge mixed with cattle manure or cattle manure and dairy waste would also give good results and in commercial scale vermicomposting production using paper sludge reduces the cost as well.
Thank you dear for your vulnerable answer Nimalshanthi Amarasekera Gunarathna
I suppose agrowaste will do better as opposed to industrial sludge that may have chemical contaminants and low pH condition
I hope you have got your answer from the inputs communicated by different experts in response to your inquiry. There are several studies on use of industrial sludge as substrate of earthworms. However, agro based wastes are expected to be a better choice because not only these wastes will provide a more congenial environment for the earthworms but also the earthworm induced microbes are likely to proliferate more and also act more effectively in the agro wastes than the industrial sludges. Having said that, it also needs to mentioned that the nature of the agro waste is also an important factor for assessing the suitability of these wastes as earthworm substrate.Highly matured or too dry agro wastes are not likely to be an ideal substrate of earthworms . Under this situation, mixing such wastes with good quality sludge may provide a better substrate.
This question is interesting but does not account the wide range of variation within both groups of organic resources or as I prefer feedstocks for vermicomposting. Please don't fall into the trap of prejudging resources. There's no black or white if it comes to vermicomposting organic resources.
MyNoke has vermicomposted 1 million t of organic waste in New Zealand form various industries (pulpmill solids, DAF, AS, paunch, wood ash, ...), agriculture, sewage sludge, lake weeds etc.
In both groups you will find extremely 'clean' and 'contaminated' feedstocks. E.g. some paper mills produce a very clean fibre which is cleaner than cardboard (no ink or glues), same applies to milk sludges. On the other side there are some 'agri-wastes, that are high in copper, zinc, pharmaceuticals, and extremely high in ammonia, which makes it difficulty to vermicompost these without harming worm population or leaching of N.
The pH of 'industrial' wastes varies form extreme alkaline to acidic, too.
Even lake weeds can be highly contaminated, e.g. if from geothermal areas.
Please! Do not generalise and judge on 'feedstocks' by their origin.
We are vermicomposting sewage sludge / biosolids which are slightly elevated in metals and finding biosolids with metal concentrations well below soil limits. So even biosolids are different from source to source or WWTP to WWTP.
My advise: be open minded. Do your homework and test and review each source of feedstock for your worms individual. Combine organic waste where possible. Fibre (carbon source) + nutrient + pH buffer. Think of your own dinner where you might have a carbon source, vegetables, fruits ... worms will enjoy a balanced feedstock, too.
Industrial organic by-products are often very consistent and it is much easier to standardise the mixing ratios. Agricultural organic wastes can vary making it more difficulty.
Some agricultural wastes don't require vermicomposting and can be applied to crops and pasture beneficially without costly vermicomposting. Whereas industrial organic by-products often require stabilisation such as through vermicomposting.
Kind regards
Michael
Environmental carrying capacity such as area area and food availability will be affect the reproduction of L. rubellus to be cultivated, in the right environment 1,500 L. rubellus can be produced in one years of a pair of adult L. rubellus. L. rubellus will limit the rate of reproduction if increased population density and availability food is getting limited
I am sure agro-waste is better than the industrial waste for earthworms. This is because the industrial waste may be toxic and may not have sufficient organic material for earthworms to survive. Thank you.
Okay sir Yadunath Bajgai but I think essential micro nutrient present in the industrial waste are more as compared to agro- waste.
For me I would choose agro-waste because of less toxicity compared with industrial sludge.
Agro waste is better than industrial wastes. On the other hand, animal waste (such as cow manure, etc. ) better than all other wastes.
Agro-waste is better as industrial waste may contain more harmful chemicals for earthworms. and also chemical characteristics like pH of industrial waste may be not that suitable too.
Since earthworms divided into different ecological categories depends upon their feeding habits. Therefore in vermicomposting which species of earthworm has been used is most important. Accordingly we conclude which waste is decomposed by which species. Some species of earthworm used as pollution indicators also.
Dear D. T. Sanchez,
Could you please define what you classify as industrial sludge. We are vermicomposting more than 200,000 t of industrial sludges such as form milk processing plants, paper mills, abattoir. Some of these are even allowed as input in organic certified vermicomposting.
We should not generalise organic resources as we might miss out on great opportunities for carbon sequestration and avoidance of GHG emissions though vermicomposting.
Kind regards
Michael
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