Comparative study of micro - nutrients of lignite flyash and cowdung using Lampito mauritii and Perionyx excavatus earthworms

Abstract

Lignite flyash is one of the major solid waste products coal based thermal power stations of India. In these waste used in cement industries, cement bricks industries, civil construction work and agricultural fields etc. The environmental problems generated by large-scale production of flyash in coal based power stations. This waste alternative using vermicomposting of flyash as good sources of nutrients. The availability of many nutrients is very low in flyash; available ranges of such nutrients must to be increase the effectiveness of cowdund and flyash as a soil amendment. In our experiment, we assessed the possibility of increasing total iron content (mg/Kg), total copper content (mg/Kg), total manganese (mg/Kg), total zinc (mg/Kg) and C/N ratio micronutrients in flyash through vermicomposting. Cowdung and fly ash was mixed with different trios at 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 ratios (weight by weight). After the findings the 3:1 cow dung fly ash was the suitable combination for earthworm activity, the freshly acclamatized earthworms were inoculated in 15 gms/kg for Lampito mauritii for 10 -50 days. The concentration of above said micronutrient was found to increase in the earthworm-treated samples of cowdung and flyash combinations compared with the control flyash alone. The worm worked composts (vermicomposts) and worm unworked composts (control) considerable amounts of total iron, total copper, total manganese, total zinc and reduction of C/N ratio micronutrients from cowdung flyash into more soluble forms and thus resulted in increased the nutrients in the vermicompost. Among different combinations of cowdung and flyash, nutrient availability was significantly higher in the 3:1 cowdung to flyash treatment compared with the other treatments.