Abstract
Amendments with vermicomposts can reduce the incidence of pests. In this study, earthworms were fed different foods to produce four vermicomposts. A pot experiment was then conducted to assess different vermicomposts’ effects on soil fertility, and the secondary metabolite content and antioxidant capacity of Brassica chinensis L., and on the growth of Spodoptera litura larvae. The results showed that the characteristics of vermicomposts are mainly affected by food supplements, and that the application of vermicomposts can improve soil fertility, whereas increasing the soil and leaf sulfur content can decrease the relative growth rate of S. litura larvae. However, there were no significant differences in the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), nor the DPPH free radical scavenging ability under the different treatments.
Highlights
Large amounts of agricultural waste, including rick husk, straw, mushroom sawdust, and poultry litter, are produced from agricultural activities
Used shiitake mushroom sawdust was used as the primary medium for the growth of the earthworms, which were fed with four food supplements: (1) VM—only mushroom sawdust and no other organic waste, (2) VRM—mushroom sawdust combined with rice bran, (3) VPM—mushroom sawdust combined with pig manure, and (4) VCM—mushroom sawdust combined with cabbage
The application of S-containing fertilizer clearly ble S, exchangeable K, exchangeable Ca, and exchangeable Mg in the soil, and the increased the synthesis of glucosinolate in Brassicease, which can inhibit the consumption growth of pak choi; the enhancing effect was still lower than with chemical ferof plants by insects and have a negative effect on insects’ growth [28,29]
Summary
Large amounts of agricultural waste, including rick husk, straw, mushroom sawdust, and poultry litter, are produced from agricultural activities. Such agricultural waste can be converted into compost through suitable fermentation processes, which can be applied to land to increase soil fertility [1]. Unlike typical composting, vermicomposting takes place at ambient temperatures through interactions between earthworms and microorganisms. Vermicompost (VC) generally has large populations and a high diversity of microorganisms resulting from the lower temperature during vermicomposting compared with composting. The application of VC has been shown to increase soil quality and the growth of plants [5,6,7,8] and decrease pests [9,10,11]. Secondary metabolites produced by plants under VC amendment provably decrease the incidence of pests [9,12]
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