Vermicomposting of Chinese Medicine Residue with Earthworms

Abstract

Vermicomposting experiments were conducted to study the effects of Chinese medicine residue at optimal moisture content on growth and fecundity of Eisenia foetida in laboratory. Under the conditions of different pH and inoculation density, the treatment effects were determined through analyzing the changes of Chinese medicine residue properties. The results showed that the optimal pH for Eisenia foetida was 6.5, and that 40 earthworms per 1kg residues was the most appropriate density for unfermented Chinese medicine residue. Compared with the control, the earthworm treatment could significantly accelerate organic matter mineralization and promote the degradation of materials. After vermicomposting, pH value of the residue was close to neutral, and total N and the enzyme activities were both significantly increased. While the value of C/N and TOC were both reduced. These results suggested that vermicomposting was a better way for Chinese medicine residue treatment, the rate of quantitative reduction and the treatment efficiency were 73.54% and 44.52%, respectively.