Vermicomposting via Precomposting of Eucalyptus Leaves for Proper Waste Management and Sustainable Agriculture Growth

Abstract

ABSTRACT Eucalyptus plants are found to be located in a variety of places such as low rainfall areas, schools, colleges, and government hospitals. The leaves remain fallen beneath the plants for several months, as they contain a variety of phenolic compounds and terpenes, which are responsible for its multipurpose properties, such as antifungal, antibacterial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory. Out of this 1.8 cineol is found to be major constituent and responsible for inhibiting microbial growth, which is a prime requirement of biological waste degradation and composting. To fasten the degradation process, the phenolic compounds were isolated smoothly by grinding the eucalyptus leaves, followed by extraction with hot boiling water, precomposting of residue with available garden soil and water from bio-reactor of effluent treatment plant (ETP), instead of cow dung and then vermicomposting. This process was found to be cost-effective, giving better quality of vermicompost with good carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio, macro- and micronutrients for valuable soil amendment and sustainable agriculture growth. The process was found to be user-friendly, eco-friendly, sustainable and could be used for available substrates with possible pre-treatment. The process could be converted from conventional batch process to continuous process by the technique of precomposting with carbon- and nitrogen-rich biodegradable substrates. Physico-chemical analysis techniques such as electrical conductivity, pH, humification index, FT-IR spectroscopic technique and C/N ratio are found to be comparatively easy, fast, and effective techniques for monitoring vermicomposting process as well as determining completion, quality, and stability of vermicompost produced.