Influence of household waste based vermicompost and fertilizer on micronutrient mineralization in calcareous soil

To address the challenge of increasing household waste generated by global population growth and urbanization, particularly in developing nations such as India, it is imperative to implement effective waste management practices. One such approach gaining recognition is residue recycling, encompassing composting and vermicomposting of organic portion of household waste. Taking this into consideration, an incubation study was undertaken during Kharif 2018 at RPCAU, Pusa, to examine the mineralization of vermicompost in calcareous sandy loam soil at five distinct stages, which match the critical growth stages of the rice crop. The experiment was conducted in Completely Randomized design (3 factors) replicated thrice. Four levels of vermicompost, along with three levels of chemical fertilizers, were used at field capacity in various combinations and alone. The content of available micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn) in soil increased significantly up to 65 DAI, then decreased for all treatments. The treatment combination involving the application of the highest dose of vermicompost (3.75 t ha-1) along with the full recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) was recorded as significantly superior. As, micronutrients are important for plant growth and health and need to be added to soil to replace what plants take up. Increasing the level of vermicompost application resulted in a significant increase in micronutrient content, whereas the different doses of chemical fertilizer did not exhibit a significant variation. Overall, the findings highlight the potential benefits of combining vermicompost and chemical fertilizer, particularly at higher vermicompost application rates, for enhancing micronutrient content in the soil.