Microbial-assisted rapid vermistabilization of paddy straw residue: a sustainable resource recovery approach

Paddy is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed crops in India, generating substantial quantities of straw residue that often remain unutilized, contributing to atmospheric pollution, soil degradation, and water contamination. This study aimed to overcome the limitations of conventional disposal methods by enhancing the decomposition rate through microbial-assisted vermistabilization, a unique and sustainable resource recovery approach, to evaluate the stabilization efficiency of the resulting vermicompost, and compare the effectiveness of microbes isolated from two distinct sources: pre-prepared, stabilized vermicompost (D1–D6) and naturally decomposed farmyard residues (V1–V6). The microbial strains were used to pre-treat chopped paddy straw, followed by vermicomposting using Eudrilus eugeniae. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomized Design (N = 3 replicates), and all results were supported by ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test. Among all treatments, microbial isolate D2 significantly reduced the decomposition period to 25.0 ± 2.5 days (Tukey’s HSD: a), compared to 60.0 ± 5.0 days in untreated controls. The D2-treated vermicompost showed statistically superior quality, achieving a highly stable C: N ratio of 10.5 ± 0.4. This high efficiency resulted in a 274% increase in available Nitrogen (1078.8 61.1 kg/ha) and a greater than 10-fold increase in available Phosphorus (387.3 ± 19.4 kg/ha) compared to the control. While preliminary characterization was based on morphology and Gram staining, the study conclusively demonstrates the superior functional efficacy of isolates derived from an active vermicomposting environment for rapid resource recovery.