Chemical changes during vermicomposting of sago industry solid wastes

A laboratory study was undertaken to examine the temporal changes in physico-chemical properties during vermicomposting of sago industry waste. The sago industry waste was blended with cow dung, poultry manure at various proportions, kept for pre-treatment for 21 days and subsequently vermicomposted for a period of 45 days under shade. Earthworm species (Eisenia foetida) was introduced at the rate of 50 g/kg of waste. The substrate moisture content and temperature were monitored regularly. The vermicomposts were sampled at 0, 15, 30 and 45 days for the assessment of temporal changes in physico-chemical properties. The data revealed vermicomposting of sago wastes, cow dung and poultry manure mixed at equal proportion (1:1:1) produced a superior quality manure with desirable C:N ratio and higher nutritional status than composting. E. foetida is an earthworm suitable for composting organic wastes such as poultry manure with extreme pH and high temperature and sago waste with high organic carbon in a shorter period of time. This study suggests that the sago industry solid waste could be effectively converted into highly valuable manure that can be exploited to promote crop production.