Bioconversion of Lantana camara by vermicomposting with two different earthworm species in monoculture

The experiments were performed in bamboo containers with five different reactors (R_ef1/R_ee1, R_ef2/R_ee2, R_ef3/R_ee3, R_ef4/R_ee4, R_ef5/R_ee5) of varying substrate and cow dung ratio for earthworms i.e. Eisenia fetida and Eudrilus euginae. Physicochemical properties of the vermicompost produced by each earthworm were evaluated and the performance of both the earthworms was compared. pH was within 7.1-7.5 for all the reactors. The highest Total Kjedahl Nitrogen (TKN) value was found for R_ef4 with 2.78% whereas it was lowest for R_ee1 (2.48%). The highest 32.46% change in Total Organic Carbon (TOC) was observed for R_ef3. At the end of the process C/N ratio was found within 11-14 for both the earthworms. In terms of growth both the earthworms performed well whereas highest net biomass gain for Eisenia fetida in R_ef3 with 37.5%. Vermicomposting is found to be beneficial for the management of Lantana camara. Eisenia fetida performed better as compared to Eudrilus euginae.