Title: Improved performance of red worms (Eisenia andrei) in compost of cattle manure rinsed with water

Authors: Jacqueline A. Hernandez, Veronica Polo, Luis E. Marmol, Juan M. Barcenas, Silvana Pietrosemoli, Jhorjanis Ramírez, Shoirtet Flores

Addresses: Agronomy Department, College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' Soil and Water Department Laboratory, College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' Soil and Water Engineering Department, College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' Soil and Water Engineering Department, College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' Animal Science Department, College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela. ' College of Agronomy, La Universidad del Zulia, 4005, Venezuela

Abstract: To achieve satisfactory results with vermiculture, it is important to know how many times to rinse cattle manure to eliminate salts. Treatments under evaluation were 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 rinses in a tap water: manure ratio of 1 : 1 (v/v). Electrical Conductivity (EC), Biomass of Worms (BW) and Number of Cocoons (NC) were evaluated. The EC ranged from 2.57 to 0.5 dS·m⁻¹ for T0 and T4. The lowest BW (569.33 ± 68.8 mg) and NC (0 cocoon/week) were observed with T0. The highest BW (1218.8 ± 45.28 mg) and NC (3.35 ± 1.05 cocoons/week) were recorded for T5 and T7.

Keywords: electrical conductivity; Eisenia andrei; vermiculture; vermicomposting; red worms; cattle manure; rinsing; salt removal; biomass.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2010.037270

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2010 Vol.10 No.3/4, pp.255 - 264

Published online: 01 Dec 2010 *

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