why is vermi culture becoming popular in urban areas
Answers
Vermicomposting is the process by which worms are used to convert organic materials (usually wastes) into a humus-like material known as vermin-compost. The goal is to process the material as quickly and efficiently as possible.
When vermicompost is added to soil, it boosts the nutrients available to plants and enhances soil structure and drainage. Vermicompost has also been shown to increase plant growth and suppress plant disease and insect pest attacks.
Vermicompost enhances plant growth, suppresses disease in plants, increases porosity and microbial activity in soil, and improves water retention and aeration. Vermicompost also benefits the environment by reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and decreasing the amount of waste going to landfills.
Answer:
Constraints in the Popularization of Vermicomposting
Vermicomposting is regarded as a clean, sustainable, and zero-waste approach to manage organic wastes but there are still some constraints in the popularization of vermicomposting. Instead of increasing research in the field of vermicomposting, practical application of vermicomposting needs more attention. Vermicomposting on a large scale is required to solve the problem of waste disposal effectively and on a global level. One of the major constraints is the lack of awareness and proper knowledge regarding vermicomposting and the use of vermicompost. It is necessary to guide farmers about vermicomposting and the appropriate use of vermicompost by organizing various training and extension activities. Innovative and effective agricultural activities must be developed to educate and assist farmers for organic farming. They should be educated about the process of vermicomposting and quantities of vermicompost that should be applied to achieve the best results in agricultural fields [9]. Higher cost of organic fertilizer than synthetic fertilizer is also an obstacle for farmers to adopt organic farming on a large scale. Mass application of vermicompost is not achieved due to the failure of policy implementation related to vermicompost technology.
Maintaining a continuous supply of organic waste, water, temperature, and moisture are major hurdles that complicate the process of vermicomposting [100]. Most of the wastes require a bulking substrate (most extensively, animal manure) and precomposting before vermicomposting. Transportation cost also makes the process more expensive. The combined effect of all these problems has hindered the commercial scale popularity of vermicomposting. However, a few studies are available that reported direct vermicomposting of organic wastes (phytomass) without any precomposting or manure supplementation [98].
Furthermore, some problems are also associated with the use of vermicompost as fertilizer, such as phytotoxic substances, high salt concentrations, and heavy metal content, which negatively affect plant growth and development [39]. In some cases, use of immature vermicompost also prevented seed germination and plant growth [2]. This may be due to the difference in soil type and meteorologic conditions of that particular area. Future research must be focused on the development of high rates of vermicomposting directly without any supplementation and on proficiency in the technology. In-depth research is required to study the composition of immature vermicompost and its application failure and to determine vermicompost concentrations under typical soil-water plant-micrometeorologic regimes. This will help in the augmentation of organic farming and popularization of vermicomposting for environmental sustainability.