Properties of Vermicomposts Derived from Cameroon Sheep Dung

Garczyńska, Mariola, Kostecka, Joanna, Pączka, Grzegorz, Hajduk, Edmund, Mazur-Pączka, Anna and Butt, Kevin Richard orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-0886-7795 (2020) Properties of Vermicomposts Derived from Cameroon Sheep Dung. Applied Sciences, 10 (15). e5048. ISSN 2076-3417

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/app10155048

Abstract

Due to a need for sustainability in agriculture, waste products ought to be utilized in the most appropriate way. A study was undertaken relating to the vermicomposting of Cameroon sheep dung (CSD) by the earthworm Dendrobaena veneta. Processing of this waste was investigated using unadulterated CSD and in a 1:1 mixture with unpalatable (waste) hay (CSDH). Results demonstrated that these materials were actively processed by D. veneta with vermicomposts obtained which can be characterized by a higher amount of total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (average, respectively, 17.0, 10.5, 13.2 g kg−1 d.m.), as well as lower total carbon and magnesium content (respectively, 340 and 3.2 g kg−1 d.m.), compared with the initial waste material. No significant differences were found between CSD and CSDH vermicomposts with respect to chemistry. Levels of selected trace elements (average: Cu 17.5−18.8, Cr 5.7−5.8, Pb 13.5−14.4, Ni 3, Cd 0.4 mg kg−1 d.m.) in both vermicomposts did not exclude their application to agricultural soil as a fertilizer.


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