Vermicomposting is a process to biotransform
organic solid wastes into valuable product, namely vermicompost
using epigeic earthworms. Vermicomposting
technology may provide a low-input basis for sustainable
management of organic solid waste. The present study was
to investigate the suitability of oil palm empty fruit bunches
to be reused as feedstocks of
Eudrilus eugeniae
for the duration of 12 weeks. Empty fruit bunches were mixed
with cow dung in different ratios to produce five different
treatments for laboratory screening of solid waste. The
growths of
E. eugeniae were monitored weekly. All treatments
encouraged the growth of
E. eugeniae except the
treatment with empty fruit bunches alone. The maturity and
quality of vermicompost were assessed through carbon-tonitrogen
ratio, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.
Generally, all treatments showed increases in total
contents of calcium (39.38–373.17 %), phosphorus
(15.15–390.54 %), potassium (45.55–153.66 %) and magnesium
(55.86–370.93 %) but a decrease in carbon-tonitrogen
ratio (11.24–76.24 %) after 12 weeks of vermicomposting
process. Besides, parameters such as pH and
electrical conductivity were also investigated in this paper.
Among all the treatments investigated, empty fruit bunches
that were mixed with cow dung in the ratio of 2:1 were
biotransformed into the most superior quality vermicompost
(carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, 18.53; calcium, 7.76 g/kg;
phosphorus, 3.63 g/kg; potassium, 12.81 g/kg; and magnesium,
4.05 g/kg). In conclusion, vermicomposting could
be used as an efficient technology to convert empty fruit
bunches into nutrient-rich organic fertilizers if the wastes
were mixed with cow dung in an appropriate ratio.
