Manure from swine treated with antimicrobials as feed additives is a major source for the expansion of the antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) reservoir in the environment. Vermicomposting via housefly larvae (Musca domestica) can be efficiently used to treat manure and regenerate biofertilizer, but few studies have investigated its effect on ARG attenuation. Here, we tracked the abundances of 9 A...

Organic waste posses a serious environmental problem globally. This can be solved by combination of effective technologies like Biodung composting and Vermitech (incorporating earthworms for the production of vermicompost). The present work was carried out during the year 2006-2007 at University of Guyana, Georgetown to recycle grass clippings, water hyacinth and cattle dung by using Eisenia fe...

Traditional thermophillic composting is commonly for treatment of sludge. A related technique as vermicomposting process, using earthworms to breakdown sludge, is also becoming popular. These two techniques have their inherent advantages and disadvantages. The combined approach suggested in this study to enhance the overall process and improve the products qualities. Two systems, vermicompostin...

Article Info Twenty one days pre-decomposed substrates, teak leaf litter (TLL), paper mill sludge (PMS) and pressmud (PM) in combination with cowdung was subjected to vermicomposting using the epigeic earthworm, Perionyx ceylanensis for 60 days. The phosphatase enzymes—acid phosphase and alkaline phosphase were analysed in vermibed substrates of TLL, PMS and PM on 0, 15, 30, 45 and on 60 th day...

Vermicomposting is a suitable technology for processing different wastes, to produce a valuable end product (vermicompost). However, the pathogenic load of the waste must be greatly reduced in order to prevent risks to human health. Although Eisenia andrei may reduce the levels of several pathogens, the feasibility of vermicomposting, with regard to pathogen reduction, has not been tested on an...

A comparative study was conducted between exotic and local (epigeic--Eisenia fetida and anaecic--Lempito mauritii, respectively) species of earthworms for the evaluation of their efficacy in vermicomposting of municipal solid waste (MSW). Vermicomposting of MSW for 42 days resulted in significant difference between the two species in their performance measured as loss in total organic carbon, c...

Earthworms being the most efficient soil organism to improve soil fertility by burrowing deeply into subsoil surfaces and then releasing it out in the form of nutrient enriched cast (Lavelle, 2011). As they are abundant in number and highly productive species, so they are keystone species in the food web of soil environment (Thakuria et al., 2010). Earthworm burrows and drilosphere act as micro...

Animal waste from concentrated swine farms is widely considered to be a source of environmental pollution, and the introduction of veterinary antibiotics in animal manure to ecosystems is rapidly becoming a major public health concern. A housefly larvae (Musca domestica) vermireactor has been increasingly adopted for swine manure value-added bioconversion and pollution control, but few studies ...

BACKGROUND Vermicomposting is a mesophilic process using earthworms to efficiently and at low cost process large volumes of organic waste. It has been suggested to not only increase soil fertility but also increase biomass of beneficial bacteria while reducing harmful bacteria. The aim of this study was to set up a strategy to investigate and characterise the viral as well as the bacterial comp...