Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2018 Apr;25(11):10577-10595. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-1328-4. Epub 2018 Feb 26.
Vermicomposting is a bio-oxidative process that involves the action of mainly epigeic earthworm species and different micro-organisms to accelerate the biodegradation and stabilization of organic materials. There has been a growing realization that the process of vermicomposting can be used to greatly improve the fertilizer value of different organic materials, thus, creating an opportunity for their enhanced use as organic fertilizers in agriculture. The link between earthworms and micro-organisms creates a window of opportunity to optimize the vermi-degradation process for effective waste biodegradation, stabilization, and nutrient mineralization. In this review, we look at up-to-date research work that has been done on vermicomposting with the intention of highlighting research gaps on how further research can optimize vermi-degradation. Though several researchers have studied the vermicomposting process, critical parameters that drive this earthworm-microbe-driven process which are C/N and C/P ratios; substrate biodegradation fraction, earthworm species, and stocking density have yet to be adequately optimized. This review highlights that optimizing the vermicomposting process of composts amended with nutrient-rich inorganic materials such as fly ash and rock phosphate and inoculated with microbial inoculants can enable the development of commercially acceptable organic fertilizers, thus, improving their utilization in agriculture.
蚯蚓堆肥是一种生物氧化过程，主要涉及表栖性蚯蚓物种和不同微生物的作用，以加速有机物质的生物降解和稳定化。人们越来越认识到，蚯蚓堆肥过程可用于极大地提高不同有机物质的肥料价值，从而为它们作为农业有机肥的增强利用创造机会。蚯蚓和微生物之间的联系为优化蚯蚓降解过程提供了机会，以实现有效废物生物降解、稳定化和养分矿化。在本综述中，我们回顾了最新的蚯蚓堆肥研究工作，旨在强调如何通过进一步研究来优化蚯蚓降解的研究空白。尽管有几位研究人员研究了蚯蚓堆肥过程，但仍有一些关键参数需要进一步优化，如 C/N 和 C/P 比、底物生物降解分数、蚯蚓物种和放养密度。本综述强调，优化添加富含有机无机材料（如粉煤灰和磷矿粉）的堆肥的蚯蚓堆肥过程，并接种微生物接种剂，可以开发出商业上可接受的有机肥，从而提高其在农业中的利用。
