Accepted Manuscript

Enhancing nutrient recovery and compost maturity of coconut husk by vermi-

composting technology

T.P. Swarnam, A. Velmurugan, Sanjay Kumar Pandey, S. Dam Roy

PII: S0960-8524(16)30022-0
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.01.046
Reference: BITE 15957

To appear in: Bioresource Technology

Received Date: 13 November 2015

Revised Date: 11 January 2016
Accepted Date: 14 January 2016

Please cite this article as: Swarnam, T.P., Velmurugan, A., Pandey, S.K., Dam Roy, S., Enhancing nutrient recovery
and compost maturity of coconut husk by vermicomposting technology, Bioresource Technology (2016), doi: http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.01.046

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 Enhancing nutrient recovery and compost maturity of coconut husk by
vermicomposting technology
T.P. Swarnam, A. Velmurugan, Sanjay Kumar Pandey* and S. Dam Roy
ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair
*
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nicobar, ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute

Author Details
Dr.T.P.Swarnam,
Senior Scientist,
ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute,
Port Blair -744105
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India
E mail: swarna_8@yahoo.com (corresponding author)
Mobile:+919531918831

Dr.A.Velmurugan
Senior Scientist,
ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute,
Port Blair -744105
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India
E mail: vels_21@yahoo.com

Mr.S.K.Pandey
Subject Matter Specialist
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Nicobar)
ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India

Dr.S.Dam Roy
Director
ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute
Port Blair -744105
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India

1
Abstract

Vermicompost was prepared by five different treatments from relatively resistant coconut
husk mixed with either pig slurry or poultry manure. The recovery of vermicompost varied
from 35 - 43% and it resulted in significant increase in pH, microbial biomass carbon,
macro and micro nutrients concentration. Among the treatments highest relative N (1.6)
and K (1.3) recovery were observed for 20% feedstock substitution by pig slurry while
poultry manure substitution recorded highest P recovery (2.4). Compost maturity
parameters significantly differed and well correlated. The characteristics of different
treatments established the maturity indices as C/N 15-20; Cw < 1.8; Cw/Norg < 0.55;
Lignin < 10- 12; CHA/CFA >1.5 and HI > 15.0. The manurial value of the coconut husk
compost was improved by feedstock substitution with pig slurry (80:20). The results
revealed the technical feasibility of converting coconut husk into valuable compost by
feedstock substitution with pig slurry.

Key words: Coconut husk, animal manure, nutrient recovery, maturity index

2
1. Introduction

Coconut is produced in 92 countries on about 11.8 million hectares of land with

estimated production of 61.7 million tons (FAO, 2009). In India it is produced in all the

coastal, north-eastern and island region in an area of 2.14 million hectares with the total

production of 21.67 billion nuts (CDB, 2014). In Andaman Nicobar Islands, coconut is the

major crop occupying 21900 ha with a production of 130 million nuts. Coconut husk is the

major waste generated from coconut industry with global estimated production of 23

million tons (FAO, 2009). Though the coconut husk is used in many ways like fuel, mulch,

extraction of coir fibre, coco peat etc, in many countries it is dumped as a waste causing

major environmental concern. In addition, this amounts to wastage of several thousand

tons of plant nutrients which are locked in this organic waste. These concerns can be

addressed by recycling the wastes through proper composting.

Vermicomposting is considered as one of the alternative options for transforming

coconut wastes into nutrient rich compost useful for plants and soil while diminishing their

negative environmental impact. Although microbes are responsible for the biochemical

degradation of organic matter, earthworms are the important drivers of the process by

conditioning the substrate and altering the biological activity. Many studies have been

reported on the vermicomposting of agro-wastes (Bansal and Kapoor, 2000; Hanc and

Chadimova, 2014), coconut leaves, coir pith and cow dung (Gopal et al., 2009); coconut

flakes and coconut husk with goat manure (Tahir and Hamid, 2012) into a nutrient rich

manure. But it was widely accepted that biodegradation of coconut husk is difficult and

the recovery of nutrients are low as it has higher lignocellulosic material compared to other

3
agro-wastes. This necessitates the addition of other nitrogen rich animal wastes such as

cow dung, poultry manure, goat manure, pig slurry and standardization of feedstock

composition and determination of maturity of the compost.

This is very essential because the principal requirement of compost for its safe use

in soil is the degree of stability and maturity since phytotoxic compounds are produced by

the microorganisms in unstable composts (Zucconi et al., 1985). In general, organic

carbon content, degree of organic matter humification, water soluble carbon, cation

exchange capacity, the ratios of C/N, water soluble C / organic N, humic acid to fulvic acid

and amount of CO2 evolved were used to describe the compost maturity (Bernal et al.,

1998). In addition the recovery of nutrients from feedstock mixtures used in a particular

composting method in comparison to initial as well as control reveals the efficiency and

acceptability of the method. This is more pertinent to lignified and slowly degradable

organic wastes like coconut husk.

Nicobar group of islands located in the Indian Ocean region has been declared as

area for organic farming which generated huge demand for organic source of nutrients

prepared using locally available materials. Piggery and backyard poultry other than

coconut plantations are the major farm activities found in many of the tropical islands as in

the case of Nicobar Islands (Swarnam et al., 2015). There is ample scope to utilize these

animal wastes for recycling the nutrients locked in the coconut husk within the farms. In

view of these problems and opportunities this study was carriedout to investigate the

feasibility of vermicomposting the coconut husk with either pig slurry or poultry manure in

suitable proportion for agricultural use. Further due to the resistant nature of coconut husk

to decomposition and long composting period attempts were also made to derive index

4
values for some of the compost maturity parameters to facilitate evaluation of the

efficiency of different composting methods and compost quality.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Feedstock and treatment details

Coconut husk, poultry manure and pig slurry obtained from Farming System

Research Unit of the institute were used as feedstocks. The coconut husk was shredded

into small pieces of 1-2 cm to increase the surface area for liquid adhesion and microbial

contact. The shredded material was soaked in water for a week to improve the absorption

capacity for facilitating faster decomposition. The water used for retting the coconut husk

is used for sprinkling the compost pile to avoid any nutrient loss. The chemical properties

of the individual feedstock are given in Table 1.

The experiment was conducted in completely randomized block design with five

treatments and each treatment was replicated three times. The details of the treatments are

given below:

T1- Coconut husk (90%) + poultry manure (10%)

T2- Coconut husk (80%) + poultry manure (20%)

T3 – Coconut husk (90%) + pig slurry (10%)

T4 - Coconut husk (80%) + pig slurry (20%) and

T5 - Coconut husk alone (100%)

Composting was carried out in an open, shaded area under field conditions having 70-80%

relative humidity, minimum and maximum temperature of 25-31°C and wind speed of 8-

12 kmph. Feedstocks in required proportions (200 kg) were filled on weight basis in tanks

of 1m length, 0.5m width and 0.45 m height.

5
2.2. The vermicomposting process

The feedstocks were filled in the tanks in layers. A thin bed of 5 cm thickness was

prepared using garden soil and well decomposed cow dung as a bedding material for the

worms. Coconut husk weighing around 75 kg was filled to a thickness of 15cm from the

bottom followed by 20 to 25 kg of pig slurry or poultry manure. Thereafter the remaining

amount of husk was applied over which the second layer was made with the remaining pig

slurry or poultry manure as per the treatment. This was covered with wet jute bags to

reduce water and ammoniacal nitrogen loss through the surface. Water was sprinkled at

weekly intervals to maintain the moisture level at 65-70% and to avoid the leaching of

minerals through leachate. Atleast three perforated bamboo pipes were inserted to

different depth in each of the composting unit to improve the aeration. After 3 weeks of

precomposting, the feedstock materials were turned over to increase the aeration and

dissipate the heat generated during the thermophilic phase. Thereafter about 500

unclitellated earthworms of Eudrilus eugeniae were introduced into each composting unit.

The composting piles were turned once in every 15 days till completion of the composting

process.

2.3. Sampling and chemical analysis

Approximately 100g of composite sample was drawn from each treatment at 0, 15,

30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 days after initiation of composting, dried in an oven for 48 hrs at

60°C, and stored in sterilized plastic containers at ambient temperatures. The samples were

analyzed for pH in 1:2 (w/v) in digital pH meter and electrical conductivity of water

extracted sample (1:2 aqueous solution) using a digital conductivity meter. Total organic

carbon (TOC) was determined after igniting the sample in muffle furnace at 550°C for 6

6
hrs as a difference between dry weight and ash content (Nelson and Sommers, 1996). Total

N was determined by the method of Bremner and Mulvaney (1982). Total P, K, Ca and

micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) were extracted in diacid mixture by wet digestion

method. Thereafter, the total P was determined using spectrophotometer, K by flame

photometer and total Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The

available nutrients were determined in CAT solution (0.01 mol l-1 CaCl2 and 0.002 mol l-1

diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) at the rate of 1:10 (w/v) according to the

international BSI standard (EN 1365, 2001). In this study the relative efficiency of

nutrient recovery is used as a measure of efficiency of different composting treatments as

compared to the control. Unlike other methods this also takes into account the duration of

composting. It is estimated by

Relative efficiency of nutrient recovery (RENR)i = RRt / RRc

where, RRt is recovery rate of ‘i’th nutrient (i= N, P and K) in ‘t’ treatment (n=T1 to T4)

and RRc is recovery rate of nutrient in control (T5). The recovery rate (RRt) is calculated

by,

Recovery rate (i th nutrient in a treatment) = ((Nei / Nfi ) / Dc) x 100

th th
Where, Nei is the ‘i’ nutrient content of end product of composting; Nfi is the ‘i’

nutrient content in the initial feedstock materials and Dc is the duration of composting.

Carbon dioxide evolution in the compost was measured by trapping the CO2 in 0.5 N

NaOH solution and titrating it with 0.5 N HCl after addition of saturated barium chloride

(Garcia et al., 1992). Water soluble C in water extract was determined as per the

titrimetric method of Kalembasa and Jenkinson (1973). The 0.1 M NaOH extractable

organic carbon and the fulvic acid carbon (CFA) were estimated after precipitation of the

7
humic acids at pH 2.0 (Sanchez-Monedero et al., 1996). The humic acid carbon (CHA) was

calculated by subtracting the CFA from the extractable carbon. The humification index (HI)

was defined as CHA, as a percentage of Corg (CHA / Corg x 100). The microbial biomass

carbon (MBC) was determined by fumigation–extraction method (Joergensen, 1995). All

data were expressed on oven-dry (105 °C) soil weight basis. The MBC was calculated as,

MBC = EC / KEC,

where EC=(organic C extracted from fumigated soils)−(organic C extracted from

nonfumigated soils) and KEC = 0.38.

The manurial value of the final compost was done by calculating Fertilizing index

(F.I) as proposed by Saha et al. (2010). For this different score values and weighing factors

were given to important fertility parameters viz. total organic carbon, total nutrients- N, P

and K, and C:N ratio depending on their capability to improve soil productivity. The F.I

values were calculated using the following equation,

i =1 i =1
Fertility Index = Σn SiWi / Σ n Wi

where ‘Si’ is the score value and ‘Wi’ is weighing factor of the ith fertility parameter of

analytical data.

2.4. Statistical analysis

The data recorded were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) for a

completely randomized block design with three replications using the SAS software

package. The comparison of means was performed by Fisher’s Least Significant

Difference (LSD) at 95% level of probability. Linear correlations between compost

maturity parameters were also determined.

8
3. Results and discussion

3.1. Compost recovery

The final compost produced from the waste material is essential for planning the

amount of feedstock required in a given area and space. In the present study weight and

volume reduction by and large were uniform with no significant difference among the

treatments (T1-T4) but varied significantly when compared to coconut husk alone (T5)

which was used as control. The final recovery of the compost at the end of 120 days

composting period varied from 35.0 to 42.5% of the initial feed stock which was in the

order of T3 > T4 > T1 >T2. Hanc and Chadimova (2014) also reported a final recovery of

33% of the initial feedstock by vermicomposting of apple pomace with straw in varying

proportions. The weight loss was primarily due to microbial respiration resulting in C loss

through CO2 production and digestion of carbohydrates, lignin, cellulose, and

polysaccharides from the substrates by inoculated earthworms and assimilation into worm

biomass (Jayakumar et al., 2011). Unlike composting by microbes alone, blending and

mixing of the coconut husk and livestock manures increased the earthworm activity and

the surface area for microbial action facilitating faster decomposition. However,

earthworm activity and feeding was very less in coconut husk without any nitrogen rich

animal wastes (T5) as it contains nearly 50% lignin and other hardly decomposable

substances in higher proportions.

3.2. Compost characteristics

Vermicomposting of coconut husk with poultry and pig manure at varying

proportions resulted in a more stabilized, odour free, dark brown compost rich in plant

available nutrients. A summary of key compost characteristics are presented in Fig.1. The

9
pH of final composts obtained from different treatments varied from 6.1 to 7.4 as against

the acidic pH (5.6) of coconut husk alone (T5). The vermicompost prepared by feedstock

substitution with poultry manure (T1 and T2) recorded neutral pH (7.1 to 7.3) while pig

slurry substitution (T3 and T4) recorded slightly acidic pH (6.1 to 6.3). This variation

emanates from the difference in pH of the feedstock and its proportions in different

treatments. This was evidenced from higher pH of poultry manure (8.2) than pig slurry

(6.0) used in the treatments. The higher pH of poultry manure was advantageously used in

an earlier study wherein coconut husk composted with poultry manure was used as an

organic amendment in acid soil (Swarnam and Velmurugan, 2013). Temporal

observations of pH showed increasing trend during the initial period lasting up to 30 days

coinciding with the thermophilic phase. This was attributed to the metabolic degradation

of organic acids and ammonification of organic nitrogen by microbial activity which

corroborated with peak microbial population. Thereafter the pH decreased over the

composting period as a consequence of production of phenolic compounds and

bioconversion of the organic materials into organic acids (Garg et al., 2006). Although not

much reduction was observed after two months into vermicomposting, the treatment effect

remained significant throughout the composting period till the end of the composting.

Among the matured vermicompost poultry manure substitution @ 20% (T2) recorded

significantly higher pH than other treatments.

The microbial population decreased over the composting period after its initial

burst for 30 days due to selective feeding of earthworms on bacteria and fungi and by

accelerating the depletion of energy sources for microbes (Domínguez, 2004).

Consequently microbial biomass carbon (MBC) also followed the similar trend with

10
significant difference among the treatments. The significance of increasing biomass

carbon was felt in the assimilation of mineralized nutrients from the feedstock materials in

microbial body which are subsequently available to crop plants. There is also resynthesis

of carbon compounds by microbes which helps in humification. In contrast not much

variation in MBC was noticed throughout the composting period for control (T5) due to

lack of available forms of nitrogen and easily biodegradable carbon source.

The C:N ratio is one of the most important factor characterizing the quality and

maturity of the compost. The rate of change in C:N ratio primarily depends on initial

nitrogen content and nature of substrate materials among other factors. The initial C:N

ratio of feedstock materials ranged from 11.0 to 192.0 (Table 1) with the highest N content

of 32.4 g kg-1 in pig slurry followed by poultry manure. These feedstock materials also

varied in their P, K and more prominently lignin contents which ranged from 3-46%.

Since pig slurry and poultry manure have higher N and relatively low lignin content,

decomposition of feedstock materials progressed rapidly with the concomitant release of

CO2 (Sanchez-Monedero et al., 2001) and increase in N content per unit material (Goyal et

al., 2005) which resulted in lower C:N ratio of T3 followed by T2. At the end of the

composting period the C: N ratio of treatments varied from 11.0 to 30.9 while coconut

husk alone (T5) recorded higher value (111.8).

Besides the nature of feedstock, the rate of substitution of coconut husk by animal

manure also influenced the C:N ratio of the final product. This was evidenced from lower

C:N ratio of treatments with 20% feed stock substitution either by pig slurry (T4) or

poultry manure (T2) than control. The decrease in C:N ratio was attributed to the

combined action of increase in microbial population and earthworms resulting in

11
degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and other organic substances with loss of C as CO2

and assimilation of C into earthworm biomass. The results discussed above clearly

established the advantage of using 20% feedstock substitution by pig slurry (p<0.05) over

coconut husk alone (T5).

3.3 Nutrient recovery

The nutrient status of the vermicompost depends on the nature (Garg et al., 2006)

and proportion of different feedstocks used as food source for earthworms. The present

study indicated significant increase in macro (Fig. 2) and micro nutrients (Table 2)

concentration of the final products (T1-T4) than the original feedstocks and control (T5).

In general, this was due to the breakdown and mineralization of feedstock materials by the

combined actions of earthworm and microbes. On an average 300% increase in total

nitrogen content of vermicompost was observed as compared to control (3.4 g kg-1). This

increase was attributed to the relative increase in nitrogen on loss of dry matter as CO2,

water loss during mineralization, N addition through feed stock substitution and in the

form of mucus, excretory substances from the earthworm which were not initially present

in the feedstocks (Karmegam and Daniel, 2009). Significant difference in total N was also

observed among the treatments (Fig 2A) with the maximum of 20.7 g kg-1 recorded for T4

followed by T2 (13.2 g kg-1), T3 (10.9 g kg-1) and T1 (8.9 g kg-1). This was due to

difference in C:N ratio of feedstock mixture, initial N content of the feedstock and the

extent of decomposition.

Mineral nutrients or easily available forms in the final product of vermicomposting

are important in terms of fertilizing. The available nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3-) in final

vermicompost constituted 1.4 to 11.2 % of total N content. The available N content was

12
also significantly higher in all the treatments that of total N content. On an average nitrate

N content was 1.27 g kg-1 while ammoniacal N was only 0.012 g kg-1 indicating 105 fold

more nitrate N than ammoniacal N. It is likely that the presence of earthworms and easily

biodegradable carbon source in the form of animal manures encouraged the nitrification

process which could be evidenced from a comparison of the N-NO3 - content in treatments

(T1-T4) and control (T5). Similar such observation was also reported by Hanc and

Chandimova (2014).

Similarly the total P and K content increased from an average initial value of 1.4 to

9.7 and 7.7 to 10.5 g kg-1 respectively, excluding the control value. This accounted for

increase of 593% P and 38% K and similar is the case as compared to control. Significant

differences (p<0.05) in total P and K content was also observed among the treatments

which increased with the increase in feedstock substitution from 10 to 20%. Poultry

manure substitution (T2) resulted in higher K content by 49% while pig slurry substitution

(T4) resulted in higher P by 841% which outperformed all other treatments. This

significant increase in nutrient content was associated with the loss of weight and organic

matter decomposition.

During the transit of materials through the worm gut, some important plant

nutrients present in the organic waste are converted into chemical forms which are more

available to plants (Garg et al., 2012). Consequently the available nutrient status

significantly improved in the final compost. The available P and K contents in final

vermicompost constituted approximately 17% and 52% of its respective total contents.

The treatment effects were seen on an average increase of available P by 947% and K by

303% than the control. Among the treatments increase in available P was highest for pig

13
slurry substitution (T4) while available K was highest in poultry manure substitution (T2)

as that of total contents (Fig. 2B). This was due to the mineralization and mobilization of

P by bacterial and faecal phosphatase activity of earthworms, acid production by microbial

activity resulting in solubilization of insoluble phosphorus and potassium (Pramanik et al.,

2007) and presence of symbiotic gut micro flora with secreted mucus and water increasing

the degradation of ingested substrates releasing metabolites easily available to plants

(Khwairakpam and Bhargava, 2009).

Besides N, P and K, vermicomposting of coconut husk with poultry manure and pig

slurry significantly increased calcium content compared to coconut husk alone. Improving

calcium content assumed significance because of its prominent role in crop production

especially in acid soils which are inherently poor in nutrients. The total Ca content of the

vermicompost varied (T1-T4) from 9.6 to 28.2 mg kg-1 with an average increase of 173%

than control. Among the treatments feedstock substitution by poultry manure (T1 and T2)

contains significantly higher amounts of total Ca (p <0.005) due to higher initial Ca

content apart from production of calcium carbonate by calciferous glands of the

earthworms (Lakshmi Prabha et al., 2015). Therefore, these composts with higher Ca

having liming effect on acid soils could be used as soil amendments to improve the

nutrient availability (Swarnam and Velmurugan, 2013).

In recent times many micronutrients were become deficient because of increased

demand by the rapidly growing crops for available forms of nutrients. Zinc (Zn)

deficiency is most ubiquitous throughout the world affecting the production of many

foodgrains followed by Boron (Bo) mainly affecting oilseeds and vegetables. Iron, Copper,

Manganese, and Molybdenum deficiencies vary with crops and soil types around the world

14
(Alloway, 2008). Significant difference in total Zn, Mn and Fe content in all the treatments

with animal manure substitution were observed when compared to coconut husk alone

(T5). The concentration of micronutrients significantly varied among the treatments with

higher concentrations in 20% feedstock substitution by poultry manure followed by pig

slurry. The differences could be attributed to initial concentration of respective nutrients in

the feedstock, extent of decomposition and accelerated mineralization with selective

feeding by earthworms containing these metals (Jayakumar et al., 2011). The increase in

micronutrients concentration in vermicompost prepared from coconut husk further

increased its manurial value and it is perceived as a boon for low input organic agriculture.

3.4 Relative efficiency of nutrient recovery

The relative efficiency of nutrient recovery in vermicompost prepared by different

treatments is a key indicator of nutrient recovery in unit time in terms of N, P and K as

compared to the control (T5). It is logical to use this indicator because many a times

nutrient recovery from coconut husk is low due to high lignin content, wide C:N ratio and

slow rate of decomposition. Therefore, high relative nutrient content will indicate the

efficiency of treatment in nutrient recovery which also accounts for time required for

composting. In the present study, it was observed that nutrient recovery varied for

different nutrients and between the treatments within the composting period of 120 days

(Fig. 3). The highest recovery of nutrient in the vermicompost was observed for

phosphorus (2.03) followed by nitrogen (1.39) and potassium (1.20). After the initial

breakdown of coconut husk due to favourable feedstock mixture P was solubilized by

earthworm mostly in the guts. Besides, high P content of animal manures also contributed

to the highest P recovery. The data evidently showed the treatment effect on increased

15
total P and available P content of the end products. This is very significant to supply P to

crops and improve its production in acid soils. In contrast, K recovery was low in all the

treatments though it was significantly higher compared to control. Nevertheless its effect

was prominently felt in increase of available K. Among the treatments highest relative N

(1.6) and K (1.3) recovery was observed for T4 while T1 recorded highest P recovery (2.4)

as compared to control (T5).

3.5 Compost maturity parameters

Stability is an important aspect of compost quality prepared from different

feedstocks. It relates to the degree to which the organic matter has been stabilized during

the composting process and well matured compost should be of good quality (Weppen,

2002). Various physical, biological, and chemical parameters have been used by various

researchers to monitor the quality and maturity of compost (Garcia et al., 1992). In the

present study lignin content (%), amount of CO2 evolved, water soluble carbon (Cw), ratios

of C/N, Cw/Norg, CHA/CFA (humic acid / fulvic acid) and humification index (H.I) were used

to assess the quality and maturity of the compost prepared from coconut husk by different

treatments (Table 3). The indicator value for each parameter was worked out using the

mean of the treatments + 2 x standard deviation criteria and taking inputs from peer

reviewed literatures.

The study indicated significant decrease in Corg concentration and volume of all the

treatments particularly in pig slurry substitution pointing to accelerated degradation of

organic materials during the composting process. At the same time, nitrogen content of

vermicompost increased in most of the treatments due to concentration effect caused by the

strong degradation of the labile organic-C compounds which reduced the weight of

16
composting mass. At the end of the experiment, the lowest Corg was observed in the

treatment with 20% feedstock substitution by pig slurry (T4) whereas coconut husk alone

(T5) recorded highest value (380.0 g kg-1). This might be due to the presence of more

recalcitrant carbon compounds such as lignin (Atkinson et al., 1996) in coconut husk

(46.2) than pig slurry (3-6%) and poultry manure (5-8%). During decomposition carbon

from the organic materials is released as CO2 but the rate and quantity of CO2 depends on

several factors including potentially mineralizable carbon. Therefore measurement of its

evolution fairly indicates the decomposability of feedstock. The amount of CO2 evolution

was lowest in control (T5) while significantly higher amount was released in treatments

with 20% feedstock substitution by pig slurry followed by poultry manure. The

composting of coconut husk alone (T5) resulted in a product which still evolved more CO2

as the material continued to decompose slowly even after 120 days of composting. As the

lignin fraction is refractory to biodegradation of coconut husk high lignin content resulted

in lower CO2–C evolution. Nevertheless, it was largely indicative in nature, and the

cumulative amount is influenced by large number of factors which was complicated by

feedstock substitution thus a single value could not be fixed.

The composting process resulted in the production of humic substances which are

slowly degradable having high CEC could be used to assess the maturity of compost

(Goyal et al., 2005). The amount of humic and fulvic acids were significantly higher in

compost prepared from pig slurry (T4) followed by poultry manure (T2) when compared to

control (T5). Humic acid fraction is synthesized by microbes from organic matter

degradation products which are relatively stable than fulvic acid fraction. The increase in

humic acid fraction also corroborated with increase in MBC and maturity of

17
vermicompost. As a consequence towards the end of the composting the proportion of

humic acid to fulvic acid (CHA/CFA) has increased with the highest ratio for T4 (1.86) while

it was lowest (1.10) in control (T5). Therefore, compost prepared from 20% substitution

of feedstock by pig slurry (80:20) followed by poultry manure could be a better source of

humic substances for improving soil properties than from coconut husk alone. Thus a

value more than 1.5 would reasonably indicate the compost maturity. In contrast, water

soluble carbon (Cw) in relation to total C decreased as the composting progressed due to

fast decomposition of easily biodegradable carbon compounds. Among the treatments C w

was lowest for pig slurry substitution (T4) whereas due to high amount of resistant

materials and low microbial activity it was highest for coconut husk alone (T5). With the

exception of control (T5), the average value was 1.51 and using the 2 x SD criterion, a

value of 1.9% can be established to describe the mature compost. However, Garcia et al.

(1992) reported slightly lower Cw content of 0.41–1.19% in compost prepared from

municipal wastes whereas Goyal et al. (2005) reported Cw content of 2.06% to 4.09% of

total organic C for organic wastes. The value should be relatively higher for harder organic

materials as the amount of water soluble C at the end of composting depends on the raw

materials used for composting (Huang et al., 2001), therefore, the proposed value of 1.9%

could be fairly justified.

When a waste is composted, generally there is a decrease in C:N ratio with time

due to losses of C as CO2 which stabilizes in the range of 15–20 (Golueke, 1981). In the

present study though all the treatments showed significant reduction in C:N ratio, it was

<15.0 for T4 and < 20.0 for T2. As the C:N ratio is usually employed to indicate the

18
compost maturity values less than 20 indicates the acceptable maturity and a ratio of 15 or

less is suitable for agronomic use.

Other important maturity parameter Cw/Norg ratio significantly decreased during

composting in all the treatments than control falling from initial high values (1.95), to a

very narrow range of 0.11-0.28 in the matured samples at the end. Apart from the initial

decomposition of easily biodegradable organic compounds, complex organic materials are

broken down by the microbial action which derived its energy and nutrients from the pig

slurry thereafter the earthworm could act on these compounds relatively easier than the

original feedstock. The stability of this ratio was probably reached in 20% feedstock

substituted with pig slurry at the end of the thermophilic stage (Hue and Liu, 1995) while

the ratio was high even at the end of 120 days in control. In the present study humification

index (H.I) significantly increased during composting, demonstrating the humification of

the degradation products of coconut husk in treatments but in control the value remained

very low (5.08). Among the treatments H.I was highest for 20% feedstock substitution by

pig slurry (T4) followed by poultry manure (T2). In an earlier study Bernal et al., (1998)

proposed Cw/Norg limit of <0.55 to describe well matured and stabilized composts prepared

from different organic wastes which was the same as in the case of present experiment.

The vermicompost maturity can be judged from various quality and stability

parameters. The interrelationship between them fairly indicates the factors responsible for

its maturity. The quality and stability parameters of vermicompost were very well

correlated among themselves (Table 4). A high substrate C:N ratio implies a low

mineralization and humification as indicated by the negative relationship with CHA/CFA

CO2 evolved, and humification index due to N deficiency. It was observed that the nature

19
of organic materials influenced the rate of composting process as indicated by the Cw/Norg

ratio. This is significantly correlated with carbon mineralization (Cw, CFA, CO2 evolved),

humification (CHA/CFA and H.I) and quality index (C:N ratio). There was statistically

significant positive correlation between C:N ratio and water soluble C and Cw/Norg ratio

which showed higher nitrogen content and easily decomposable carbon source from animal

manure might be responsible for mineralization and subsequent acceptable maturity

standard of coconut husk compost. Significant positive correlation was also obtained

between CO2–C evolved and humic substances. The trend is in conformity with the

previous studies involving other organic materials (Bernal et al., 1998; Goyal et al., 2005).

From the foregoing discussion on the trend in microbial population, biomass

carbon and C:N ratio in control (T5) indicated the continuation / slow progress of active

phase even at the end of 120 days of composting period due to the presence of higher

proportion of lignin resulting in very low earthworm activity. This was overcome by the

use of adequate quantity of animal manure as a starter cum initial feed source to hasten the

composting process of coconut husk which was indicated by the compost maturity

parameters. Conversely in many of the previous experiments (Bernal et al., 1998; Goyal et

al., 2005; Hanc and Chadimova, 2014) the stability of these values were reached within 90

days of composting mainly due to the use of easily biodegradable organic compounds or

addition of inorganic N sources.

3.6. Manurial value of vermicompost

Vermicompost can be used as an organic amendment to soils as it improves soil

organic matter, available plant nutrients such as N, P , K, Ca and micronutrients, soil pH,

and promote plant growth. The amendment effect however, depends on its properties

20
which decide the quality of manure. As the quality of compost obtained from different

feedstock materials widely varied several countries including India, USA, and European

Union have adopted specific standards for composts to regulate the market of desirable

quality of composts (Brinton, 2000; FAI, 2007). Assessment of manurial value of

vermicompost produced from different treatments involving animal manure (T1-T4)

indicated that they are within the limits / meets the criterion prescribed as per FCO

standard (Table 5). The “Fertilizing index” calculated from the values of total organic C,

N, P, K, C/N ratio for the different treatments varied from 4.0 to 4.7 with coconut husk

alone (T5) having the lowest value (2.7) due to its low nutrient concentration and high C:N

ratio. It also failed to meet other compost maturity parameters. Among the treatments 20%

feedstock substitution by pig slurry (T4) recorded higher manurial value owing to its

higher nutrient content, and compost maturity standards. As the compost with “fertilizing

index” of more than 3.5 is considered having high manurial value vermicompost produced

by all the treatments except control (T5) can be utilized for agricultural use. Further, as the

micronutrient concentration was also within the maximum permissible limit the

vermicompost can be utilized for growing high value crops under organic farming. Based

on the overall manurial value of the compost produced from the coconut husk the

treatments were arranged in the order of T4 > T2 > T3 > T1 >T5.

4. Conclusions

Vermicomposting of coconut husk either with pig slurry or poultry manure recycles

coconut waste. The nutrient content of the final product significantly increased in all the

treatments. The addition of pig slurry at 80:20 ratio recorded highest nutrient recovery of

both total and available forms with favourable compost maturity and quality parameters.

21
The fertilizing index of the final compost for different treatments varied from 4.0 to 4.7

indicating high manurial value and its potential use for growing high value crops under

organic farming. Further the concentrations of most of the micronutrients were within the

maximum permissible limit.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to All India Coordinated Research Project on Integrated

Farming Systems, Modipuram and Indian Council of Agricultural Research for the

financial support. The support received from the project and supporting staffs of the

ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair are sincerely

acknowledged.

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 Fig. 1. Changes in selective compost characteristics during vermicomposting

Fig. 2. Macro nutrient concentrations of vermicompost prepared by different treatments

a. Total nutrient b. Available nutrients

Fig. 3. Relative efficiency of nutrient recovery for N, P and K

27
Table 1.
Selected properties of coconut husk, poultry manure and pig slurry
Parameter Coconut husk Poultry manure Pig slurry
pH 5.6 8.9 6.3
Total carbon (g kg-1) 403 347 365
-1
Total nitrogen (g kg ) 2.1 21.8 32.4
-1
Total phosphorus (g kg ) 1.3 14.2 26.1
Total potassium (g kg-1) 7.8 12.5 9.4
C:N ratio 192 16 11
C:P ratio 308 24 14
Lignin % 46.2 4-8 3-6

28
Table 2.
Calcium and micronutrients concentration in vermicompost

Total concentration (mg kg-1)

Treatments
Ca Zn Mn Fe Cu

T1 24.3 +1.2 b 112 + 12.7 ab 282 + 35.6 b 1040 + 135 b 267 + 37.6 b

T2 28.2 + 3.7 a 133 + 14.6 a 388 + 36.4 a 1290 + 145 b 254 + 35.7 b

T3 10.1 + 0.5 d 79 + 9.5 c 187 + 23.6 c 2340 + 275 a 276 + 31.5 b

T4 13.5 + 0.8 c 105 + 12.1 b 243 + 31.0 bc 2160 + 243 a 283 + 46.7 b

T5 6.9 + 0.5d 56 + 4.8 102 ± 18.3 2054 ± 158 139 ± 15.6a

Mean + SD, n=4 , Mean value followed by different letter indicates a statistical difference
(ANOVA, LSD, p<0.05)

29
Table 3.
Compost maturity parameters at the end of composting period

Treatments Corg Lignin Cumulative Water C:N Cw/Norg CHA/CFA HI (%)

(g kg-1) % CO2–C soluble C in ratio
evolved the compost
(mg 100 g-1 (% to total
compost) O.C)

Initial 417.0 46.2 - 4.1 198.0 1.95 0.70 4.56

T1 275.1b 12.7b 59b 2.31b 30.9b 0.28b 1.41 13.49b

T2 246.1c 10.6bc 83c 1.54c 18.6c 0.12b 1.57 18.65c

T3 274.2b 11.5b 67b 2.13b 25.2bc 0.21b 1.47 15.06bc

T4 221.4d 8.3c 108d 1.22c 10.7d 0.11b 1.86 24.75d

T5 380.0a 25.4a 39a 4.0a 111.8a 1.18a 1.10 5.08a

Indicator 10-12 <1.9 15-20 <0.55 >1.5 >15.0

value

Mean value followed by different letter indicates a statistical difference

30
Table 4.
Correlation coefficients between compost maturity parameters
Cum. CO2–C CW HI CHA/CFA C:N ratio Cw/Norg
Cum. CO2–C 1.000 -0.918* 0.847* 0.973* -0.781* -0.772*
CW 1.000 -0.755* -0.948* 0.782* 0.951*
HI 1.000 0.979* -0.813* -0.922*
CHA/CFA 1.000 -0.872* -0.863*
C:N ratio 1.000 0.962*
Cw/Norg 1.000
*
Significant at p<0.005

31
Table 5.
Quality assessment of vermicompost prepared by different treatments
Treatments
Parameter FCO standard
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
Moisture (% dm) 15-25 18.2 16.7 19.3 20.4 25.2
pH 5.5 -8.5 7.3 7.1 5.6 5.9 5.4
EC (dS/m) < 4.0 0.8 1.3 1.3 1.7 1.5
Total organic carbon (%) >16.0 27.5 24.6 27.4 22.1 38.0
Total nitrogen (%) 0.5 0.9 1.3 1.1 2.1 0.3
Total phosphorus (%) 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.4 0.2
Total potassium (%) 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 0.7
C:N 20- 40 30.9 18.6 25.2 10.7 111.8
Total Zn (mg kg-1) 1000 * 112.0 133.0 79.0 105.0 56.0
Total Cu (mg kg-1) 300 * 267.0 254.0 276.0 283.0 139.0
Fertilizing Index 3.5 4.0 4.6 4.6 4.7 2.7
*
Maximum permissible Limit

32
HIGHLIGHTS

• Earthworm could convert coconut husk mixed with animal manure into a valuable
compost
• Mixing of animal manure with coconut husk increased the relative nutrient
recovery
• Index value for maturity parameters were derived for composting of coconut husk
• Manurial value of coconut husk compost improved by pig slurry substitution

33