1. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
147
EFFECT OF VERMICOMPOST ON NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND THEIR
INFLUENCE ON BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF SELECTED
VEGETABLE PLANTS
M. Lakshmi Prabha1
, M. Shanmuga priya 2*
1
Department of Biotechnology, Karunya University, Karunya Nagar, Coimbatore-641114,
Tamilnadu, India.
2
Department of Biotechnology, MVJ College of Engineering, Near ITPB, Channasandra,
Bangalore - 560067, Karnataka
ABSTRACT
Use of chemical fertilizers have lead to decline in fertility and productivity besides causing
deficiency and imbalance of macro and micronutrients. The use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide
has posed a serious threat to the environment and resulted in the repercussions on the ecosystem. The
chemical residues in the food products are causing injury to human beings and cattle population. Use
of organic manure plays an important role in the maintenance of soil productivity and improving
physical condition of soil for sustainable and better plant growth. The present investigation was
aimed to study the effect of inorganic fertilizer, farmyard manure and vermicompost on the uptake of
macronutrients namely nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and micronutrients namely iron and
copper and their influence on biochemical parameters namely protein content, chlorophyll content,
cellulose content and total carbohydrate content of two selected vegetable plants viz., Hibiscus
esculentus and Solanum melongena and two medicinal plants viz., Adhatoda vasica and Solanum
trilobatum. Our current research work revealed that the uptake of macro and micronutrients by
studied plants were faster, higher and the growth related primary metabolites namely total
carbohydrates, protein, cellulose and chlorophyll were higher in vermicompost applied plants than
other treated plants.
Keywords: Vermicompost, Farmyard manure, macronutrients, micronutrients, vegetable plants,
medicinal plants.
INTRODUCTION
Modern agriculture with its potential to wrest the country out of food trap and fines to reach
the era of self-sufficiency in food grain production also has brought a plethora of environmental
problems. The present day agriculture is no more sustainable in most parts of the country due to
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2. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
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environmental degradation, loss in productivity and a series of consequent complex problems (Nayak
and Rath, 1996). The increasing trend of abundant use of inorganic fertilizers along with herbicides
and pesticides, the practice of monoculture or two crop rotations and exploiting available water
resources in the present intensive agriculture system cause a threat to the sustainability of our agro-
ecosystem. There are the problems of mining of soils, soil erosion, soil fertility deterioration,
salinization and environmental pollution throughout the country, thereby affecting land productivity
(Singh et al.,2001). In view of this worldwide, there is an increasing awareness about alternative
agricultural practises, known variably as biological / organic/ ecological / regenerative / natural /
biodynamic or low input agriculture (Dutt and Menon, 2004) is the need of the day. Hence, the
biggest challenge we have at present is to change the modern inorganic farming system to organic
farming system rapidly without any loss of yield.
Organic manure has number of apparent agronomic and environmental advantages.
Traditionally used farmyard manure have agronomic value, but nitrogen immobilization, salinity
effects and pathogens levels may be problematic. During the past few decades, however, organic
manure was overlooked in favour of chemical fertilizers that came with high-yielding varieties of
crops. In recent years increasing fertilizer input cost, soil health, sustainability and pollution
considerations have led to renewed interest in the use of organic manure.
Though the organic manure contains plant nutrients but the sudden change from the use of
inorganic fertiliser to organic manure may result in decreased yield of the crop. A transition period of
2-3 years is necessary for the soil to adapt to the dynamic changes in soil structure and soil fertility
for the use of organic manure. This transition period may be curtailed to 2-3 months by using
vermicompost and there by make the agricultural practise sustainable and prosperus inorder to meet
present and future needs.
Vermicompost being a major component of organic manure is an entirely natural product
which maintain the soil ecosystem and leaves no adverse effect on it (Chhonkar and Dwivedi, 2004).
Vermicomposting is the term given to the process of conversion of biodegradable matter by
earthworms into vermicasts. In this process, the nutrients contained in the organic matter are partly
converted to more bioavailable forms (Gajalakshmi and Abbasi, 2004). Vermicompost contains
macro and micro nutrients, hormones and enzymes, which it acquires during the passage of the
organic matter through the earthworm gut and they have stimulatory effect on plant growth (Prabha et
al., 2005).
Since vegetable plants and medicinal plants play a vital role in maintaining health, to control
and to cure certain diseases, an attempt was made to study the effect of vermicompost and
comparison was made with inorganic fertilizer and farmyard manure on uptake of macro and micro
nutrients and its influence on growth related biochemical parameters of selected vegetable plants
namely Hibiscus esculentus and Solanum melongena and medicinal plants namely Adhatoda vasica
and Solanum trilobatum at different time intervals (30, 60 and 90 days) after planting.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The seeds of Hisbiscus esculentus and Solanum melongena were collected from Frooke
nursery, State Bank of India Road, Coimbatore – 640 018, Tamilnadu, India. The stem cuttings of
Adhatoda vasica and Solanum trilobatum were collected from Ayurveda hospital, Ramanathapuram,
Coimbatore – 641 045, Tamilnadu, India. The selected vegetable plants and medicinal plants were
cultivated during late winter and early summer (i.e. during the months of January and February).
The seeds of Hibiscus esculentus and Solanum melongena were sown in eight different pots.
The stem cuttings of Adhatoda vasica and Solanum trilobatum were also planted in eight different
pots as follows.

3. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
149
T1 - Control (without any manure)
T2 - Inorganic Manure (NPK at 1:1:1 ratio)
T3 - Farmyard Manure
T4 - Vermicompost
In each pot containing different manures, 75 seeds of each vegetable plant were sown and
watered regularly. For Adhatoda vasica and Solanum trilobatum four stem cuttings of each were
planted in eight different pots containing various manures and watered regularly. The following
parameters were observed on the 30th
, 60th
and 90th
day after sowing and planting.
The macronutrients namely nitrogen was analysed by the method of Jackson (1980),
phosphorus and potassium by the method as described by Jackson (1973). The micronutrients
namely iron and copper were done by the procedure described by Lindsey and Norwell (1978).
Various biochemical parameters namely protein by (Lowry et al., 1951), total carbohydrate (Hedge
and Hofreiter 1962), cellulose (updegroff 1969) and chlorophyll content (Arnon 1949) of selected
vegetable and medicinal plants were assayed.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
For the purpose of statistical analysis, Duncan’s multiple range test was applied for comparing
treatment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Green revolution of 1960s has tremendously enhanced the agricultural production mainly due
to the abundant use of pesticides, fertilisers, improved seed varieties, cultivars and other inputs
(Ayala, 2001). However the unilateral use of chemical fertilizers, devoid of organic sources, have
made our soils sick and problematic.
Organic farming emphasizes management practices involving substantial use of organic
manures (Gaur, 2001). The recycling of crop residues and organic wastes through vermicomposting
methods is the key technology for disposal and production of organic manures. The hygienic disposal
of organic wastes by vermicomposting is an environmentally sound and economically – viable
technology resulting in the production of organic fertilizer which is basic and valuable input in
organic farming (Marwaha, 2004). Thus to analyze the efficiency of inorganic fertilizer, farmyard
manure and vermicompost on the uptake of macronutrients namely nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium and micronutrients namely iron and copper and their influence on the various biochemical
contents like protein, total carbohydrate, cellulose and chlorophyll of selected vegetable and
medicinal plants is given in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 respectively.
Based on the data presented in Table 1 and Table 2, it is evident that the levels of macro and
micronutrients were less in inorganic manure (NPK) applied vegetable and medicinal plants when
compared to farmyard manure and vermicompost applied plants. The inorganic fertilizer contains
mainly macronutrients namely nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Besides the macronutrients,
micronutrients are also required in minute quantities for the proper functioning, growth and
development of the plant. Since inorganic fertilizer lacks micronutrients, the plant has to uptake the
micronutrients from the soil for the growth and development of the plants. Continuous uptake of
micronutrients from the soil leads to decline in soil fertility thus resulting in slow growth of the
plants.
Farmyard manure is the most commonly used organic manure, which contains varying
proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium depending upon the type of animals and the nature
of feed (Chhonkar, 1995). Farmers generally rely on animal dung for manure making (farmyard

4. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 5, July – August (2013), © IAEME
150
manure) by dumping in a pit or a heap near the dwellings on the roadside without proper attention
and maintenance. Since the process of composting is not controlled, a poor quality farmyard is
formed with lower benefits in macro and micro nutrients and the uptake of macro and micro nutrients
by the plants is also less and this might be the reason for low levels of macro and micro nutrients in
farmyard manure applied vegetable and medicinal plants.
Vermicompost is a potent bioorganic manure than traditional compost and it is free from
pathogens. Vermicompost contains macro and micro plant nutrients in an easily available form that
plants can easily assimilate for their growth and development. The highly stable macro and
micronutrient content of the vermicompost has a unique time release quality. Due to this the nutrients
in the vermicompost are released slowly and steadily as the plant needs them for growth. Our results
are in bar with Anita and Prema (2003) who stated that vermicompost contains both macro and micro
nutrients in readily available form, hence the uptake of both macro and micro nutrients is more,
resulting in better yield and growth of the plant.
From Table 3,it is shown that higher levels of protein, cellulose, total carbohydrate and
chlorophyll content were observed in vermicompost applied vegetable and medicinal plants as
compared to inorganic manure (NPK) and farmyard manure applied vegetable and medicinal plants.
Nitrogen is an important constituent of proteins, coenzymes and porphyrins. It plays a vital role in
growth and metabolism by constituting porphyrins that are the important part of chlorophylls and
cytochromes. Phosphorus is a plant component that supplies energy for growth and maintenance.
Phosphorus is an integral component of cell membranes, which keep out unnecessary compounds and
allow in those needed for plant cells to function properly. Phosphorus is an important constituent of
nucleic acids, nucleotide chains, NADP and ATP. Through ATP formation and nucleic acid,
phosphorus enhance the protein synthesis. Further, coenzymes like NAD, NADP and ATP,
phosphorus is necessary in oxido - reduction and energy transfer reactions of respiration and
photosynthesis. Potassium activates certain enzymes in plants and regulates the opening and closing
of stomata, which regulates air flow in and water transpiration out of leaves. Potassium balances
charges between ions within plant cells and regulates turgor pressure,helping to protect plant cells
from invading diseases. Potassium is absorbed by plants in larger amounts than any other mineral
element except nitrogen. Potassium unlike nitrogen and phosphorus, is not found in organic
combinations with plant tissues. Potassium plays an essential role in the metabolic processes of plants
and is required in adequate amounts in several enzymatic reactions, particularly those involving the
adenosine phosphates (ATP and ADP), which are the energy carries in the metabolic processes of
both plants and animals. Potassium also is essential in carbohydrate metabolism, a process by which
energy is obtained from sugar. Similarly potassium is essential for the process of respiration,
photosyntheisis and acts as an activator of many enzymes of protein synthesis. Iron and copper are
required in comparatively lesser amounts, hence they are considered as a micronutrient. Iron is an
important constituent of iron porphyrin proteins like cytochrome catalases and cytochrome
peroxidases and for synthesis of chlorophyll. Iron is an important constituent of ferrodoxin which
involves in primary photochemical reactions and biological nitrogen fixation. Copper is the important
constituent of several oxidizing enzymes and coenzymes. Copper is absorbed as cu2+ or as a salt in
EDTA. Copper is an activator of several enzymes in plant processes and may function with the
photosynthesis reaction in plants.
Earthworms selectively feed on organically rich substrates which get broken down during
passage through the gut. Biological grinding together with enzymatic influence on finer soil mineral
particles while passing through the gut could result in increase in overall available, exchangable and
water solubles of N,P,K in the soil. Vermicompost consists of semi digested loosely packed granular
aggregate provides energy for establishment of various microorganisms whose activities are essential
for maintaining the texture/structure of the soil and are essential for release of the nutrients to the
plants. Besides biochemical activities of established microbes, worm-exudates containing some

5. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN
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enzymes have stimulatory effect on plant growth. Vermicompost’s are mixed with water and mucus,
thus pH becomes neutral. The casts ingested soils showed the availability of freely exchangeable
NPK, thus was a significant increase in the values of biochemical parameters like total carbohydrate,
cellulose, chlorophyll and protein in insitu vermicultured plants when compared to plants receiving
inorganic fertilizer and farmyard manure. Present results are in accordance with findings of Sood and
Lal (2004) who evaluated vermicompost as an organic source of plant nutrients in potato.
CONCLUSION
The fertilizing value of earthworm castings and the beneficial effects on crops have been
related to the presence of active mineral nutrients and plant growth regulators with phytohormonal
action. Humic substances have been found to possess both phytohormonal and pH balancing
properties. Vermicompost has not only offered essential macro and micro nutrients but also acts as
buffer for the soil, thereby making the available, unavailable nutrients. These characteristics make
vermicomposts useful as more healthy organic fertilizers than farmyard manure and inorganic
fertilizer. To conclude, no single nutrient source like chemical fertilizer, organic manure, biofertilizer
is able to meet the total nutrient needs. But vermicompost increases the quality and quantity of
nutrient resulting in quick absorption of nutrients and this will increase the growth related
biochemical parameters namely total carbohydrate, cellulose, chlorophyll and protein.
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