Influence of vermicomposted soil amendments on plant growth and dry matter partitioning in seedling production

Influence of vermicomposted soil amendments on plant growth and dry matter partitioning in seedling production
IJHSOP
Influence of vermicomposted soil amendments on plant
growth and dry matter partitioning in seedling
production
Mavura Mcleo1, *Mtaita Tuarira1, *Mutetwa Moses2, Musimbo Ngenzile3
1Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Africa University, Box 1320, Old Mutare,
Zimbabwe.
2Alumni, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Africa University, Box 1320, Old
Mutare, Zimbabwe.
3Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Solusi University, Box
Solusi, Bulawayo.
The present experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effects of different vermicompost
substitutions for vlei soil in seedling nursery production. The experiment was laid out in a
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
seeds were planted in five treatment groups including without vermicompost, 25%
vermicompost, 50% vermicompost, 75% vermicompost and 100% vermicompost. Vlei soils were
incorporated into the experiment making up the different supplements. There was significant
(P<0.05) influence of vermicompost amendments. Tallest seedlings were recorded from
V50%(13.2cm) and V75%(12.6cm) and means from treatments V25%, V50% and V75% were
significantly higher than treatment V0%. Treatment V100% recorded the highest number of
leaves(5.88). Highest root fresh weight was recorded from V50%(2.16g). All treatments revealed
a significant difference amongst the treatments with V50% having the highest shoot dry weight
of 2.22g. The means for treatments V50% and V75% were significantly higher than the treatment
V0%. The highest fresh weight (11.31g) was recorded from V50%. All means for plant dry weight
with vermicompost amendments were significantly higher than no vermicompost treatment
(V0%). A ratio of 1:1 vermicompost and vlei gave the best results. These finding indicate that
instead of using vermicompost alone, its use in mixtures with vlei gives the same effect.
Keywords: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus), vermicompost, amendment, growth, vlei, shoot, root, weight.
INTRODUCTION
The main goal of horticultural nurseries is to produce
quality seedlings with target morphological and
physiological features that guarantee crop success after
transplanting. Post-transplant success after the nursery
stage is strongly influenced by plant morphology factors
(Lazcano et al., 2009). Progressively more, nursery stock
is produced in containers due to market demands and
numerous production advantages, including greater
production per surface unit, faster plant growth, higher
plant quality, and lack of dependence on arable land.
Nursery potting media usually contain substantial
amounts of peat moss (Sphagnum spp.) (Raviv et al.,
1986) or cocopeat (Khayyat et al., 2007; Nazari et al.,
2011) since it provides adequate aeration, moisture
retention and support for the seedlings.
*Corresponding author: Mutetwa Moses, Department of
Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Africa University, Box 1320, Old Mutare,
Zimbabwe. Email: mosleymute@gmail.com
International Journal of Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants
Vol. 3(1), pp. 037-046, June, 2017. © www.premierpublishers.org, ISSN: 2141-502X
Research Article

Mavura et al. 038
The use of peat involves the exploitation of non-
renewable resources and the degradation of highly
valuable ecosystems like peatlands (Robertson, 1993).
However, in recent years, increasing consumer concern
about issues such as food quality, environmental safety
and soil conservation has lead to a substantial increase
in the use of sustainable agricultural practices. For that
reason, in order to reduce costs, adopt more
environmentally-friendly practices and the parallel
increasing concern in waste recycling has led to the
proposal of some organic materials of great interest such
as compost-like substrates for example vermicompost.
The latter is a nutrient-rich, microbiologically-active
organic amendment that results from the interactions
between earthworms (i.e. Eisenia fetida Savigny,
Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister) and microorganisms
under non-thermophilic, aerobic conditions (Edwards,
1995). It is a stabilized, finely divided peat-like material
with a low C:N ratio, high porosity and high water-holding
capacity and is very useful for improving the mechanism
and nutrition of the plants (Domínguez, 2004;Kabiri
Khosh Sout, 2008:Yadav and Garg, 2015).
There are only few research studies that have examined
the responses of plants to the use or substitution of
vermicompost to soil or greenhouse container media
(Buckerfield and Webster, 1998; Karmegam et al., 1999;
Edwards et al., 2004; Hashemimajd et al., 2004; Tognetti
et al., 2005; Argüello et al., 2006; Mahdavi Damghani et
al., 2007; Nazari et al., 2008;Mirzaei et al., 2009;
Ahmadabadi et al., 2011). Most of these studies
confirmed that vermicomposts have beneficial effects on
plant growth. Vermicomposts, whether used as soil
additives or as components of horticultural media,
improved seed germination and enhanced rates of
seedling growth and development (Murimba et al., 2015;
Mugwendere et al., 2015).
Benefits of using vermicompost as a soilless substrate
amendment for container grown horticultural crops has
also been reported for a variety of reasons, including
increased plant growth and flowering (Hidalgo and
Harkess 2002:Gupta et al., 2014) correspondingly
improved physical properties (Hidalgo et al., 2006) and
water use efficiency of production (McGinnis et al., 2005)
as well as to provide liming equivalences (McGinnis,
2007). Vermicompost also provides some, but not all,
essential plant nutrients maximize containerized crop
growth, thus an additional source of nutrients (i.e.
Fertilizer) is needed (Atiyeh et al., 1999; Atiyehet al.,
2000a; Atiyeh et al., 2000b). The slowly and steadily
released nutrients by vermicompost into the rhizosphere
provide the suitable conditions for plant uptake (Ansari
and Sukhraj, 2010).
The use of compost in horticulture has occasionally been
shown to be limited by the high electrical conductivity and
the excessively high amount of certain ions that cause
phytotoxicity (García-Gómez et al., 2002), as a
consequence of the chemical properties of the initial
waste and /or inadequate composting procedures. It is
gorged that high levels of vermicompost substitutions
may adversely affect plant growth, development and
yield, especially at germination and seedling stages,
(Arancon et al., 2004; Roberts et al., 2007; Lazcano and
Dominguez 2010; Ievinsh, 2011). These adverse effects,
although possible, are less likely to occur when
vermicompost is used as a potting amendment (Chaoui
et al., 2003). Therefore, it must be used cautiously for the
agricultural and horticultural activities (Ievinsh, 2011). So,
the determination of desirable and economical growth
inducing concentrations of vermicompost for reducing
costs of agriculture is critical (Ladan Moghadam et al.,
2012). The present experiment was undertaken to
evaluate the possible effects of different concentrations of
vermicompost on the growth and development of
cucumber seedlings.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental design and Crop establishment
The experiment was carried out in the shade house at
Africa University Farm (AU) in Mutare, Zimbabwe;
located at 180 53 ‘S, 320 35’E and 1104m altitude. The
seeds of Cucumis sativus were used as test crop and the
vermicompost was purchased from Mutare Farm and city.
Vlei soil was sourced from the university premises. The
characteristics of the vlei and the vermicompost media
are shown below;
Vermicompost was used at five different amendment
levels (0, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) and seeds were
planted in speedling trays. The vermicompost was
amended into the planting media. The duration of the
experiment went on for seven weeks. The experiment
was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design
(RCBD) with three (3) replications and five (5) treatments
as follows;
Treatment 1:
Treatment 2:
Treatment 3:
Treatment 4:
Treatment 5:
V0% - no vermicompost,
V25% - media amendment with 25% vermicompost,
V50% - media amendment with 50% vermicompost,
V75%- media amendment with 75% vermicompost,
V100% - media 100% vermicompost.
Data collection
Destructive sampling was carried out seven weeks from
seeding. Six (6) representative seedlings from each
treatment were selected randomly.
Plant height: This parameter was measured on a regular
interval which was after every two plants. During
measuring, a ruler was used and measuring was done
from the root collar to the apex of the plant or the growing
point.

Int. J. Hort. Sci. Ornam. Plants 039
The characteristics of the vlei and the vermicompost media
Melich 3 extraction
Media pH Min. Initial N (ppm) P2O5
(ppm)
Exchangeable Cations (meq.%)
K
Vlei 6.1 2.05 16.7 0.31
Vermicompost 7.4 18.3 274.1 0.28
Figures not sharing a common letter differ significantly at 0.05 probability.
Figure 1: Shows influence of soil media amendments on plant height.
Number of leaves: Number of leaves was counted from
six plants from each treatment block and an average was
obtained.
Root weight (biomass): This parameter was measured
after the samples had been destroyed as part of the
plant’s fresh weight and dry weight. However, in order to
measure specific root biomass from every sample crop,
the below ground growth was cut from the same point of
each sampled crop and the fresh weight was measured
for every treatment. Root samples from each treatment
were measured together using a sensitive balance.
Stem thickness: Stem diameter was measured with a
Vernier caliper. All the plants were measured from the
same level to avoid redundant differences since the stem
grows thinner as the plant grows vertically.
Fresh weight (roots and leaves): Above ground growth
(stem and leaves) and below ground growth (roots) was
separated and weighed separately and then dried at 650C
in an electric oven for 20 hours to a constant weight to
estimate plant component’s dry weights which were then
calculated as outlined below:
Data analysis
GenStat Discovery 14th Edition was used for Statistical
data analysis and means separated using the least
significant difference (LSD) at P=0.05.
RESULTS
Plant height: Data regarding the influence of amending
the planting media with vermicompost is shown in Figure
1. The means for the plant height as influenced by soil
amendments differed significantly (P<0.05). The tallest
plants were recorded from V50% and V75% with a height of
13.2 cm and 12.6 cm respectively. The shortest plants
were recorded from soil amendment treatment with no
vermicompost (V0%). This means that vermicompost
influenced plant height significantly relative to media with
no vermicompost amendment. However, at a much
higher rate of vermicompost amendment there was a
negative influence on plant height. This is shown by a
decline in plant height at level V100%. Plant height from
treatments V25% and V100% did not differ significantly from
one another. Mean plant height from vermicompost
amended media was 12.00 cm.
Number of leaves: There was significant (P<0.05)
influence of vermicompost amendments on the number of
leaves as shown in Figure 2. All treatments which were
amended with vermicompost produced superior number
of leaves compared to no vermicompost application. As
the vermicompost increased, the number of leaves
increased as well, with V100% recording the highest
number of leaves (5.88). This means as the levels of

Mavura et al. 040
Figure 2. Shows influence of soil media amendments on number of leaves.
Figure 3. Shows influence of soil media amendments on stem thickness.
vermicompost increased the number of leaves increased.
The lowest number of leaves (4.80) was recorded from
V25% for treatments with vermicompost. The mean
number of leaves from vermicompost amended media
was 5.22.
Stem thickness: Data regarding plant stem thickness is
shown in Figure 3. Comparison of means for stem
thickness revealed significant (P<0.05) differences in the
media treatments applied. Stem thickness in treatments
V0% (0.26 cm) and V100% (0.28 cm) were not significantly
different from each other. However, the means for
treatments V25% (0.31 cm), V50% (0.36 cm) and V75%
(0.35cm) were significantly higher than treatment with no
vermicompost amendment (V0%). The application of
vermicompost at much higher levels such as V100% has
little influence since the means of stem thickness are
statistically not significant from vermicompost
amendments at levels V0% andV25%. The mean plant stem
thickness from vermicompost amended media was 0.32
cm.
Fresh weight of plant aerial parts: The comparison of
the treatment means revealed significant (P<0.05)
differences on the fresh weight of shoots (Table 2). When
vermicompost was amended into the growth media there
was a positive influence on fresh weight of the shoots.
The highest shoot fresh weight was recorded from V75%
(8.28g) while the lowest fresh weight was recorded from
V0% (5.55g). The mean shoot fresh weight was 7.92g.
Fresh weight of plant roots: Data pertaining to fresh
weight of the roots as influenced by amendments of
vermicompost is shown in Table 2. The comparison of

Table 1. Characteristics of the vermicompost
Treatments
Shoot Root
Fresh weight
(Grams)
Dry weight
(Grams)
Fresh weight
(Grams)
Dry weight
(Grams)
V0% 5.55a 0.66a 1.27a 0.24a
V25% 6.40b 0.85b 1.22a 0.30a
V50% 9.15d 2.22e 2.16b 0.79c
V75% 8.28c 1.83d 1.82b 0.63b
V100% 7.84c 1.25c 1.82b 0.24a
Mean!
7.92 1.54 1.76 0.49
Significance * * * *
LSD0.05 0.76 0.1712 0.4618 0.0949
CV 5.4 6.7 14.8 11.4
*denotes significance at P<0.05. Figures not sharing a common letter in a column differ significantly at 0.05 probability.
!
this is the average for treatments with vermicompost amendment.
Figure 4. Shows means of influence of treatment on fresh weight of whole plant.
means on root fresh weight shows significant (P<0.05)
differences. Treatments V0% and V25% were not
statistically different from each other and produced the
lowest root fresh weight of 1.27g and 1.22g respectively.
The highest root fresh weight was recorded from V50%
(2.16g). However, the means for treatments V75% (1.82g)
and V100% (1.820g) did not differ significantly from V50%.
These results reveal that there is no benefit that can be
derived from media amendment beyond level V50%. The
mean fresh weight from vermicompost amended media
was 1.76g.
Shoot Dry weight: Data regarding shoot dry weight is
shown in Table 1. The analysis of the means shows a
significant (P<0.05) difference in shoot dry weight. All
treatments revealed a significant difference amongst the
treatments with V50% having the highest shoot dry weight
of 2.22g. Beyond this level (V50%) of media amendment
there is no further benefit can be derived towards shoot
dry matter. The lowest shoot dry weight among the
treatments with vermicompost amendments was V25%
which recorded a mean dry weight of 0.85g. Treatment
V0% had an average shoot dry weight of 0.66g. Mean
shoot dry weight from vermicompost amended media
was at 1.54g.
Dry weight of root: Comparison of the treatment means
regarding root dry weight was significant (P<0.05). The
data for the root dry weight is presented in Table 1. The
means for treatments V50% (0.79g) and V75% (0.63g) were
significantly higher than the treatment with no
vermicompost amendment V0%. However, means for
treatments V25% (0.30g) and V100% (0.24g) did not differ
significantly from treatment V0%. These results reveal that
at lower levels of media amendments (V25%) and much
higher levels (V100%) have no influence on dry weight of
plant roots. Mean root dry weight from vermicompost
amended media was 0.49g.

Mavura et al. 042
Figure 5. Shows means of influence of treatment on dry weight of whole plant.
Whole plant fresh weight: There were significant
(P<0.05) differences among the means for the treatments
investigated (Figure 4). Treatment V0% and V25% were not
statistically different and they recorded the lowest fresh
weight of 6.82g and 7.62g respectively. The highest fresh
weight was recorded from V50%. Means for the fresh
weight of treatment V100% and V75% were not statistically
different from each other. The mean fresh weight from
vermicompost amended media was 9.67g. These results
reveal that lower levels (V25%) of media amendment has
no positive influence on whole plant fresh weight while
beyond levelV50% the influence will start to decline.
Whole plant dry weight: Data for means of whole plant
dry weight is shown in Figure 5. Comparison of the
means for the whole plant dry weight shows that there
were significant (P<0.05) differences. All means for plant
dry weight with vermicompost amendments were
significantly higher than no vermicompost treatment
(V0%). The highest plant dry weight was recorded from
treatment V50% (3.01g) followed by treatment V75%, V100%
and V25% which recorded plant dry weight of 2.46g, 1.49g
and 1.15g respectively. Mean plant dry weight from
vermicompost amended media was 2.03g.
DISCUSSION
The results have revealed the significant impact of
vermicompost on the growth and development of
cucumber shoots as measured within a period of seven
weeks. Data from this experiment and that in the
literature reviewed affirm to the fact that vermicompost
has a positive impact on whole plant fresh and dry
weight, stem thickness, plant height and the number of
leaves among other parameters measured.
Vermicompost affected the leaf characteristics including
the number of produced leaves. V100% treatment had the
highest number of leaves which is in line with Dintcheva
and Trinkoska (2012) who alluded that all vermicomposts
cause greater production of leaves than the control.
Mugwendere et al. (2015) ascribed a lower cumulative
number of leaves in treatments with no vermicompost
amendment mediatothe low nitrogen level. The number
of leaves was proportional to the increase in
vermicompost concentration. Rakesh (2010) also
concluded that the mean plant heights of the treatments
of vermicompost were significantly greater than the mean
plant height of the control, in this case V0%. This supports
results revealed in Figure 1 where all mean plant heights
are significantly (P<0.05) different in favour of
vermicompost. However, these results contrast with
those reported by Moreno-Reséndez et al. (2005) who
did not record differences in height of tomato plants var.
Flora - Dade, developed on substrates with different
levels of vermicompost and sand, when compared with
sand fertilized with nutrient solution.
The amendment with vermicompost on the growth media
supplies additional nutrients for plant growth. Atiyeh et al.
(2001) reported greater growth in the tomato seedlings
grown in substrate containing 50% of vermicompost
without application of synthetic fertilizers. Pour et al.
(2013) attributed the physiological changes observed in
vermicompost treated plants to the humic substances
and nutrients. Sahni et al. (2008) also confirmed that
vermicompost contains considerable amounts of humic
substances and had improved effects on the plant
nutrition. With respect to plant height, Rodriguez et al.
(1998) highlight that greater height promotes the
development of a greater number of leaves and
chlorophyll.
The significant p-value for the whole plant fresh weight
implies that the impact of vermicompost amendment on
vlei soil was positive. Zaller (2007) states that adequate
root and aerial biomass of tomato transplants guarantee

an improved ability to exploit soil resources and higher
photosynthetic capacity. The potential consequences are
enhanced crop yield and improved fruit quality. Trinkoska
and Dintcheva (2012) also advances that, the best shoot
fresh weights and lengths were due to amending the
medium with Bio humus MM which is more like
vermicompost. More than a few studies which are in
concurrence with the findings of the current study have
been done to find the influence of vermicompost on plant
biomass (Singh et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2010; Warman
and AngLopez, 2010; Arancon et al., 2008). Since
vermicompost contains considerable amounts of humic
substances (Atiyeh et al., 2002) and had improved effects
on the plant nutrition (Sahni et al., 2008), its utilization
may induce various physiological changes. The humic
substances present in vermicompost could contribute to
improved germination, seedling elongation, biomass
allocation, fruit morphology and chemical properties of
three tomato varieties (Zaller, 2007) and cucumber
(Atiyeh et al., 2002).
Instead of using vermicompost alone, nursery growers
can benefit from using the vermicompost mixed with vlei
or sand soils as these bequeathed the same effect
(Murimba et al., 2015). Results from this current
investigation also show that best characteristics were
obtained from both substrates for optimum productivity
which is observed in the treatment V50%. A similar study
by Gondek (2003) revealed that the highest dry shoot
yields of rape grown were produced in the objects where
vermicomposts and untreated tannery sludge were
applied, implying that the two substrates have to be
mixed to improve growth of the crop. An apparent
increase in winter rape root dry mass yield (as compared
to yields from mineral treatment and farmyard manure)
was found as the consecutive effect of untreated tannery
sludge and vermicompost. A study by Edwards (1995)
revealed that earthworm cast increases plant dry
biomass. This correlates to results observed where
increase vermicompost was directly proportional to
biomass assimilated. However, in this case, nutrient
assimilation is increasing at a decreasing rate at higher
vermicompost proportions as shown by the decline in dry
weight in treatments V75% and V100%. Above 50%
concentration of vermicompost. Karmegam and Daniel
(2010) observed a decrease in effect on most of the
parameters. For instance, whole plant fresh weight, stem
thickness and plant height decreased at high levels of
vermicopost confirming its deleterious effects on crop
grown in large quantities. Singh et al. (2010) reported
similar findings in tomato and lettuce where specific leaf
weight showed decreasing pattern by increasing the
amounts of vermicompost. Shoot dry weight decreased at
an increasing rate of vermicompost with the biggest value
attained at V50% subsequently decreasing to V75% and
V100%.
Borji et al., (2014) also showed that treatment with 50%
vermicompost and 75% vermicompost had the greatest
impact on plant stem diameter compared with other
treatments. V50% and V75% are statistically in same level
as in the case of V0% and V100% revealing the significance
of using vermicompost to ameliorate soil media.
Vijayakumari and Hiranmai (2012) divulges that
vermicompost in the form of poultry manure has an edge
over the control which used inorganic fertilisers because
application of organic manures might have supplied N, P
and K nutrients through-out the crop growth period as
slow released nutrients. Nethra et al. (1999) observed
that the maximum plant height and number of leaves of
China aster (Callistephuschinensis) were high after
application of 10 t/ha vermicompost. This is attributed to
better growth of plants and higher yield by slow release of
nutrients for absorption with additional growth promoters
like gibberellin, cytokinin and auxins, when using organic
inputs like vermicompost. This is also representative of
what is in the results as the maximum leaf number and
height is directly proportional to increase in vermicompost
concentration.
CONCLUSION
The enhanced plant growth may be attributed to various
directand indirect mechanisms, including biologically
mediated mechanisms such as the supply of plant-growth
regulating substances, and improvements in soil
biological functions. Stimulation of plant growth may
depend mainly on the biological characteristics of
vermicompost, the plant species used and the cultivation
conditions. With reference to results obtained, it seems
that the application of vermicompost at suitable quantities
is beneficial and advantageous for plant growth and
development. The integration of vlei soil and
vermicompost at optimum levels resulted in the formation
of substrate that enhances growth and development of
nursery plants. Vermicompost is part of the answer to
promote plant growth and development probably via the
modified nutrition and metabolismand reduced time to
transfer seedlings from nursery to field. Smallholder
farmers can therefore integrate vermicompost and vlei
soil at the level of 50% as the most effective treatment to
improve growth and development of seedlings higher
high levels may have adverse effects.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to extend many thanks to Mrs A. Mavura for
funding this research. Our gratitude also goes to the
Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Mr T.
Masaka for supporting this work.

Mavura et al. 044
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Mavura et al. 046
allocation, yields and fruit quality of three tomato
varieties. Scientia Horticulturae, 112, 191-199.
Accepted 29 June, 2016.
Citation: Mavura M, Mtaita T, Mutetwa M, Musimbo N.
(2017). Influence of vermicomposted soil amendments on
plant growth and dry matter partitioning in seedling
production. International Journal of Horticulture and
Ornamental Plants 3(1): 037-046.
Copyright: © 2017. Mavura et al. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are cited.

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