Kevin R. Butt *, James Frederickson, Richard M. Morris

Biosystems Research Group, Centre for Technology Strategy, The Open University,

Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

An 8-fold increase in A. longa numbers was recorded over 12 weeks. This compares with a doubling over a similar time period from field-equivalent data for the same species (Evans and Guild, 1948). Reproduction rates during the EIU trial exceeded those found during controlled, pot-scale laboratory experiments for this species (Butt, 1993) whilst cocoon hatchability figures were similar.

Clive A. Edwards*, Norman Q. Arancon*, Tse Chi Kai** and David Ellery**,  *Soil Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA ** Sunburst Waste Management Technologies Ltd, Australia

Most people are familiar with the principles of thermophilic composting, which is a microbial process that utilizes certain aerobic microorganisms to break down organic materials such as wastes. This process involves an aerobic, microbial heating process, which raises the temperature of the organic materials to 55° – 70° C for at least 72 hours, followed by a maturation phase of several days. This process depends on keeping the organic materials aerated, either by turning organic piles mechanically, or by injecting air into enclosed systems. The product has a number of uses as field soil amendments, but has a relatively poor structure and comparatively limited amounts of plant-available nutrients. (Edwards and Bohlen, 1996; Edwards

and Arancon, 2004). More recently, there has been considerable world-wide interest and significant technological progress, particularly at The Ohio State University, on the production and optimal uses of vermicomposts. Vermicomposts can be processed from most organic wastes such as animal manures, and particularly, paper and food wastes, through interactions between earthworms and microorganisms, in a mesophilic process (up to 35°C), to produce fully-stabilized materials with low carbon to nitrogen ratios. They have high and diverse enzymatic and microbial activities and contents, a fine particulate structure, good moisture-holding capacity and contain nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and calcium in forms readily taken up by plants. Vermicomposts can have dramatic effects upon the germination, growth, flowering, fruiting and yields of most crops, particularly fruit and vegetables, which are high value crops.

Scott Chapman¹ and Daryl McCartney²

 1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba,  Canada  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta,

Phase 1 of the research was a preliminary investigation that employed small bench-scale compost reactors containing various recipes using the three feedstock materials (straw, process unders, and a livestock lagoon sludge) at different moisture levels in an attempt to gain an understanding of composting effectiveness and to aid in the selection of several recipes that could be used for larger-scale laboratory testing.

Phase 2 was a larger-scale investigation focused on the composting of four recipes of varying straw particle sizes. The objectives for this phase were to investigate the effects of particle size on compost degradation and volume reduction and to monitor the rate and degree of degradation over a typical Canadian Prairie summer composting period (180 days) to estimate the

degradability of straw.

Surindra Suthar^a,*, Sushma Singh^b

^a Environmental Biology Laboratory, Post-Graduate Department of Zoology, B.R.G. Govt. Girls (PG)    College, Sri Ganganagar 335001, India

^b Department of Chemistry, N.M. PG College, Hanumangarh 335513, India

The greater microbial density and activities, as measured through

microbial biomass-N and dehydrogenase activity, respectively, further support the hypothesis that the microbial load of vermireactor could be accelerated by introducing drilosphere constructing worms in waste decomposing system.

P. C. Brookes, Andrea Landman,* G. Pruden* and D. S. Jenkinson

Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden,

Her&. AL5 214, U.K.

he fumigation-extraction method has certain advantages over biomass N measurements by fumigation-incubation. The problems associated with the incubation stage-the need for complete fumigant removal and for a prolonged incubation under carefully controlled conditions do not arise.

 Antonella Anastasi, Giovanna C. Varese, Samuele Voyron, Silvano  Scannerini

 and Valeria Filipello Marchisio

Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale Universitti degli Studi di Torino, Italy

These results constitute a contribution to microbiological understanding of commercial composts, whose fungal component is often overlooked despite the favorable and unfavorable effects of fungi in the various situations in which composts are employed.

Norman Q. Arancon ^a, Clive A. Edwards ^a, Peter Bierman ^b, James D. Metzger ^c, Chad Lucht ^d

 ^a Soil Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43201 USA

^b 809 S. Chugach, suite 2 Plamer, AK 99645, USA

^c Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State Uneversity, Columbus, OH 43201 USA

^d SWCD, 831 College Ave suite B Lancaster, OH 43130, USA

The increase growth and yields of peppers in the field confirm our greenhouse experiment on the positive effects of Vermicomposting and traditional compost on the plant growth and yield. Increased growth and yield of peppers in the field were attributable to a number of positive effects of applications of Vermicompost in field soils.

Rajbit Singh

Vermicompost  application increase plant spread (10,7%) leaf area (23,1%) and dry matter (20,7%), and increase total fruit yield (32,7%) Substitution of vermicompost drastically reduced the increase of physiological disorder like albinism (16,1% – 4,5%), fruit malformation (11,5%-4%) and occurrence ofgrey mould (10,4 – 2,1%) in strawberry indicating that Vermicompost has significant role in reducing nutrient-related disorders and disease like Botrytis rot and thereby increasing the marketable fruit yield up to 58,6% with better quality parameters. Fruit harvested from from plant receiving Vermicompost were firmer, have higher TSS, ascorbic acid content and lower acidity, and have attractive colour.

N.Q. Arancon ^a,*, C.A Edwards ^a, P.Bierman ^b

^a Soil Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 400 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 12^th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA, ^b University Of Alaska, Copper River/Mat-su District, 809 S. Chugach, Suite 2, Palmer, AK 99645, USA

he overall amounts of the major elements such as N and P in the vermicompost-amended soils appeared to be similar to those in soils treated with inorganic fertilizers only, throughout the growth cycle of strawberries, except for isolated cases where orthophosphates occured at higher levels in vermicompost-amended soils.

N.Q Arancon ^a,*, C.A Edwards ^a, P Bierman ^b, C.Welch ^c, J.D Metzger ^d

^a Soil Ecology Laboratory, 400 Aronoff Laboratory, Ohio State University, 318 W 12^Th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA, ^b Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, College of Argricultural, Food and Enviromental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 439 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA, ^c The Ohio State University South Centers, Piketon, OH 45661, USA, ^d Department of Horticulture and Plant Sciences, The Ohio State University, 400 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 W 12^th Avnue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Dry shoot weights and leaf areas of plants in plots treated with vermicompost did not differ from those in plots receiving inorganic fertilizers, whereas there were more (p< 0.05), runners and flowers on plants in plots grown with vermicompost treatments than on those grown with inorganic fertilizers. Marketable strawberries yields were greater (p<0.05) on plants grown in plots treated with vermicomposts than from plants grown in plots treated with only inorganic fertilizers.