Authors : Pratibha Gautam; Kumari Puja; Nikita Gautam; Dr. Praveen Kumar Agrawal

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/46zbyc6k

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/27z6nsyv

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25aug1184

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Note : Google Scholar may take 30 to 40 days to display the article.

Abstract : Vermiculture represents a sustainable and eco-efficient strategy for managing organic waste by harnessing earthworms to transform biodegradable residues into nutrient-rich compost. This review critically evaluates the performance of Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae, and Perionyx excavatus in converting diverse wastes ranging from crop residues and kitchen waste to fruit peels and plant litter into high-value vermicompost. Emphasis placed on their capacity to enhance physicochemical properties, accelerate nutrient mineralization, and stimulate beneficial microbial activity. The potential of vermicompost in immobilizing toxic heavy metals like Pb, Cd, Zn etc., also highlighted, underscoring its dual role in soil restoration and environmental remediation. Overall, vermicomposting emerges as a low-cost, scalable, and environmentally sound technology with transformative potential for sustainable agriculture. Future research must focus on closing knowledge gaps, optimizing operational conditions, and mainstreaming vermicomposting in integrated solid waste management frameworks.

Keywords : Vermicompost; Earthworm Species; Organic Waste Management; Bioremediation; Heavy Metals.

References :

1. N. Gopalakrishnan, Village wealth from urban waste. In: Jeyaraaj, R., Jayraaj, I. A. (Eds) Proceedings of the UGC sponsored national level workshop on vermitechnology transfer to NSS programme officers. Rohini Press, Coimbatore, pp. 20-31, 2005.
2. D.H. Lee, S. K. Behera, J. W. Kim & H.S. Park, Methane production potential of leachate generated from Koran food waste recycling facilities, A lab-scale study, Waste Manag, vol. 29, pp. 876-882, 2009.
3. S. Mor, K. Ravindra, R. Dahiya & A. Chandra, Leachate characterization and assessment of groundwater pollution near municipal solid waste landfill site, Environ. Monit. Asses, vol. 118, pp. 435-456, 2006.
4. L. Zirbes, Q. Renard, J. Dufey, K.P. Tu, H. N. Duyet & P. Lebailly, Valorization of water hyacinth in vermicomposting using epigeic earthworm Perionyx excavatus in Central Vietnam, Biotechnol. Argon. Soc. Environ., vol. 15, pp. 85-93, 2011.
5. S. Karmakar, K. Brahmachari, A. Gangopadhyay & S. R. Choudhary, Recycling of different available organic wastes through vermicomposting, E-Journal of Chemistry, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 801-806, 2012.
6. S.L. Lim & T.Y. Wu, Determination of maturity in the vermicompost produced from palm oil mill effluent using spectroscopy, structural characterization and thermogravimetric analysis, Ecol. Eng., vol. 84, pp. 515-519, 2015.
7. A. J. Patangray, Vermicompost: Beneficial tool for sustainable farming, Asian J. Multidisciplinary Stud., vol. 2, pp. 254-257, 2014.
8. R. Joshi, J. Singh, J & A. P. Vig, Vermicompost as an effective organic fertilizer and biocontrol agent: Effect on growth, yield and quality of plants, Rev. Environ. Sci. Biotechnol., vol. 14, pp. 137-159, 2015.
9. J. Dominguez, C. Edwards, C & S. Subler, Comparison of vermicomposting and composting, Biocycle, vol. 38, pp. 57-59, 1997.
10. R. D. Kale, K. Bano & R. V. Krishnamoorthy, “Potential of Perionyx excavatus in utilization of organic wastes,” Pedobiologia, vol. 23, pp. 419–425, 1982.
11. B. K. Senapati & M. C. Dash, Earthworms as waste conditioners, Indus. Eng. J., vol. 11, pp. 53-58, 1982.
12. H. Wu, J. Yang, K. Yang, X. Li & Y. Zhao, Effect of moisture on vermicomposting of sewage sludge with Eisenia fetida, Environmental Technology, vol. 35, no. 17, pp.  2205–2212, 2014.
13. J. Singh, Habitat preferences of selected Indian earthworm species and their efficiency in the reduction of organic material, Soil Biol. Biochem., vol. 29, pp. 585-588, 1997.
14. H. W. Olson, The earthworms of Ohio, Ohio Biol. Surv. Bull, vol. 17, pp. 47-90, 1928.
15. A. C. Evans & W. J. M. L. Guild, Studies on the relationships between earthworms and soil fertility, 4^th (Eds) on the life cycles of some British Lumbricidae, Ann. Appl. Bio., vol. 35, pp. 471-484, 1948.
16. R. Kavitha & P. Subramanian, Bioactive compost: value-added compost with microbial inoculants and organic additives, J. Appl. Sci., vol. 7, pp. 2514-2518, 2007.
17. M. M. Manyuchi, L. Kadzungura & S. Boka, Vermifiltration of sewage wastewater using Eisenia fetida earthworms for potential use in irrigation purposes, World Academy of Science in Engineering and Technology, International Conference in Environment and Waste Management, Copenhagen, Denmark, June, pp.13-14, 2013.
18. T. B. Pagaria & K.L. Totwat, Effects of press mud and spent wash in integration with phosphogypsum on metallic cation build-up in the calcareous sodic soils, J. Ind. Soc. Soil Sci., vol. 55, pp.52-57, 2007.
19. T. G. Wood, The distribution of earthworms (Megascolecidae) concerning soils, vegetation and altitude on the slopes of Mt. Kosciusko, Australia. J. Anim. Ecol., vol. 43, pp. 87-106, 1974.
20. E. F. Neuhauser, R. C. Loehr & M. R. Malecki, The potential of earthworms for managing sewage sludge, In: Edwards, C. A., Neuhauser, E. F. (Eds) Earthworms in waste and environmental management. SPB, The Hague, pp. 9-20, 1988.
21.  G. Gajalakshmi and S. A. Abbasi, “Solid waste management by composting: State of the art,” Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 311–400, 2008.
22. M. Sinha, R. Bharambe, and S. Patil, “Bioremediation of lead and cadmium from contaminated soil using Eudrilus eugeniae”, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, vol. 114, pp. 214–222, 2015.
23. P. Tripathi and S. Bhardwaj, “Comparative efficiency of Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus in vermicomposting of kitchen waste,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 97, no. 3, pp. 441–445, 2006.
24. C. Edwards, N. Arancon, and R. Sherman, Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, and Environmental Management. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2011.
25.  S. Gajalakshmi, E. V. Ramasamy & S. A. Abbasi, Biores. Tech., vol. 76, pp. 171-181.
26. S. Gajalakshmi, E. V. Ramasamy, and S. A. Abbasi, “Potential of two epigeic and two anecic earthworm species in vermicomposting of water hyacinth”, Bioresource Technology, vol. 76, no. 3, pp. 177–181, 2001.
27. E. Ouedraogo, Mando & N. P. Zombre, Use of compost to improve soil properties and crop productivity under low input agricultural system in West Africa, Agric. Ecosyst. Environ, vol. 1, pp. 259-266, 2001.
28. A. Shiralipour, D. B. McConnell & W. H. Smith, Uses and benefits of MSW compost, a review and an assessment, Biomass Bioenergy, vol. 32, pp. 67-79, 1992.
29. W. T. Frankenberger & M. Arshad, Phytohormones in soils: Microbial production and function. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1995.
30. L. P. Canellas, F. L. Olivares, A. L. Okorokova-Facanha, A. R. & Facanha, Humic acids isolated from earthworm compost enhance root elongation, lateral root emergence, and plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase activity in maize roots, Plant Physiol., vol. 130, pp. 1951-1957, 2002.
31. H. I. Chaoui, L. M. Zibilske & T. Ohno, Effects of earthworm casts and composts on soil microbial activity and plant nutrient availability, Soil Biol. Biochem., vol. 35, pp. 295-302, 2003.
32. H. A. Lunt & H. G. Jacobson, The chemical composition of earthworm casts. Soil Sci., vol. 58: 367-375, 1994.
33. K. Raphael & K. Velmourougane, Chemical and microbial changes during vermicomposting of coffee pulp using exotic Eudrilus eugeniae and native earthworm Perionyx ceylanesis species, Biodegradation, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 497-507, 2011.
34. C. Ghosh, Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC), 2004.
35. L. Yarger, Vermiculture basics and vermicompost. ECHO Technical Notes ECHO 17391 Durrance Road, North Fort Myers, U.S.A., 2010.
36. A. Yadav and V. Garg, “Nutrient Status of Vermicompost of Urban Green Waste Processed by three Earthworm Species Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae, and Perionyx excavatus,” Applied and Environmental Soil Science, 2010.
37. P. S. Suthar, “Vermiremediation and comparative exploration of physicochemical changes and nutrient enrichment in post-vermicompost,” Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2021.
38. S. S. Kumar et al., “Performance of different species of earthworms on vermicomposting,” 2017.
39. N. Q. Arancon, C. A. Edwards, P. Bierman, C. Welch, and J. D. Metzger, “Influences of vermicomposts on field strawberries: 1. Effects on growth and yields,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 93, pp. 145–153, 2004.
40. N. Q. Arancon, C. A. Edwards, and P. Bierman, “Influences of vermicomposts on field strawberries, Part 2- Effects on soil and plant nutrient levels,” Bioresource Technology, 2005.
41. A. A. Alattar et al., “Vermicompost Rate, Effects on Soil Fertility and Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Traits of Lettuce,” Horticulturae, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 418, 2024.
42. M. S. I. Khan et al., “Comparative assessment of growth potential and vermicomposting performance of E. fetida, E. eugeniae and P. excavatus,” Int. J. Management, Technology & Engineering, 2018.
43. N. Q. Arancon, C. A. Edwards, A. Babenko, J. Cannon, P. Galivis & J. D. Metzger, Influences of vermicomposts, produced by earthworms and microorganisms from cattle manure, food waste and paper waste, on the germination, growth and flowering of petunias in the greenhouse, Appl. soil Ecol., vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 91-99, 2008.
44. L. Goswami, A. Nath, S. Sutradhar, S. S. Bhattacharyya, A. Kalamdhad, K. Vellingiri & K. Kim, Application of drum compost and vermicompost to improve soil health, growth, and yield parameters for tomato and cabbage plants. J. Environ. Manag, vol. 200, pp. 243-252, 2017.
45. S. Das, T. K. Charan, S. Mukherjee, S. Seal, R. K. Sah, B. Duary, K. Kim & S. S. Bhattacharya, Impact of edaphic factors and nutrient management on the hepatoprotective efficiency of Carlinoside purified from pigeon pea leaves: An evaluation of UGT1A1 activity in hepatitis-induced organelles. Environ. Res., vol. 161, pp. 512-523, 2018.
46. O. Bajsa, J. Nair, K. Mathew & G. E. Ho, Pathogen die-off in vermicomposting process. Paper presented at the International Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems, Perth, 2004.
47. M. Khalfi, Z. Ghanavi & S. Rezazade, Comparison of chemical quality of compost and vermicompost produced from sugar beet waste, 7^th National Conference on Environmental Health, Shahrekurd University of Medical Science, Shahrekurd, Iran, 14-16 September 2004 [Persian].
48. J. Singh, & A. Kaur, Vermicompost as a strong buffer and a natural adsorbent for reducing transition metals, BOD, and COD from industrial effluent, Ecol. Eng., vol. 74, pp. 13-19, 2015.
49. X. He, Y. Zhang, Shen, Y. Tian, K. Zheng & G. Zeng, Vermicompost as a natural adsorbent, Evaluation of simultaneous metals (Pb, Cd) and tetracycline adsorption by sewage sludge-derived vermicompost, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int., vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 8375-8384, 2017.
50. A. Abbaspour & A. Golchin, Immobilization of heavy metals in a contaminated soil in Iran using di-ammonium phosphate, vermicompost and zeolite, Environ. Earth Sci., vol. 63, pp. 5, pp. 935-943, 2011.
51. W. Zhu, W. Du, X. Shen, H. Zhang & Y. Ding, Comparative adsorption of Pb⁺² and Cd⁺² by cow manure and its vermicompost, Environ. Pollut, vol. 227, pp. 89-97, 2017.
52. R. Panday, B. B. Basnet, P. S. Bhatt & A. S. Tamrakar, Bioconcentration of Heavy Metals in Vermicomposting Earthworms (Eisenia fetida, Perionyx excavatus, and Lampito mauritii) in Nepal, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 416–418, 2014.
53. P. Pattnaik & M. A. Reddy, Remediation of Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Mn from urban waste soil using Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida, and Perionyx excavatus, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 11, no. 29, pp. 1–10, 2010.
54. S. Suthar, S. Singh, S. Dhawan & K. Kumar, Comparative assessment of heavy metal removal during vermicomposting and composting of municipal solid waste, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 187, no. 3, pp. 1–12, 2015.
55. R. Sharma, A. S. Arora & S, Singh, Earthworm-mediated bioremediation of heavy metals through vermicomposting, A sustainable approach, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 28, no. 22, pp. 28067–28079, 2021.
56. J. Singh, J., A. P. Vig, A. P., & S. S. Dhaliwal, Bioremediation of cadmium, copper, and nickel using Perionyx excavatus: Insights into earthworm gut interactions and enzymatic detoxification, Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 305, pp. 114348, 2022.
57. X. Li, Y. Chen & H. Zhao, Role of Eisenia andrei in vermicomposting and heavy metal remediation: Comparative analysis with Eisenia fetida, Waste Management, vol. 156, pp. 233–242, 2023.
58. F. Monroy, M. Aira & J. Dominguez, Changes in density of nematodes, protozoa and total coliforms after transit through the gut of four epigeic earthworms (Oligochaeta), Appl. Soil Ecol., vol. 39, pp. 127-132, 2008.
59. A. M. Yatoo, S. Rasool, S. Ali, S. Majid, M. U. Rehman, M. N. Ali, R. Eachkoti, S. Rasool, S. M. Rashid & S. Farooq, Vermicomposting: An Eco-Friendly Approach for Recycling/ Management of Organic Wastes. In: Hakeem, K., Bhat, R., Qadri, H. (Eds) Bioremediation and Biotechnology, 2020.
60. L. Manikanta, S. V. S. Sudheer, A. Dhasmana & B. Sudheer, The science of vermiculture, use of earthworms in organic waste management, The Pharma Innovation Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 137-140, 2023.
61. Environmental Technology & Innovation, Effects of vermicompost preparation and application on waste recycling, NH₃, and N₂O emissions, a systematic review on vermicomposting, Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 35, pp. 103571, 2024.
62. D. Prisa & A. Jamal, Vermicompost in agricultural production: Mechanisms, importance, and applications, Multidisciplinary Reviews, 2025.