Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for - Aseanipm ...

Section 3 • Living Soil, Integrated Soil Nutrient and Crop Managements
Exercise No. 3.09
VERMI-COMPOST AS AN ORGANIC SOLID FERTILIZER
FOR ORGANIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION
BaCKGroUND aND raTIoNalE
Organic fertilizer, a product of biological decomposition or
processing of organic materials from animal and/or plants,
can supply one or more essential nutrient elements for plant
growth and development. In organic farming, it is considered
as the only natural, complete, and chief source of plant
nutrients. It contains high organic matter, which is not present
in any synthetic chemical fertilizer. Organic matter is the
main source of carbon and energy for soil microorganisms,
responsible for transforming ‘life in soil’ 62 . One effective
way of decomposing organic materials is through vermicomposting.
It involves use of earthworms for composting
organic materials. Earthworms ingest all kinds of organic material equal to their body weight per
day. In the Philippines, popularly used earthworms for composting are Lumbricus rubellos and
Perionyx excavator.
In vermi-compost production, substrates or organic materials used for composting should be indigenous
and readily available on-farm. However, to attain a good harvest of vermi-compost, there are plants
and animal manures that are rich in carbon-nitrogen ratio essentially needed for rapid decomposition.
Local nitrogenous sources include manure, kakawate, acacia, and ipil-ipil leaves, mungbean, peanuts,
soybeans, and camote vines, and azolla. On the other hand, common sources of carbon are dried
leaves, grasses, vegetables, cornstalks, rice straw, paper, sawdust, and cardboard. A varied mixture
of substances produce good quality compost, rich in macro- and micronutrients. Substrate (feed)
combination of coco dust/sawdust (75%) and ipil-ipil/kakawate leaves (25%) is best for earthworm
production. The production ranged from 1,540-4,514 earthworms depending on number and age of
earthworms stocked and amount of feed 63 . Earthworm case is harvested in 4-6 weeks. About 60% of
bedding material is converted into vermi-compost 64 . Vermicast or worm casting is the material that
passes through digestive track of earthworm (worm manure).
62 De la Cruz, N.E. 2008 Organic Fertilizer and Other Farm Inputs Production, Module 4. Reference material distributed during a Workshop on Designing
Farmer Field School Curriculum on Integrated Pest Management For Organic Vegetable Production held on 28-30 April 2008 at the Headquarters,
Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. 1p.
63 Guerero, R. 2006. Vermi-composting. As cited in: Philippine Organic Agriculture Information Network. http//www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/phil-organic/
technologies.
64 PCARRD. 2006. The Philippine Recommends for Organic Fertilizer Production and Utilization, Series No. 92, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry,
and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. pp58-59.
85
when is this exercise most
appropriate?
ɶ In FFS, TOT, and VST
sessions, as follow-up
or integral part of topic
on ‘Integrated Soil and
Nutrient Management’;
and
ɶ When farmers want to
learn from facilitators
and other farmers
some innovative ways
of producing organic
fertilizers through vermicomposting
for organic
vegetable production.