Valvi, Sheetal and Barot, Jagruti
Abstract
The aquaculture and fisheries are one of the most vital economic sectors of India; management of fish waste from these industries is of great concern for sustainable environment. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of fish waste vermicompost on plant growth parameters and seed quality of selected plants, i.e. chickpea, soy bean and mung bean. Earthworms Eisenia foetida were used to prepare control (C) as well as fish waste vermicompost (FW). Both of them were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters such as pH, Organic carbon (OC), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Phosphorus (TPh), and Total Potassium (TP). To check their impact on plants growth pot study was carried out using two different treatments T1 (100% FW vermicompost) and T2 (50% FW vermicompost + 50% soil) and were compared with the control C (50% cow dung + 50% soil). Various growth parameters like plant height, number of branches, and number of leaves were recorded at regular intervals (monthly). Simultaneously, yield parameters like number of pods and number of seed per pod were also recorded respectively upto five months. Protein, sugar and lipid content of seeds from each of the treatments were checked to know seed quality. The overall study reveals that the fish waste vermicompost (FW) showed very promising effects on the growth of all three selected plants. Results of yield parameters and seed quality also remarkably support the use of fish waste vermicompost (FW) as an ecofriendly alternative to synthetic fertilizers. The present study showed the cost effective, ecofriendly approach to manage fish waste and to promote organic framing for sustainable environment.