Macronutrient content of compost produced by earthworm in the utilization of livestock waste using vermicomposting method

Abstract

The development of livestock should be focusing on increasing productivity and maximizing profit and the environmental issue that happens around it. The produced waste can be managed by minimalizing the waste generated by turning it into something valuable or reutilizing it. One way to do it is by utilizing the waste as organic fertilizer (vermicompost). The vermicomposting process resulted in two products that are useful for agriculture; there are earthworm and vermicompost itself. Using the generated waste as growth media for the worm will result in an increased worm population, and the waste will be turned into vermicompost. The earthworm species that will be used in this study is Pheretima sp. This study purpose is to reduce the contamination by the waste generated by livestock, and other purposes are to find out whether the nutrient content in the waste is up to standard and the roles of the earthworm used. The samples were collected on days 30, 45, and 60. The result shows that the only nutrient that can meet the standard is potassium (> 0.2%), while carbon is slightly below standard and nitrogen and phosphor content are way below the standard. From the resulted nutrient content, it can be concluded that the role of Pheretima sp in the vermicomposting process was not optimal resulted in compost that below the Indonesian National Standard for compost.