Microbial Analysis of Vermicomposting Using Eudrilus Eugeniae in Spent Mushroom Substrate Waste and Rabbit Manure

Heng, Eileen (2018) Microbial Analysis of Vermicomposting Using Eudrilus Eugeniae in Spent Mushroom Substrate Waste and Rabbit Manure. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Vermicomposting is a process to convert organic waste into valuable product with the used of earthworms. In the present study, the vermicompost was prepared from the mixture of organic wastes which was spent mushroom substrate and rabbit dung. The types of earthworms used in the vermicomposting process was epigeic Eudrilus eugeniae. The objectives of the experiment were to analyse and identify the microbial in the vermicompost and to study the quality of vermicompost with different proportions of spent mushroom substrate waste and rabbit dung. Five treatments with different ratio of organic wastes were conducted which included E1 (800g spent mushroom substrate waste), E3:D1 (600g spent mushroom substrate waste and 200g rabbit dung), E2:D1 (530g spent mushroom substrate waste and 270g rabbit dung), E1:D1 (400g spent mushroom substrate waste and 400g rabbit dug), and E1:D2 (270g spent mushroom substrate waste and 530g rabbit dung). Analysis of the colony forming units (CFU) of six types of bacteria were collected on day 1, day 22, day 40 and day 80. The six types of bacteria that were analysed and identified were Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterococcus faecalis, Rhizobium sp., Bacillus sp. and Azotobacter sp. The identification of the bacteria in vermicompost was carried out by using Gram staining, hydrogen peroxide (KOH) test, citrate utilization test, methyl red test, urease test and catalase test. Treatment of E2:D1 showed good quality of vermicompost among all five treatments. It showed the CFU of E. coli (6.24±1.59), S. typhimurium (0.0±0.0), E. faecalis (6.85±0.06), Rhizobium sp. (7.34±0.05), Bacillus sp. (6.76±0.09) and Azotobacter sp. (7.7±0.28) on forth batch which was 80 days compared to all other treatments. The three types of bad bacteria included E. coli, S. typhimurium and E. faecalis were lesser in CFU in the treatment of E2:D1 at batch 4 whereas the three types of good bacteria included Rhizobium sp., Bacillus sp. and Azotobacter sp. were higher in CFU in the treatment of E2:D1 at batch 4 when compared to all other treatments. In short, vermicompost contains beneficial microorganisms which can promote plant growth.