A Primary Study on Use of Vermicompost in Nutrient Management of Fish Ponds

In view of wide scale uses of organic manures in nutrient management in fish ponds, efforts are being made to find out alternative sources of organic materials which may be applied to fish ponds after composting. Since vermicomposting helps to decompose various kinds of organic wastes in lesser period of time producing composts of comparatively higher nutrient status, a laboratory study was undertaken to assess the efficiency of vermicompost in providing nutrition to primary fish food organisms. Effects of four treatments having various combinations of cow dung, vernicompost and mineral fertilizers were tested in glass aquariums. The results of the study indicated use of vermicompost to be highly efficient in increasing primary production of water phase with consequent reduction in the demand of mineral fertilizers.