The Effect of Vermicompost of Perionyx excavatus to Growth of Brassica integrifolia in hydroponic solutions
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of vermicompost on the growth of Brassica integrifolia. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with hydroponic solutions supplemented with inorganic nutrients and vermicompost with the ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100, respectively. The agronomic, microbiological criteria and the change of the hydroponic solution were collected and processed to evaluate the effectiveness. The results showed that the treatment with 100% vermicompost solution gave the best agronomic criteria in the studied treatments and was equivalent to the control treatment. Microbiological density conformed to quality standards TCVN 6505-2:1999 on food hygiene and safety. After 30 days to stabilize the nutrient solution, the stability indicators of the hydroponic solution showed that the vermicompost solution (100%) could be used as a substitute for the inorganic nutrient solution.
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Introduction
Green vegetables are an indispensable food source in human'sdaily life. However, the problem of environmental pollution makes the quality of vegetables not to be guaranteed, while the demand for safe vegetables of people is increasing. With the desire to apply simple techniques for safe vegetable products on a family scale, the hydroponic vegetable method is very suitable with the following advantages: growing a variety of off-season vegetables, without having to work the soil, weeding, no need to use pesticides, the product is completely clean and homogenous... so growing hydroponic vegetable is more and more widely used in modern life today [1].
Earthworms (Perionyx excavatus) are commonly used in waste metabolism in the Philippines, Australia and other countries [2]. Currently, earthworm (Perionyx excavatus) is increasingly being applied in many fields such as food, medicine, fertilizer. Earthworm manure helps to provide nutrients to plants, increase the germination rate of seeds, promote root development, increase plant weight, contain beneficial microorganisms that contribute to resist plant‟sdisease. In addition, it also restores the fertility of the soil, helping the soil to be loose and aerated. Earthworm manure can be packed and transported in large quantities easily without any loss of quality, and at the same time do not affect the air environment because they have the earthy odor [3]. In addition, earthworms play an important role inorganic waste management [4]. The use of vermicompost as fertilizer has been quite widespread, but combined with hydroponic methods is still very little. The application of earthworm manure as vermicompost into hydroponics is a solution to limit the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizers, towards an absolutely safe vegetable growing technique.
Conclusion
The use of 100% vermicompost that is stabilized for 30 days after planting as a hydroponic solution for growing Brassica integrifolia gives the yield and quality equivalent to using a hydroponic solution with chemical nutrients. In addition, the use of vermicompost will contribute to reducing the risk of environmental pollution by minimizing the solution containing inorganic compounds in hydroponic for growing vegetable.