BY: Vasnie Ganeshnauth, Sirpaul Jaikishun, Abdullah A Ansari and Oudho Homenauth
Extracted from: Automation in Agriculture, Securing Food Supplies for Future Generations
Published by: Intech, 2018
Edited by: Stephen Hussmann

THIS week, NAREI in Focus will look at the effect of vermicompost and other fertilisers on the Growth and Productivity of Pepper Plants (Capsicum chinense) in Guyana. The research was conducted at NAREI during the year 2014- 2015. The investigation utilised five different treatments: Promix; vermipost; 189; 189+vermicompost; and control with no fertiliser.

Peppers belong to the Solanaceae family. They were usually grown using conventional applications of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides. However, due to the rising awareness of the adverse economic and environmental impact of chemicals in crop productions, the utilisation of organic farming has been stimulated as the main farming method today.

Organic manures for growing crops are a composition of waste materials. Due to the steady increase in population size and improved living standards around the world, the build-up of waste materials is becoming a burgeoning problem since these waste materials emit harmful substances to the atmosphere when burnt. Burning also kills the microbial population of the soil, destroys the soil organic matter and affects the overall physical composition of the soil. Thus, proper waste management can be maintained by using these organic wastes as substrate in agriculture through organic farming.

Composting of organic waste offers solution to large amounts of waste worldwide. It is a natural process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. New methods of thermophilic composting have become much more common in organic waste treatment. One such composting technique is vermicomposting.

Vermicomposting is a type of organic farming by which earthworms break down waste materials, stimulate microbial activity, and at the same time, increase the rate of mineralisation of the soil. These activities convert waste materials into humus-like substances called vermicompost. Vermitechnology is the use of surface and subsurface local varieties earthworms. Earthworms play a major role in breaking down waste materials to form vermicompost. Vermicompost is an organic fertiliser that is rich in nutrients, poor in readily biodegradable carbon, and relatively free of any plant and human pathogens.
The use of vermicompost for planting has been highlighted in agriculture as a beneficial medium for improving plant growth and yield and the maintenance of soil fertility and crop yield. It is one of the best organic media for planting. It is highly organic and contains no chemicals so it is environmentally friendly.

Results obtained showed that chemical fertiliser has a significant effect on the growth of pepper plants producing plants with better plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, stem diameter higher fruit yield, fruit weight and fruit diameter. Mineral nutrients were highest in plants treated with inorganic fertilisers as compared to the organic fertiliser. The research also proved that maximum chlorophyll level was present in plants treated with vermicompost.

There were relatively high levels of pest and diseases in plants treated with chemical fertilisers, delayed flowering and fruiting period and high levels of leaf and fruit abscission as compared to plants treated with organic fertiliser. Moreover, chemical fertiliser has proven to have a greater effect on the growth parameters of pepper plants but not the quality of plants produce.