A total of six vermireactors were maintained having different kinds of
waste mixed individually with cow dung. One pot was prepared in order to
mixture of all the wastes prior to transfer to the six vermireactors. In each pot,
twelve earthworms with different size were introduced. A 500 g of waste were
added with a duration of 8 interval days except to hair and eggshell pot due to
slow degradation. Water was sprinkled daily on all pots to maintain the
moisture level of 40-60%. All the reactors maintained in triplicate. The duration
of experiment was conducted up to 100 days. The experimental pots were kept
under shade at 23-280 C, 70± 10% moisture and covered with the gunny bags to
avoid direct sunlight on the terrace of the Department of Environmental
Science, University of Pune. After 100 days, the earthworms were removed
manually and the total number and biomass of the earthworms were measured.
Four days before the determination, all the treatments were not watered to
make the sifting of the compost easier. All the vermicompost produced were
taken out from the pots individually and left under room temperature for a
couple of hours when all the earthworms have moved down the heap. Thus,
sorting process became easier.