Vermicompost as a Catalyst for Enhancing Soil Physical Properties, Nutrient Availability, Crop Yield, and Sustainable Waste Management: A Comprehensive Review
Aug 2026· Greener Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition· 0 citations· 91 references
Abstract
Vermicompost is increasingly recognized as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, offering a wide range of agronomic and ecological benefits. This review synthesizes current knowledge on vermicompost’s role in enhancing soil fertility, improving crop yield and quality, suppressing plant diseases and pests, and contributing to organic waste recycling. Specifically, vermicompost improves soil structure, nutrient availability, and microbial activity, while acting as a biofertilizer and natural pest regulator through mechanisms such as induced systemic resistance and microbial antagonism. Field studies across various crops-including garlic, tomato, green gram, and maize demonstrate significant improvements in yield and nutritional content. Additionally, research conducted in Ethiopia highlights the potential of locally sourced vermicompost formulations and their integration with inorganic fertilizers for sustainable crop production. Overall, these findings affirm vermicompost’s value in organic agriculture and its contribution to soil health, environmental protection, and long-term ecosystem balance.
Rice-based agroecosystems in Bangladesh face mounting challenges from nutrient imbalance, declining soil organic matter, climate-related stress and inefficient fertilizer management. While intensive fertilizer use has raised productivity, it has also reduced nutrient use efficiency and degraded soil quality. Nanofertilizers and organic soil amendments have emerged as complementary strategies to improve nutrient management and soil health in rice systems. This review synthesizes 85 peer-reviewed field, pot and laboratory studies (2005-2025) from Bangladesh and comparable South Asian agroecosystems, evaluating the individual and combined effects of nanofertilizers and soil amendments (biochar, compost, green manure, lime) on rice productivity, soil properties, nutrient dynamics and environmental outcomes. Nanofertilizers improve nutrient use efficiency through controlled release, while amendments enhance soil organic carbon, microbial activity and nutrient retention. Combined application produces synergistic gains, with yield improvements of approximately 25-40% reported under specific experimental conditions. These integrated strategies reduce nutrient losses, strengthen soil function and support more efficient, climate-resilient rice production aligned with SDGs 2, 6, 13 and 15. Most available evidence, however, derives from short-term field and pot trials; long-term, multi-location studies are needed to evaluate nanoparticle fate, environmental safety, economic feasibility and farmer adoption under diverse rice-growing conditions before large-scale deployment.
Ishrat Alam, Khalid Syfullah, Bijoya Saha et al.· Agricultural Science Digest...· 0 citations
Vermicompost has emerged as one of the most effective organic soil amendments for improving soil quality, enhancing crop productivity, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Produced through the biological decomposition of organic wastes by earthworms and associated microorganisms, vermicompost is rich in essential plant nutrients, beneficial microorganisms, humic substances, enzymes, and plant growth regulators. Unlike conventional organic manures, vermicompost possesses superior physical, chemical, and biological properties that improve soil fertility while reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the application of vermicompost significantly enhances soil structure, water-holding capacity, aeration, porosity, cation exchange capacity, and microbial activity. It also increases the availability of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and micronutrients, thereby improving nutrient uptake and crop performance. In addition to improving soil physico-chemical characteristics, vermicompost stimulates root development, photosynthesis, flowering, fruiting, and overall crop productivity through the release of plant growth-promoting substances. Its continuous application contributes to long-term soil health, carbon sequestration, and environmental sustainability by recycling organic wastes and minimizing chemical fertilizer use. However, large-scale adoption of vermicompost is constrained by factors such as limited production capacity, labor-intensive preparation, transportation costs, and inconsistent quality. This paper examines the influence of vermicompost application on soil physico-chemical properties and crop productivity, highlighting its mechanisms of action, agronomic benefits, challenges, and future prospects as an important component of sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture.
Research Author· Europian Journal of Agricult...· 0 citations
The choice between organic and inorganic amendment strategies for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production has profound implications for soil health, crop productivity, fruit quality, environmental sustainability, and smallholder livelihoods in tropical agro-ecological regions. This review provides a systematic comparative analysis of organic amendmentssuch as compost, vermicompost, biochar, green manures, microbial inoculants, and inorganic fertilizers (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compounds, micronutrient fertilizers) across dimensions of yield response, soil physicochemical improvement, economic feasibility, and long-term soil health trajectories. Evidence from peer-reviewed field studies (2018–2025) consistently demonstrates that organic amendments match or exceed inorganic fertilizer yield outcomes over multi-season timeframes while generating substantial co-benefits for soil organic carbon, microbial diversity, water retention, and disease suppression that mineral fertilizers do not provide. Integrated strategies combining organic and reduced-rate inorganic inputs achieve the greatest short-term yields while progressively improving soil health. Nigerian evidence on organic pest management with neem extract and Path-Away® organic formulations demonstrates that organic principles extend beyond soil fertility management to encompass full agronomic systems in which synthetic chemical inputs are minimized. This review proposes criteria for evidence-based selection between organic, inorganic, and integrated amendment strategies in tropical tomato systems.
Adesakin, O. R., Adeboye, S. E., B. A. Gonimi et al.· RA Journal Of Applied Resear...· 0 citations
Fertilizers play a central role in sustaining agricultural productivity and food security in India, yet the environmental and economic tradeoffs across fertilizer types remain a pressing policy concern. This study compares chemical, organic, and biofertilizers used in Indian agriculture with respect to nutrient composition, cost efficiency, yield performance, and environmental impact, drawing on secondary data from government reports, research journals, and agricultural institutions. The analysis shows that chemical fertilizers such as urea, DAP, and NPK deliver rapid nutrient availability and higher short term yields in crops like rice, wheat, and vegetables, but their sustained use is linked to soil degradation, water pollution, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss. Organic fertilizers, including compost, farmyard manure, and vermicompost, enhance soil structure, water retention, and long term fertility, though nutrient release is slower and initial yield gains are modest. Biofertilizers, based on microorganisms such as Rhizobium, Azotobacter, and Azospirillum, improve nutrient availability at low cost with minimal ecological damage, but face storage and shelf life constraints. Fertilizer consumption data from 2013 to 2025 indicate that chemical fertilizers continue to dominate the Indian market, accounting for roughly 83 percent of market share, even as awareness of organic and biofertilizer alternatives grows. The comparative evidence suggests that integrated nutrient management, combining all three fertilizer types, yields better productivity and soil sustainability outcomes than reliance on any single type. The study concludes that balanced and integrated fertilizer policy is essential for achieving productivity growth alongside environmental protection and long term soil health in India.
B. G., A. Ahamed, G. Ramu· International journal of bus...· 0 citations
Soil quality is a crucial determinant of agricultural productivity and ecosystem sustainability. This study investigates the role of vermicompost as an effective amendment for revitalizing soil quality at St. Philomena's College (Autonomous) Mysore, focusing on its effects on physicochemical properties, biological activity and overall soil health. Vermicompost is the product of organic waste processing by earthworms, resulting in a nutrient-rich material that enhances soil structure, fertility and microbial diversity. Field experiments were conducted across diverse agro-ecosystems within the college's agricultural research facilities to assess the impact of varying vermicompost application rates on soil characteristics and plant growth. Key parameters measured included soil pH, organic matter content, nutrient availability (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), microbial biomass, and plant growth metrics such as height, biomass. The results indicated significant improvements in soil structure, with increased aggregation and porosity, which facilitated enhanced water retention and aeration. Notably, vermicompost application led to a marked increase in organic matter levels, providing a sustained release of essential nutrients over time. Additionally, the combination of vermicompost with other organic amendments significantly increased plant growth parameters. For instance, studies have shown that vermicompost can enhance plant height by up to 26% and total biomass by 13% compared to controls. The also highlight the potential of vermicompost not only to ameliorate degraded soils but also to serve as a viable strategy for organic waste management. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating vermicompost into soil management regimes at St. Philomena's College to promote long-term soil health, enhance agricultural productivity including significant increases in plant growth and mitigate environmental impacts from conventional farming practices. Overall, vermicompost emerges as a multifaceted solution for revitalizing soil quality and improving plant growth, underscoring the need for broader adoption in modern agricultural systems.
Milagris Antonius, K. T. Vadiraj, T. Harsha· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
Biochar, a carbon-rich solid produced through oxygen-limited pyrolysis of biomass, is increasingly considered a soil amendment for sustainable soil fertility management. Indian agriculture faces continuing pressure from soil degradation, declining soil organic carbon, nutrient depletion, crop-residue burning and climate variability, all of which constrain productivity and resource-use efficiency. This review synthesises literature and field-based evidence relevant to the use of biochar in Indian soil-crop systems. It discusses biochar production through slow, fast and flash pyrolysis using crop residues, woody biomass, and livestock or poultry manure at 300–700 °C, and relates these production conditions to key properties, including porosity, specific surface area, alkaline pH, fixed carbon content and nutrient composition. The review also examines the principal mechanisms through which biochar improves soil fertility, including modification of bulk density, water-holding capacity, aggregate stability, cation exchange capacity, soil reaction, nutrient retention and microbial activity. Evidence reviewed here indicates that biochar can reduce nutrient leaching, influence nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics, contribute to soil carbon sequestration, and mitigate selected greenhouse gas emissions, although responses depend on feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, soil type and crop requirement. Field observations from India suggest that applications within the range of 5–20 t ha⁻¹ can improve the productivity of rice, wheat, maize, legumes, oilseeds, plantation crops and vegetables, with stronger responses generally reported in acidic, sandy and degraded soils. The review further identifies practical constraints to adoption, including production cost, inconsistent product quality, limited standardisation, insufficient extension support and variable soil-crop compatibility. Integrating biochar with integrated nutrient management and decentralised residue management may support more sustainable soil fertility strategies in India.
Manoj Kumar, A. Pandey, Ashutosh Singh et al.· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
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