Solid Waste Management by Vermicomposting Technology

An experiment was conducted at El-Bossily Protected Cultivation Experimental Farm, Central Laboratory for
Agricultural Climate (CLAC), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), at Behaira Governorate, Egypt, during the autumn seasons of
2010/2011 and 2011/2012 to study the Economic considerations of using different types of organic manure on sweet pepper
yield under protected cultivation (Vermicompost, compost and Cattle manure at the rates of 2, 4 and 6% (1.8, 3.6 and 5.4
m3/plastic house of 540m2) were the organic fertilizer treatments. The study aimed to investigate increasing organic soil
matter content in sandy soil by different rates and types of soil amendments as well as investigate their effects on vegetative
growth and yield of sweet pepper using a split plot design with three replicates. Results obtained indicate that increasing rate
of the different soil amendments from 1.8 to 5.4 m3/plastic house led to increase in vegetative growth and significantly
enhanced early and total yield of sweet pepper. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) was maximum (1.67) in the treatment of
vermicompost (4%). whereas, the minimum (1.23) benefit cost ratio was obtained from cattle manure (2%) treatment in the
first season. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) was maximum (1.72) in the treatment of vermicompost (4%). whereas, the minimum
(1.16) benefit cost ratio was obtained from compost (2%) treatment in the second season.

Vermicomposting results in the production of two bio-fertilizers, vermicompost and vermiwash. The bio-fertilizers were applied to 4kg of loam-clay soil over a period of 40 days. The effect of the vermicompost, vermiwash, application time and their combined effect on soil pH, electrical conductivity and nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content were analyzed. Increasing the vermicompost quantity decreased the soil pH, electrical conductivity and nitrogen content, however, this resulted in a slight increase in the phosphorous content but the potassium content remained unaltered. Increasing the vermiwash quantity increased the soil pH, electrical conductivity and potassium content but resulted in reduced nitrogen and phosphorous content. In addition, increasing the application period of either the vermicompost or the vermiwash resulted in increased soil pH, electrical conductivity, phosphorous and potassium content but resulted in reduced phosphorous content. The reduction of the soil nitrogen content is attributed to de-nitrification, whilst the increase in phosphorous content is attributed to increase in soluble phosphates and release of nutrients into the soil due to microbial activity in the bio-fertilizers. Furthermore, loam-clay soils have good absorbing properties for potassium. The soil properties and micro-organisms present in the bio-fertilizers play a critical role on the modification of the soil physicochemical properties.

Beneficiation of a low grade siliceous mine waste limestone sample, from Jayantipuram limestone mine, Andhra Pradesh, India assaying 42.62% CaO and 19.07% SiO2 by flotation was studied. Mineralogical studies by microscope as well as X-Ray Diffraction indicated that the low grade limestone sample consists of calcite as a major valuable mineral and quartz as gangue. Direct flotation experiments were carried out using sodium silicate and sodium oleate as depressant for quartz and collector for calcite respectively. Reverse flotation process was also attempted wherein quartz was floated using cationic collector. The advantages and disadvantages of direct flotation in comparison to reverse flotation on grade and recovery of concentrate were discussed. Based on the optimized process parameters of direct flotation, laboratory scale column flotation experiments were carried out. The results of column flotation studies clearly suggest that a limestone concentrate assaying around 50 percent of CaO with less than 8.0 percent SiO2 suitable for cement manufacture could be achieved. Proper utilization of the waste, solid as well as liquid, generated from the flotation proposes was also discussed.

The need for extend the urban horticulture to cover the food security demands, to mitigate CO2 emissions and avoid the extreme heat waves drive this study to investigate the ability of using soilless culture systems, vermicomposting technology and net cover in producing vegetables in urban area in summer season. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different vermicompost rates mixed with the standard substrate peat moss: perlite (perlite: peat moss: vermicompost (45:45:10) (Mix.10%), perlite: peat moss: vermicompost (40:40:20) (Mix.20%), perlite: peat moss: vermicompost (35:35:30) (Mix.30%) and perlite: peat moss (50:50 V/V) (Control) under three microclimate conditions (plants covered with black net, white net and without cover) on vegetative growth and yield of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Reda) grown in pots culture during summer seasons of 2012 and 2013 at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza Governorate. Physical and chemical properties of substrates, vegetative growth and yield characteristics, agrometerological data and mineral contents were determined. The obtained data indicated that vermicomposting could contribute in mitigate CO2 emission, save the essential nutrients and energy via recycling the urban organic wastes to vermicompost. The physical and chemical properties were affected by vermicompost. The best vegetative growth and yield of sweet pepper were given by (Mix.20%) vermicompost mixture followed by (Mix.10%) and (Mix.30%) vermicompost mixture. There were also significant differences between cover net treatments in affecting vegetative growth and yield of pepper, the white net was superior for producing pepper during the summer season; while the black net gave the lowest plant growth and yield. The best treatment was (Mix.20%) vermicompost mixture with white net cover, while the lowest vegetative growth and yield were obtained by (Control) vermicompost mixture with black cover net during the two tested seasons. These results suggested that vermicomposting and green roof can be used in urban area for producing food instead of incineration the urban organic wastes or imported food from rural area and using white cover net to improve the pepper growth and productivity during summer season.

The paper examines the Integrated Solid Waste Management practice of Lagos, Nigeria and the exclusion of Cart pushers and Scavengers from the system. Lagos is a mega city with regular influx of people from every part of the country (Nigeria) and abroad because of its industrialization and economic activities. The World Bank /UNFPA projected the population of Lagos as 13.4million in the year 2000 and 23.2 million in the year 2015AD. The population increase leads to increase in the volume of Solid Waste generated which has continually defiled the management technology of the Government. The Cart pushers and Scavengers are both intermediaries in the collection, transportation and management of the solid waste and its resource before and after the formal involvement of the Private Sector (PSP) in the system. The paper identifies the implications of the policy of exclusion of the duo on the state and also proffered ways for their integration.

Sustainability of soil system and crop productivity is the greatest challenges in the twentyfirst
century. The growing population pressurized modern agricultural practices to enhance
food production. Green-revolution derived modern agriculture is characterized by the use
of high-yielding crop varieties, inappropriate application of synthetic fertilizers and
intensive water and energy resources utilization. Although, modern agriculture increased
the food production several folds, but at cost of huge environmental degradation such as
climate change, environmental pollution, degradation of soil health and biodiversity (soil
microbial biodiversity). Soil microbial diversity is an important indicator of soil health that
sustain various biogeochemical cycles in the soil system. The traditional agriculture has
the novel capability of the environment and soil health management including soil
microbial diversity. It enhances the spatial distribution of microbial diversity and its
metabolic versatility which is vital for soil health. The tradition of India including various
types of traditional agriculture practices because of its diverse weather. Mixed cropping,
compost based cropping, agroforestry and livestock integrated agriculture practices are
common in India since ages. The policy makers and scientific society are reevaluating the
potential of these natural agriculture practices which fully depend on the biological and
energy efficient inputs. The overall objective of this article is to highlight the potentials of
traditional agriculture in respect to natural resource conservation including soil microbial
system.

The paving industry has seen the emergence of a plethora of warm mix asphalt (WMA) technologies and applications in recent years. With most state transportation agencies incorporating a recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) usage requirement, it is necessary for WMA to not only serve as a greener technology, but to work in conjunction with current RAP practices. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for quantifying the degree of blending that occurs in warm mix asphalt-RAP mixtures that include higher percentages of RAP. In addition to the methodology, the degree of blending will be determined for WMA and hot mix asphalt production temperatures as well as other varying pre-paving conditions like mixing time, conditioning time, and WMA type. The degree of blending proved to be sensitive only to the mixing time condition and did not display any trends or significant differences for any of the other conditions tested. Polymer degradation of WMA was also studied to determine whether lower production temperatures could decrease polymer degradation. Polymer degradation was decreased at lower production temperatures; however, greater polymer degradation was observed to occur when warm mix asphalt binders were subjected to hot mix asphalt conditioning.

Field experiment was conducted during two successive autumn
seasons of 2010/2011 and 201112012 at El-Bossily Farm, Behira Governorate in the North Coastal of Egypt to utilize and investigate The effect of different sources of compost (vermicompost of cattle manure + vegetable and fruit wastes + shredded newspaper, faba bean compost, rice compost and cattle manure) combined with different compost rates 2, 4 and 6 m3 per standard greenhouse (540 m2 ) on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. vs. Safa 62 F1) growth and yield under
unheated single span plastic house. Data revealed that using
vermicompost recorded the highest values of vegetative growth, yield
and number of fruits per plant followed by using cattle manure
compost during the two successive seasons. The lowest total yield was
obtained by using rice straw compost during the two tested seasons.
Increasing compost rate up to 6 m3 per greenhouse enhanced plant
growth, number of fruits and total yields under different compost
sources. The reuse of agricultural residues and organic urban wastes in
composting and vermicomposting as raw materials instead of burning
to produce organic fertilizers led to sequestrate CO2 in the soil by 340,
398, 463 and 286 kg/tone and conserve nitrogen fertilizer by 17.1,
13.0, 9.8 and 16.9 kg/tone of vermicompost, faba bean compost, rice
compost and cattle manure respectively

ABSTRACT In recent years, increasing consumer concern about issues such as food quality,environmental safety and soil conservation has lead to a substantial increase in the use ofsustainable agricultural practices. Globally, roughly one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year. Vermicomposting which is one of the most sustainable methods of handling food waste and are completely environmentally friendly technology that is viable method of diverting the organic portion of waste streams, avoiding the costs of disposal and converting it to a value-added vermicompost. This product is nutrient-rich but also contains high quality humus, plant growth hormones, enzymes, and substances which are able to protect plants against pests and diseases. Many cropping areas in the world are deficient in organic matter and nutrient. KEYWORDS: Vermicompost, Food security, Earthworms, Environment, Agriculture

The use of vermi-wash as organic source and potassium nutrients were investigated under this study. A field experiment was carried out during two successive summer seasons of 2017 and 2018 under open field conditions in Dokki experimental location, Agricultural Research Center, Giza Gover-norate, Egypt. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of applying different potassium rates 140, 280 and 420 kg K 2 O per hectare combined with spray vermi-wash for two, four, six times as well as spray water (control) on vegetative growth, yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum 'Spunta'). The applications of potassium rates and vermi-wash sprays affected significantly the potato vegetative growth, total and marketable tuber yield as well as nutrient contents (N, P and K %) of potato leaves. Increasing potassium rate from 140 to 280 kg K 2 O per hectare enhanced total yield. Increasing potassium application to 420 kg K 2 O per hectare led to decrease the vegetative growth and productivity compared to 280 kg K 2 O per hectare. Regarding the vermi-wash spray applications, data revealed that two times spray of vermi-wash enhanced vegetative growth and productivity, while increasing spraying of vermi-wash to more than two times led to decrease of potato vegetative growth and productivity. Pridelava krompirja z uporabo različnih količin kalijevih gnojil in pršenja z izvlečki glistin deževnikov (vermi-wash) Izvleček: V raziskavi je bila preučevana uporaba vermivo-ša kot organskega vira in kalijevih gnojil. Poljski poskus je bil izveden v dveh zaporednih poletnih sezonah, 2017 in 2018 na poskusni postaji v Dokki, Kmetijskega raziskovalnega centra v Gizi, Egypt. Namen raziskave je bil ovrednotiti učinke uporabe različnih odmerkov kalijevih gnojil, 140, 280 in 420 kg K 2 O ha −1 v kombinaciji z 1-,2-,3-,4-in 6-kratnim pršenjem z vermivošem in pršenjem z vodo kot kontrolo na vegetativno rast in pridelek krompirja (Solanum tuberosum 'Spunta'). Uporaba odmerkov kalijevih gnojil in pršenje z vermivošem sta značilno vplivala na vegetativno rast kropmpirja, na celokupni in tržni pride-lek gomoljev kot tudi na vsebnost hranil (N, P in K %) v listih krompirja. Povečanje odmerka kalija iz 140 na 280 kg K 2 O ha −1 je povečalo celokupni pridelek. Nadalnje povečanje odmerkov kalija na 420 kg K 2 O ha −1 je zmanjšalo vegetativno rast in pro-duktivnost v primerjavi z odmerkom 280 kg K 2 O ha −1. Glede pršenja z vermivošem so rezultati pokazali, da je dvakratno pr-šenje pospešilo vegetativno rast in produktivnost, več kot dva-kratna uporaba pa je oba parametra zmanjšala. Ključne besede: krompir; učinkovitost izrabe vode; eva-potranspiracija; gomolji in vegetativna rast Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 113/2-2019 300 M. A. ABDRABBO et al.

Currently New Jersey state specifications limit the percentage of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement to 15 percent for surface courses and 25 percent for the intermediate and base courses. The limitations are placed because the interaction between the virgin and RAP binder is unknown in two ways. First, the amount of residual binder that is active in a mix, known as degree of blending, is currently assumed to be 100 percent. Second, the effect that this blended binder will have on performance still needs to be investigated due to the fact that aged binder has a tendency to be stiffer. The low temperature performance was evaluated through the use of the disc shaped compacted tension test, modified bending beam rheometer, and tensile strength ratio test. These tests were performed on 25 and 35 percent RAP samples as well as a control mix and RAP samples from Delaware to determine if the current specifications for degree of blending should be altered and if the amount of RAP can be increased. It was found that the assumption of full blending could lead to under-asphalting and decreased performance for 25 percent RAP. The use of softer binders to compensate for higher percentages of RAP can raise the fracture energy of a given mixture; however, it will also decrease the stiffness of the mixture due to partial degree of blending. The high RAP mixtures that fractionated the RAP and had an overall finer gradation appeared to have higher fracture energy and higher stiffness in the modified bending beam rheometer.