Housefly Larvae (Musca domestica) Vermicompost on Soil Biochemical Features for a Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) Farm

ABSTRACT

The housefly larvae (Musca domestica) vermireactor is capable of highly efficient waste reduction for swine manure management; however, effectiveness of larvae-vermicompost land utilization and the associated impact on soil environment are poorly understood. This study, which integrated incubation pot experiments and field plot tests on a chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) farm, was designed to investigate soil biochemical and microbial functions in response to inorganic fertilizer (NPK), vermicompost (VC) application, and/or combination of inorganic fertilizer and vermicompost (I + V). Pot experiments indicated that available soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were significantly higher (21%-43%, 206%-306%, and 35%-36%, respectively) with VC treatment compared to NPK treatment; meanwhile, soil organic carbon (C), N and P mineralization was increased by 46%-57%, 53%-70%, and 30%-113%, respectively. Vermicompost application increased soil highly labile organic C by 19% to 42%. Vermicompost also enhanced soil enzymatic activities: 37%-68% for dehydrogenase, 22%-107% for urease, and 3.4%-56% for phosphatases, but activities of soil β-1,4-glucosidase and β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase were reduced by 17%-53% and 24%-42%, respectively. Compared to pot experiment, continuous land application of vermicompost overwhelmingly caused soil nutrient accumulation, increased soil C stock and microbial biomass, enhanced soil mineralization, and improved C-, N-, and P-related enzymatic activities. Co-inertia analysis indicated that soil fertility indices positively correlated with most microbiological indices. This work reveals VC as a new biofertilizer for crop production and highlights its merit on soil health improvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Vermicompost
• soil microbiology
• manure
• chemical-microbiological relationships

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41373073, 41673081) and Key Research and Development Projects in Zhejiang Province (2015C03SA420001). We also express our thanks to Dr. Jeff Muehlbauer for his professional editing on English writing.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [41373073, 41673081]; Key Research and Development Projects in Zhejiang Province [2015C03SA420001].