Comparative efficacy of vermicomposted paper waste and inorganic fertilizer on seed germination, plant growth and fruition of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of vermicompost generated from the paper waste spiked with cow dung slurry on the germination, plant growth and fruition of cluster bean. Two kinds of treatments were studied: (i) vermicast was applied to the soil at the rates of 5, 7.5,10 t ha^-1 and (ii) amounts of essential nutrients equivalent to those present in the vermicast treatments in inorganic form was amended to the soil. There was a control with only soil without any nutrient supplement. The finding is in contrast to the reports on the beneficial impacts of vermicast on plant growth. In the present study, the inorganic fertilizer treatment exhibited better seed germination and plant growth than the equivalent vermicast treatments. The results indicate that the dose of vermicompost used in the present study was not sufficient to satisfy the nutrient demand of plant species studied. Additional fertilization would have improved the crop productivity.