Excellent N-fixing and P-solubilizing traits in earthworm gut-isolated bacteria: A vermicompost based assessment with vegetable market waste and rice straw feed mixtures. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hussain, Nazneen; Singh, Archana; Saha, Sougata; Venkata Satish Kumar, Mattaparthi; Bhattacharyya, Pradip; Bhattacharya, Satya Sundar
• Is Part Of: Bioresource technology. Volume 222(2016)
• Page Start: 165
• Page End: 174
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Vermicomposting -- Eisenia fetida -- Gut bacteria -- Soil quality -- Crop growth; Biomass -- Periodicals; Biomass energy -- Periodicals; Bioremediation -- Periodicals; Agricultural wastes -- Periodicals; Factory and trade waste -- Periodicals; Organic wastes -- Periodicals; Bioénergie -- Périodiques; Déchets agricoles -- Périodiques; Déchets industriels -- Périodiques; Déchets organiques -- Périodiques; Déchets (Combustible) -- Périodiques; 662.88
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.09.115
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-8524

Abstract

Highlights: E. fetida superseded P. excavatus in stabilizing vegetable waste and rice straw. 5 N-fixing and 3 P solubilizing bacteria were identified from earthworm guts. N-fixing ability of Kluyvera was a novel finding. Both N-fixing and P-solubilizing ability of Serratia was another rare observation. Abstract: Vermicomposting is a dependable waste recycling technology which greatly augments N and P levels mainly through microbial action. This paper aims to identify efficient N-fixing (NFB) and P-solubilizing (PSB) bacteria from earthworm intestines. Various combinations of vegetable market waste, rice straw, and cowdung were fed to two earthworm species ( Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus ). Total organic C decreased, pH shifted towards neutrality, and NPK availability, and microbial (NFB, PSB, and total bacteria) population increased remarkably during vermicomposting with E. fetida . Therefore, 45 NFB and 34 PSB strains isolated from Eisenia gut were initially screened, their inter-dominance assessed, and 8 prolific strains were identified through 16SrRNA sequencing. Interestingly, two novel N-fixing strains of Kluyvera ascorbata emerged as an efficient biofertilizer candidate. Moreover, both N-fixing and P-solubilizing strains of Serratia and Bacillus were isolated from earthworm gut. All the isolated strains significantly improved soil health and facilitated crop growth as compared to commercial biofertilizers.