Vermiculture cultivation on a substrate containing composted wheat straw using an accelerated method

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to improve the technology of manufacturing substrates for vermiculture growing, which is important for obtaining high-quality organic fertiliser and improving the efficiency of biotechnological processes for organic waste disposal. The goal was to determine the optimal dose of fermented wheat straw as part of the substrate to increase the growth, development and reproductive capacity of vermiculture. The experiment was conducted in the vivarium of the Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University on seven groups of microbeds formed based on bovine cattle manure with varying contents of composted wheat straw. The Control Group contained cattle manure and only fresh crushed straw, and the substrate from the experimental microbeds included 2.0-6.0% fermented wheat straw. One hundred sexually mature worms were placed in each microbed. For 125 days, the number and weight of sexually mature and non-sexually mature individuals, the number and weight of their cocoons were monitored. The results were processed using variational statistics methods. The best indicators were found with the introduction of 3.0-4.0% of composted straw in the substrate. In these groups, a significant increase in the number and biomass of worms, and an increase in the number of cocoons were recorded. It was recorded that the optimal level of composted straw contributed to improving the adaptation of the population, increasing the number and weight of sexually mature worms in the experimental microbeds. Exceeding the content of composted wheat straw to 5.0-6.0% did not provide an increase in the number of worms in microbeds. This indicates the presence of an upper limit of the population’s tolerance to an increase in the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in the substrate. It was determined that the optimal dose is 3.0% composted wheat straw, which provides a statistically significant increase in the number and weight of worms compared to the Control. The use of this dose helped to maintain a biologically balanced ratio of nutrients and created conditions for effective reproduction and development of vermiculture. The results obtained can be used to develop effective methods for growing vermiculture based on composted wheat straw, which will help to improve soil fertility and increase the efficiency of organic farming