An experimental vermicomposting system was established in purple soil present in Sichuan Basin, China. The purpose of vermicomposting (VC) was to recycle and manage organic waste materials; for instance, animal manure and crop residues are present in great quantity. A particular use of earthworms for VC is a valuable method for retrieving essential plant nutrients. Experimental vermicomposting followed by monitoring was conducted for two months in summer with an interval of fifteen days. Four treatments, COM (compost without earthworms), VCM (using cow manure), VPM (through pig manure), and VBC (using biochar), were applied with agricultural wastes such as rapeseed and wheat straw in combination with cow dung, pig manure, and biochar, respectively. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to statistically analyze and interpret the nutrient change among different treatments. Post hoc analysis was done using Tukey’s test. The experimental vermicomposting results revealed that VCM gives increased plant nutrients with a minimum C: N ratio (from 22.13 to 14.38) and a maximum increase in nitrogen concentrations (1.77 to 29.15 g kg⁻¹). A significant decrease in ammonia volatilization was observed in the order VCM > VBC > VPM when compared to COM. It was experimentally established that vermicomposting is the most suitable method for converting organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer with the least environmental pollution load.

The current study is focuses on a sustainable agricultural ecosystem for soil fertility and human health improvement. To estimate the effects of applying organic amendments (compost, vermicompost, biochar, organic manure and rapeseed cake) on crop growth of maize and nutrient uptake in calcareous soil, eleven treatments were studied, which included compost (CM), cow manure vermicompost (CMV), pig manure vermicompost (PMV), biochar vermicompost (BCV), biochar (BC), conventional synthetic fertilizers (NPK), CMV in addition to NPK (CMV + NPK), and PMV in addition to NPK (PMV + NPK), organic manure (OM), rapeseed cake (RC) and control without any fertilization (CK). Maize above and belowground biomass were analyzed in glass greenhouse experiments. The results showed that nitrogen and carbon contents showed significant differences among treatments. Vermicompost significantly showed higher biomass as compared to inorganic fertilizers except for RC. All vermicompost treatments also showed better nutrient availability as compared to NPK and CK. In conclusion, vermicompost with all substrates are recommended for application as organic fertilizers. Our study will help promote the application of organic fertilizers alone or in combination with inorganic fertilizers rather than only inorganic fertilizers for environmental health and sustainability.