Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 6215–6218

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Bioresource Technology
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Efficacy of vermicompost as fish pond manure – Effect on water quality

and growth of Cyprinus carpio (Linn.)
Vaneet Inder Kaur *, Meera D. Ansal
Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Experiment was conducted in (0.002 ha) cemented tanks for 120 days to assess the efficacy of vermicom-
Received 7 August 2009 post as fish pond manure at a dose of 10,000 kg/ha/year (VC10), 15,000 kg/ha/year (VC15) and 20,000
Received in revised form 22 February 2010 (VC20) kg/ha/year) in comparison to semi-digested cow dung (8–10 days old), which was utilized at a
Accepted 24 February 2010
dose of 20,000 kg/ha/year (CD20). One fourth of the doze was applied 15 days prior to fish stocking and
Available online 24 March 2010
rest in equal weekly installments. Twenty fingerlings of common carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linn.) were
stocked (10,000/ha) and fed with supplementary diet @ 2% of their body weight daily. Water quality
Keywords:
parameters were found to be within the optimum limits for carp culture in all the treatments. Zooplank-
Vermicompost
Cow dung
ton production in all the treatments did not differ significantly. Fish growth in terms of weight gain, per-
Organic manure cent weight gain, specific growth rate and yield was maximum in VC15 followed by VC20, VC10 and CD20.
Water quality Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cyprinus carpio

1. Introduction a form of organic manure, which can be produced from variety of

Freshwater aquaculture in India has made significant contribu-
tion towards total fish production involving different types and
levels of inputs (Ayyappan and Jena, 2003). Among various prac-
tices, depending upon the variable inputs, semi-intensive carp cul-
ture practices in rural aquaculture involve utilization of various
organic manures for plankton (natural food) production. These
manures are either directly utilized by the fish or they enrich the
aquatic ecosystem with autotrophic (plankton) and heterotrophic
microbial communities (Schroeder, 1987; Muendo et al., 2006). Or-
ganic manures if not decomposed completely before application in
aquaculture pond may deteriorate the water quality as they utilize
oxygen during decomposition. Therefore, the amount of any
organic manure to be added in the pond mainly depends upon
its biological oxygen demand (BOD), as their excessive use may
cause severe dissolved oxygen depletion in the pond and results
in production of toxic gases like CO2, H2S, NH3, etc., and can spread
parasitic diseases (Chakrabarty et al., 2008). Hence, to minimise
the harmful effects of organic manures on pond ecosystem, the
best alternative is to utilize fully decomposed/digested organic
manures in comparison to undigested or semi-digested organic
manures.
Among the decomposed manures, vermicompost is rich in all
types of major and minor nutrients, vitamins, enzymes, antibiotics,
growth promoters etc. (Mitra, 1997; Bhusan and Yadav, 2003). It is
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 0161 2414061; fax: +91 0161 2414054.
E-mail addresses: vinnygulati@gmail.com, vikgulati@rediffmail.com (V.I. Kaur).
organic wastes (cow dung, poultry waste, piggery waste, agricul-
tural waste, etc.) by earthworms and is made up of worm castings
(faecal excretion) and other organic material (Reinecke and Al-
berts, 1987). Sulochana et al. (2009) observed higher manurial va-
lue of the vermicompost as compared to raw cow dung and poultry
droppings in terms of its effect on hydrobiology of water. Even if
vermicompost dries up, there is no harm to its microflora hence,
it is referred to as potential biological manure or biofertilizer
(Meena, 2003). Vermicompost is found to be more nutritious than
cow dung/farmyard manure in terms of more carbon and phos-
phorus, less potassium and comparable nitrogen (Shinde et al.,
1992). Moreover, vermicompositing is a farmer friendly technique,
where vermicompost can be prepared from variety of locally
available plant and animal wastes without much cost, labour and
exerpertise.
In view of the above discussion, the present study was con-
ducted to study the effect of vermicompost on water quality, zoo-
plankton production and growth of exotic carp, Cyprinus carpio (L.)
in comparison to traditional manure used in aquaculture i.e. semi-
digested cow dung.
2. Methods
An outdoor experiment was carried out in 20 m2 (0.002 ha) ce-
mented tanks for 120 days. Tanks were prepared a fortnight before
stocking of fish. At the base of the tank, 5 cm thick soil bed was
provided and filled with tubewell water. Manuring was done with

0960-8524/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.096
6216 V.I. Kaur, M.D. Ansal / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 6215–6218

semi-digested (8–10 days old) cow dung at a dose of 40 kg ln = Natural logrithum.

(20,000 kg/ha/year – CD20) as control and vermicompost (prepared Data was analyzed using STATGRAPHICS statistical package.
from cow dung) at a dose of 20 kg (10,000 kg/ha/year – VC10), 30 kg Differences among different treatments were calculated by using
(15,000 kg/ha/year – VC15) and 40 kg (20,000 kg/ha/year – VC20). one way ANOVA (P 6 0.5).
Out of total amount, 25% of the doze was applied 15 days before
stocking of fish and rest in equal weekly instalments after stocking
of fish (Table 1). Twenty fingerlings of common carp, C. carpio (L.) 3. Results
were stocked (10,000/ha) per tank (0.002 ha). The average length
and weight of fish was 14.73 cm (14.67–14.85 cm) and 49.94 g The study revealed that during the experimental period, water
(48.4–51.2 g), respectively, at the time of stocking. quality parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, soluble
Traditional feed (deoiled rice bran – 44%, deoiled mustard cake phosphate and ammonical nitrogen did not vary significantly in
– 44% and fish meal – 10%, mineral mixture – 1.5% and common various treatments, whereas, pH and total alkalinity differed signif-
salt – 0.5%) was used for feeding the fish @ 2% of its body weight icantly being maximum in VC20 and CD20. The values of all these
daily. The proximate analysis of feed ingredients and of the diet
was carried out by following the methods of AOAC (2000). Proxi-
mate composition (on dry matter basis) of the prepared diet was
as – crude protein – 31.26%, crude fat – 4.78%, crude fiber –
12.80%, nitrogen free extract – 33.33%, ash – 14.97% and energy –
3.30 kcal/g. The feed was adjusted according to increase in the fish
body weight observed after each monthly sampling. A constant
water level was maintained in the experimental ponds by adding
tubewell water to compensate the water losses due to evaporation
and seepage. Water quality such as temperature, dissolved oxygen,
pH, total alkalinity, soluble phosphate and ammonical nitrogen
were measured at fortnightly intervals by following the standard
methods of APHA (1991). Quantitative estimation of zooplankton
was also done at fortnight intervals by using Sedgwick Rafter Cell.
Growth of fish (n = 10) was assessed by measuring body length and
weight at regular monthly intervals. Data was analyzed for follow-
ing parameters:
Weight gain ðgÞ ¼ Final body weight ðgÞ  Initial body weight ðgÞ Fig. 1. Changes in dissolved oxygen (mg l1) in different treatments.

Percent weight gain ð%Þ

Final body weight ðgÞ  Initial body weight ðgÞ
¼  100
Initial body weight ðgÞ

Specific growth rate ð% wt gain=dayÞ

ln final body weight ðgÞ  ln initial body weight ðgÞ
¼  100
culture period ðdaysÞ

Table 1
Manuring schedule (per pond) in different treatments.

Treatments Total dose (kg) Initial dose (kg) Weekly dose (kg)
(manure)
CD20 40 10 0.625
VC10 20 5 0.312
VC15 30 7.5 0.468
VC20 40 10 0.625
Fig. 2. Changes in soluble phosphate (mg l1) in different treatments.

Table 2
Hydro-biological parameters (average value ± S.E.) in different treatments during the culture period.

Parameters Treatments
CD20
Temperature (°C) 16.49 ± 1.74a (9.5–23.5)
D.O. (mg l1) 14.64 ± 1.01a (9.8–16.8)
pH 9.10 ± 0.07a (8.6–9.4)
Total alkalinity (mg l1) 239.11 ± 10.48a (192–298)
Soluble phosphate (mg PO4–P l1) 0.16 ± 0.04a (0–0.41)
Ammonical nitrogen (mg NH3–N l1) 0.002 ± 0.002a (0–0.02)
Zooplankton production (No. l1) 558.96a (185–1445)
VC10
16.52 ± 1.76a (9.5–23.8)
15.78 ± 1.79a (6.0–22.4)
9.12 ± 0.15a (8.5–10.0)
212.67 ± 6.49b (186–250)
0.12 ± 0.02a (0–0.19)
0.007 ± 0.007a (0–0.06)
567.86a (80–1607)
VC15
16.46 ± 1.78a (9.0–23.5)
15.20 ± 1.13a (12.0–20.8)
9.18 ± 0.08a (8.9–9.7)
215.78 ± 4.30b (204–240)
0.15 ± 0.04a (0.07–0.38)
0.007 ± 0.005a (0–0.05)
581.47a (124–1731)
VC20
16.47 ± 1.77a (9.5–23.8)
15.02 ± 1.50a (8.4–23.6)
9.24 ± 0.77a (9.1–9.7)
232.00 ± 7.21ab (192–264)
0.14 ± 0.03a (0–0.34)
0.004 ± 0.003a (0–0.03)
549.19a (138–1314)

Values with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (P 6 0.5).

Values in Parenthesis are range of the parameter.
 V.I. Kaur, M.D. Ansal / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 6215–6218 6217

Fig. 3. Changes in ammonical nitrogen (mg l1) in different treatments.

Fig. 6. Changes in zooplankton population (No. l1) in different treatments.

Table 3
Growth parameters in different treatments.

Parameters Treatments
CD20 VC10 VC15 VC20
Average initial 49.08 ± 0.96a 51.20 ± 0.58a 48.40 ± 0.92a 50.00 ± 1.48a
weight (g)
Average final 76.60 ± 2.48c 81.00 ± 2.09bc 94.40 ± 1.44a 86.00 ± 0.73b
weight (g)
Weight gain (g) 27.52 29.80 (8.28) 46.00 (67.15) 36.00 (30.81)
Percent weight 56.07 58.20 (3.79) 95.04 (69.50) 72.00 (28.41)
gain (%)
Specific growth 0.37 0.38 (2.70) 0.55 (48.64) 0.45 (21.62)
rate (SGR) (%
wt gain/day)
Yield per tank (kg) 1.53 1.62 (5.88) 1.89 (23.52) 1.72 (12.41)

Values with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (P 6 0.5).

Fig. 4. Changes in pH in different treatments. Values in parenthesis are % change over control.

was recorded in VC15 and VC20 (Table 3). However, maximum

weight gain (46.0 g), percent weight gain (95.04%), specific growth
rate (0.55% weight gain/day) and yield/tank (1.89 kg) after
120 days was observed in treatment VC15 (67.15%, 69.50%,
48.64% and 23.52% higher than the respective values in the control
– CD20) followed by VC20, VC10 and CD20 (Table 3). In the present
study, dissolved oxygen content in VC15 ponds remained slightly
higher, despite holding higher biomass as compared to CD20 indi-
cating better water quality contributing to higher weight gain. In
addition to this, zooplankton profile was also found better. Growth
of fish in VC10 and CD20, however, did not differ significantly.
Although growth of fish in VC20 was significantly lower than
VC15, but was significantly higher than CD20.

4. Discussion
Fig. 5. Changes in total alkalinity (mg l1) in different treatments.

So far, the information regarding efficacy of vermicompost as

parameters were however, within the recommended range (Boyd
and Tucker, 1998) for carp culture (Table 2 and Figs. 1–5). Zoo-
plankton population did not differ significantly among different
treatments (Table 2 and Fig. 6). Water quality parameters showed
least fluctuations during the culture period in VC15 (Figs. 1–5).
Survival of fish was 100% in all the treatments. There was a stea-
dy increase in the weight of C. carpio in experimental tanks. As
compared to control (CD20), significantly higher growth of fish
manure in aquaculture ponds is scanty. Deolalikar and Mitra
(2004) have reported comparable efficacy of vermicompost with
other commercial manures used in aquaculture. Vermicompost
has also been reported to result in higher survival and growth of
aquatic organisms including fish and prawn (Kumar et al., 2007)
without adversely affecting the water quality. Vermicompost (pre-
pared from paper mill solid waste) has been found to increase the
net productivity from 32.03 to 220.83 C/m/h along with better
growth of Indian major carp, Labeo rohita, when compared with
6218 V.I. Kaur, M.D. Ansal / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 6215–6218
other available organic manures (Deolalikar and Mitra, 2004). Cha-
krabarty et al. (2008, 2009) also recorded significantly higher
plankton production and fish growth (common carp) in vermicom-
post treated ponds in comparison to traditionally used organic
manures and inorganic fertilizers. Ansal et al. (2006) also reported
significantly higher dissolved oxygen in vermicompost manured
pools as compared to cow dung, as observed in the present study.
Maximum fish yield in VC15 can be attributed to higher zooplank-
ton production and superior water quality in terms of high dis-
solved oxygen values. Not only for the carp culture, but
vermicompost can also be used for cat fish ponds as Ghosh
(2004) recorded better growth in cat fish, Clarias batrachus and
higher water retention capacity in vermicompost manured ponds
as compared to inorganic fertilizer treated ponds in monoculture
practice.
The present study shows the utilization of vermicompost di-
rectly as feed (higher growth of C. carpio) and indirectly as manure
for fish culture ponds. Thus, along with the additional manorial va-
lue, the expenditure on the feed can also be reduced with the use of
vermicompost.
5. Conclusions
The present study suggests higher potential of utilizing ver-
micompost as compared to cow dung and hence can be used
more effectively for manuring semi-intensive carp culture ponds
without affecting the hydrobiological parameters. In developing
country like India, agriculture and livestock work in integration,
where livestock waste (mainly cow dung) is the most com-
monly used organic manure in agriculture and aquaculture.
Hence, the small scale on farm integration of vermicomposting
of livestock and agriculture waste with the rural aquaculture
(extensive/semi-intensive) holds ample scope for developing
economically and ecologically sustainable farming system for
the socio-economic upliftment of rural population in developing
countries.
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