title: Transformation of nitrogen during vermicomposting of fly ash.
abstract: In view of environmental problems generated by large-scale production of fly ash, increasing attention is now being paid to the recycling fly ash as a source of plant nutrients in agriculture. However, the low amount of nitrogen in such materials forms a major constraint for such application. In the present study, the possibility of improving the N status in mixtures of fly ash and organic matter was investigated by adopting vermicomposting technology. Different combinations of fly ash and cow (Bos taurus) dung; namely fly ash alone, cow dung alone and fly ash + cow dung at 1:1, 1:3 and 3:1 ratios were incubated with and without epigeic earthworms (Eisenia fetida) for 50 days. The occurrence of N in different bio-available forms; namely easily mineralizable, NH4+ and NO3- tended to increase considerably in the series treated with earthworms. This behaviour was attributed primarily to increased microbiological activity in the vermicomposted samples and also to a considerable rise in the concentration of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in this series. Among the three combinations of vermicomposted fly ash and cow dung, the 1:1 mixture appeared to exhibit the highest availability of nitrogen.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Satya S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Gunindra N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Chattopadhyay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D060729:Coal Ash; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D008372:Manure; D009566:Nitrates / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D052638:Particulate Matter; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D008372:Manure; D009566:Nitrates; D052638:Particulate Matter; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen