Vermicomposting in Turkey: Challenges and opportunities in future

Yıl 2018, , 32 - 41, 26.12.2018

Korkmaz Bellitürk

https://doi.org/10.31195/ejejfs.476504

Cited By: 12

Öz

Turkey has been undergoing positive agricultural
transformations since the 2011. Turkey agricultural sector today is developing
with new techniques and products. One of the best examples of this; is the
production of vermicompost and its use in agriculture. Turkey is in Asian and
European continents (Eurasia) with the population approximately 81 million. Turkey
has 24 million hectares of agriculture land (excluding pastures+ meadows,
including total arable land and under permanent crops). There is little data
available on vermicompost production in Turkey. The production of vermicompost
started after 2011. The average solid vermicompost production in the 2017 was about
20000 tonnes produced by 15 plants with official production permit by the
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Apart from this
information, it is estimated that there are approximately 4200 unauthorized
vermicompost producers in Turkey. The production of liquid vermicompost in
Turkey is limited. A few producers also produce worm-tea in the country. On the
other hand, livestock activities also increase day by day and a lot of waste
comes out. It can be said that the most rational method for evaluation of waste
is to produce vermicompost. Vermicomposting
is an environment friendly process used to convert organic waste into valuable
agricultural product. The interest in the vermicompost is increasing day by day
in the whole country. As far as the vermicompost production is concerned,
Turkey has a new specific legislation and published by the official newspaper
no 30341 dated 23^rd February 2018. There are two big legally
authorized associations in the country today. The number of academicians
engaged in academic studies a vermicompost is limited and interest in the
vermicomposting is increasing. One of the biggest companies producing
solid-liquid vermicompost and all related machines is operating in Tekirdag
province and this company has the largest production capacity of Turkey. The
company operates by consulting with academicians who are experts in vermicomposting.
The results of academic studies on vermicompost showed that there are many
positive effects on soil quality and plant growth. However, many other benefits
of vermicompost on soil-plant systems are not yet fully understood. The use of vermicompost
is important for the sustainability of agriculture. The main aim of the paper
is to demonstrate and share reasonable causes for the increased interest in
vermicompost and earthworms. For the vermicompost sector by 2023 Turkey aims to
be among the top three overall producers globally.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Agriculture, waste, earthworm, vermicompost

Kaynakça

• Açıkbaş, B. and Bellitürk, K., 2016. Effects of Vermicompost on Nutrient Contents of Trakya Ilkeren/5BB Grafting Combination Grapevine Saplings. Journal of Tekirdag Agricultural Faculty, 13 (4): 131-138.
• Açıkbaş, B. and Bellitürk, K., 2017. Vermicompost Affects Shoot Growth of Trakya Ilkeren/5BB Grafting Combination Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) Saplings. International Congress of the New Approaches and Technologies for Sustainable Development, 21-24 September, 2017, Isparta, Turkey, Proceeding Book-II, pp.87-95.
• Arancon, N.Q and Edwards, C.A., 2011. The Use of Vermicomposts as soil Amendments for Production of Field Crops (Edited by C.A. Edwards, N.Q. Arancon and R. Sherman), CRC Press, Chapter 10: 129-152.
• Barlas, N.T. and Bellitürk, K., 2017. The Importance of Vermicompost on Converting Fertilization System from Chemical to Organic in Turkey. International Symposium on EuroAsian Biodiversity (SEAB-2017), Minsk, Belarus, 05-08 July, 2017, pp. 129.
• Bellitürk, K., Shrestha, P. and Görres, J.H., 2015. The Importance of Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil Using Vermicompost for Sustainable Agriculture. Journal of Rice Research, 3 (2), 6: e114.
• Bellitürk, K., 2016. Vermicomposting Technology for Solid Waste Management in Sustainable Agricultural Production. Çukurova J. Agric. Food Sci. 31 (3): 1-5.
• Bellitürk, K., 2017. New Developments in Agricultural Resource Management: The Case of Vermicompost and its Some Applications in Turkey. International Conference: Advances in Agricultural Resource Management (ICARM-2017), April 5-7, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, pp. 19.
• Belliturk, K., Hinisli, N. and Adiloglu, A., 2017a. The Effect of Vermicompost, Sheep Manure, and Cow Manure on Nutrition Content of Curly Lettuce (Lactuca sativa var.). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin (FEB), 26 (1a): 1116-1120.
• Bellitürk, K., Adiloğlu, S., Solmaz, Y., Zahmacıoğlu, A. and Adiloğlu, A., 2017b. Effects of Increasing Doses of Vermicompost Applications on Phosphorus and Potassium Concentrations of Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies (JOAAT). 4 (4): 372-375.
• Bellitürk, K., 2018. Some Evaluations about Use of Vermicompost in Agricultural Activity of Thrace Region, Turkey: A Review. Journal of Rice Research, 6 (2): 1000193.
• Bhatnagar, R.K. and Palta, R.K., 1996. Earthworm-Vermiculture and Vermicomposting. Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi.
• Bidabadi, S.S., Afazel, M. and Poodeh, S.D., 2016. The Effect of Vermicompost Leachate on Morphological, Physiological and Biochemical Indices of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni in a Soilless Culture System. Int. J. Recycle Org. Waste Agric. 5: 251-262.
• Bouche, M.M., 1977. Strategies Lombriciennes, Ecol. Bull. 25: 122-132.Brown, G.G., 1995. How Do Earthworms Affect Microfloral and Faunal Community Diversity? Plant Soil 170: 209-231. Dominguez, J., Edwards, C.A. and Subler, S., 1997. A Comparison of Vermicomposting and Composting Methods to Process Animal Wastes. Biocycle 38: 57-79.
• Dominguez, J., 2004. State of the Art and New Perspectives on Vermicomposting Research. In: C.A. Edwards (Ed.). Earthworm Ecology (2nd Edition). CRC Press, LLC. pp. 401-424.
• Edwards, C.A., 1995. Historical Overview of Vermicomposting. Biocycle, 36, 56-58.
• Edwards, C.A., 2011a. Medium-and High-Technology Vermicomposting Systems. Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes and Environmental Management (Edited by C.A. Edwards, N.Q. Arancon and R. Sherman), CRC Press, Chapter 8: 91-102.
• Edwards, C.A., 2011b. Low-Technology Vermicomposting Systems. Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes and Environmental Management (Edited by C.A. Edwards, N.Q. Arancon and R. Sherman), CRC Press, Chapter 7: 79-90.
• Görres, J.H. and Bellitürk, K., 2012. Balancing Vermicomposting Benefits with Conservation of Soil and Ecosystems at Risk of Earthworm Invasions. VIII. International Soil Science Congress “Land Degradataion and Challenges in Sustainable Soil Management”, 15-17 May, 2012, Izmir, Turkey, Volume: 4, pp. 302-306.
• Guerrero, R.D., 2009. Commercial Vermimeal Production: Is it Feasible? In: Guerrero, R.D., Eds., Vermi Technologies for Developing Countries. Proceedings of the International Symposium-Workshop on Vermi Technologies for Developing Countries, Los Baños, 16-18 November 2005, 112-120.
• James, S.W. and Guimaraes, A., 2011. Discovery and Development of New Species for Vermiculture. Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes and Environmental Manag. (Ed. by C.A. Edwards, N.Q. Arancon, R. Sherman), CRC Press, Chapter 4: 41-52.
• Karmakar, S., Brahmachari, K., Gangopadhyay, A. and Choudhury, S.R., 2012. Recycling of Different Available Organic Wastes throuhg Vermicomposting. E-Journal of Chemistry, 9 (2): 801-806.
• Mengistu, T., Gebrekidan, H., Kibret, K., Woldetsadik, K., Shimelis, B. and Yadav, H., 2017. The Integrated Use of Excreta-based Vermicompost and Inorganic NP Fertilizer on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Fruit Yield, Quality and Soil Fertility. International Journal of Recycling Organic Waste Agriculture, 6 (1): 63-77.
• Patil, S.S., Kasture, M.C. and Dhopavkar, R.V., 2018. Micro-nutrient Enriched Vermicompost by Coconut Coir Waste. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 7 (06): 2352-2361. Sinha, R.K., Agarwal, S., Chauhan, K. and Valani, D., 2010. The Wonders of Earthworms & its Vermicompost in Farm Production: Charles Darwin’s “Friends of Farmers”, with Potential to Replace Destructive Chemical Fertilizers from Agriculture. Agricultural Sciences, 1 (2): 76-94.
• Sun, B., Zhang, L., Yang, L., Zhang, F., Norse, D. and Zhu, Z., 2012. Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution in China: Causes and Mitigation Measures. Ambio 41 (4): 370-379.
• Sutton, M.A., Howard, C.Mm., Erisman, J.Q., Billen, J., Bleeker, A., Greenfelt, P., van Grinsven, H. and Grizzetti, B., 2011. The European Nitrogen Assessment, Sources, Effects and Policy Perspectives. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Yan, Y.W., Nor Azwady, A.A., Shamsuddin, Z.H., Muskhazli, M., Aziz, S.A. and Teng, S.K., 2013. Comparison of Plant Nutrient Contents in Vermicompost from Selected Plant Residues. African Journal of Biotechnology, 12 (17): 2207-2214.
• Yılmaz, K. and Bellitürk, K., 2018. Vermicomposting of Horse Dung Using Eisenia foetida (Sav.). International Agricultural Science Congress, 9-12 May 2018, pp. 151, Van/Turkey.
• Zahmacıoğlu, A., Ahi, Y. and Bellitürk, K., 2017. Determination of Vermicompost and Ammonium Nitrate Applications Effectiveness on Broccoli with Soil and Leaf Analysis. VIII. International Scientific Agriculture Symposium (Agrosym 2017), Jahorina, October 5-8, 2017, pp. 1660-1665.