International Journal of Advanced Research and Development

Authors
Hemant Samadhiya, RB Gupta, OP Agrawal

Abstract
Gwalior is a typical Indian city with many temples, being visited by a large number of devotees. A huge amount (approximately 100kg) of temple waste, chiefly of garlands of flowers, is generated daily and on special days this amount increases several times as the number of visitors also increases. Devotees and temple administration believe that this waste (Nirmalay) is sacred and holy and it should not be treated like other garbage. Hence authorities of some temples make special arrangement packing and transportation to dispose it off in holy water Rivers, ponds and other water bodies in and around the city. Such a method of waste disposal is not satisfactory as it causes pollution, foul smells, unhygienic atmosphere and spread of infectious diseases. In the present study a successful attempt was made to convert flower waste into vermicompost. The flower waste was mixed with cattle dung to make it suitable for culture of selected earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae and detailed experiments were conducted in plastic containers. In order to enhance degradation of cellulosic material of flower waste, experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effect of mixing of Trichoderma harzianum powder. Results of the study are highly encouraging it was concluded that the flower waste can be managed, through vermicomposting in an eco-friendly manner by mixing equal ratio of cattle dung and small amount of T. harzianum powder. It was also demonstrated that fresh earthworms and T. harzianum are not required every time because they multiply continuously in the vermi-chamber.