BALANCE OF NITROGEN AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VERMICOMPOSTS OBTAINED FROM THE PROCESSING OF COW MANURE, LEAF LITTER, AND MOWN GRASS

The mean total nitrogen content in vermicomposts based on cow manure, a mixture of willow–poplar leaf litter, and mown grass amounted to 1.92, 1.64, and 2.15%, respectively. The increase in total nitrogen content during vermicomposting of cow manure and leaf litter was 39% and 50%, respectively. During vermicomposting of mown grass, the total nitrogen content decreased by 26%. The actual activity of Azotobacter bacteria was highest in vermicomposts based on mown grass (98%). For vermicomposts based on leaf litter, this indicator was 85%, while manure‑based vermicompost was 70%. Vermicomposts obtained from mown grass surpassed other variants in the content of ammonifiers (10¹⁰ CFU/g), nitrifiers (6×10⁶ cells/g), and inorganic nitrogen utilizers (1.4×10¹⁰ CFU/g). A very strong positive correlation (r = 0.9999) was established between the total nitrogen content and the content of ammonifiers in vermicomposts. The balance of total nitrogen content (percentage difference between nitrogen content in vermicomposts and initial mixtures) correlated negatively with the content of inorganic nitrogen utilizers in vermicomposts (r = –0.97).

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