Some considerations on the use of vermicomposting in vegetables

Dear readers, with the impulse that sustainable development has had, in recent years special attention has been devoted to the development of technologies that facilitate the use of ecological agricultural practices aimed at the rational exploitation of natural resources and tending, in addition, to reduce the environmental impact that the indiscriminate use of agrochemical products generates to the environment. This context has provoked in the scientific community the development of organic products as a strategy to reduce the use of products of synthetic origin generally used in fertilization, weed control, insect and disease control programs, in order to obtain optimal yields, an exercise that causes pollution of air, water, soil, food chains and ecosystems, and thereby negatively affect the health of farmers, peasants and consumers in general.

In this sense, some researchers such as González, Rodríguez, Trejo, Sánchez and García (2013), have considered the use of vermicomposting leachate as a biostimulant, due to its high biological quality as well as being an alternative to increase the nutritional status of plants, which favors root growth and development, in addition to endless benefits. Therefore, among the crops that can be fertilized with this organic product are vegetables and in tropical areas the chili pepper is an important vegetable, tolerant to temperatures of approximately 32 ° C.

In this same order of ideas, it is important to emphasize that if you want to fertilize the Capsicum annuum pepper crop, it should be considered that at the nursery stage optimal conditions must be granted to ensure the vigor of the seedling before being taken to the field, in order for the crop to achieve optimal yield, that is why there is the possibility that with the application of worm leachate can provide the nutritional level to the substrate used which should play a fundamental role in the growth and development of the same, to achieve in a shorter time the appropriate parameters in relation to height, stem diameter, number of leaflets, among others.

The aforementioned can be achieved, since, according to Rodríguez (2017), vermicompotage leachate has a biostimulating effect, therefore, it becomes interesting to test which would be the appropriate dosage for the cultivation of chili pepper in the nursery phase in the tropical conditions in the southern zone of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, and the time that elapses to reach the optimal conditions for transplantation. In that sense, Mundarain, Coa and Cañizares (2005), pointed out that in the nursery stage some changes can be evaluated between 35 and 40 days after sowing, which is the time required by the plant to take it to the definitive field with an approximate height of 12 to 15 centimeters, with a thickness of 5 to 7 millimeters and 4 or 5 leaflets, these parameters will be reached in more or less time depending on some variables such as the nutritional level of the substrates.

On the other hand, Domínguez, Lazcano and Brandon (2012), have stated that the use of liquid vermicompost in substrates considerably increases the growth and development of some horticultural crops such as chili pepper, since vermicompost constitutes a source of nutritional for plants, in addition to being able to generate a significant improvement in the physical properties of the substrates. In the same way Torres, Cue, Hernández and Peñarrieta (2015), mention that liquid vermicompost has shown to exert positive effects on crops because they act as stimulators or regulators of plant growth, by reinforcing the biochemical and physiological activity, through its hormonal components (auxins, cytokinins and gibberellins), mineral nutrients, amino acids and proteins of low molecular mass, as well as the humic acids constituents of the biostimulator.

Dear readers, as has been evidenced in the article the worm leachate is an excellent nutritional alternative for vegetables; since, like most crops, it needs adequate nutrition, which can guarantee the genetic expression of the different species or varieties. Hence lies the importance of collecting information through trials so that it can be exploited and used in production units with the same or similar climatic conditions.