Development of a Vermi Tea Brewing Machine

Vermicompost, a product of the composting system that utilizes earthworms for the decomposition of the biosolids and/or solid wastes is now considered in organic farming. But since it is applied in solid form, it is difficult for some plants to take up the nutrient contents. The liquid form is the vermi tea which facilitates the plants for fast absorption of the nutrients. The main objective of this study is to develop a vermi tea brewing machine taking into consideration system components and material specifications. Specifically, it aimed to establish the operating time of the machine and to evaluate its performance in terms of brewing efficiency and percent yield. The properties of the produced vermi tea were also evaluated. This is a developmental type of study which consists of development stage, preliminary testing stage and the performance testing stage. The vermi tea brewing machine comprised mainly of the cylindrical container, copper tubings, air pump, vermicompost container and support frame. During preliminary testing, the established machine’s operating time was 24 hours. Performance testing of the machine resulted to 99.58% yield and the brewing efficiency was acceptable in terms of the dissolved oxygen after the process. Properties of the produced vermi tea were tested by accredited laboratories and resulted to ph of 4.23, total NPK of 0.033%, dissolved oxygen of 5.62 mg/L, total coliform of 4,500,000 CFU/ml, mold of 3,000 CFU/ml and yeast of 3,000 CFU/ml. These are acceptable values which indicated that it can be used to improve farming activities.

Keywords –brewing machine, nematodes, protozoans, vermi tea