Rock Phosphate Vermicompost with Microbial Inoculation Potential in Organic Soil Fertility

Phosphorus (P), an essential macronutrient and the 11th most abundant element in the earth’s crust, represents a small fraction of the soil. To enhance P content in the soil, the commercial P fertilizer is produced from high-grade rock phosphate (RP), which will be exhausted in the future, explaining why low-grade RP is being promoted as P fertilizer to be used during RP vermicomposting, with or without microbial inoculation. As the most effective P solubilizers, phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms have increased P from RP during vermicomposting. The cost-effectiveness of rock phosphate, phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms, and its P solubilizing capability make it an interesting and valuable organic fertilizer that farmers can use and exploit to improve soil fertility and plant growth. This chapter highlights that RP vermicompost inoculated with phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms can be used as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative for sustainable agricultural development. With few studies on the use of this effective fertilizer on plant growth and soil fertility, more research in the field will help save the production cost and the soil ecosystem function.