Presentation on Vermiculture for SYBSc Zoology Semester IV

1. Vermiculture
SYBSc Semester - IV
Biren Daftary

2. Introduction
• Vermis = worm, cultura = growth
• Composting done with the help of
earthworms is known as a vermicompost
• The habitat, habits, nutrition, reproduction of
different earthworms differ, hence the need to
select the proper species for the given need

3. Important aspects
 Habits & habitat:
• Found everywhere except sandy soil and soil
deficient in humus
• Found in upper layers of slightly damp soil
• One acre of land = 50,000 earthworms on an
average

4.  Nutrition:
• Feed on dead organic matter
• Secretions of the intestinal tract release the plant
nutrients in simple forms in the form of castings
• Castings contain 5-11 times of available N, P and K

5.  Reproduction:
• Hermaphrodite but there is copulation between two
earthworms
• Fertilization and development inside a cocoon.
• Summer is the reproductive season
• Cocoons laid from Aug – Oct
• Young one hatches out of the cocoon in 2-3 weeks

6. Eathworms
Red worms (Lumbricus rubellus)
• Medium sized
• Cannot survive in ordinary garden and farm soils
• Can thrive well in manure piles and compost heaps
• Very useful in indoor culture because time required
for composting is less
• Turning the heap is not required

8. Field worms (Allolobophora caliginosa)
• Medium sized
• Attack compost heaps and manure piles from the
bottom
• Mix and turn the earth with organic matter and then
retreat to the soil
• Cannot thrive in active compost and killed more
easily than red and brandling worms
• Reproduction rate very high and fast

10. Night crawlers (Lumbricus terrestris)
• Large sized
• Attack manure piles and compost heaps from the
bottom and then retreat into the soil
• Prefer cool soil therefore do not enter compost and
manure piles
• If they are forced to live in active compost they will
die and melt

12. Brandling worms (Eisenia foetida & E. andrei)
• Medium – large sized
• High growth and reproductive rate
• Used as a fish bait
• Can produce about 400kg N rich compost per
hectare per year

14. Pheretima
• Common large sized earthworms
• Most common species in India is Pheretima
posthuma
• Their requirements are similar to those of night
crawlers and field worms
• They are soil living species

16. Materials for culturing
• Garbage
• Leaves
• Banana residue
• Shredded bark, sawdust, wood shavings
• Citrus wastes
• Bagasse
• Fish scrap

17. Materials which shouldn’t be used
• Wastes from birds, dogs and cats
• Human faeces
• Bird droppings are a source of diseases
• Highly acidic materials
• Diseased plants
• Toxic materials
• Plant debris from road side

18. Types and methods of vermiculture
Bins
• A container made up of brick, wood or concrete
• Bin should be located in a shady place near a garden
or kitchen
• Bins may be of different types: Lehigh type, cage
type, block and brick, etc.

19.  Lehigh type:
• Logs or poles or woods
• Constructed by drilling out corners of rods or logs and fixing
them with 4 rods at the corners
• Rods on adjacent sides are placed alternately
• Long lasting, easy to erect, portable and provides proper
ventilation and protection
 Cage type:
• Box type constructed with the help of wood and wire-mesh
• Inexpensive, simple to build, allow good circulation of air and
are portable

20.  Block and brick:
• Constructed by cementing the bricks or by just placing the
cement blocks or bricks without fixing
• May be permanent or movable

21. Simple bin
Lehigh-type bin

22. Cage type bin

23. Brick bin

24. Cages (pens):
• Simple type made of woven-wire fencing
• Constructed by bringing both ends of fencing together to form
a cylinder
• Cylinder is filled with waste organic matter and when it is half
full, a stick or post is driven into the pile
• Stick helps in maintaining the shape of the pile and also in
directing water in the heap

25. Movable pen

26. Indoor heap method
• Heap of height 12-18” made up of finely shredded
materials
• Manure type of earthworms introduced first so that they
start their activities right away without heating up the
heap greatly
• Night crawlers penetrate only bottom layer
• Field worms spread to the middle and bottom layer
• Red and brandling worms occur throughout the three
layers
• Earthworms should be introduced after a while so that
the intense heat doesn’t kill them instantaneously

27. • The temperature at the beginning may reach upto
66˚C
• Hence introduction of the earthworms should be
done after 2-3 weeks
• After the heap cools down, holes should be dug and
50-100 earthworms should be dropped in each hole
• About 1000 earthworms should be sufficient to
innoculate a 4 by 6 foot pile
• After a few days earthworms will begin consuming
the organic matter and leave rich castings behind

28. • An important aspect of this method is maintenance
of earthworm population
• Only half of the heap should be removed so that the
remainder can be served as the base of a new heap

30. Benefits of Vermiculture
Production of Vermicompost
• Increase in agricultural production
• Compost is a great recycler of plant nutrients
• Reduction of chemical fertilizer
• Recycling of wastes
• Drought protection
• Stoppage of erosion
• Neutralization of toxins

31. Use of earthworms
• As a fish bait
• For sewage sludge management
• For treatment of industrial wastes
• Reclamation of land with the help of earthworms
• Use of earthworms as food for animals and humans