Vermiculture

Vermiculture

1. VERMICULTURE
Dr. Madhura Mukadam
Associate Professor,
Dept. of Zoology,
Gogate Jogalekar College, Ratnagiri

4. Different species of Earthworms used
in Vermiculture
•Anecic(outoftheearth)-burrowingwormsthatcometo
thesurfaceatnight
•Endogeic(withintheearth)-feedontheorganicmatter
presentinthesoilsotheyrarelycometothesurface.
•Epigeic(upontheearth)-liveinthesurfacelitterandfeed
ondecayingorganicmatter.Theseareresponsiblefor
decomposingthematerialandareusedinvermicomposting.
a)Detritivores–feedonplantlitter,organicmatterand
mammaliandungnearthesoilsurface.
b)Geophagous-ingestlargequantitiesoforganicallyrichsoil
beneaththesoilsurface.

5. Methods used in Vermiculture
•Bedding Water Feedstock
•Casting Egg Worms
•Market Market
Processing Unit
Vermiculture (worms)
Vermicompost
Vermiwash

6. Important prerequisites for successful
Vermiculture
•Selection of suitable species of earthworm
•Appropriate worm density
•Temperature
•Moisture
•Bedding and feeding material.

7. Methods
1.Windrows method –carried out in long rows of bedding
and is used to produce large volume of vermicompost.
a) Static pile windrows (Batch method)
b) Top-fed windrows (continuous flow)
c) Wedges (continuous flow)
2. Beds or Bins method:
a) Tops-fed beds (continuous flow)
b) Stacked bins (batch or continuous flow)
3. Flow-through reactor method-here the worms are never
disturbed in their beds-the material goes in front from the
top, flows through the reactor and comes out at the
bottom.

10. Maintenance and harvesting
•FiveessentialsforsuccessfulVermicultureare:
a)Anhospitablelivingenvironment,usually
calledBedding
b)AFoodsource
c)Adequatemoisture
d)Adequateaeration
e)Ambienttemperatureandother
environmentalconditions

11. Methods of harvesting of worms
•Wormharvestingisusuallycarriedoutinorderto
sellthewormsandtostartnewwormbeds.
•Therearethreedifferentmethods.
•A)Manualmethod–involveshand-sorting,picking
thewormsdirectlybyhand
•B)Migrationmethod–useofscreenoronionbag
•C)Mechanicalmethod–rapidandeasiestmethod
forseparatingwormsfromvermiconmpost.A
mechanicalharvesterortrammeldeviceisused.

12. Economic importance of vermiculture
•Earthwormsplayakeyroleasadecomposerin
variousfoodchainsinhelpincyclingofnutrients
therebyimprovingsoilfertility.
•Vermicompostingenrichesthesoilwithnutrients
andincreasesitsabilitytoretainmoisture,
improvessoilstructureandincreasesmicrobial
activityforsustainableagricultureprocesses.
•Italsoleadstotheformationofmanurewith
highernitrogencontentandnutrientslikeP,Kand
Mgaremoreascomparedtoconventional
compost.

13. Advantages of vermiculture
•Easytoperformanddoesnotrequireexpensiveor
sophisticatedequipments.
•Eco-friendlyandsociallycumeconomicallyviable
innovativetechnology.
•Bringwaste-landsundercultivation.
•Responsibleforimprovedseedgermination,
enhancedseedlinggrowth,developmentand
increasedplantproductivity.
•Usedtoconvertmunicipalandindustrialsolid
organicwastesintoorganicfertilizer.

14. Demands for earthworms
•EarthwormshaveapotentialofgeneratingNPKequaltoabout
10-12milliontonsinIndiaandabout1200tonsoforganicwastes
canbedegradedto350tonsofvermicompost.
•Earthwormsalsousedasfishbait,vermimealandvermiceuticals.
•Wormmealisoneofthecomponentsofcommercialfishfeed
andisalsousedasadelicacyinhumanfood.
•Duetohighproteincontentverminmealisutilizedasfoodinpig
andpoultryfarms.
•Earthwormsarealsousedinthe€nanisystemofmedicineto
treatdiseaseslikepyorrhea,smallpox,jaundiceand
rheumatism.Theyarealsousedinthehealingofwounds,
chronicboils,piles,sorethroatandasanaphrodisiac.

15. Marketing and Entrepreneurship
•Marketingofvermicompostisnowaflourishingindustrydueto
increasingawarenessamongthepeopleabouttheilleffectsof
chemicalfertilizersandrelativebenefitoforganicfarming.
•TheretailmarketfetchesapriceofRs.20/kg.
•Itnotonlyservesasefficientmanurebutalsosavesthemoney
usuallyspentonfertilizers.
•VermicultureandVermicompostingcanbeusefulcottageindustries
fortheeconomicallyweakasitcanprovidethemasasourceof
income.
•Theyoungpeoplerequireemploymentthatcanbeprovidedby
settingupvermicultureunitsandproducingqualityorganicmanure
forsustainableagropractice.
•Itwillhelptorecyclegarbage,willbeleptsurroundingcleanandtidy
asataskandpartofPradhanMantri”SwacchaBharatAbhiyan.