VERMICULTURE

• Vermiculture means culturing worms for selling them either to

fishermen or to compost manufacturers.
• When earthworms are used for the production of compost it is
called vermicomposting.
• Earthworms burrow through the soil and feed on decaying
organic matter, excreting castings that are rich in nutrients and
beneficial micro-organisms, which are about 20 times more in
worm castings (earthworm waste) than in normal soil.
• These beneficial organisms not only make available nutrients
to the plants but also suppress the growth of pathogens
leading to healthy plants.
Earthworm burrow

Castings
• The most common worms used in
vermiculture are red worms (Eisenia foetida,
Eisenia andrei, and Lumbricus rubellus).
• These worms thrive at temperatures between
20-30°C and can be cultured indoor in boxes.
• Other worms like Perionyx
excavatus and Eudrillius eugiene are are
suitable for warmer climates.
RED WORMS
 Vermiculture Medium
• Crop residues, dry leaves, cattle dung are the
basic materials for culturing earthworms,
along with saw dust, coir waste, paddy husk,
slurry from biogas plant, poultry waste and
vegetable wastes.
• Earth worm culturing should be done under
shelter to avoid direct sunlight and flooding by
heavy rain.
Saw dust

Coir waste
 Containers for Vermiculture

• Brick lined pits,

• plastic tubs,
• wooden boxes,
• earthen pots or
• any other suitable containers can be used for culturing
earthworms.
• The ideal size is 1 m x 1 m x 0.3 m but dimensions can be
changed to suit the amount of waste material and convenience
but the depth of pit should not be more than 45 cm.
• Sometimes a heap of organic matter over plain ground in shady
area can also be used for culturing.
 METHOD OF CULTURING EARTHWORMS

• Select a container or dig a pit of suitable

dimensions in shady areas.
• At the bottom of the pit or container, make
a wormibed of 10 cm height using coir waste,
paddy husk, sugar cane trash, old papers etc.
and spread a layer of soil over it.
• Wet the bed by sprinkling sufficient water over
it to obtain a relative humidity of 40-45%.
WORMIBED
• Mix the organic waste, cattle dung and slurry from biogas plant
or any other organic material and spread it over the bed.
• Keep this mixture for two weeks for half digestion, during
which heating of substrate will take place and temperature will
rise to 50-55°C. Add 5-10 % of neem cake in this material.
• Neem cake has beneficial effect on the growth of worms and
kills harmful microorganisms.
• Once the organic feeding material has cooled down to about
30°C, introduce worms by spreading them over the bed at the
rate of 500 worms for every 100 kg of organic material.
• Cover the bed with jute cloth, straw or similar
material to provide shade and protection to the
worms. Water has to be sprinkled over this
cover to maintain the moisture content at 45-
50% and temperature between 20-30°C. The pH
of the raw material should not exceed 6.5-7.
• The worms feed actively on organic matter and
excrete mounds of castings near the surface. In
about 60 days the compost will be ready.
• To separate the worms from compost, take
out the vermicompost and spread it in a heap
in sunlight on a plastic sheet. In about two
hours all the worms will move to the bottom
of the heap.
• The compost can be removed from the top
and used in fields, and the worms from the
bottom can be carefully collected and used for
further vermicomposting.
• Vermicompost production using worms such
as Eisenia foetida, Lumbricus rubellus and Eudrilus
eugeniae can be enhanced by using cattle urine for
moistening organic wastes during the preliminary
composting stage before the addition of worms.
• This simple technique can yield vermicompost of a
higher Nitrogen content. Moreover, worms have
been found to become more active and
vermicompost can be harvested at least 10 days
earlier if cattle urine is used.
Types of Earthworm
There are main types of earthworms;
 Anecic Earthworms

• This species of earthworm leaves permanent

vertical burrows in the soil. They drag leaves
from the surface into these burrows and eat
the leaves.
• Anecic earthworms have dark red or brown
head while their tails are usually paler in color.
• Anecic earthworms also leave piles of dirt and
debris behind when they burrow, by casting
them around the entrance to form a mound.
• They also cast their waste on the surface as
well which in turn acts as fertilizer for plants.
Earthworms in this species include the
Aporrectodea longa, Aporrectodea nocturna,
Lumbricus friendi and Lumbricus terrestris.
 Endogeic Earthworms
• Endogeic earthworms live in and feed on the
soil.
• Unlike anecic earthworms, which make
vertical burrows, these types of earthworms
make horizontal burrows through the soil as
they move around.
• Endogeic earthworms are often pale in color.
Most have a mixture of grey, pale pink, green
or blue. E.g. Allolobophora chlorotica
 Epigeic Earthworms

• These types of earthworms live on the surface

of the soil in leaf scatterings.
• Unlike the other kinds of earthworms, epigeic
earthworms are not likely to make burrows but
live in and feed on the leaf litter on the surface.
• Most are often bright red or reddy-brown in
color and they are not usually stripy.
• E.g. Lumbricus castaneus
 Compost worms
• Compost worms live within the top four to five inches
of topsoil and feed on vegetable matter. They do not
eat soil like other earthworms do.
• Compost worms don’t build permanent burrows but,
instead, they burrow randomly throughout the rotting
matter and the topsoil.
• When it's cold or really hot they will burrow deeper
down and ball up, covering themselves with slime to
protect themselves from drying out.
• There are 4 main species of compost worm:
 Eisenia fetida
• Common Names - Tiger worm, manure worm,
brandling worm
• Colour - Rust brown with yellow stripes around it's
body- just like a Tiger
• Length - Up to 130mm
• Ideal Working Temperature Range - 15-25°
 Dendrobaena venta
• Common Names - Dendras, blue noses
• Colour - Violet, purple or olive brown and
sometime striped
• Length - Up to 155mm
• Ideal Working Temperature Range - 18-25°
 Lumbricus rubellus
• Common Names - Redworm, bloodworm, red
wiggler
• Colour - Dark red to maroon, no strips and light
yellow underneath
• Length - Up to 105mm
• Ideal Working Temperature Range - 18-23°
 Eisenia andrei
• Common Names - Red tiger worm
• Colour - Dark red to purple with maybe some
stripes
• Length - Up to 130mm
• Ideal Working Temperature Range - 18-23°
 Earth worker worms
• Earth-worker worms are the most common.
They make long burrows up to a few feet
deep, and often the casts are found at the
entrances.
• They are nocturnal, searching for food in the
nighttime, and they even use leaves to cover
up their burrows.
• E.g. Lumbricus terrestris
 Root-dwelling worms
• These worms are never seen above ground.
They burrow very deep, even living among the
roots of the plants, and are found quite
frequently in farmland of various types.
• E.g. squirting worm
BIOLOGY OF EISENIA FOETIDA
• Redworms or Eisenia foetida are the most common
and widely used composting worms in the world.
• it is the smallest of the earthworm species found in
the world.
• These worms are generally raised by farmers and
people who are into gardening, who use their compost
as a fertilizer.
• They are also used by fishermen as a bait for fishing.
• Additionally, people who own fish aquariums use
these worms as fish food.
• Eisenia foetida is basically the scientific name of this
species. (The term foetida means unpleasant or foul
smelling, which is derived from the fact that these
worms release a foul, pungent liquid when handled
roughly.
• Range and Habitat: Native to Europe, the species is
now found on all the continents of the world; except
for Antarctica. They thrive in areas with rotting manure,
compost, vegetation, etc. As opposed to other worms,
these worms are epigeal in nature, i.e., they are found
above the soil or in the top soil.
• Identifying features:
o It is commonly known as red/manure/wriggler
worm, etc.
o It is about 3-4 inches long.
o It has alternating prominent bands of darker
and lighter red.
o This colouration is lighter between the bands.
o It has a slightly flat bottom with the rest of the
body being round.
o The tail is sometimes a lighter colour often
with yellow tip.
o This colouration comes and goes depending
upon what it is fed.
o It stays near surface.
• It is burrowing in nature.

• It makes burrow by its anterior pointed end and by

swallowing moist
• Soil with sucking action of pharynx.
• It feeds on dead and decay organic matter present in
the soil.
• Undigested food is egested out as worm castings or
vermicompost.
• It is photonegative and geopositive.

• It requires 20-30˚C temperature, 12-30 %

moisture, 6.5 pH and well
• Aerated soil for its efficient work.
• Life span is about 70 days.

• Growth is faster than other manure worms.