This document discusses vermiculture, which is the practice of raising earthworms to produce vermicompost and other products. It describes the different types of earthworms used, including anecic, endogeic, and epigeic worms. Methods of vermiculture discussed include windrow composting and bin systems. Key factors for successful vermiculture are selecting the proper earthworm species, density, temperature, moisture, and bedding/feeding materials. Vermiculture has economic and environmental benefits, converting organic wastes into nutrient-rich fertilizer to improve soil quality and plant growth.

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

4. Different species of Earthworms used
in Vermiculture
• Anecic (out of the earth)- burrowing worms that come to
the surface at night
• Endogeic (within the earth)- feed on the organic matter
present in the soil so they rarely come to the surface.
• Epigeic (upon the earth)- live in the surface litter and feed
on decaying organic matter. These are responsible for
decomposing the material and are used in vermicomposting.
a) Detritivores – feed on plant litter, organic matter and
mammalian dung near the soil surface.
b)Geophagous- ingest large quantities of organically rich soil
beneath the soil surface.

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
• Five essentials for successful Vermiculture are :
a) An hospitable living environment, usually
called Bedding
b) A Food source
c) Adequate moisture
d) Adequate aeration
e) Ambient temperature and other
environmental conditions

11. Methods of harvesting of worms
• Worm harvesting is usually carried out in order to
sell the worms and to start new worm beds.
• There are three different methods.
• A) Manual method – involves hand-sorting, picking
the worms directly by hand
• B) Migration method – use of screen or onion bag
• C) Mechanical method – rapid and easiest method
for separating worms from vermiconmpost. A
mechanical harvester or trammel device is used.

12. Economic importance of vermiculture
• Earthworms play a key role as a decomposer in
various food chains in help in cycling of nutrients
thereby improving soil fertility.
• Vermicomposting enriches the soil with nutrients
and increases its ability to retain moisture,
improves soil structure and increases microbial
activity for sustainable agriculture processes.
• It also leads to the formation of manure with
higher nitrogen content and nutrients like P, K and
Mg are more as compared to conventional
compost.

13. Advantages of vermiculture
• Easy to perform and does not require expensive or
sophisticated equipments.
• Eco-friendly and socially cum economically viable
innovative technology.
• Bring waste-lands under cultivation.
• Responsible for improved seed germination,
enhanced seedling growth, development and
increased plant productivity.
• Used to convert municipal and industrial solid
organic wastes into organic fertilizer.

14. Demands for earthworms
• Earthworms have a potential of generating NPK equal to about
10-12 million tons in India and about 1200 tons of organic wastes
can be degraded to 350 tons of vermicompost.
• Earthworms also used as fish bait, vermimeal and vermiceuticals.
• Worm meal is one of the components of commercial fish feed
and is also used as a delicacy in human food.
• Due to high protein content verminmeal is utilized as food in pig
and poultry farms.
• Earthworms are also used in the €nani system of medicine to
treat diseases like pyorrhea, small pox, jaundice and
rheumatism. They are also used in the healing of wounds,
chronic boils, piles, sore throat and as an aphrodisiac.

15. Marketing and Entrepreneurship
• Marketing of vermicompost is now a flourishing industry due to
increasing awareness among the people about the ill effects of
chemical fertilizers and relative benefit of organic farming.
• The retail market fetches a price of Rs. 20/kg.
• It not only serves as efficient manure but also saves the money
usually spent on fertilizers.
• Vermiculture and Vermicomposting can be useful cottage industries
for the economically weak as it can provide them as a source of
income.
• The young people require employment that can be provided by
setting up vermiculture units and producing quality organic manure
for sustainable agro practice.
• It will help to recycle garbage, will be lept surrounding clean and tidy
as a task and part of Pradhan Mantri”Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan.