VERMICULTURE
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What is african night crawler?
African night crawler (Eudrilus eugeniae) comes from West Africa.
Introduced in the Philippines by Dr. Otto Graft (1982).
Most extensively used species in tropics.
Growth Rate: The ANC can grow to more than
30 cm/12 inches in length and 2.5 grams each.
What is african night crawler?
Average weight of breeder ANC is about 1.0 to 1.50 grams.
Life Span: 1-2 years in nature.
: More than 10 years in captivity.
Life Cycle: Breeding worms can lay 3 to 5 cocoons per week that
will hatch in 16 + 6 days and mature 60-90 days.
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What is african night crawler?
Characteristics
Breathe through their skin
Hermaphrodite (with 2 pairs of testes and a pair of ovaries)
Feed on microorganisms (fungi and bacteria) in the soil
Active at night (nocturnal)
Many are migratory
What is african night crawler?
Cultural Requirement
Aeration
• Not water-logged
• Oxygen needed for respiration
Moisture (40-80%)
For maintenance of body fluids
Temperature
Cold-blooded (20-30 ˚C)
What is vermicomposting?
The process of composting plant materials (e.g. rice straw, leaf
litters, banana trunks etc.), animal manure, fruits and vegetable
trimmings, leftovers/waste foods and others with worms.
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Why vermicomposting?
It is low-cost, low tech but scientifically based technology.
Worldwide “best organic fertilizer”.
Principles of vermicomposting
Similar to ordinary composting except that earthworms (vermi)
are added.
In ordinary composting microorganisms (bacteria & fungi) are
decomposers while in vermicomposting, microorganisms and
earthworms "soil engineers" work together, thus, hasten the process
and gives more quality on the compost suitable for organic farming.
Vermicompost does not heat.
Principles of vermicomposting
Vermicompost may be low in NPK but contains essential
micronutrients (calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron &
zinc) not found in "complete fertilizers".
The quality of vermicompost depends on the materials used and
the processes applied.
Vermicompost has microbial activities that promote plant health
and pest/disease resistance.
Principles of vermicomposting
Compost feeding earthworms (African night crawler) digest
organic matter in their alimentary tract and produce "sanitized,
deodorized & texturized" humus/castings.
Kill them by their ceolomic fluid which has anti-pathogenic
properties.
Vermicompost consisting of castings and undigested organic
matter contains plant growth regulators (auxins, giberrelins & humic
acid).
Advantages/Benefits
Improves soil aeration, texture, structure and fertility and reduces
soil compaction.
Enhances microbial activity that promotes plant growth and health.
Serve as natural food for fish, birds and mammals.
Vermicompost is an ecofriendly natural fertilizer reared from
biodegradable organic wastes and is free from chemical inputs.
Advantages/Benefits
It improves water retention capacity of soil because of the high organic matter
content.
Increases population of beneficial microorganisms.
Prevents plant pests and diseases.
Accelerates plant growth and promotes flowering and fruiting.
Minimizes farm inputs.
Highly profitable, both the worms and castings are saleable.
Turns trash to cash
Steps in Vermiculture and Vermicomposting
1. Site Selection
> The area must be shady, not water-logged, near water source, accessible to
transportation and have abundant source of compost materials.
2. Wormbed Preparation
a. Clean and level the soil.
b. Construct wormbeds.
> rectangular box with the dimension of 2 meters (length) x 1 meter (width) x 1 foot
(height)
Kind of materials to be used and size of wormbeds to be constructed
depend on choice of the project owner.
c. Put empty sacks at the base of the wormbed.
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Steps in Vermicomposting
3. Preparation of feeding materials
a. Selection of feeding materials
Identify materials rich in NITROGEN
Kakawate
Ipil-ipil
Peanut
Katuray leaves
Mungbean
Animal manure (goat, cow and carabao)
Other leguminous plants
Steps in Vermicomposting
Identify materials rich in carbon
Grass
Rice straw
Corn stalks
Sawdust
Coco dust
Paper
Banana trunks
Fruit and vegetable trimmings
Leaf litters
Other crop/plant residue
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Steps in Vermicomposting
Choose either of the following combination
Steps in Vermicomposting
b. Filing of substrate at the worm beds.
Mixed piling
Sandwich piling
c. Water the substrate up to 80% at the worm beds.
d. Cover the vermi beds with plastic sheet, tarpaulin, laminated sacks to
initiate anaerobic decomposition.
e. Remove the cover 1-2 weeks to lower the temperature of the substrate
(aerobic decomposition).
2m
1.5 m
3m
Nashredder na tuyong dahon at residyo ng halaman
Pagkatapos ng 2 linggo…
Mapapansin na bumababa na ang kompost. Maaari na itong gamitin na pakain sa
ANC.
Steps in Vermicomposting
4. Introduction of worm/vermin into the substrate
Scatter worm/vermin at the vermibed at the rate of 1 kg which contain
more or less 1000 pieces per square meter vermibed with 100-200 kg
substrate.
Care and Maintenance
Conduct regular monitoring.
Water wormbeds when necessary to maintain moisture requirement (60-
80%) of feeding substrate and vermi.
Cover wormbeds with net or plant leaves to protect vermi from direct
sunlight and predators (chicken,ducks, birds, frog and other animals).
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Using Net Plant leaves
Harvesting
Harvest the vermi, vermicast/vermicompost after 1-2 months.
a. Pyramid piling
Pile the vermicompost in pyramid, let it stay for 1 day so that worms
will go down the bottom portion is reached, worms can be easily
extracted manually.
b. Moving of contents to one side
Move the contents of the whole bed to one side and fill the other half
with new compost material/substrate, the worms will move to the new
food. harvest the casts/compost left by the worms.
• MIGRATION
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Harvesting
Note:
Do not water the wormbed 1 week before harvesting to separate easily
vermin/worms from vermicast/vermicompost and ease of harvesting.
Prepared the food of vermin/worm or substrate and wormbed 2 weeks
before harvesting to have enough time for decomposition of substrate.
If finer compost is desired, sift the vermicompost with a 3/16 " mesh
wire.
Sift vermicast/vermicompost to ensure quality and avoid vermin/worm
in harvesting.
Post-harvest Handling
Avoid vermi, vermicast and vermicompost from exposure to sunlight.
Air-dry newly harvested vermicast/vermicompost
Pack air-dried vermicast/vermicompost (properly sealed) and store in a
cool and dry place or store in a concrete storage or box or ventilated
building.
Important Things to Consider in Vermicomposting
1. The substrate can be mixed if it is shred or chopped into small pieces (2 inches)
because worms have no teeth they preferred to eat small particles food/substrate.
2. Must maintain 60-80% moisture content of substrate.
3. Do not let ants, birds. chicken, frog, rats, snakes and others in vermibeds.
4. Avoid using vegetables treated with pesticides.
5. Make sure that manure from animals does not take dewormers.
6. Avoid plants which had infected with diseases.
7. Do not used meat, dairy products, fish, fats/oil, pets manure, pineapple, citrus and
tomato as food/substrate.
8. Worms/vermin is sensitive to ammonia, salt, ash, urea and water-logging.
Vermi-compost Analysis
Total Nitrogen (N) % 1.65
Total Phosphorus (P2O5) % 0.31
Total Potassium (K2O) % 0.10
Total Calcium (Ca) % 3.65
Total Magnesium (Mg) % 0.76
Sodium (Na) % 0.03
Zinc (Zn) ppm 375
Copper (Cu) ppm 490
Manganese (Mn) ppm 1.088
Iron (Fe) ppm 19.485
Organic Carbon % 13.07
Note:The results will vary/change depend on substrate that will be used.
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References
• Vermicomposting. Mary Rose F. Laguindam
• Ramon Magsaysay Center for Agricultural Resources and Environment
Studies (RM-CARES), CLSU, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija.
