Vermiculture: an environment-friendly bio-fertilser
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Md. Mozzammel Haque
Bangladesh is a populous developing country. It is really a burden to provide food for all the people three times a day. For getting a higher yield of crops, the people use urea fertiliser in the fields. The repeated use of urea affects the fertility of the land. So, the farmers need an alternative to urea fertiliser. Vermiculture is a process to recover the fertility of land. It is cost-effective, environment-friendly, technologically simple and available to all farmers.
Vermiculture is the culture (rearing) of earthworms. It is an aspect of biotechnology involving the use of earthworms as versatile natural bioreactors for cleaning up the environment with cost-effective waste management technology. It helps development of sustainable agriculture and also the development of wasteland.
Worms are segmented animals, without bones. They have photo sensors at their anterior end. They have a tendency to move away from light. They have pairs of hair-like projectors called setae on each segment. Locomotion, a series of contraction and expansion, is aided by setae. Clitellum, a swollen band near the front end, indicates that the worm is sexually mature.
Worm has a muscular gizzard, similar to that in birds. Small grains of sand and mineral particles are lodged in the gizzard. Grinding to a size of 2-4 microns takes place. The microbial action in the gut of the worm increases the surface area. Worms are bisexual and they can double their population in a month, given ideal conditions of temperature, moisture, food etc. Their population is controlled by the availability of food supply. Worms may die due to transport shock and due to the change in the environment. Hence live worms should not be dug out from the soil and transferred to a new environment.
Vermicasting is an effective bio-fertiliser produced by the worms and this should be used as a vermiculture. Vermicastings harbour earthworm cocoons and a wide spectrum of beneficial micro flora. Earthworms, hatched in the altered environment, are able to adapt better to the new environment.
Earthworms of proper variety should be used for each individual purpose. Burrowing type worms, with their digging muscles, can burrow as deep as 3.0 m and protect themselves from drought conditions.
The gut of an earthworm acts as a bioreactor, providing ideal conditions of temperature, pH and oxygen concentration for speedy growth of useful oxygen demanding bacteria and actinomycetes, thus resulting in the microbial density about 1000 times greater than in the surrounding soil. These microorganisms produce useful compounds like antibiotics, vitamins, plant growth hormones, etc. They also outcompete pathogens, resulting in pathogen destruction.
Blood hemoglobin in worms shows greater affinity towards oxygen than human hemoglobin. Their hemoglobin gets saturated with oxygen, even when deep in the soil, where oxygen pressure is low.
Rich oxygen is provided to the gut microorganisms, resulting in speeding up of the various bioprocesses. This mechanism maintains aerobicity in decomposing mass of organic wastes, which has been the principal source of nitrogen for the plants since the ancient time.
Oxygen-rich microenvironment eliminates anaerobic microorganisms, preventing formation of foul smelling obnoxious compounds like hydrogen sulphide and mercaptants.
Worms have an efficient temperature regulation mechanism within a narrow range that is ideal for the complicated bioprocess. Worms maintain a stable pH in their guts, providing buffered microenvironment for the gut microorganisms. An enzyme in the form of calcium carbonate preventing acidic conditions fixes carbon dioxide produced by the microorganisms.
Worms produce various enzymes like cellulose, amylase, lipase, protease, lichenase and chitinase. These complex polymers break down from the wastes into simple molecules. Microorganisms can utilise these simple molecules to produce value-added bio-products.
Environment is the major concern in the present-day world. To keep the environment clean and simultaneously ensure food security of the people, there is no alternative to vermiculture.
The writer, a student of AtoSiM Master Course, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, can be reached at
e-mail: mdmozzammelhaque@yahoo.ca
Bangladesh is a populous developing country. It is really a burden to provide food for all the people three times a day. For getting a higher yield of crops, the people use urea fertiliser in the fields. The repeated use of urea affects the fertility of the land. So, the farmers need an alternative to urea fertiliser. Vermiculture is a process to recover the fertility of land. It is cost-effective, environment-friendly, technologically simple and available to all farmers.
Vermiculture is the culture (rearing) of earthworms. It is an aspect of biotechnology involving the use of earthworms as versatile natural bioreactors for cleaning up the environment with cost-effective waste management technology. It helps development of sustainable agriculture and also the development of wasteland.
Worms are segmented animals, without bones. They have photo sensors at their anterior end. They have a tendency to move away from light. They have pairs of hair-like projectors called setae on each segment. Locomotion, a series of contraction and expansion, is aided by setae. Clitellum, a swollen band near the front end, indicates that the worm is sexually mature.
Worm has a muscular gizzard, similar to that in birds. Small grains of sand and mineral particles are lodged in the gizzard. Grinding to a size of 2-4 microns takes place. The microbial action in the gut of the worm increases the surface area. Worms are bisexual and they can double their population in a month, given ideal conditions of temperature, moisture, food etc. Their population is controlled by the availability of food supply. Worms may die due to transport shock and due to the change in the environment. Hence live worms should not be dug out from the soil and transferred to a new environment.
Vermicasting is an effective bio-fertiliser produced by the worms and this should be used as a vermiculture. Vermicastings harbour earthworm cocoons and a wide spectrum of beneficial micro flora. Earthworms, hatched in the altered environment, are able to adapt better to the new environment.
Earthworms of proper variety should be used for each individual purpose. Burrowing type worms, with their digging muscles, can burrow as deep as 3.0 m and protect themselves from drought conditions.
The gut of an earthworm acts as a bioreactor, providing ideal conditions of temperature, pH and oxygen concentration for speedy growth of useful oxygen demanding bacteria and actinomycetes, thus resulting in the microbial density about 1000 times greater than in the surrounding soil. These microorganisms produce useful compounds like antibiotics, vitamins, plant growth hormones, etc. They also outcompete pathogens, resulting in pathogen destruction.
Blood hemoglobin in worms shows greater affinity towards oxygen than human hemoglobin. Their hemoglobin gets saturated with oxygen, even when deep in the soil, where oxygen pressure is low.
Rich oxygen is provided to the gut microorganisms, resulting in speeding up of the various bioprocesses. This mechanism maintains aerobicity in decomposing mass of organic wastes, which has been the principal source of nitrogen for the plants since the ancient time.
Oxygen-rich microenvironment eliminates anaerobic microorganisms, preventing formation of foul smelling obnoxious compounds like hydrogen sulphide and mercaptants.
Worms have an efficient temperature regulation mechanism within a narrow range that is ideal for the complicated bioprocess. Worms maintain a stable pH in their guts, providing buffered microenvironment for the gut microorganisms. An enzyme in the form of calcium carbonate preventing acidic conditions fixes carbon dioxide produced by the microorganisms.
Worms produce various enzymes like cellulose, amylase, lipase, protease, lichenase and chitinase. These complex polymers break down from the wastes into simple molecules. Microorganisms can utilise these simple molecules to produce value-added bio-products.
Environment is the major concern in the present-day world. To keep the environment clean and simultaneously ensure food security of the people, there is no alternative to vermiculture.
The writer, a student of AtoSiM Master Course, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, can be reached at
e-mail: mdmozzammelhaque@yahoo.ca