BeTheVoice

In my 5 years of professional experience in Organic Farming, I would say, Natural or Organic Farming is unimaginable without earthworms. Earthworms are the real heroes who work day and night without wages for the farmers and their mobility in the farm could result in multiple benefits. Earthworms do a lot of digging while they forage the soil for edible organic matter. Some species dig down as deep as 120cm. There are numerous reasons why Earthworms are farmer Friendly but I will quote primary ones here which are mentioned in many research and studies:-

1. Soil Porosity: – This is the prominent reason why Earthworms are needed, Earthworms keep crawling in the soil and due to this, they create space and millions of small holes in the soil which helps to percolate water, Air and nutrition in the soil which ultimately improves the soil fertility and its structure.  The manure gets mixed properly with the soil when it is turned and loosened by Earthworms.
2. Decomposing Organic Matter:- We know the soil is a mixture of several minerals and organic matter. If we want our crops to uptake the minerals and organic matter then earthworms are essential. Earthworms eat those organic matters and harmful microbes and it’s excreta acts as the best manure which has 7 times more Nitrogen than soil, 9 times more phosphorus, 11 times more potash, 6 times more calcium, 8 times more magnesium, and 10 times more Sulphur.
3. Earthworms secrete sticky material called Varmi-Wash:- Earthworms secrete a sticky liquid from its body which works as amino acid and it also helps to keep the small holes open. Earthworms always take a new path to move and they keep secreting this liquid in their path so it helps soil to absorb the vermi wash and keep the pores in the soil active.

Types of Earthworms which are widely known and widely multiplicated for vermicomposting and sold in India are listed below:

surface feeder: Which are widely used in vermicomposting and they feed on cow dung and other organic matter.

• Eisenea foetida
• Lumbricus rubellus
• Eudrilus eriginae

medium and small burrows:

• Lumbricus Terrestris
• Lempito mawitti

Deep burrowing type:

• Drawida groudia
• Anecies longa

Lastly, I would ask all of us to observe why forests are growing without any external nutritional support?

Because the microorganisms and earthworms create a holistic environment so that forests could take the nutrition naturally and keeps growing, where if we don’t put external growth promoters in agriculture land, it will start producing less.

It all depends on how we manage the soil microbial activities in our farms and create biodiversity so that a natural & Holistic process could function effortlessly.

Share your views on the importance of microbes in our life & Nature.
Do you believe that pesticides and chemical fertilizers are harmful to our mother nature?

Do Share & comment your thoughts, let us talk about it!