Which genuine or species of earthworm are good for preparing vermicompost?
As organic matter acts as both the substrate and food in vermicomposting, and soil is not involved, only epigeic earthworms can be used in the process. Among the epigeic earthworms, Eisenia andrei and Eisenia fetida are the species most widely used in vermicomposting and vermiculture facilities worldwide.
Author: Jorge Domínguez
Publish Year: 2018
Earthworms and Vermicomposting | IntechOpen
you can very well make vermicompost from locally available earthworm ..For more information contact Agrithink LLp Guwahati Assam . bijaylakshmi@ agrithinks.com
Eisenia foetida is good for the purpose. Local Spp should also be tried.
The best types of worms for vermicomposting are red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) and redworms (Lumbricus rubellus). These two species make great worms for the compost bin because they prefer a compost environment to plain soil, and they are very easy to keep. Worms that feed on vegetable waste, compost, and organic bedding produce richer casting than those that feed on plain soil. Moreover, different species of earthworms viz. Eisenia foetida (Red earthworm), Eudrilus eugeniae (night crawler), Perionyx excavatus etc. Red earthworm is preferred because of its high multiplication rate and thereby converts the organic matter into vermicompost. The type of worm most commonly used for vermicomposting is the red wiggler. That's why this method of vermicomposting is also called red worm composting. The red wiggler species (Eisenia fetida) loves living in rotting organic material and manure and is extremely efficient at breaking it down.
The study identified 34 earthworm species suitable for vermicomposting, categorized into 19 genera and 8 families, based on various vermicomposting units and literature.
1 Bimastos parvus (Eisen, 1874)
2. Drawida nepalensis Michaelsen, 1907
3. Drawida robusta robusta (Bourne, 1886)
4. Dendrodrilus rubidus (Savigny, 1826)
5. Drawida willsi Michaelsen, 1907
6. Moniligaster perrieri Michaelsen, 1907
7. Dendrobaena hortensis (Michaelsen, 1890)
8.Ramiella bishambari (Stephenson, 1914)
9.Hoplochaetella khandalaensis khandalaensis (Stephenson, 1924)
10. Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826)
11.Lampito mauritii (Kinberg, 1867)
12.Hoplochaetella suctoria Stephenson, 1917
13. Lumbricus rubellus Hofmeister, 1843
14. Megascolex insignis Michaelsen, 1910
15. Megascolex cochinensis cochinensis Stephenson, 1915
16. Lumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758
17.Perionyx ceylanensis Michaelsen, 1903
18. Perionyx nainianus (Michaelsen, 1907)
19. Ocnerodrilus occidentalis Eisen, 1878
20. Perionyx sansibaricus Michaelsen, 1891
21.Perionyx bainii Stephenson, 1915
22. Dichogaster bolaui (Michaelsen, 1891)
23. Perionyx excavatus Perrier, 1872
24. Dichogaster modiglianii (Rosa, 1896)
25. Dichogaster saliens (Beddard, 1893)
26. Amynthas alexandri alexandri Beddard, 1901
27. Amynthas corticis (Kinberg, 1867)
28. Amynthas gracilis (Kinberg, 1867)
29. Metaphire anomala (Michaelsen, 1907)
30. Metaphire birmanica (Rosa, 1888)
31. Metaphire posthuma (Vaillant, 1868)
32. Polypheretima elongata (Perrier, 1872)
33. Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg, 1867)
34. Pontoscolex corethrurus (Müller, 1857)
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