Screening of four species of earthworms for sustainable vermicompostin of Ipomoea carnea

Abstract

The epigeic earthworm species Eudrilus ugeniae, Eisenia fetida, Perionyx excavatus, and an anecic arthworm species Lampito mauritii were explored separately for the vermicomposting of Ipomoea leaves in reactors that were operated for four months. The earthworm species which consistently produced more vermicast was E.eugeniae followed by E.fetida, P.excavatus, with L.mauritii being the least producer. Seen from the standpoint of average of vermicast production per gram of earthworm body weight, E. eugeniae scored over E.fetida but the difference is very less.The average zoomass of E.fetida, E.eugeniae, and P.excavatus increased over time but decreased in L.mauritii decreased. In terms of fecundity, the performance of E.fetida (29 juveniles, 16 cocoons) was similar to that of E. eugeniae (20 juveniles, 10 cocoons) followed by P.excavatus. L.mauritii respectively. The results indicate that E.fetida and E. eugeniae are the most suitable among the four species screened for vermicomposting of Ipomoea leaves; their performance in terms of efficiency of vermicomposting, zoomass gain, and being close to each other. P. excavates is not suitable for the vermicomposting because of mortality. The anecic L. mauritii came out a poor fourth and is clearly unsuitable for the vermicomposting of Ipomoea carnea leaves as it didn't gain weight on feeding upon Ipomoea carnea. Due to this fact, and the animal's poor fecundity in Ipomoea-based vermireactors, this species will not be able to provide sustainable vermicast output.