Activity 2: Earthworms and agricultural ecosystems 

Earthworms play a very important role in the agricultural ecosystems. They eat decaying plant and animal materials and helps in decomposing it.

Their burrowing activity enhances the aeration of the soil and brings minerals and other nutrients from the deeper levels of the soil to the surface that the plants could use. Their excretion, called earthworm casts, contains a good amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, which are essential for plant growth.

It is a well-known fact that if the soil has a good population of earthworms, the productivity of the crop increases greatly. People culture earthworm to produce worm casts, which is used as manure for plants in the garden and crop fields. Cultivation of earthworms is called vermiculture.

Watch the video of earthworm given below

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Please talk to a gardener/ farmer or people who prepare vermicompost and collect the following information.

How do they prepare the compost?

Why are earthworms not seen in dry soil?

Will adding organic manure (e.g. cow dung) increase the growth of earthworms?

Will the addition of artificial manure (e.g. urea) affect the earthworms negatively or positively?