Culture techniques for soil dwelling earthworms: A review

Lowe, Christopher Nathan; Butt, Kevin R.

doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2005.04.005

Cited by 179 publications

(132 citation statements)

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“…The effect of bedding substrate on biological parameters such as biomass production, cocoon numbers, hatchling success in popular composting earthworms is still unanswered. A review by Lowe and Butt [24] demonstrated the recent research on the development of earthworm culture techniques for temperate, soil dwelling (anecic and endogeic) species: Allolobophora chlorotica, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea longa and Lumbricus terrestris. In this paper they summarized the optimum requirements of these species for laboratory-based culture.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Edwards [9] the type, quality and quantity of the organic wastes were very important to determining the rates of growth of earthworms. In general, for large-scale vermiculture practices the knowledge of biological requirement of candidate species must be pre-determined and their optimum requirement concerning nutritional factors might be an active field of research in earthworm biotechnology [3,24]. However, different earthworm species are impacted differently by nutritional status for a specific earthworm species [33,34], and a specific feed mixture [35].…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Influence of Different Food Sources on Growth and Reproduction Performance of Composting Epigeics: Eudrilus Eugeniae, Perionyx Excavatus and Perionyx Sansibaricus

Suthar¹

2007

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract. The impact of organic material quality on biomass production and reproduction potential of commercial composting earthworm species: Eudrilus eugeniae, Perionyx excavatus and Perionyx sansibaricus were studied, by using three different type of culture material namely Jbs: (Jowar straw (Sorghum vulgare) + bajra straw (Pennisetum typhoides) + sheep manure) (1:1:2), fym (farmyard manure), and Kw + Ll (Kitchen waste + leaf litter of Magifera indica) (1:1), under laboratory conditions for 150 days. The above substrate or culture materials have different palatability, particle size and physiochemical composition. Kitchen waste (C-to-N = 26.7) as well as farmyard manure (C-to-N = 27.4) is a high quality material with fast decomposition rates, while crop residues are low quality materials with slow decomposition rates (C-to-N = 45.6). All the three studied earthworm species showed maximum biomass production rate in Kw + Ll culture (E. eugeniae = 9.80 ± 0.01 mg worm -1 day -1 , P. excavatus = 3.75 ± 0.01 mg worm -1 day -1 , and P. sansibaricus = 3.77 mg worm -1 day -1 ). Individual cocoon production rate varied drastically, and maximum value (worm -1 week -1 ) of it was observed in Kw + Ll for E. eugeniae (1.88 ± 0.15) and P. sansibaricus (1.77 ± 0.14), while P. excavatus showed maximum cocoon production rate in Fym (1.79 ± 0.17). The hatchling success of cocoons obtained from different beddings was also observed and cocoon obtained from Kw + Ll culture exhibited maximum hatchling success (%) in all the three species studied. The cocoons of both E. eugeniae and P. sansibaricus, obtained from Fym culture showed the highest number of hatchlings (cocoon -1 ) i.e. 1.59 ± 0.04 and 1.81 ± 0.10, respectively, whereas cocoons of P. excavatus showed the highest hatchling number (1.77 ± 0.06) in Kw + Ll. In this present study, there was a consistent trend of decreasing individual biomass as well as cocoon production rate, followed by their peak values with ageing of the culture materials. The relationship between different earthworm parameters and N-content or C-to-N of culture material was also evaluated. The biomass production rate and hatching success in all the three species studied showed direct correlation (p<0.05) with N-content of the culture material. However, beddings' N-content did not affect the individual cocoon production rate, except to P. sansibaricus (r = 0.987, P<0.001). The number of hatchlings per cocoon for P. sansibaricus, showed good correlation (r = 0.935 p<0.01) with N-content of organic material used for worm culture. Results clearly show a possible relation between hatchling success/number of hatchlings per cocoon, and chemistry of culture substrate.

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Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Different Food Sources on Growth and Reproduction Performance of Composting Epigeics: Eudrilus Eugeniae, Perionyx Excavatus and Perionyx Sansibaricus

Suthar¹

2007

Appl Ecol Env Res

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“…After incubation, whose length varied depending on the planned concentrations of fungal species (7-35 days), the content of each container was transferred to three 750 ml sterile plastic vessels suitable for earthworm culture (Lowe & Butt 2005). In each vessel a single, healthy adult of Lumbricus terrestris L., L. rubellus (Hoffmeister) or Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny), laboratory-bred and randomly obtained from groups producing casts lacking fungal propagules (plating casts in the 3 agarized media) was transferred and stored at 15 ± 1 °C in the dark for 13 days.…”

Section: Earthworm Maintenance and Cast Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential spread of forest soil-borne fungi through earthworm consumption and casting

Montecchio¹,

Scattolin²,

Squartini³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionSince the late 1940s, there has been a growing interest in soil mycology and soilborne fungal diseases of plants, motivating studies on soil fungi and their ecology (Subramanian 1982, 1986, Carroll & Wicklow 1992. Such fungi are involved in many plant-soil relationships, including water and nutrient uptake and cycling, plant disease expression or suppression. From a functional standpoint, such fungi can be grouped according to energy derivation: (i) decomposers (saprotrophic), utilizing dead organic material, sometimes acting antagonistically with others; (ii) mutualists (mycorrhizal), colonizing plant roots, supplying soil nutrients and protection against root parasites in exchange for sugars and possibly other components; (iii) parasites, reducing the growth of plant structures or causing diseases by acting as pathogens.Relationships among soil-borne fungal species involved in forest plant fitness are complex, in that expansion and spread of one population versus another linked and associated with other variables (e.g., plant susceptibility, soil pH, temperature, humidity) may lead to changes in plant health. In line with well-known biocontrol strategies (Butt et al. 2001), a parasitic species can seldom express its full pathogenicity against a plant when sufficient mutualistic and/or antagonistic species are present outside of, or within, the rhizosphere (Tousson et al. 1970, Laflamme 2010. The rhizosphere represents a peculiar ecological niche: a common physiological stress on a healthy plant (e.g., an unusual drought period) can easily be reflected in different root exudates, such as sugars and other components, which are important signals of the plant vigor to rhizosphere inhabitants. In this way, a multifaceted dynamic of microbiological interactions, which may awaken their resting stages or chemotactically attract their mobile propagating organs, could lead to establishment of root diseases (e.g., by Phytophthora, Armillaria, Fusarium, Nectria, Verticillium species), the most dangerous in forestry (Manion 1981). In an established forest soil, decomposer fungi (sometimes with an antagonistic behavior against other microorganisms, including parasites, such as Trichoderma) are commonly present both within and outside of the rhizosphere. By contrast, mutualistic fungi, usually in the rhizosphere (e.g., Laccaria, Pisolithus, Suillus, Xerocomus), can produce toxic metabolites, inhibiting infection by parasitic fungi or physically masking root tips (Smith & Read 2008). Therefore, the higher is fungal abundance, dispersal rate and positive synergistic effects useful to plants (by decomposers and mutualists), the lower the probability of root disease is likely to be.Soil fungi represent a large biomass in the soil (Ingham et al. 1989), providing a rich and abundant resource for fungivorous soil invertebrates (Hågvar & Kjøndal 1981, Takeda & Ichimura 1983, Visser 1985. Among the latter, earthworms have an active role in soil ecology, altering soil structure, water...

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“…Initially, each one was examined, identified as closely as possibly, had stage of development and mass recorded. Each was then individually housed in a 0.4 dm 3 plastic container with a small proportion of native soil supplemented with Kettering loam and surface fed with dried and re-wetted horse manure [Lowe and Butt 2005]. These animals were maintained at 15 ºC in temperature-controlled chambers and initially monitored on a monthly basis.…”

Section: Laboratory Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%