Earthworms as Bio Fertiliser,Enriching Soil,Population of Earthworms,Vermiculture,Earthworms,Leaf Litter,Agricultural Wastes

Earthworms as Bio-fertiliser

	Earthworms as Bio-fertiliser Earthworms are farmers friends. They dig up and mix the soil, eat up decayed plants and convert them to fertiliser thus enriching the soil. In recent years a low-tech biotechnology has emerged to restore earthworms to their natural place in the environment through vermiculture (since the continuous use of chemicals have caused their depletion from soil).
Vermiculture requires mineral inputs in terms of ingredients (leaf litter, household and agricultural wastes along with a starting population of earthworms). Prof.Ismail of the Department of Zoology, New College, Chennai is an authority in vermiculture and is producing vermicompost by allowing earthworms instead of microorganisms in the soil to convert the waste plant matter into compost.