Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises
to usher in the ‘Second Green Revolution’
by completely replacing the destructive agrochemicals
which did more harm than good to
both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms
restore & improve soil fertility and significantly
boost crop productivity. Earthworms
excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive ‘organic fertilizer’
rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial
soil microbes—‘nitrogen-fixing & phosphate
solubilizing bacteria’ & ‘actinomycets’ and
growth hormones ‘auxins’, ‘gibberlins’ & ‘cytokinins’.
Both earthworms and its vermicast &
body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving
as both ‘growth promoters & protectors’ for
crop plants. In our experiments with corn &
wheat crops, tomato and egg-plants it displayed
excellent growth performances in terms of
height of plants, color & texture of leaves, appearance
of flowers & fruits, seed ears etc. as
compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional
compost. There is also less incidences
of ‘pest & disease attack’ and ‘reduced
demand of water’ for irrigation in plants grown
on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms
in soil also makes significant difference in flower
and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Composts
work as a ‘slow-release fertilizer’ whereas
chemical fertilizers release their nutrients rather
quickly in soil and soon get depleted. Significant
amount of ‘chemical nitrogen’ is lost from
soil due to oxidation in sunlight. However, with
application of vermicompost the ‘organic nitrogen’
tends to be released much faster from the
excreted ‘humus’ by worms and those mineralised
by them and the net overall efficiency of
nitrogen (N) is considerably greater than that of
chemical fertilizers. Availability of phosphorus
(P) is sometimes much greater. Our study shows
that earthworms and vermicompost can
promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional
compost & 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers
besides protecting the soil and the agroecosystem
while producing ‘nutritive and tasty
food’ at a much economical cost (at least 50-
75% less) as compared to the costly chemical
fertilizers.