Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641003, India.
Earthworms can live in decaying organic wastes and can degrade it into fine particulate materials, which are rich in nutrients. Vermicomposting is the application of earthworm in producing vermifertilizer, which helps in the maintenance of better environment and results in sustainable agriculture. Earthworm make the soil porous and help in better aeration and water infiltration. Vermicompost can be prepared from different organic materials like sugarcane trash, coir pith, pressmud, weeds, cattle dung, bio digested slurry etc. Increased availability of nutrients in vermicompost compared to non-ingested soil resulted in significantly better growth and yield of rice has been reported by several workers.
