Effect of temperature, pH and nutrients on the counts of Metaphire posthuma cultured in different nutrient mixtures

The study presents the population counts of Metaphire posthuma Vaillant (1868), a common species of earthworms occurring in Punjab, in five types of nutrient mixtures comprising of cow-dung, soil and organic wastes (fruit and vegetable peals) mixed in different proportions. The earthworm cultures were maintained from March 1999 to July 2000 under semi-controlled conditions. The culture media comprising of cow-dung, soil, peals of fruit and vegetable is shown to have an edge over other nutrient mixtures.