Vermiculture and waste management: study of action of earthworms Elsinia foetida, Eudrilus euginae and Perionyx excavatus on biodegradation of some community wastes in India and Australia

  • Published: September 2002
  • Volume 22 , pages 261–268, ( 2002 )

Cite this article

  • Rajiv K. Sinha 1 ,
  • Sunil Herat 1 ,
  • Sunita Agarwal 1 ,
  • Ravi Asadi 1 &
  • Emilio Carretero 1  

832 Accesses

68 Citations

Explore all metrics

The practice of vermiculture is at least a century old but it is now being revived worldwide with diverse ecological objectives such as waste management, soil detoxification and regeneration and sustainable agriculture. Earthworms act in the soil as aerators, grinders, crushers, chemical degraders and biological stimulators. They secrete enzymes, proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases and chitinases which bring about rapid biochemical conversion of the cellulosic and the proteinaceous materials in the variety of organic wastes which originate from homes, gardens, dairies and farms. The process is odour free because earthworms release coelomic fluids in the decaying waste biomass which has anti-bacterial properties which kills pathogens. The species used in India were Indian blue ( Perionyx excavatus ), African night crawler ( Eudrilus euginae ) and the Tiger worm ( Elsinia foetida ). E. foetida was used in Australia. E. euginae was found to have higher feeding, growth and biodegradation capacity compared to other two species.

Earthworm action was shown to enhance natural biodegradation and decomposition of wastes (60–80 percent under optimum conditions), thus significantly reducing the composting time by several weeks. Within 5 to 6 weeks, 95–100 percent degradation of all cellulosic materials was achieved. Even hard fruit and egg shells and bones can be degraded, although these may take longer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

literature review of vermiculture project

Growth and Reproductive Biology of Earthworms in Organic Waste Breakdown Under the Indian Condition

Waste management practices and their impact on earthworms.

literature review of vermiculture project

Potential of Earthworms in Bioconversion of Organic Solid Waste

Agarwal, S. (1999) Vermiculture biotechnology for ecological degradation of kitchen wastes and growth of vegetable crops on thebiodegraded waste products (Vermicompost). PhD Thesis, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

Google Scholar  

Asadi, R. and Carretero, E. (2000)Biodegradation of kitchen wastes by earthworms Elsinia foetida . Project report, School of Environmental Engineering, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Bhawalkar, V. and Bhawalkar, U. (1994) Vermiculture Biotechnology . Pune, India: Pub. of BhawalkarEarthworm Research Institute (BERI).

Ceccanti, B. and Masciandaro G. (1999) Researchers study vermicomposting of municipal and paper millsludges. Biocycle Magazine , June.

Collier, J. (1978) Use of earthworms in sludge lagoons. In Utilization of Soil Organisms in SludgeManagement (R. Hartenstein, ed.), pp. 133–137. Virginia.

Dash, M.C. (1978) Role of earthworms in the decomposer system. In Glimpses of Ecology (J.S. Singh and B. Gopal, eds.), pp. 399–406. New Delhi: India International Scientific Publication.

Davis, B. (1971) Laboratory studies on the uptake of dieldrin and DDT by earthworms. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 3 , 221–223.

Edwards, C.A. (1988) Breakdown of animal, vegetable and industrial organic wastes by earthworms; In Earthworms in Waste and Environmental Management (C.A. Edwards and E.P. Neuhauser, eds.). The Hague, Netherlands: SPB Academic Publication.

Frederickson, J. (2000) The worm' turn. Waste Management Magazine , August.

Graff, O. (1981) Preliminary experiment ofvermicomposting of different waste materials using Eudrilus euginae Kingberg. In Proceedings of the workshop on ‘ Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization of Organic Residues ’ (M. Appelhof, ed.), pp. 179–191. Michigan: Malanazoo Pub.

Gunathilagraj, K. (1996) Earthworm: An Introduction . Coimbatore: Indian Council of Agricultural Research Training Program; Tamil Nadu Agriculture University.

Gunathilagraj, K. and Ramesh, P.T. (1996) Degradation of coir wastes and tapoica peels by earthworms. In Training Program inVermiculture . New Delhi: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Gunathilagraj, K. and Ravignanam, T. (1996)Vermicomposting of sericultural wastes. Madras Agricultural Journal pp. 455–457.

Hand, P. (1988) Earthworm Biotechnology . In Resources and Application of Biotechnology: The New Wave (Greenshields, R. ed.). MacMillan Press Ltd. US.

Hartenstein, R. and Bisesi, M.S. (1989) Use of earthworm biotechnology for the management of effluents from intensively housed livestock. Outlook Agriculture 18 , 72–76.

Ireland, M.P. (1983) Heavy metals uptake in earthworms. Earthworm Ecology . London: Chapman & Hall.

Kale, R. (1991) Vermiculture: Scope for New Biotechnology . Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India.

Kale, R., Bano, K. and Krishnamoorthy, R.V. (1982) Potential of Perionyx excavatus in utilization of organic wastes. Pedo-Biologia 23 , 419–425.

Kale, R., Seenappa, S.N. and Rao, J. (1993) Sugar Factory Refuse for the Production of Vermicompost and Worm Biomass . V InternationalSymposium on Earthworms, Ohio University.

Lotzof, M. (2000) Vermiculture: an Australian technology success story. Waste ManagementMagazine , February.

Pierre, V., Phillip, R., Margnerite, L. and Pierrette, C. (1982) Anti-bacterial activity of the haemolytic system from theearthworms Elsinia foetida andrei . Invertebrate Pathology 40 , 21–27.

Rao, J. (1997) Management of municipal urban wastes: someinnovative strategies. PhD Thesis, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

Seenappa, S.N. and Kale, R. (1993) Efficiency of earthworm Eudrilus euginae in converting the solid wastes from the aromatic oil extraction units into vermicompost. Journal of IAEM 22 , 267–269.

Seenappa, S.N., Rao, J. and Kale, R. (1995) Conversion of distillery wastes into organic manure by earthworm Eudrilus euginae . Journal ofIAEM 22 (3), 244–246.

Senapati, B.K. (1992) Vermitechnology as an option for recycling of cellulose waste in India. In NewTrends in Biotechnology (Subba Rao, N.S., Balgopalan, C. and Raman Krishna, S.V., eds.), pp. 347–358. Oxford and IBH Pub. Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Sinha, R.K. (1996) Vermiculture biotechnology for waste management and sustainable agriculture. In Environmental Crisis and Human' atRisk (R.K. Sinha, ed.), pp. 233–240. India: INA Shree Publication.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Environmental Engineering, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Brisbane, Queensland, 4111, Australia

Rajiv K. Sinha, Sunil Herat, Sunita Agarwal, Ravi Asadi & Emilio Carretero

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Sinha, R.K., Herat, S., Agarwal, S. et al. Vermiculture and waste management: study of action of earthworms Elsinia foetida, Eudrilus euginae and Perionyx excavatus on biodegradation of some community wastes in India and Australia. The Environmentalist 22 , 261–268 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016583929723

Download citation

Issue Date : September 2002

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016583929723

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

  • organic wastes
  • biodegradation
  • vermicomposting
  • secondary decomposers
  • Find a journal
  • Publish with us
  • Track your research

literature review of vermiculture project

Agriculture Research Guide

  • Find Journal Articles
  • In The News
  • Websites and Organizations
  • Reference Books

A Review of the Literature

Literature review examples.

  • The Research Process
  • APA Citations

Subject Guide

Profile Photo

1. Introduction

Not to be confused with a book review, a  literature review  surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings, reports) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of and background on significant literature published on a topic.

2. Components

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

  • Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
  • Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
  • Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:

  • An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review
  • Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)
  • Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others
  • Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

3. Definition and Use/Purpose

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

  • Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
  • Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
  • Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
  • Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
  • Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
  • Point the way forward for further research
  • Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new  primary  scholarship. 

Information adapted from UC Santa Cruz University Library .

  • Master's Theses Database of master's theses written by CSU, Chico students, from 2009 on. Many of these will contain published examples of literature reviews.
  • Proquest Dissertations and Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection Containes over 2 million dissertations and theses with abstracts, 24 page free previews, and full-text PDF, if available, for dissertations and theses dating back to 1637.
  • Sample APA Paper (lit. review begins page 3) Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
  • << Previous: Find Books
  • Next: The Research Process >>
  • Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 12:13 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.csuchico.edu/agriculture_dg

Meriam Library | CSU, Chico

IMAGES

  1. (PDF) Earthworms

    literature review of vermiculture project

  2. My innovative classroom: Vermiculture Project-Photos

    literature review of vermiculture project

  3. Embark On A Vermiculture Project To Deal With Most of Your Organic

    literature review of vermiculture project

  4. literature review for vermiculture project

    literature review of vermiculture project

  5. (PDF) Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

    literature review of vermiculture project

  6. (PDF) Review Article Vermicomposting: Tool for Sustainable Ruminant

    literature review of vermiculture project

VIDEO

  1. Vermiculture pit

  2. Chapter two

  3. Research Project

  4. The Literature Review

  5. Literature Review Presentation-LDT Capstone Project

  6. Research Methods

COMMENTS

  1. Vermiculture

    There is an increased recognition that the adoption of earthworm farming (vermiculture) can be a solution for reversing the world's crisis by recycling waste as natural bioreactors for cost-effective and environmentally sound waste management (Aalok et al., 2008).According to Bajsa et al. (2003) sustainability can be reached by vermicomposting organic matter, which involves an accelerated ...

  2. Review Vermicomposting technology

    Following an in-depth review of the literature on vermicomposting technologies, treatment techniques, and reactor materials used, to explore the hypothesis, it was found that vermireactors operating in continuous flow fashion perform better in waste bioconversion than the batch and windrow techniques. ... and vermiculture (earthworms ...

  3. PDF Review: Vermicompost, Its Importance and Benefit in Agriculture

    This review attempts as increasing awareness of this local ... organic wastes has been termed vermiculture and the processing of organic wastes by earthworms is known as vermicomposting (Edwards, 2004). ... Therefore the author decided to give a literature overview article about vermicompost, its importance and benefit in agriculture.

  4. 3596 PDFs

    Find methods information, sources, references or conduct a literature review on VERMICULTURE. ... the objective of the project is to create an IoT system to monitor and enhance red boll worm ...

  5. Exploring the potential of vermicompost as a sustainable ...

    Literature review skeleton. The framework of literature review (Fig. 1) was created to narrow down the subtopics of the review, where it is focused on the role of vermicompost as a potential strategy in circular economy. Then, the effects of vermicompost towards plant yield, quality and bioactive properties were evaluated, to shed light into ...

  6. Vermiculture

    Vermiculture is the sustainable solution for total waste management in world (Fraser-Quick, 2002): Diverse organic wastes from various sources (households, farms, businesses and industries) can be efficiently managed by the waste-eater earthworms (Edwards, 1988; 2000; Roe, 2002; Patil, 2005).. a. Municipal organic wastes 1. Food wastes: From homes and restaurants (all raw and cooked kitchen ...

  7. Vermiculture in animal farming: A review on the biological and

    Technique of vermiculture and the process of transforming into earthworm powder, aimed to be incorporated in animal feed, are supposed to decrease the risk of contamination. The use of earthworm collected from controlled vermiculture is suitable for poultry feed, for example, and would not present a major risk of poisoning and intoxication to ...

  8. Effects of Vermicompost on Soil and Plant Health and Promoting ...

    This review highlights the potential of vermicompost and its derived products as sustainable and eco-friendly solutions for enhancing production and pest management in grain crops. It assesses their impact comprehensively on crops such as maize, wheat, barley, rice, and pearl millet. Vermicompost improves soil quality, increases nutrient availability, boosts crop productivity, and enhances ...

  9. PDF Vermicomposting—An Effective Method for Sustainable ...

    This makes it as an excellent nitrogen fertiliser for plants, particularly those with green leaves and those that develop quickly. Vermicompost can also be applied to soil that lacks organic matter to improve it. It includes 1.5 to 2.2% nitrogen, 1.8 to 2.2% phosphorus and 1.0 to 1.5% potassium on an average.

  10. Vermicompost significantly affects plant growth. A meta-analysis

    Food production and waste management are two increasing issues ensuing from the growing world population. Recycling organic residues into amendment for food production seems to appear as an opportunity to partially solve this double challenge. Vermicomposting is a process whereby earthworms transform organic residues into compost that can be used as a substrate for plant growth. Many studies ...

  11. (PDF) Vermiculture and Vermicomposting

    assortment of possible uses for the future (Entre Pinoys, 2010). Vermicomposting is the process of producing organic fertilizer or the. vermicompost from bio-degradable materials with earthworms ...

  12. Agriculture

    Incorporation of vermin culture in the composting system produces "vermicompost", an enriched biofertilizer known to improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. It is applied in granular form and/or in liquid solution (vermiwash), and in both open fields and greenhouses. Vermicompost has been shown to contain plant growth hormones, which stimulate seed germination ...

  13. 3596 PDFs

    Literature reviews related to Vermiculture A review of the use of black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (L., 1758) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), to compost organic waste in tropical regions Article

  14. PDF A Comprehensive Review of Vermicomposting Methods: Unraveling the

    various vermiculture methods have been developed and refined to optimize the composting process. This comprehensive review aims to delve into the different techniques, advancements, and future perspectives in the field of vermicomposting. Phases of vermi-composting. Phase 1: It involves collection of wastes, shredding and separation

  15. A review of the vermicomposting process of organic and inorganic waste

    Traditional literature review method was used to conduct this review, which is initially performed by using a search for specific keywords relevant "vermicomposting process" via Scopus and Google Scholar databases. The narrative synthesis method was used to summarize, synthesis, and draw insight from the collected articles.

  16. Global trends and characteristics of vermicompost research ...

    This study aims to investigate a practical bibliometric analysis and discuss its trends to evaluate the global scientific production of vermicompost research from 1993 to 2017 and explain its several advantages to our environment and waste management. The data were from the database of the Science Citation Index (SCI) published by the ISI Web of Science and illustrated by Excel and VOS viewer ...

  17. 10785 PDFs

    Explore the latest full-text research PDFs, articles, conference papers, preprints and more on VERMICOMPOSTING. Find methods information, sources, references or conduct a literature review on ...

  18. Vermicomposting of Organic Waste : Literature Review

    Purpose : Adoption of new life style, bad management and low budget in many developing countries resulted in massive accumulation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and agricultural wastes causing several environmental and health problems. Vermicomposting (VC) evolved as one of the promising and economic techniques to process different types of organic waste to a level that is easy to store ...

  19. Recent trends and advances in composting and vermicomposting

    1. Introduction. Bio-waste is the most abundant contributor to the municipal solid waste stream particularly in low and middle-income countries (Kaza et al., 2018).For streams of biological wastes, circular economy has gained recognition in current scientific literature and among international and national authorities as a key strategic environmental policy framework (Awasthi et al., 2019a ...

  20. A REVIEW ON VERMICOMPOSTING: BY-PRODUCTS AND ITS IMPORTANCE

    ABSTRACT. Vermicomposting is a process of decomposition of organic waste with the help of earthworms. yielding a better end product called Vermicast. Vermicompost is considered an organic fert ...

  21. Vermiculture and waste management: study of action of earthworms

    The practice of vermiculture is at least a century old but it is now being revived worldwide with diverse ecological objectives such as waste management, soil detoxification and regeneration and sustainable agriculture. Earthworms act in the soil as aerators, grinders, crushers, chemical degraders and biological stimulators. They secrete enzymes, proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases and ...

  22. Literature Reviews

    Literature reviews should comprise the following elements: 3. Definition and Use/Purpose. A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to: The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship.

  23. Vermiculture in animal farming: A review on the biological and

    To limit all these risks, the use of earthworms reared from vermiculture can help to prevent contamination of poultry through feeding. Discover the world's research 25+ million members