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OHIO RESEARCH
On October 12, 2004 we held a Vermicultural Summit. The participants at this meeting were (left to right ) Bill Kreitzer, Founder and CEO, Roland Garton, Business Manager, Guest Chad Hurley, Dr. Norman Arancon, from The Ohio State University, Professor Edwards assistant, (Dr. Arancon is now associated with the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management at the University of Hawaii, Hilo) John Reep, President and CFO, (retired) and Consultant Professor Clive Edwards. Dr. Edwards has helped to guide the project from its inception.
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Dr. Norman Arancon and Bill Kreitzer are inspecting a 14-week sample of hatched VermiPods. This was in 2007 at yet another Vermicultural Summit which was hosted at Kreitzer Farms.
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Scientists are still working out all the details of what makes worm manure so magical. And they are compiling data to back up its effectiveness. Norman Arancon, assistant professor of horticulture at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, has run tests with tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, raspberries and grapes; he and colleagues have found that substituting a portion of standard fertilizer with vermicompost increases yields by 30 percent. They've published the results.
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Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
Earthworms prefer a near-neutral soil pH, moist soil conditions, and plenty of plant residue on the soil surface. They are sensitive to certain pesticides and some incorporated fertilizers. Carbamate insecticides, including Furadan, Sevin, and Temik, are harmful to earthworms, notes worm biologist Clive Edwards of Ohio State University.
Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
(4). Some insecticides in the organophosphate family are mildly toxic to earthworms, while synthetic pyrethroids are harmless to them (4). Most herbicides have little effect on worms except for the triazines, such as Atrazine, which are moderately toxic. Also, anhydrous ammonia kills earthworms in the injection zone because it dries the soil and temporarily increases the pH there.
Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
Lumbricus rubellus
High rates of ammonium-based fertilizers are also harmful. Going no-till and buying VermiPods™ are made for each other. One that I think every farmer should consider. By following ATTRA’s protocols and by going no-till is the only way to raise and keep your earthworms alive. References: 4) Edwards, Clive A., and P.J. Bohlen. 1996. Biology and Ecology of Earthworms. Chapman and Hall, New York. 426 p.
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Lumbricus rubellus
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