Earthworms benefit or harm to plants

The benefits of earthworms are well known: in open ground they significantly facilitate the work of the gardener, taking part of the work of loosening the soil, provide ventilation and accelerate the decomposition of plant residues ... Some flower growers, when growing indoor plants, specially plant earthworms in a pot, while others, on the contrary, fight with them with all their might, considering them dangerous pests. Our online flower shop in St. Petersburg offers to sort out this issue in order to avoid common mistakes.

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The earthworm has a characteristic appearance, having seen it once, it is difficult to make a mistake and confuse it with other types of worms. The earthworm lives in the thickness of the soil, where it makes winding passages, partly pushing it apart with its head, and partly swallowing and digesting. Due to the nocturnal lifestyle, you can not see the earthworm so often, but after heavy rains they crawl out during the day: moist soil does not allow the earthworm to breathe, and he is forced to seek salvation on its surface. Actually, it was this feature that became the reason that these worms are called earthworms.

Benefit and harm

It is worth noting that those who consider the earthworm useful and those who see it as an exclusively pest are right. We have already talked about the benefits, but the harm is no less obvious: making moves in the soil, the earthworm inevitably damages part of the root system, but those roots that escaped the sad fate often dry out after a while, left without soil protection. Whether an earthworm will benefit or harm depends solely on the size of the plant and the pot in which it is contained: in small pots in which small, not yet strong plants grow, the earthworm can cause a lot of harm!

Reproduction of earthworms

The earthworm reproduces by laying cocoons in the depths of the earth. Under favorable conditions, after 2-4 weeks, a worm hatches from such a cocoon, which after 3-4 months reaches the size of an adult. It is obvious that infection with this pest (and the fact that for small plants in compact pots an earthworm is a pest, no doubt) is possible with soil and planting material. If you decide to buy seedlings of flowers, be sure to make sure that the soil at the roots does not have characteristic passages.

Prevention

In order to avoid infection with an earthworm, you need to carefully approach the choice of planting material and soil. If it is necessary to be vigilant with seedlings of flowers, then additional processing will not interfere with the soil. A simple calcination helps to avoid infection not only by the earthworm, but also by many other pests that live or breed in the soil.

Simple methods of struggle

Unfortunately (or fortunately, if we talk about open ground or large enough tubs with plants), the earthworm is resistant to most pest control products. But the small size of the containers and the lifestyle of the worm make it possible to use simple ways fight them. For example, you can use hot (70-80 degrees Celsius) water poured into a shallow container in which a plant pot is placed so that the water level is about a centimeter below the soil level. 5-10 minutes and earthworms they themselves will leave the soil, feeling a lack of oxygen, and will be on the surface!

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margaritkaspb.ru

What are the benefits of earthworms

Earthworms or earthworms are widely distributed in nature and live on all continents. The one who believes that they are needed only as bait on the hook used by fishermen is wrong. The benefits of these invertebrates are enormous. They mix the soil by eating the waste products of other animals. Flavored with useful substances. We see them because they come to the surface when it rains. Water entering their dwellings makes it difficult to breathe, threatening life.

Lifestyle and habitat

According to their way of life, they are divided into those who live on the surface, hiding in a layer of last year's foliage, never climbing more than 15 cm underground. Burrows can burrow into the ground to a depth of more than a meter. At the same time, their holes in the ground help to mix and loosen its fertile layer. The main activity of these invertebrates occurs at night, when they feed intensively.

Moving underground, they constantly loosen the soil, helping the penetration of oxygen and moisture to the roots. Plants in such soil feel much better, develop well. The movement of the soil as a result of their vital activity has a positive effect on its quality. They enrich the soil with humus, their presence in it can serve in a good way determination of fertility.

Structure

Worms differ from each other in size - their body length can vary from 2 cm to several meters. Such giants live in Australia. The body is divided into segments (rings), on which there are small bristles that help them move. This structure allows you to greatly change its length, increasing the body several times.

With his bristles, he clings to the ground so firmly that it is simply unrealistic to pull him out of the hole. The worm will either run away or break: each of us was convinced of this even in childhood. The body consists of two types of muscles - longitudinal and transverse, reducing them, the animal moves.

The body is covered with mucus, which is a very good antiseptic, this property was noticed in the Middle Ages. There is no vision, but they have a unique ability to restore the lost part of the body.

Kinds

In total, millions of varieties live in nature, they are divided according to habitats, food, etc. There are various colors and sizes: there are red, green individuals. Zoologists number about 2000 species, about 40 live in Europe, the most common species are rain (Lumbricus terrestries) and dung (Eisenia faetida).

Food

The answer to the question of what earthworms can eat is very simple - everything. The process of eating them is very interesting: they swallow a certain amount of soil and select all organic substances from it. They eat the food found underground in small pieces, sticking to it, and drag it into holes. They can store food for a "rainy day" in special minks, which are clogged for safety. After assimilation of food, they come to the surface, where they secrete the remains of life, doing this in strictly defined places.

Vermiculture

Breeding earthworms artificially called vermiculture allows you to process a large amount of organic waste. An idea for a business that does not require a large start-up capital. It is possible to produce natural organic fertilizer, which is sure to be in high demand.

Reproduction and lifespan

The ability to give offspring appears when an individual reaches the age of six months. The incubation period depends on weather conditions and lasts 1-5 months. They do not divide by gender - asexual hermaphrodites, reproduce by cross-fertilization. They find each other by smell, on warm, humid evenings.

The reproductive organ is the widest belt on the body, several times larger than the rest. In it, the eggs are fertilized and develop. They lay their eggs in the ground in cocoons containing about twenty future worms each. In three to four months, worms from larvae grow to the size of an adult.

Benefit

Charles Darwin was the first to speak about the benefits of earthworms. He even suggested that they were intelligent, noting that a piece of leaf was pulled into the burrow from the narrow end, and a bunch of pine needles pulled at the base to make it easier to hit. He watched them almost all his life and wrote treatise"The formation of the vegetative layer of the earth by the activity of earthworms and observations of their way of life" (1881).

biohumus production

The first enthusiasts who drew attention to the possibility of using earthworms to process organic matter and obtain biohumus were American farmers. The fecundity of earthworms is used to obtain biomass that expands the diet of pet and poultry feed. Biohumus reduces the number of garden pests on the site. It binds heavy metal residues and removes residual radiation, purifying the soil, and contributes to a good harvest without the use of chemical fertilizers.

What is useful in the garden

They are able to restore the fertile soil layer lost as a result of the unreasonable use of chemical fertilizers, fires or other negative impacts in a short period of time. The product of their vital activity - vermicompost restores and improves its fertile properties. Due to its natural origin, humus is not able to burn the soil or harm it in any other way.

Worms are very useful in the garden or vegetable garden, it will not be difficult to breed them on the site. It is enough to arrange a compost pit where to put weeds, carrion and any garbage of organic origin. Soon these useful creatures will appear on your site. There is no desire to wait - you can buy them, worms are offered for fishing everywhere.

How they winter

They hibernate deep underground, go deep into the soil to a depth of several meters and hibernate in order to get to the surface again in the spring. If you are breeding, it is advisable to cover the wormwood well with straw for the winter, and throw branches or spruce branches on top.

Breeding in the backyard

The breeding process - vermiculture, allows you to process a large amount of organic waste. It is well suited for processing the waste products of cattle and poultry kept in a private farmstead into high-quality environmentally friendly fertilizer - vermicompost. Vermiculture - promising direction, which can help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers used in agriculture.

How to make and prepare a worm

An easy way is to use an old wooden box that's a little bigger, or knock together a new one that's a meter by meter. To remove excess moisture at the bottom, drill a series of holes. Lay a layer of compost with household organic waste there. Smooth it out, moisten it well, you can cover it with dry leaves, straw or burlap.

Worm colonization

Worms can be bought or found in the forest, usually hiding in shady, damp places. Put them in a bowl with the earth and put them in a prepared box. To get a good result, it is best to settle in compost, which you can prepare yourself on the site. Collect weeds, organic debris in an iron barrel.

When the compost is mature, it can be planted. It is advisable to keep an eye on your pets for some time: if they are mobile, they try to hide from daylight means everything is going well. It is important to remember: for good adaptation of invertebrates in a new place, feeding should be started no earlier than 2-3 weeks, until this moment periodic soil moistening is sufficient.

It is not advisable to overfeed, as a large amount of organic matter also affects them badly. It can ferment, releasing acid into the soil. Neutral or slightly alkaline soil is considered favorable. Food should be chopped, throwing a whole apple into the worm, for example, is undesirable, they have no teeth. The first crop can be harvested from your specific garden in a couple of months. The optimal quantity is considered: a thousand individuals per 1 sq.m. surfaces.

How to care

Caring for worms is easy. If you are breeding on a commercial scale, they need to be fed with compost and any waste containing organic matter. Heaps or containers with culture are fed and watered once a day, they process an amount of feed equal to their own weight per day. Taking advantage of the fact that the worms "go to the toilet" in a certain place, the worm coop is divided into three parts.

• "Dining room" - in this part you lay out the food;
• a living area where invertebrates live and breed;
• in the third part they will store waste products.

Every day, you can get the most valuable fertilizer from the heap - vermicompost, its volume is comparable to the amount of compost introduced as feed. Before laying the next portion of feed, make sure that the previous one is processed.

Role in nature

It is difficult to overestimate the role of worms in soil formation. In autumn, after the leaves fall, bacteria take over their disposal, turning the leaves into compost. Then the worms, feeding, turn it into vermicompost, simultaneously mix it with the earth, saturating it with the substances necessary for plant nutrition. The waste product of invertebrates is rich in mineral fertilizers. A large number of them in the soil is a guarantee of its productivity.

Now you know what benefits earthworms bring. Noticing them on suburban area, you will not ask: are they harmful? You can be sure: your hopes for a good, environmentally friendly harvest, with such helpers, will at least double.

rozarii.ru

Earthworms: benefit or harm?

" Back

22.07.2016 09:08

Recently, many firms involved in the installation of rolled lawns have formed the opinion that earthworms (lat. Lumbricina) are lawn pests that only spoil the grass cover. We fundamentally disagree with this opinion! Let's remember why earthworms were created by Mother Nature. Their main purpose is to process organic waste into biohumus (vermicompost), that is, to create 100% environmentally friendly natural fertilizer from garbage organics, which is necessary like air for soil fertility. All this without any chemical additives, energy and other costs on the part of a person. By forming humus, earthworms form soil drainage, loosen and disinfect it, while producing “bread” for plant growth, including for lawn grasses: 98% soil nitrogen, 60% phosphorus, 80% potassium and other mineral elements. In the process of digestion of plant residues in the intestines of worms, humic substances are formed, which, entering the soil, slow down the leaching of mobile compounds from it, and prevent water and wind erosion of the soil. Earthworms, together with the soil, absorb a huge amount of plant detritus (crop and root residues), microbes, fungi, algae, nematodes and other evil spirits. Destroying and digesting them, they release simultaneously with coprolites (litter) a large amount of their own intestinal microflora, enzymes that have antibiotic properties, prevent the development of pathogenic flora, the release of fetid gases, and disinfect the soil.

Nowadays, due to the intensive use of synthetic mineral fertilizers and pesticides, frequent mechanical tillage, earthworms have almost disappeared from it. Such lands are agronomically considered "dead". Preservation of the soil cover is one of the conditions for ensuring and maintaining the ecological balance in the biosphere. The main indicator of soil fertility is the content of organic matter in it - humus. The main soil humifiers are earthworms (earthen). They cannot be replaced by anyone, neither by other animals, nor by any kind of agro-ameliorative methods. An earthworm passes through itself in a day an amount of soil equal to the mass of its body. It has a unique feature to form, disinfect, improve and structure the soil. The number of earthworms in the soil is a biological indicator of its health and fertility. The benefits of earthworms are so undeniable that in 1959, at the University of California (USA), a technological breed of earthworm Eisenia foetida, the California red worm, was bred. In 1982, Professor A. M. Igonin (Russia) bred an even more powerful breed of compost earthworms (patent No. 2058737), for their productivity and unpretentiousness, which received the name "Prospector" ™. Earthworms "Prospector", due to their unique properties, have practically ousted the red Californian hybrid from the territory of our continent. In 1995, A. M. Igonin’s book “How to increase soil fertility tenfold with the help of earthworms” was published (reprinted in 1999), read it.)

naturalgrass.ru

Are earthworms good or bad for plants?!

Everyone has seen earthworms, but how many people know that these are the guarantors of our well-being and health? In the minds of most people, there is still an ignorant idea that worms are only worthy of contempt - they can be crushed, destroyed, poisoned. No one was blamed for this until the irreparable happened ... But more on that later.

Earthworms (earthworms) are large invertebrate soil animals - saprophages that feed on plant debris. In the soils of our country, there are about 97 species. Passing a large mass of dead plant tissues through their intestines, saprophages destroy them, digest them and mix them with the ground. They also have the merit in the processing of composts, which after a while turn into a free-flowing, friable material consisting almost exclusively of granular excrement of worms. These are water-resistant, water-intensive, hydrophilic structures that constitute the most valuable forms of humus in the soil and are centers of microbiological activity. The fact is that in the intestines of worms, the processes of polymerization of low-molecular decomposition products of organic substances develop and molecules of humic acids are formed, which form complex compounds with the mineral components of the soil, primarily with calcium (calcium humates). The latter persist for a long time, make the soil structural, which prevents wind and water erosion.

Rummaging in the ground, the worms absorb not only humus, but also bacteria, algae, fungi with their spores, the simplest organisms of the animal world and nematodes.

The number of bacteria in the soil is huge. One gram of podzolic soil on virgin lands contains 300-600 million, and one gram of cultivated chernozems and gray soils - up to 3 billion. Their total live weight per hectare of the arable layer is 5-10 tons. In manure composts or well-fertilized soil with manure, the number of microorganisms is still more. Soil microflora and microfauna are the main source of protein nutrition for earthworms. It is almost completely digested in their digestive canal and is practically absent in coprolites (kopros - feces, cast - stone). But it contains a huge amount of its own intestinal flora. Soil microflora and microflora of coprolites are not passive biomass. It contains a wide variety of enzymes, antibiotics, amino acids, vitamins, and other biologically active substances that interact and self-regulate, disinfecting pathogenic microflora. This is facilitated not only by worms, but they dominate, accounting for 50-72% of the total biomass of soil invertebrates. On one hectare of well-groomed meadows or pastures, their total number (before chemicalization) ranged from 1 to 200 million individuals (about 20 million on average), while the weight of biomass was from 2 to 5 t/ha, which is almost 100 times higher than the biomass of terrestrial animals in this area.

Soil is a living organism where microorganisms fix chemical elements in their cells, while earthworms (and other soil invertebrates) help to remove these elements from plant organic matter and microbial biomass. In this cycle of substances, they act as regulators of the activity of microorganisms, as orderlies and deodorizers of the soil, which is enriched with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, balanced among themselves according to natural technology. With a high number of worms in composts, they process it into a highly effective humus fertilizer. In coprolites of worms of natural populations, the content of humus is 11–15%, and in artificially bred populations, up to 35%. Such fertilizer is "bread" for plants. It restores and improves soil fertility better than manure, guaranteeing a greater yield increase.

Worms also have another specific feature that is very useful for agriculture. It is connected with their unique ability to form, improve and structure the soil, which can be illustrated by the following examples. Over the summer, a population of 100 worms per square meter lays a kilometer of passages in the soil, making it loose, water and breathable. It has been established that the worm passes through the alimentary canal an amount of earth with organic matter equal to the weight of its body per day. If we take the average weight of the worm as 0.5 g, and their number per 1 m2 is 100 pcs. (1000,000 individuals/ha), then per day they will miss 50 g per 1 m2, or 0.5 t/ha. The active activity of the worms continues in middle lane 200 days a year, which means the amount of soil that has passed through their alimentary canal will be expressed as a mass of 10 kg / m2 (100 t / ha). If the density of the population of worms is higher, then, accordingly, there is more humus. What modern means can be used to create and move so many humus fertilizers to the fields during the year?! No other animals and even agro-meliorative methods can not be fully compared here with worms. It is they who, utilizing annually countless amounts of organic biomass of plants and animals, created the most favorable conditions for everything living on earth. Basically, our once famous black soils were created by their activities.

It can be seen from the above that the presence of earthworms is the most natural indicator of the health and fertility of the soil.

Understanding the role of earthworms in the life of the earth's biosphere has been recognized quite recently. And before that, a total chemical war was declared on them. The essence of this war is due to the possibility of a sharp increase in productivity with the help of chemical fertilizers. For every kilogram of such fertilizers applied to the soil, they began to receive 10 kg of grain. So the most dangerous conclusion was made - the more mineral fertilizers, the more bread, vegetables, feed, meat and milk. They proclaimed the slogan: "Communism is Soviet power plus electrification, plus chemicalization of the national economy." And it began!... The less the land yielded over the years (in the mid-eighties, only 2.5 kg of grain per kilogram of chemical fertilizers applied), the more chemical fertilizers were required. It was proposed to fertilize the fields with dehydrated ammonia, ammonia water, ammonium carbonate and other chemical fertilizers harmful to the soil - the strongest poisons for all living things. It is worth noting that surgeons use a 0.25% ammonia solution to disinfect the skin of the hands before surgery. Already this weak solution almost instantly destroys the microflora and makes the hands sterile.

Soil in the fields treated with ammonia has become just as sterile. What about productivity? It barely makes up for the cost. The situation worsened with the beginning of the widespread use of pesticides. As a result, we came to the destruction of the soil, the loss of humus, to the destruction of everything living in these artificially created disaster zones.

More than a hundred years ago, the founder of scientific soil science, V.V. Dokuchaev, calling black soil the greatest strength and hero, warned that this hero could one day overstrain. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened, as with other soils that have been under the influence of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and the plow for a long time. The country has slipped into a food crisis, out of which the region is not difficult, as the soil is restored slowly - about one centimeter in a hundred years.

Relatively quickly, amateur gardeners and owners of household plots can restore or increase the fertility of the land. Today they provide about 30% of vegetables and fruits from their small plots. They can give more. To do this, you need to learn how to breed earthworms and prepare humus fertilizer from composts with their help. And it is possible to speed up the restoration of the fertility of poisoned fields by reconstructing the life of the soil community of animals in their soils. The technology has already been developed by the author of this article at the Vladimir State Pedagogical Institute. P. I. Lebedev-Polyansky and is being introduced in individual state farms of the Moscow and Vladimir regions.

Earthworms or earthworms are widely distributed in nature and live on all continents. The one who believes that they are needed only as bait on the hook used by fishermen is wrong. The benefits of these invertebrates are enormous. They mix the soil by eating the waste products of other animals. Flavored with useful substances. We see them because they come to the surface when it rains. Water entering their dwellings makes it difficult to breathe, threatening life.

According to their way of life, they are divided into those who live on the surface, hiding in a layer of last year's foliage, never climbing more than 15 cm underground. Burrows can burrow into the ground to a depth of more than a meter. At the same time, their holes in the ground help to mix and loosen its fertile layer. The main activity of these invertebrates occurs at night, when they feed intensively.

Moving underground, they constantly loosen the soil, helping the penetration of oxygen and moisture to the roots. Plants in such soil feel much better, develop well. The movement of the soil as a result of their vital activity has a positive effect on its quality. They enrich the soil with humus, their presence in it can serve as a good way to determine fertility.

Worms differ from each other in size - their body length can vary from 2 cm to several meters. Such giants live in Australia. The body is divided into segments (rings), on which there are small bristles that help them move. This structure allows you to greatly change its length, increasing the body several times.

With his bristles, he clings to the ground so firmly that it is simply unrealistic to pull him out of the hole. The worm will either run away or break: each of us was convinced of this even in childhood. The body consists of two types of muscles - longitudinal and transverse, reducing them, the animal moves.

The body is covered with mucus, which is a very good antiseptic, this property was noticed in the Middle Ages. There is no vision, but they have a unique ability to restore the lost part of the body.

Kinds

In total, millions of varieties live in nature, they are divided according to habitats, food, etc. There are various colors and sizes: there are red, green individuals. Zoologists number about 2000 species, about 40 live in Europe, the most common species are rain (Lumbricus terrestries) and dung (Eisenia faetida).

Food

The answer to the question of what earthworms can eat is very simple - everything. The process of eating them is very interesting: they swallow a certain amount of soil and select all organic substances from it. They eat the food found underground in small pieces, sticking to it, and drag it into holes. They can store food for a "rainy day" in special minks, which are clogged for safety. After assimilation of food, they come to the surface, where they secrete the remains of life, doing this in strictly defined places.

Breeding earthworms artificially called vermiculture allows you to process a large amount of organic waste. An idea for a business that does not require a large start-up capital. It is possible to produce natural organic fertilizer, which is sure to be in high demand.

Reproduction and lifespan

The ability to give offspring appears when an individual reaches the age of six months. The incubation period depends on weather conditions and lasts 1-5 months. They do not divide by gender - asexual hermaphrodites, reproduce by cross-fertilization. They find each other by smell, on warm, humid evenings.

The reproductive organ is the widest belt on the body, several times larger than the rest. In it, the eggs are fertilized and develop. They lay their eggs in the ground in cocoons containing about twenty future worms each. In three to four months, worms from larvae grow to the size of an adult.

Benefit

Charles Darwin was the first to speak about the benefits of earthworms. He even suggested that they were intelligent, noting that a piece of leaf was pulled into the burrow from the narrow end, and a bunch of pine needles pulled at the base to make it easier to hit. He watched them almost all his life and wrote the scientific work "The Formation of the Vegetative Layer of the Earth by the Activity of Earthworms and Observations on Their Way of Life" (1881).

biohumus production

The first enthusiasts who drew attention to the possibility of using earthworms to process organic matter and obtain biohumus were American farmers. The fecundity of earthworms is used to obtain biomass that expands the diet of pet and poultry feed. Biohumus reduces the number of garden pests on the site. It binds heavy metal residues and removes residual radiation, purifying the soil, and contributes to a good harvest without the use of chemical fertilizers.

What is useful in the garden

They are able to restore the fertile soil layer lost as a result of the unreasonable use of chemical fertilizers, fires or other negative impacts in a short period of time. The product of their vital activity - vermicompost restores and improves its fertile properties. Due to its natural origin, humus is not able to burn the soil or harm it in any other way.

Worms are very useful in the garden or vegetable garden, it will not be difficult to breed them on the site. It is enough to arrange a compost pit where to put weeds, carrion and any garbage of organic origin. Soon these useful creatures will appear on your site. There is no desire to wait - you can buy them, worms are offered for fishing everywhere.

How they winter

They hibernate deep underground, go deep into the soil to a depth of several meters and hibernate in order to get to the surface again in the spring. If you are breeding, it is advisable to cover the wormwood well with straw for the winter, and throw branches or spruce branches on top.

The breeding process - vermiculture, allows you to process a large amount of organic waste. It is well suited for processing the waste products of cattle and poultry kept in a private farmstead into high-quality environmentally friendly fertilizer - vermicompost. Vermiculture is a promising area that can help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers used in agriculture.

How to make and prepare a worm

An easy way is to use an old wooden box that is larger than that, or knock together a new one that measures a meter by a meter. To remove excess moisture at the bottom, drill a series of holes. Lay a layer of compost with household organic waste there. Smooth it out, moisten it well, you can cover it with dry leaves, straw or burlap.

Worms can be bought or found in the forest, usually hiding in shady, damp places. Put them in a bowl with the earth and put them in a prepared box. To get a good result, it is best to settle in compost, which you can prepare yourself on the site. Collect weeds, organic debris in an iron barrel.

When the compost is mature, it can be planted. It is advisable to keep an eye on your pets for a while: if they are mobile, trying to hide from daylight, then everything is going well. It is important to remember: for good adaptation of invertebrates in a new place, feeding should be started no earlier than 2-3 weeks, until this moment periodic soil moistening is sufficient.

It is not advisable to overfeed, as a large amount of organic matter also affects them badly. It can ferment, releasing acid into the soil. Neutral or slightly alkaline soil is considered favorable. Food should be chopped, throwing a whole apple into the worm, for example, is undesirable, they have no teeth. The first crop can be harvested from your specific garden in a couple of months. The optimal quantity is considered: a thousand individuals per 1 sq.m. surfaces.

How to care

Caring for worms is easy. If you are breeding on a commercial scale, they need to be fed with compost and any waste containing organic matter. Heaps or containers with culture are fed and watered once a day, they process an amount of feed equal to their own weight per day. Taking advantage of the fact that the worms "go to the toilet" in a certain place, the worm coop is divided into three parts.

• "Dining room" - in this part you lay out the food;
• a living area where invertebrates live and breed;
• in the third part they will store waste products.

Every day, you can get the most valuable fertilizer from the heap - vermicompost, its volume is comparable to the amount of compost introduced as feed. Before laying the next portion of feed, make sure that the previous one is processed.

Role in nature

It is difficult to overestimate the role of worms in soil formation. In autumn, after the leaves fall, bacteria take over their disposal, turning the leaves into compost. Then the worms, feeding, turn it into vermicompost, simultaneously mix it with the earth, saturating it with the substances necessary for plant nutrition. The waste product of invertebrates is rich in mineral fertilizers. A large number of them in the soil is a guarantee of its productivity.

Now you know what benefits earthworms bring. Having noticed them in your summer cottage, you will not ask: are they harmful? You can be sure: your hopes for a good, environmentally friendly harvest, with such helpers, will at least double.

It's no secret that plants grow, develop and bear fruit in suitable soils. The main point is fertilizers. Forced moistening of the soil also helps. This work must be done by a person. However, one does not remember such helpers in agriculture as living organisms: microorganisms, protozoa and bacteria that have been living in the earth for more than 20 thousand years.

Representatives of this group are earthworms. Their contribution to the development of young plants is difficult to overestimate. However, in order to provide all possible assistance, it is necessary to provide such creepers with certain conditions for unhindered movement in the ground.

From an early age, we see worms that appear on the surface of the earth after rain. Amazing creatures, completely harmless, unable to harm anyone. These animals are numerous. Representatives differ in color and size, depending on the habitat of the creepers. The warmer the climate, the larger the size of the worms. Sometimes the length reaches 2.5 meters. The south of Russia is teeming with half-meter worms. Maximum size northern representatives - 15 centimeters.

Creepers love the earth warmed by the sun, make tunnels in it, after which they rarely crawl out to the surface and mainly in the dark. A lot of them accumulate on the ground after torrential warm rains. They do not have sense organs, but the entire skin is covered with hypersensitive cells, ready to instantly respond to any external stimuli. Earthworms breathe through their skin. The circulatory system is a closed type, red blood flows through it, which includes hemoglobin. They belong to the category of hermaphrodites. Cocoons with eggs are regularly laid in the ground.

They began to pay great attention to them in the middle of the last century, first in Germany, and then in Russia. Earthworms began to be bred in an industrial way, the name of which is “domestication of earthworms”. The breeding place began to be called the "worm". The main task set by medical scientists is the rapid processing (within 12 months) of compost and manure, during which humus is obtained. High Quality. For these purposes, worms in in large numbers placed in the soil and provided to them comfortable conditions for work".

According to the experimenters, each enterprise operating on the ground must have its own worm farm. A special methodology for the step-by-step organization of this process was developed. It was supposed to start breeding earthworms with the onset of spring days, since with a decrease in temperature in winter, creeping ones began to hide underground, penetrating into it to a depth of 30 centimeters. Worms freeze with the onset of cold weather, and come to life again in the spring. This state helped them survive the ice age in ancient times. It is worth noting that not all creepers are able to survive the winter. In spring, only those who managed to accumulate a sufficient supply of vital energy during the season rise to the surface.

The life cycle of earthworms

The whole life of earthen helpers is divided into 4 stages:

Stage one	First, small worms hatch from the cocoon. From the moment of laying eggs to the moment of maturation, it takes from 21 days to 90 days. After this time, the embryos crawl out of their cocoons. The rate of development of young animals is directly affected by temperature. environment. Heat contributes to the rapid maturation of the embryos. In stable warm weather, young growth appears two weeks after laying eggs. In cold climates, the appearance of worms must be expected for two months.
Stage two	maturation process. After two to three months, young worms acquire their own reproductive system. During calendar year the final formation of an adult earthworm occurs.
Stage three	Reproductive. Earthworms belong to the class of hermaphrodites, which implies the presence of both male and female reproductive organs in one individual. Despite this fact, for the appearance of offspring, creeping ones need to mate. Two worms stick together and form a shell in which sperm is exchanged. Both individuals are fertilized at the same time.
Stage four	Cocoons are being laid. After the end of the fertilization process, the worms are separated. Inside each body, cocoons are formed, which subsequently roll into the ground and remain there for the entire period of their maturation. Each cocoon contains from one to five embryos.

Comfortable living conditions for earthworms

The optimal soil for earthworms to live in should contain 70-75 percent moisture. With a significant decrease in this coefficient (up to 30 percent), a significant slowdown in the growth and development of creepers is possible. If the earth's moisture content reaches 22 percent, earthworms will soon die out. The maximum lifespan under such conditions is a week.

In soils with high acidity, in which the pH exceeds 9, or in dry soil with a pH less than 5, worms practically do not multiply. The optimal place for the existence of the animal is neutral soil, where the pH is 7.

Worms feel great in the ground, fed with organic fertilizers. In the process of processing humus, compost and manure, earthworm reproduction occurs at an accelerated pace. Cocoons are laid every 6-7 days, from which 1-5 young embryos hatch.

Soil Fertility Improvement Method

Within 24 hours, one worm is able to “let through itself” as much earth as it weighs. Taking into account mathematical calculations, if on one square meter soil to concentrate 50 earthworms, each weighing 0.5 g, then on one hectare of land the worms will process 250 kg of soil. One can easily estimate how much fertile soil can be obtained in 200 days (the number of warm days in a year).

Such soil is rich in especially useful microflora, vitamins, enzymes, biologically active substances, humic acid. In interaction with the mineral components of the soil, which include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and other substances, soluble salts are formed, which are freely absorbed by plants, making it possible to gain growth and strength. The end result of the work of earthworms is the formation of humus, which has a beneficial effect on the development of plants.

However, the production of humus is not the only result of the work of worms. Thanks to their efforts, the structure of the earth improves, the so-called soil reclamation takes place. It has been experimentally proven that if the earth is contaminated with heavy metals, then the interaction of the latter with humic acid of humus results in the formation of humates (salts), which are not able to dissolve in water, and, therefore, get into plants as nutrients.

Scientists are unanimous in their opinion that the ability of humus to retain heavy metals is really important for the quality of the soil, no less than the ozone layer, which protects our planet from the negative effects of hard ultraviolet radiation.

From all of the above, we can conclude that the work of earthworkers is difficult to overestimate. But in order to help a person in raising the fertility of the earth, earthworms must be provided with comfortable living conditions. The main steps to be taken in this direction are:

1. After harvesting, dig the area not with a shovel, but with a pitchfork. You should not think that an earthworm cut into two parts can bring twice as much benefit to the earth.
2. During the summer period, regularly loosen the soil to get more oxygen inside, which the earthworms need for development.
3. During the dry season, the soil must be constantly moistened.
4. Do not add chemicals to the ground. Wood ash in a concentrated form should not be introduced into the soil, since excess alkali adversely affects the vital activity of worms. The best option- adding ash to the compost pit and subsequently using rotted components to fertilize the soil, at the rate of 1 glass of fertilizer per bucket of water.
5. Reduce soil acidity to an acceptable level. This is possible due to the introduction of chalk, gypsum, lime - fluff, dolomite flour in the fall before digging the soil.
6. Don't light a fire in the garden. The heat kills the earthworms and forces the survivors to migrate to other areas. After the foliage and twigs of trees burn through, the soil becomes dense, life disappears under it.

Usefulness of earthworms

Those who are constantly in contact with the earth understand perfectly well that the presence of earthworms in it is a clear sign of fertility. Important functions performed by worms are as follows:

• feeding on the soil, the worms make tunnels, thereby loosening the earth, facilitating the penetration of oxygen and moisture there;
• they feed on organic residues, which makes it possible for dead plants to quickly rot;
• saturate the earth with humus, which favorably affects the composition of the soil;
• increase the amount of phosphorus and potassium in the soil;
• increase the fertility rate of the land, constantly mixing plant residues with the ground;
• the presence of passages made by worms makes it possible for the roots of plants to straighten out and feel free underground;
• the volume of nutrient reserves necessary for plants for full growth and development increases;
• the presence of earthworms in the soil contributes to the lowering of large particles (stones) deep into the ground, raising to the surface the components crushed by earthworms into dust;
• the walls of the tunnels made by worms are occupied by fungi and beneficial bacteria.

Thanks to such hard workers, various organic substances are converted into biohumus, which is used as a fertilizer for front gardens and vegetable gardens. It is not for nothing that many countries create special earthworm farms.

In addition to feeding the soil, worms are considered excellent food for birds in the first spring days. With the advent of insect pests, the birds switch to them. Avid anglers use earthworms as bait when catching fish.

Creating comfortable conditions for earthworms

Despite the small number of worms in the soil, their cocoons are present in large quantities. In order for full-fledged worms to appear, it is necessary to help them in this by providing comfortable conditions:

• maintaining the temperature regime in the range from +10 to +15 degrees;
• add manure, compost, rotted ash to the soil;
• before applying fertilizers, it is desirable to moisten them so that the animals are able to digest them freely;
• don't dig too deep. Otherwise, all passages can be destroyed along with living creatures, bacteria and fungi, which will lead to a violation of the air permeability of the soil, the destruction of beneficial microorganisms, and the nullification of the fertility of the soil cover;
• do not overdo it with chemical fertilizers, pesticides;
• keep the soil constantly moist, but avoid stagnant water.

If all conditions are met, soil fertility will increase, productivity will increase, plants will become healthy and strong.

Rules for breeding earthworms in your own garden

There is practically no such piece of land where earthworms would not be. Depending on the varieties, they settle down at a depth of 0.1 m to 100 m. Breeding worms in your garden is not particularly difficult. Many private owners do this.

To attract earthworms to your personal plot, you must take the following steps:

1. Make a recess in the ground with parameters of 30 cm by 40 cm.
2. Cover the bottom of the pit with waste paper, old press, leaves. Pour several buckets of water or organic slop into the recess.
3. After 7 days, you need to find about a dozen earthworms and place them in a recess. Leave unattended for a couple of days.
4. After we start feeding the wards. We use manure, organic fertilizers, bird droppings, vegetable and fruit peelings, bread crumbs, sheets of paper, tea leaves or ground coffee. Feeding is recommended once every 15 days. The layer of food is 5 centimeters.
5. The soil in the hole should always be moist. Use clean water settled or rainwater. Earthworms prefer to be in soil with 80 percent humidity.
6. Every three days, the earth in the compost pit is gently loosened, without harm to its inhabitants. Due to this action, the soil is enriched with oxygen.

For worms, special boxes installed in sheds, basements, cellars are suitable. It is not advisable to grow earthworms in living rooms, as a specific smell will still be present. The contents of the container will turn into biohumus within a couple of months. To extract the worms from there, lay the bait on the surface (paper dipped in sweet water). The emerging worms are collected and placed in new compost.

Moles have always been considered the worst enemies of earthworms. This must be taken into account when breeding earth pets.

Collecting the results of the work of earthworms

Earthworms are needed for the production of biohumus (vermicompost) - an environmentally friendly, organic fertilizer obtained as a result of worms eating industrial and household waste. The natural digestive process of these creatures converts various waste products into natural fertilizers. Wild plants, flowers, fruit trees, vegetables and fruits need high-quality fertilizers - the results of manure processing by earthworms.

Worms do not burrow deep into the ground, and the biohumus processed by them accumulates a little deeper. To collect it, you need to carefully remove the top layer of soil without hitting the earthworms, and then pour it into a new box. The bottom layer of soil must be sifted and scattered over the beds.

Earthworms - a thunderstorm of nematodes

Often the owners land plots encounter in their garden with miniature worms - pests called nematodes. They are able to damage part of the plants and tubers below ground level, which leads to the development of nematode diseases. Plants damaged by the disease grow poorly and lag behind in development, the leaves become yellow and twisted. The root system is underdeveloped, without lateral processes, dark in color, looks painful. Nematodes can infect any plant.

There are several varieties of this kind of pests:

• thin worms white color penetrate into the bulbs, damaging them, making the bulbous scales loose. In the cold season, nematodes hide in the ground;
• beet nematode leads to beet fatigue, while the weight of the root decreases, the leaves become brown. Beet roots begin to rot, the percentage of sugar decreases;
• The potato nematode damages potato tubers, negatively affects the growth of vegetables, and significantly reduces crop yields. Nematodes, in addition to potatoes, do not disdain nightshades and tomatoes.

Pest Control Methods

To preserve the crop, it is necessary to conduct constant pest control. The main actions are:

• all infected plants without fail identified and destroyed;
• the basic rules of crop rotation are observed;
• the soil is subject to liming;
• carbon disulfide is introduced into the soil.

When gray worms appear in the garden, which feed on leaves, roots, stems of plants, it becomes necessary to deal with them. This is quite difficult, but there is an effective way. Gray worms are not afraid of biological products, but with the help of bait you can get rid of them. The bait is prepared as follows: votexite (50 g), lemon balm (0.1 g) and bran (1 kg) are mixed together.

You can often see a centipede on the ground, similar to a worm. They are called kivsyaks. Such pests destroy strawberry berries, preventing a person from eating beautiful fruits. Berries acquire a terrible smell. To combat them, use ash, superphosphate. They are doused with kerosene-soap solution.

The presence of earthworms excludes the establishment of nematodes, which means it will protect against the use of caustic substances, which, in addition to pest control, will also strike crops.

Wintering of earthworms

Earthworms wait out severe frosts underground. The depth of their location varies depending on the severity of the climate. The greater the level of soil freezing, the deeper the worms burrow into it. For wintering, worms build rookeries for themselves, which are a small space covered with wool, foliage and feathers. The exit to the outside is clogged with an earth plug.

With the onset of winter, earthworms “fall asleep”, and with the advent of spring and the warming of the soil, they wake up and rush to the surface. They are attracted by the warmth that they feel with every cell of their body, and the excessive moisture of the earth after the snow melts.

Artificial breeding of worms involves warming the place of their wintering. Holes with worms cease to be watered with a decrease in temperature, and as soon as real frosts hit, the location of the pets is covered with a half-meter layer of straw and manure.

Conclusion

There is an assumption that it is through the efforts of earthworms that the planet Earth is the owner of rough vegetation. Thanks to them, people can use fertile soil to grow all kinds of crops. The cycle in nature is constant: with the onset of autumn, the leaves on the trees turn yellow and fall off. Soil bacteria contribute to their decomposition to form compost. After that, earthworms come into play, the digestive process of which leads to the formation of vermicompost. The soil is saturated with unique natural fertilizers that promote the growth and development of trees. And so for many millennia.

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ZARINSKY DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND YOUTH AFFAIRS

MUNICIPAL KAENNOE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION "GOLUKHINSKY SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL" ZARINSKY DISTRICT OF ALTAI KRAI

district student scientific and practical conference

"INTELLECTUAL - 2016"

Direction "Young researcher"

RESEARCH WORK

ON THE TOPIC "What are the benefits of earthworms"

performed by Kalinina Christina,

1st grade student

Head Dalgaimer Oksana Alekseevna,

primary school teacher

Art. Golukha

2016

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………. 3 p.

1. Relevance of the topic………………………………………………3 p.
2. Object of study……………………………………….....3 p.
3. Subject of research………………………………………...4 p.
4. The purpose of the study…………………………………………….4 p.
5. Research objectives…………………………………………..4 p.
6. Research hypothesis………………………………………..4 p.
7. Research methods………………………………………....4 p.
8. The relevance of the research topic……………………………4 p.
9. Justification of the originality of the study………………...4 p.

1. The main part………………………………………………………..5 p.

1. Description of earthworms…………..……………………...5 p.
2. Life activity of earthworms……………………….5 pp.
3. The harm that people bring to earthworms…………..5 pp.

1. Practical part

3.1. Observations of earthworms…………………..……9 pp.

3.2. Observation results……………………………………..9 p.

1. Conclusion…………………………………………………………9 p.

1. List of used literature………………………………..9 p.

1. Applications………………………………………………………… 10 pages

"There are hardly any other animals that would play such a big role in the history of the world as earthworms"Charles Darwin, naturalist

1. Introduction.

1. Relevance of the topic.

In the summer, walking along the street with friends after the rain, we saw that a lot of earthworms crawled out onto the asphalt. Everyone started pushing them. I began to stop the guys. And Vanya says to me: “What is the use of your worms ?!” I was very upset. And then, when we had a lesson in the world around us, I remembered this incident and told my teacher. "Earth or earthwormsare the main friends of the soil– Oksana Alekseevna told me, “Don’t worry, we will prove to the guys that earthworms are of great benefit and need to be protected.”

I was surprised. How can we prove it? The teacher suggested that I investigate the life of earthworms. Watch them. We decided to find out how worms affect the composition of the soil and plants. I confessed that I was a little afraid of earthworms. But the teacher reassured me, saying that I would get used to them and maybe even fall in love.

So:

1. Object of study.

The object of my research are earthworms.

1. Subject of study.

The subject of my research is the life of earthworms.

1. Purpose of the study.

The purpose of my research isto prove that earthworms are beneficial, therefore they need protection.

1. Research objectives:

• Study the literature on earthworms;
• Draw up a research plan;
• Find out how worms affect the composition of the soil;
• Find out how the presence of worms in the soil affects plant growth.

1. Research hypothesis.

earthworms recycle organic matter in the soil, turning them into nutrients that are easily absorbed by plants, plants grow better.

1. Research methods.

research methods,which I used:

Empirical: observation, systematization, description.

1. Relevance of the research topic.

I see the originality of my research in the fact that many people think little about harmony in the natural world. Some consider themselves superior to other beings on planet Earth. Small earthworms seem to them useless animals. But in nature, even such a small creature as an earthworm plays a huge role. I want people to think about the safety of our planet Earth.

1. Main part.

To begin with, I decided to find information about earthworms in additional sources. I was surprised.

2.1. Description of earthworms.

It turns out that earthworms or earthworms live on all continents except Antarctica. Body length - from 2 cm to 3 m. When moving, earthworms rely on short bristles located on each segment except the front.

1. Life activity of earthworms.

For a billion years, earthworms or earthworms have been working for the good of the earth, creating fertile soil. The benefits of worms are great! In the forests and meadows, many withered, withered plants and animal remains are constantly accumulating. earthworms absorb all organic waste (these are dry leaves, roots, dead animals), turning them into priceless humus. Humus provides plants with the necessary nutrients enriching the soil, making it fertile. Earthworms dig passages, loosen the earth. Water and air can easily pass through these passages to the roots of plants. On such land, grasses and trees grow better. So worms should be welcome guests in our gardens. The more of them there are, the richer the soil in the beds will become, and this will make the harvest better.

1. The harm that people bring to earthworms.

Unfortunately, earthworms are now in great danger. This is due to the active use of chemicals in agriculture. Treating the fields with various pesticides to control pests, people also destroy such useful worms. Digging the soil brings great damage to the worms. In this case, the earth dries up under the scorching sun and the worms, lacking moisture, die. In the spring, on the dug up ground, the worms become an easy target for birds. Having dug up the ground in late autumn, people destroy the burrows of worms that have managed to settle down for the winter.

1. Practical part.

1. Earthworm observations.

I thought that telling my classmates all this would not be enough. And then I decided to conduct earthworm observations in the classroom with the guys. The first thing I wanted to prove was the benefits of earthworms. Since I was afraid of worms, I asked my friend Natasha to dig them up in the garden for me. I put the worms in two pots. One with earth, and in the other a mixture of clay, sand and barren earth was poured. I decided to see if earthworms can really process organic matter and turn it into humus. The third pot was just earth, like the one in the worm pot.

I also took two pots with the same plants - cyclomens. I decided to transplant the plants in two months into the ground where the worms were, and into the ground where the worms were not.

By observing the growth of plants, I could prove whether the soil in which the worms lived was really the most fertile.

1. Observation results.

I started my experimental observations in September 2015. I did not forget to moisten once a week the soil in the pots. I also put leaves and roots in pots to feed the worms.

I made my first discoveries at the end of November. Together with the guys, we examined the earth in pots and found small balls in a pot of earth. As it turned out, they were earthworm larvae. Perhaps they got into the pots along with the earth from the garden, or maybe they were also deposited by the worms that I put in the pot. What was our surprise when the mixture of sand, clay and earth became the most loose.

You see, - I told the guys, - how the earth has changed. She really is getting better and more fertile. They agreed with me.

Watching the worms in December, I found that they are inactive. I was afraid they were sick. But the teacher said they were hibernating. And until spring, our observations of worms should be postponed.

So I switched to observing plants.

I carefully took the worms out of the pot and placed them in a box of earth. The box was placed in a dark place until spring. I transplanted one of the cyclomens that I had prepared since autumn into a pot. I transplanted the second cyclomen into a pot in which the worms did not live. I watched the flowers until mid-February.

Watching flower pots, I made the following conclusions:

The earth where the worms were located is less settled than in a pot without worms, therefore, it is less dense, it contains more air;

Cyclomen in a pot with worms in mid-February picked up color and is ready to bloom, and a flower in another pot will apparently bloom later, therefore, the earth in a pot with worms is more fertile.

I can already say with confidence that my hypothesis was confirmed. earthworms process organic matter in the soil, turning them into nutrients that are easily absorbed by plants.

Therefore, by enriching the soil, earthworms benefit man, since the earth feeds man. Therefore, the earthworm needs protection.

My classmateVanya promised never to offend earthworms again, and the guys decided thatwhen it rains, we will just look under our feet so as not to crush our younger friends - worms.

In Appendix 1 to my work, I posted a memo “How to protect earthworms on garden plot”, which I strongly recommend that adults read.

Attachment 1

Memo "How to protect earthworms in the garden"

The main enemy of earthworms is an unreasonable person. With unreasonable actions and pesticides, a person can kill worms and destroy the fertility of the soil. Proceed as follows:

• minimize the use of pesticides, worms are very sensitive to them;
• use for digging not a shovel, but a pitchfork, as the worms cut with a shovel die;
• overconsolidation of the soil destroys worms, the soil must be loose;
• it is necessary to maintain a sufficiently high soil moisture, the worms are not afraid of flooding.

Naturally, such widespread and so numerous animals as earthworms cannot but be related to human culture.

Metastrongylid larvae develop in earthworms, which swallow the eggs and larvae of these worms along with the soil, which got there with the sputum and feces of infected pigs. In the esophagus of worms, tiny larvae of metastrongylids (their length is 0.2-0.3 mm) linger and, piercing its wall, enter the vessels of the circulatory system of the worm, where they very soon grow to 0.60-0.65 mm. However, they can only reach sexual maturity in the lungs of pigs. In the blood vessels of worms, the larvae can live for years. Pigs and piglets become infected with metastrongylids by eating earthworms. Thus, worms contribute to the resettlement of these harmful animals.

The infestation of worms depends on the number of pigs with metastrongylosis. In the foci of the disease of pigs, from 20 to 90 ° / o nerves may contain metastrongylid larvae. Apparently, all common species of the Lumbricidae fauna can be intermediate hosts of metastrongylids, but species of the genus Lumbricus and the dung worm are most easily infected by them.

Their development cycle is very similar to that of metastrongylids. They also live in the lungs and airways of their hosts.

Rice. 44. Iorrocek larvae in the dorsal blood vessel of an earthworm. (According to A. A. Mozgovoy).

It is possible that earthworms can harm very young plants whose root systems may suffer from worms digging underground passages near the surface. For example, some bushes of freshly picked flower or garden seedlings, as well as individual shoots after sowing and planting seeds, can be damaged or destroyed by creeping lumbricides. But in general, the harm of this genus is negligible.

As for the harm allegedly caused by worms to well-established plants, which is often heard and read about, it can be said that there are no well-established scientific data on this issue (Heuschen, 1956). Instructions by A. O. Lavrentiev (1958) on the harm caused by earthworms to garden crops and gardens need to be verified. So, sometimes it is thought that the grass does not grow under the trees because there are many earthworms there. However, it does not grow well there for completely different reasons. The opinion about the harm brought by lumbricides to garden crops is also fictitious. Even several methods have been invented for the destruction of worms in gardens. Darwin writes about the "destruction of earthworms by gardeners" as a regular everyday occurrence: "When gardeners intend to destroy earthworms, they first of all rake up the above-mentioned pieces of eruptions from the surface of the earth so that the solution of quicklime has the opportunity to freely penetrate into the passages of worms." Darwin refers to published instructions for the destruction of earthworms. These instructions were published abroad recently.

The United States Department of Agriculture published a popular pamphlet in the Farmer's Bulletin series titled "Earthworms as Our Scourge and Their Other Properties" (Walton, 1928), which describes how to control these "pests" by watering the land with a solution of lime, tobacco infusion and even sublimate. True, there, as the harm caused by earthworms, in the first place are bumps that occur on golf courses, in places of heaps of worm eruptions, and then dubious data on damage to flowers in flower beds follow. And it is all the more strange that the Ministry Agriculture in America found it possible to promote among farmers the destruction of earthworms, that is, the struggle against their best allies in soil cultivation!

Methods for killing earthworms can also be found in cultural brochures indoor plants(See, for example, Shipchinskii, 1949). In pot cultures, large worms can cause some damage to plants; however, in general, as shown by numerous experiments, the worms had positive influence on plant growth under these conditions.

Pasteur pointed to the possibility of spreading spores of anthrax bacteria by earthworms from the corpses of animals that died from this disease and were buried in the ground.

Such an opinion is an example of the mistakes that even great people sometimes fall into. Pasteur thought that the Lumbrics fed on corpses! Of course, the possibility of anthrax spores getting into the intestines of the worm after the corpses have completely decomposed and turned into soil humus is not excluded, but it is difficult to name animals that would have less to do with butchering corpses that have fallen into the soil than earthworms. This work is occupied by many completely different animals. But even in civilized countries they are not able to spread anthrax bacteria, since everywhere the corpses of animals that have died from this disease are buried in the ground only after disinfection.

More serious data on the importance of earthworms in the spread of epidemics of viral influenza. After an epidemic of this disease in 1918, an influenza epidemic in pigs arose in the United States. It is believed that pigs get the virus from earthworms, in the body of which it was actually found during inter-epidemic periods (Grazhul, 1957). However, this issue needs further research.

Turning to the positive significance of earthworms for humans, we first of all note that earthworms have long been used for various kinds of practical needs. In New Zealand, the natives used to eat them. Worms were also used as a medicine in folk medicine in different countries However, there are no rational grounds for their use for the purpose of treatment.

The use of earthworms as bait for fishing is well known. Apparently, angling a fish to a worm is one of the oldest methods of fishing. In the XV century. in England there was already a guide to fishing with a bait. Currently, catching fish on hooks with bait is not only sporting, but also of serious commercial importance. On the Middle Volga, for example, line fishing occupies an important place in the commercial production of fish. The best bait is the big red worm (Lumbricus terrestris).

Earthworms received all popular names from fishermen. They are especially numerous in England, where the the sport of fishing on a bait. The English researcher Friend (Friend, 1924) gives 53 popular names for earthworms! This does not mean, however, that English fishermen distinguish 53 species of Lumbricidae. In folk nomenclature, the same species can have many different names and, conversely, different types bear the same name. Some of the names are very curious, for example: "squirrel tail" (Lumbricus terrestris), "salmon worm" (Lumbricus rubellus), etc.

Worms are also used for food for aquarium fish and pet birds. Therefore, in Western Europe and in the US, earthworms are a common commodity on the market. There were industrialists involved in the collection and breeding of earthworms. The city of Nottngham (England) has long been known as a center of industry for wholesale trade earthworms. AT recent times When the importance of earthworms in soil formation was already fully realized, the question of breeding earthworms began to attract even more attention.

Recently, earthworms have become interested in poultry farmers. Many poultry farms began to feed birds with earthworms and breed them for this purpose. Apparently, this undertaking has serious economic prospects. It should only be borne in mind that before feeding worms to birds, it is necessary to check them for the presence of syngamids in them.

Finally, recently data have been obtained on the possible role of earthworms in the self-purification of soils from contamination by radioactive isotopes.

As is known, such contamination can occur not only from the explosion of atomic bombs, but also as a result of careless handling of radioactive substances during their peaceful use. Plants grown on such soil become dangerous for humans and animals, since feeding on imp can have a terrible consequence in the form of radiation sickness;

the economic use of such a night becomes impossible. Artificial methods of soil cleaning are unknown, but their automatic cleaning occurs by washing with rainwater, by erosion, and, most importantly, by the accumulation of radioactive substances in the body of plants growing on contaminated soils. Experiments have shown that the absorption of radioactive substances by plants occurs incomparably more intensively in soils with earthworms than in soils without earthworms (Peredel'skii, 1958; Peredel'skii et al., 1958).

All the above examples of the practical importance of earthworms indicate its very low value compared to their participation in soil formation. We had this role in mind throughout the previous presentation. Now the time has come to sum up everything that has been said and, supplementing it with new facts, to formulate final conclusions.