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Matching Livestock Systems with Available Resources |
MEKARN Regional Conference 2007 |
The experiment was carried at the Center for Livestock and Agriculture Development from February 23 to April 14 2007 to study the effect of different substrates and its level on the yield of California red earthworms and humus. The experiment was designed as a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement, with 4 mixtures of cow manure and water plants on fresh matter basis (100:0, 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75) and two types of water plant (water spinach and water hyacinth) as factors. Fifty gram of California red earthworms was inserted in each treatment basket at the start of the trial.
The production and reproduction of earthworms were increased at the mixture of 25% of water plant with cow manure and water hyacinth was better than water spinach. There was a level of mixture by type of water plant interaction for the production and reproduction of earthworms. The yield of fresh humus was significantly higher with cow manure alone but of lower DM content compared with the mixtures; there was no significant difference between water hyacinth and water spinach. There was a level of mixture by type of water plant interaction for fresh humus yield.
It is concluded that the mixture of 25% of water hyacinth with cow manure was the best for growth and reproduction of earthworms.
Key words: California red worms, substrates, cow manure, water spinach, water hyacinth