Evaluation of the viability of different diets for the production of Lombrihumus with the Eisenia foetida & Eudrillus sp species

Abstract

The current environmental crisis has not left outside its scope the affectation to the health and fertility of the soil when causing an accelerated deterioration of its productive capacity directly affected to the agricultural yields at global level. In response and for the increase of the resilience of the agroecosystems to the unproductiveness of the soils the lombrihumus is used. In this study we test the adaptive and productive capacity of earthworms with different diets: fresh kitchen waste, wet paper, chopped grass and cow manure - control. Previously, the viability of care of the diets was determined with the characterization of waste produced by the campus canteen where the experiment was carried out. The red Californian (Eisenia foetida) and Cuban red (Eudrillus sp) species were used in canoes of one cubic meter (1 m3) where they were fed. The total production, the speed and percentage of assimilation of the diet were measured. In addition, the nutritional analysis of lombrihumus was performed for each treatment. The Variance Analysis (ANOVA) and the Minimum Significant Difference (DMS) were applied to the data obtained in the statistical program SPSS 23.0. The treatments T1 (fresh kitchen waste) and T2 (wet paper) showed significant results in the productive and nutritional aspects, so they can be used as a substitute for the T4 treatment (cow manure - control). The test should be repeated at different times of the year, variable environmental conditions, with a higher number of repetitions and a combination of treatments.