Worm composting science facts are helpful to understand how important vermicomposting is to the health of the soil. This is a continuation of a summary of worm composting facts from a survey in Australia. Please see my blog post Worm Compost Science Education Facts for the the introduction and more science facts on worm composting. There is a lot of information here so I divided it into two blog posts. In this picture you can see worms working on creating worm compost from a cantaloupe rind.
More Worm Composting Science Facts:
- In all growth trials the best growth responses were exhibited when the vermicompost made up a relatively small proportion (10-20%) of the total volume of the container medium. (p. 17)
- Surprisingly greater proportions of vermicast in the plant growth medium have not always improved plant growth. (p. 17)
- There is a substantial body of evidence to demonstrate that microbes, including bacteria, fungi, etc. also produce ‘plant growth regulators’ such as: auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, and ascorbic acids. (p. 18)
- Since microbe population is significantly boosted by earthworms, large quantities of ‘plant growth regulators” are available in vermicompost. (p. 18)
- Vermicompost is rich in humic acid which promotes plant growth and nutritional uptake. (p. 19)
- Several studies have shown that earthworms effectively bioaccumulate or biodegrade several organic and inorganic chemicals. (p. 19)
- Vermicompost use in crops inhibits soil-born fungal diseases. (p. 19)
- The ability of pathogen suppression disappeared when the vermicompost was sterilized, indicating that the biological mechanism of disease suppression involved was microbial antagonism. (p. 19)
- Buckerfield found that the stimulatory effect of vermicompost on plant growth was apparently destroyed when it was sterilized. (p. 22)
The page number at the end of each fact gives the reference to the research in the original survey! As you can see there has been a lot of favorable research on worm composting.
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