Earthworms (Oligochaeta) reproduction in manure and sugar-cane bagasse

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the reproductibility of adult earthworms. The first experiment was conducted using the following ratio (w/w) of manure: chopped bagasse, 0:1, 1:3, 1:1, 3:1 and 1:0. The second experiment was conducted in one litter pot using the following ratio (v/v) of manure: ground bagasse, 1:3 and 1:1, selected from the first experiment results. In both experiments half of the pots were inoculated with Acetobacter diazotrophicus (Gillis et al., 1989). Except for the 0:1 manure:bagasse ratio, all other ratios were favorable for the earthworm reproduction. The highest number of earthworms was found at 1:1 and 3:1 ratios, for chopped bagasse. The highest adult survival occurred for the mixture manure:chopped bagasse at the proportion 1:3. No death was found for the ground bagasse treatments. No difference was observed for A. diazotrophicus inoculation over the worms reproductivity.