Culture techniques of earthworms

The living habits of earthworms

1. Temperature preference: 15 ℃-25 ℃ is the best temperature. In order to create the best temperature, plastic greenhouse or plastic sheeting is buckled in winter, rice straw is covered in summer, more water is sprinkled to cool down, 0 ℃-5 ℃ hibernates, freezing to death below 0 ℃, death above 40 ℃, growth stops above 32 ℃, plastic sheeting is buckled on October 25 in Beijing area, and removed on April 10 of the following year, so that earthworms grow until December 20, and then to February 10 of the following year. Basically dormant, from February gas, to prevent the temperature is too high, earthworms escape, pay attention to uncover 10 days in time, gradually turn to the best temperature, at this time to pay special attention to high-temperature plastic sheeting. At this time, it is the hardest to uncover the plastic sheeting around during the day, cover it in time in the morning and evening, and water and moisturize in time, so that from March to June 10 is the spring spawning peak period for earthworms. During the high temperature period, it is necessary to prevent heat and cool down. It is best to water once a day. August 10 to August 20 is the summer day after to gradually enter dormancy. At the end of September, earthworms lay eggs for the second time.

2. Like wet and afraid of dryness: the water content in the earthworm is about 80%, and the bait water content is 60% Mur80% (to hold the material by hand, finger seam dripping shall prevail), so the culture bed water content is more than 60%, so every day or every 1-2 days, the water must be watered once, the water is not too large, but the water should be thoroughly watered and connected with the underlying materials, and the watering time is noon in winter, evening in summer, and daytime in spring and autumn.

3, like dark, afraid of light: earthworms go out day and night, foraging can be seen in the moonlight, and the breeding bed should be covered with straw to keep it moist and shaded.

4, like air, like quiet, loose bait is conducive to the growth of earthworms, our many years of experience is to turn over the bed before feeding (about 20 cm thick) to increase ventilation. This is very important. Over the years, we have found that the number of earthworms at the bottom of the bed soil is very small, but there is still bait, mainly the lack of air, which is disadvantageous to the growth of earthworms.

Culture method

1. Breeding species: Chizi Aisheng worm, "Daping No.2" introduced from Japan is characterized by high reproduction rate, annual multiplication of more than 200 times, good settlement, heat resistance and cold resistance, suitable for production all the year round, and high yield of earthworm and earthworm dung.

2. Breeding method: ten years since the establishment of the farm, we have been adhering to open-air composting farming. I think this method has low cost and is the best way to produce earthworm products on a large scale without any investment equipment and making use of all free land. As long as the unfermented cow dung, horse manure and pig manure are made into 15-20 cm high, 1-1.5 m wide and unlimited in length, they can be farmed by putting them into earthworms, covering straw, shading and moisturizing them. We started raising from a few square meters, and up to now, this method has been used for the propagation of more than 200 mu of land. Its advantage is that it is easy to operate, saves a series of work of stacking and fermentation, keeps the bait from nutrient loss, and improves the growth rate of earthworms. It is easy to be popularized and applied in rural areas. This method also has its disadvantages: once the bait is hot, earthworms die without corpses, and after rainy days and rainstorms in summer, the bed is impervious and there is a phenomenon of escape. The way to avoid it is to have new bait in each breeding bed. The bait is stacked in blocks to create good bottom-up conditions for earthworms. The key to this method is to keep the water content of the bait at 60-70%, not too dry and too wet, otherwise the bait will heat and cause death.

Reproduction and growth

1. Cocoon yield: Daping No.2 earthworm produces between 56 and 58 cocoons per year, of which 40% are produced in spring, 25% in summer, 27% in autumn and 8% in winter.

2. Hatching rate: an average of 5-8 young worms are hatched in a cocoon, with a maximum of 12, but there are generally only 3-4 fully developed young worms. The hatching rate varies with the time required for hatching at different temperatures.

3. Growth period: the body weight of young worms increases slowly, and after entering Yu stage, the growth is also slow, and earthworms grow fastest only within one month before and after sexual maturity. At this time, high yield can be obtained. In addition, the growth rate of earthworms is closely related to the state of bait. Although the food is the same, the growth rate of young worms can be 1.5 times different because of their different fineness, so it is necessary to keep the food fine and avoid large and small clumps (if there are lumps, you can use water to wet and mash) to ensure the rapid growth of earthworms.

4. culture density: the number of earthworms should be controlled within 10, 000 per square meter, producing 3 kilograms (2-31000) of earthworms per square meter, 30, 000 young worms per square meter in the early stage and 20, 000 in the later stage.

5. Output: the output per square meter can reach 10 kg / year, generally 6-8 kg. (because the annual production period in the north is only 8-10 months) for every 25-30 kg of bait consumption, 1 kg of fresh worms can be produced and 70% of earthworm dung can be obtained. our many years' experience is that 5 square cattle dung produces one ton of earthworm dung and 50 kg of fresh worms.

Feeding and management

1. Feeding of bait: feeding sufficient bait to earthworms in time is an important measure to ensure the rapid growth of earthworms. Put the bait on the heap, the thickness is 10 centimeters, do not cover the bed, do not ask for leveling, in order to separate earthworms.

2. Earthworm culture temperature: the best temperature is 15-25 ℃. In winter, the use of thickened breeding bed to 40-50 cm, bait covered with straw, plus plastic sheeting, heat preservation, moisturizing, summer strive to water once a day to cool down. Feeding by stages: it can be divided into seed group, breeding group and production group, feeding frequently, feeding twice a month, turning the bed before feeding, each feeding thickness of 10 cm, always keeping the bait fresh and breathable, timely harvest: once a month in summer, once every 1.5 months in spring and autumn, and replenishing materials in time after harvest. Rotation renewal: the species of worms should be renewed once a year, and the breeding beds should be changed once a year, so as to protect the exuberance of earthworms and prevent the decline of earthworms caused by natural development.

3, bait: preferably cow dung, pig dung, horse dung, sheep dung, rabbit dung, pig, sheep, rabbit dung plus straw, straw.

Harvesting of earthworms

The best method is natural light collection. Earthworms are found in the breeding bed, with a density of 20,000 to 30,000 pieces per square meter, and 80% of individuals reach more than 0.3 grams, which is the best harvest time. When harvesting, pour enough water 24 hours before extraction, do not be too dry and too wet, and then concentrate 70% of the 10 cm bait above the breeding bed on the cement floor or plastic sheeting, taking advantage of the light-afraid characteristics of earthworms, layer by layer, the bait will be removed, and finally, the earthworms will be concentrated at the bottom to achieve the purpose of collection.