ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF THREE KINDS OF FERTILIZERS ON THE CROP YIELD OF BRASSICA CAMPESTRIS (L.)

Farmers of the western Uttar Pradesh state of the country ,applying different kinds of chemical fertilizers into their cropping fields for better crop yield.But continuous use of these fertilizers for a long time period, reduce the fertility power of the soil.Thereby several researchers carried out research work on these lines and proved that as per current requirement, use of chemical fertilizers into the soil system is not suitable for fertile soil.In the present studies, three kinds of fertilizers were used for the better production of Brassica campestris. It was assessed and recorded that maximum production of Brassica was noticed 2.17 times more in those experimental plots who were treated with the vermicompost, prepared by earthworms, of the genus Eisenia fetida than that of plots treated with the market fertilizers (NPK and Urea). Although, Farm Yard Manure (FYM) biocompost also showed better results than the chemical fertilizers and control (without any fertilizers). Hence, these studies concluded that use of chemical fertilizers should be stopped and use of biofertilizers should be accepted and started in the form of vermicompost and FYM into the cropping fields for better crop yield of various crops.

Evaluation of antitumor activities of different epigeic earthworms

Earthworms have a long association with the medicinal property as the biomolecules/compounds produced bythe earthworms are of pharmacological importance with high potential in the eradication of various diseases withvery low cost. Researchers have proved that earthworms are immune to malignant diseases such as differentkinds of cancers. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the antitumor activities of differentepigeic earthworms, such as Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida, and Perionyx excavatus. The cytotoxicity assaywas tested through 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay on MichiganCancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells by exposing them at various concentrations (200, 400, 600, 800, and 1,000µg/ml) of different epigeic earthworm powders and standard antitumor chemotherapy drug Cisplatin (15 µg/ml).The percent growth inhibition/percent viability of MCF-7 cells varies with different concentrations of earthwormpowder. The IC50 value was more prominent with E. fetida (113.97 µg/ml), followed by E. eugeniae (825.67 µg/ml) and P. excavatus (1,617.31 µg/ml). Based on the above results, it can be concluded that the tissues of theearthworm, E. fetida, seems to be a very good anticancer agent against MCF-7 cells as compared to other twoearthworm species. Therefore, such studies could be useful in the future for the development of novel therapeuticagents against different types of cancers, further molecular level experimental studies are required to ascertainthe pathways and genes responsible for the anticancer effect, and thereby, we can exploit the beneficial aspectsof various earthworm species in drug delivery research and also in pharmaceutical applications.

In vitro anthelmintic activity of methanol extracts and fractions of two amphilophium species against Eisenia Fetida

This work aimed to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the anthelmintic activity of the methanolextracts and fractions from Amphilophium paniculatum and Amphilophium crucigerum against Eiseniafetida. A preliminary phytochemical analysis was performed to assess the presence of groups of secondarymetabolites. The plants were extracted with methanol to obtain the crude extracts. The extracts were submittedto partition with solvents of increasing polarity to obtain the corresponding fractions. The methanolic extractsand the fractions obtained were tested for anthelmintic activity against E. fetida, using albendazole as a positivecontrol. The phytochemical test demonstrated the presence of flavonoids, saponins, and steroids/triterpenes forA. paniculatum and alkaloids, tannins, saponins, and steroids/triterpenes for A. crucigerum. The extracts andfractions of both plants showed a statistically significant decrease of the times of paralysis and death comparedto albendazole. The results obtained showed that the methanolic extracts and fractions of A. paniculatum and A.crucigerum contain compounds that possess anthelmintic activity. The isolation of the substances responsibleof the biological effect described could result in the development of new drugs to treat helminth diseases.

Impact of Biofertilizers on Growth and Reproductive Performance of Eisenia fetida (Savigny 1926) During Flower Waste Vermicomposting Process.

The growth and reproductive performance of epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida in biofertilizers enriched flower waste vermicomposting was studied for 80 days in the laboratory. Six feeding compositions – Co-Flower waste (FW) alone; A- FW + Earthworms (E. fetida); B- FW+ EW + Azospirillum (Azos); C- FW + EW+ Phosphobacteria (PB); DFW+ EW+ Blue green algae (BGA); E- FW + EW + Rhizobium (Rhizo). Maximum number of earthworms was recorded in C and minimum number in A, highest average body weight was observed in E and least in A. Maximum average body length was noted in B and minimum in A. Higher reproductive performance of earthworms under the influence of biofertilizers were clearly visible in C and E than A. The microbial populations and availability of food materials from biofertilizers enriched flower waste increases the biomass, average body weight, average body length and also increases the reproductive performance of earthworms in the vermicomposting process.

Utilização de casca de arroz e esterco bovino como substrato Eisenia fetida Savigny (1826) / Rice husk and cattle manure used as substrate for the Eisenia fetida Savigny (1826) multiplication

A utilização de minhocas, principalmente para a alimentação animal, vem sendo adotada e estudada, pois esses organismos apresentam em sua constituição vitaminas e aminoácidos. Entre os materiais possíveis de serem utilizados na minhocultura, atualmenteincentiva-se o aproveitamento de resíduos agroindustriais de alta disponibilidade, como a casca de arroz no Rio Grande do Sul. Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar a eficiência de substratos à base de casca de arroz e esterco bovino na multiplicação e produção de biomassa de minhocas (Eisenia fetida). A população de minhocas foi avaliada quanto ao número de cocons, ao índice de multiplicação(população final/população inicial) e à biomassa de minhocas frescas e secas. A avaliação foi realizada aos 60 dias após a instalação do experimento, com quatro repetições. A análise estatística dos resultados mostrou que a inclusão de casca de arroz favoreceu o desenvolvimento e a taxa de reprodução das minhocas. A maior biomassa de minhocas foi obtida nos tratamentos: 50% casca de arroz inteira e 50% esterco bovino, esterco bovino mais casca de arroz inteira tratada com hidróxido de amônio a 20 e 40%, e esterco bovino mais casca de arroz moída tratada com hidróxido de sódio a 10 e 40%. Conclui-se que a adição de casca de arroz ao esterco bovino favorece a multiplicação e o desenvolvimento de E. fetida.

The use of earthworms for animal feeding has been adopted and studied, because these organisms are rich in vitamins and essential amino acids. Among the organic materials that could be used in the earthworm breeding, highly available agroindustrial residues such as rice husk are being currently used in Rio Grande do Sul. The aim of this work was to evaluate substrate based on rice husk and cattle manure on the multiplication and biomass of earthworms (Eisenia fetida). In this work, the population of earthworms, the cocoon numbers, the multiplication index, as well as fresh and dry biomass of earthworms were evaluated. The evaluation was performed 60 days after the installation of the experiment and each treatment had four replications. Thestatistical analysis of the results showed that the inclusion of rice husk favored the development and rate of earthwormreproduction. The highest earthworm biomass was obtained in the treatments 50% rice husk and 50% cattle manure, cattle manure plus rice husk with ammonium hydroxide at 20 and 40%, and cattle bovine plus ground rice husk with sodium hydroxide at 10 and 40%. It was concluded that the addition of rice husk to the cattle manure was efficient in the multiplication and development of E. fetida.