Earthworms and vermicompost: an eco-friendly approach for repaying nature’s debt

The steady increase in the world’s population has intensified the need for crop productivity, but the majority of the agricultural practices are associated with adverse effects on the environment. Such undesired environmental outcomes may be mitigated by utilizing biological agents as part of farmin...

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Published inEnvironmental geochemistry and health Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 1617 - 1642
Main Authors Singh, Archana, Karmegam, Natchimuthu, Singh, Gopal Shankar, Bhadauria, Tunira, Chang, Soon Woong, Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar, Sudhakar, Sivasubramaniam, Arunachalam, Kantha Deivi, Biruntha, Muniyandi, Ravindran, Balasubramani
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2020
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Agricultural practices
Biofertilizers
Biological weapons
Clean technology
Composting
Crop production
debt
Earth and Environmental Science
Economics
Engineers
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental effects
Environmental Health
Farming
Fertilizers
Food
Geochemistry
Original Paper
Pesticides
Population
Public Health
Soil
Soil Science & Conservation
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable development
sustainable technology
Technology
Terrestrial Pollution
Vermicomposting
vermicomposts
Worms
Vermicompost
Soil degradation
Sustainable agriculture
Organic waste management
Earthworms
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Summary:The steady increase in the world’s population has intensified the need for crop productivity, but the majority of the agricultural practices are associated with adverse effects on the environment. Such undesired environmental outcomes may be mitigated by utilizing biological agents as part of farming practice. The present review article summarizes the analyses of the current status of global agriculture and soil scenarios; a description of the role of earthworms and their products as better biofertilizer; and suggestions for the rejuvenation of such technology despite significant lapses and gaps in research and extension programs. By maintaining a close collaboration with farmers, we have recognized a shift in their attitude and renewed optimism toward nature-based green technology. Based on these relations, it is inferred that the application of earthworm-mediated vermitechnology increases sustainable development by strengthening the underlying economic, social and ecological framework. Graphic abstract
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ISSN:0269-4042
1573-2983
1573-2983
DOI:10.1007/s10653-019-00510-4