Potencial productivo de la lombriz roja (Eisenia foetida) en la dinamización de los agroecosistemas.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyze the technical information in academic networks on vermiculture and the opportunities offered by its production for livestock agroecosystem revitalization; therefore, data was collected from different repositories of universities in Latin America and scientific journals to obtain enough information that allows us to continue studying it in depth. Many of the studies used in this work were from Escuela Superior Poiltécnica de Chimborazo, Escuela Superior Politécnica Agropecuaria de Manabi, Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo, and Universidad Técnica de Babahoyo. Waste products (cattle, guinea pig, sheep, poultry, and swine manure) were used, obtaining the best results with cattle manure (12,500 young earthworms/m2 at 120 days and 14,028 young earthworms/m2 with the addition of actinomycetes). On the other hand, the quality of humus produced will be closely related to the food supplied to the animals from which the manure is obtained. Cattle manure presents the best balance of nutrients. Besides, it has good palatability, and it is easy to be assimilated by worms, obtaining the highest amount of humus (60kg/m2). A positive cost/benefit ratio was attained with the substrates used in this study, but cattle manure with six months maturity. Guinea pig and poultry manure showed the lowest positive values because of the reduced humus content, which was reflected in costs. It is concluded that humus made from cattle manure shows the best characteristics both in quantity and quality. Therefore, it is recommended to use this substrate to produce humus, always considering the soil requirements.