Techniques for Harvesting Earthworms
The techniques for harvesting earthworms are provided by Jindi Agricultural Earthworm Breeding Base: Obtaining earthworms is one of the main purposes of artificial earthworm breeding. Therefore, timely harvesting of adult worms is a key aspect in the activity of artificial earthworm farming.
Adult earthworms have the habit of not cohabiting with young worms. After a large number of young worms emerge from their cocoons, the adults will automatically move to other feed layers or escape. Therefore, it is very necessary to harvest adult worms before a large number of young worms hatch. The timing for harvesting adult worms is closely related to the growth and development of the worms. From hatching out of the cocoon to sexual maturity, it usually takes about 50 days. At this time, the clitellum becomes distinct, growth slows down, and feed utilization efficiency decreases. If the sole purpose is to harvest the worms, this is the appropriate time for harvesting.
1. Separation of adult worms, worm cocoons, and worm castings is a technical issue that still needs further resolution in the domestic and international earthworm farming industry. Currently, many harvesting methods have been created during the breeding process, mostly based on the living habits of earthworms, using physical or chemical methods, either driving them away or attracting them, or using simple mechanical methods for digging and separation.
1. Light harvesting method: During the harvesting of farmed earthworms, transfer the worms onto a plastic sheet and use sunlight to expose them briefly. The worms will burrow into the lower layer to avoid strong light or high temperatures. Then scrape off the upper layer; the worms will continue to burrow downward, allowing you to scrape again. This cycle repeats until the worms are exposed on the surface, making them easy to collect.
2. Baiting collection method: For earthworms bred in pits, trenches, gardens, large fields, or compost piles, set up bait stations around the breeding area with fresh feed to attract the worms. Mixing a small amount of roasted cake fertilizer into the bait pile improves the effect.
3. Basket baiting collection method: Make an attraction basket with a sieve mesh of 1-4 mm (or 2-3 mm) and fill it with feed that earthworms like (such as banana peels, rotted fruit, watermelon rinds, synthetic resins soaked in beer or alcohol, sponges, etc.). Bury the basket in the feed bed. After about a week at around 20°C, remove it, and many earthworms will have burrowed inside. In a short time, mainly larger worms are attracted; over longer periods, smaller worms also gather to feed. Thus, this method can separate worm castings from worm bodies and also separate large and small worms.
4. Simple screening method: Make a rectangular earthworm screen measuring 1.3 meters long, 0.97 meters wide, and 0.18 meters high, with a screen hole diameter of about 0.5 mm depending on the size of the worms. Also make a rectangular earthworm box measuring 1.34 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 0.2 meters high. When collecting worms, place the screen inside the box and elevate it slightly to allow worms to burrow in. You can raise it by about 2.5 cm, gradually increasing as more worms burrow down.
During screening, put the feed along with the worms into the screen, forming a thick layer of about 5-6 cm, then move a 200-watt bulb back and forth over the screen while using a fine-toothed rake to loosen the top layer of worm castings and promote the worms to burrow down.
2. Collection of worm castings: Timely collection of worm castings serves several purposes: obtaining products, clearing accumulated material from the breeding bed to facilitate feeding and operation, and eliminating environmental pollution to benefit the growth and reproduction of worms. The collection of worm castings often coincides with the collection of worms and feeding, as mentioned earlier. Here are some additional methods:
1. Top-scraping bottom-driving method: After using the bottom-feeding method, most worms concentrate in the lower new feed. You can manually scrape off the worm castings layer by layer from top to bottom. Worms will be driven downward by light exposure until you reach the new feed layer. The treatment of scraped worm powder is the same as the skin removal core method.
2. Skin removal core method: Often used with the top-feeding method, after feeding for a period of time, the top layer of feed has mostly turned into manure, at which point you can collect worm castings. Before collecting, use the top-feeding method to replenish the feed once, then cover with a grass mat. After 2-3 days, when most worms have burrowed into the top layer of new feed to rest and eat, quickly uncover the mat, rapidly scrape the top 15-20 cm layer of new feed to the sides, then remove the central manure. Lay the new feed containing worms back in its original place. The removed manure may contain a small amount of worms, which can be separated using other methods. If the manure contains a large number of worm cocoons, you can place them in one spot for hatching or spread them out to 10 cm thick to dry until they reach about 40% moisture content. Use a sieve with 2-3 mm holes to separate part of the worm manure. Place the remaining material in another bed, add water to 60%, and continue hatching.
Dried worm manure can be directly utilized or stored in plastic bags.
3. Drying and pulverizing earthworms: Apart from direct application, harvested adult worms sometimes need to be stored. To prevent spoilage and enhance palatability, some worms require drying and pulverizing. Drying methods include oven-drying, sun-drying, air-drying, and freeze-drying. Different drying methods significantly affect protein utilization. For example, in the ventilation drying method, overly rapid drying significantly reduces feed intake rates and protein utilization.
After drying, the worm powder made from earthworms can be stored for a long time and added to various animal base feeds like fishmeal, making it easy for animals to consume.
To maintain the allure of fresh worms for fish, pigs, and chickens while overcoming the difficulty of pulverizing fresh worms, we mix fresh worms with a certain proportion of bran in the formula, extrude through a pellet machine, then air-dry the pre-mixed worm feed. Mix with worm manure according to the optimized feed formula. If fresh worms are treated with boiling water, dried worm powder often destroys some special proteins, losing the characteristic of attracting animals to feed.
4. Transporting earthworms:
Generally, for short-term transport of live worms, damp feed or bedding material from the breeding bed can be placed in the container, then the worms added. For long-distance transport, charcoal or paper pulp can be used as filling material, wrapped in gauze and placed in appropriately sized containers. Small quantities of worms can be placed in tin boxes or plastic tubes, sent via small postal packages, or mailed in transit boxes. Some use cardboard boxes similar to those for oranges, filled with damp bedding material, capable of accommodating about 2000 worms for transportation and sale. For large-scale transport, sometimes a tarpaulin is laid in a truck, with damp filler material placed on top, then the worms added. Some keep the worms in a low-temperature state during transport to induce dormancy. Regardless of the transport method, attention should be paid to maintaining suitable humidity and ventilation conditions. Upon arrival at the destination, inspections should be conducted, removing dead or diseased worms, and providing good ecological conditions for live worms.
5. Handling worm castings: Worm casting handling includes drying, sieving, packaging, storage, and transportation. Drying can be natural air-drying or artificial drying. To reduce costs, natural air-drying is preferred. Artificial drying is faster and can kill specific soil fungi. During drying, unless mold is present, there's no need to achieve complete dehydration.
Methods for Collecting Wild Earthworms
1. Choosing the site
Operate in areas rich in wild earthworm resources, specifically varieties that prefer animal feces, such as Eisenia fetida, Amynthas gracilis, and Perionyx excavatus. Suitable locations include homesteads, riverbanks, dry fields, field edges, bamboo forests, and under tree shades. A simple way to determine if an area is rich in wild worms is to dig down 30 cm with a hoe. If there are at least 10 medium to large wild worms in 5 kg of soil, this technique can be implemented.
2. Digging collection pits
Dig one or multiple pits 1 meter wide, length unlimited (depending on the environment), and 0.5 meters deep in areas rich in wild worms. If water seeps into or accumulates in the pit, it cannot be used.
3. Preparing bait manure
The best manure is from cows and horses, followed by pig manure (manure with bedding straw; if pure pig manure, add 40% straw or organic waste from the market). Ferment each ton of manure with 5 kg of EM for about 20 days. Test methods include:
- Check the color; properly fermented manure should be dark brown-yellow, with decomposed straw and no fecal odor.
- Test the pH value; the pH of properly fermented manure should be below 8.
- Conduct a direct test with worms; place a few worms on the fermented manure pile. Qualified manure will have worms burrowing in smoothly without crawling out within 24 hours. Unqualified or nearly qualified manure will cause worms to shake their heads and refuse to burrow in or crawl out after a few hours. In such cases, re-ferment the manure.
Add 800 kg of garden soil to each ton of manure, mix well. Dissolve 3 kg of urea, 5 g of saccharin, 15 ml of pineapple flavoring, and 0.5 kg of vinegar essence in 150 kg of clean water, then evenly sprinkle over the manure pile. Restack the manure and ferment for another week before use.
4. Filling the pit
First, lay a 5 cm thick layer of black garden soil at the bottom of the pit, then place a 40 cm thick layer of fermented manure on top of the black soil, and finally add another 5 cm thick layer of black garden soil on top of the manure. Cover the manure pile with a 10 cm thick layer of rice straw or grass mats. In summer, use shade nets to protect against sunlight; in winter, use agricultural film to protect against cold. Immediately water the pile, preferably with rice washing water or alcohol lees water (1 kg alcohol lees mixed with 8 kg water). In summer, water every 3 days; in winter, every 7 days. Prevent destruction by animals and accumulation of water. In northern regions, increase the thickness of the covering materials and agricultural film (prepare before it gets cold, as wild worms will choose this location for wintering).
5. Harvesting earthworms
The first harvest occurs 20-30 days after placing the material. First, check if there are many worms inside. If there are no worms, the manure might have issues. If only a few worms are present, it means the worms have just started entering and need more time before harvesting.
When a significant number of worms are found, you can begin harvesting. Divide the pile into 15 sections and harvest one section per day, completing a 15-day cycle. Use a hoe to dig, taking the larger worms and leaving the smaller ones. After harvesting each section, re-cover with rice straw or grass mats and water with rice washing water or alcohol lees water on the same day; harvest the second section the next day...
One feeding can last for about half a year. When the number of worms starts to decrease, you need to refill the manure or change the location.
6. Yield and benefits
Yields vary greatly depending on local wild worm resources, generally ranging from 5-15 kg per square meter per month, with a maximum of 25 kg. Costs are extremely low, and the used manure can be reused for planting crops, avoiding waste. Each kilogram of worms used in breeding generally generates over 4 yuan in economic benefits, with simple operations and obvious economic returns.
7. Utilization of worms
Collected wild worms can be used as animal feed. Feeding methods include:
1. For larger aquatic animals, disinfect with 7 parts per million potassium permanganate for 10 minutes before feeding. Feeding quantity can reach 70-100%, or they can be dried and powdered and added to feed, completely replacing fish meal.
2. Chickens: Best to dry and powder before adding to feed, completely replacing fish meal.
3. Ducks: If fed fresh, disinfect with 7 parts per million potassium permanganate for 10 minutes before feeding. Feeding quantity can reach 15-30%, requiring supplementation with other feeds. Can also be dried and powdered and added to feed, completely replacing fish meal.
4. Pigs: Boil worms to death, cut into pieces, and add to feed at a rate of 3-4 liang of fresh worms per day for a 60 kg pig, showing significant weight gain effects. Can also be dried and powdered and added to feed, completely replacing fish meal.
Jindi Agricultural Earthworm Breeding Base wholesales earthworms and Daping No. 3 earthworm seeds. Purchase Daping No. 3 earthworm seeds and receive a free set of earthworm breeding technical data and DVDs. Promotions are ongoing.
For more details, visit the Jindi Agricultural Company website: http://www.jindinongye.com
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