Role of rain words in agriculture

Earthworms live wherever there is dead organic matter and suitable soil moisture. They differ not only in families, genera and species, but also in the types of nutrition and habitat in the soil. 1. Eating organic matter on the soil surface, among them:- living in ground litter of fallen leaves, dead grass, half-rotted branches;- living in the litter and top of the soil;- digging deep holes (up to 1 m or more);2. Eating soil humus or soil proper, among them:- living in the upper part of the soil;- living at medium depths (20–40 cm);- digging deep holes.

Under natural conditions, earthworms lead a burrowing lifestyle, crawling out of the soil at night or in the afternoon, but in wet weather. Since worms inhabit all layers of the soil, therefore, all dead organic matter passes more than once through the digestive tract of the worms, and at the same time turns into fertile soil due to the amazing properties of earthworms. Worms stimulate the humus formation process 52–56 times. They are characterized by a high activity of consumption of plant residues (185% by weight).Soils inhabited by earthworms are usually very abundantly penetrated by their courses. This is due to the fact that one worm can dig a whole system of passages (which can be 4000–7000 km / ha) that communicate with each other and emerge in several places on the surface. On one acre of land there can be up to 500 thousand earthworms that can process up to 5 tons or more of soil per year. The very presence of earthworm moves in the soil changes its properties. By making an extensive network of moves, they increase the area of contact of the soil with air, which ensures the penetration of oxygen and water into the deep layers of the soil. Both of these are necessary for a number of chemical processes, and most importantly, air and water constitute indispensable conditions for the life of soil organisms, primarily bacteria and fungi, whose activity plays an outstanding role in supplying the root systems of higher plants with the substances necessary for them. Air in the soil is also a source of nitrogenous compounds. In addition, cavities in the soil of various origins and of various sizes represent the main habitats of different groups of small soil organisms involved in the production of humus and in its further processing. Worm strokes serve as vehicles of life inland.

The glandular cells of earthworms secrete a large amount of mucous substances, which increases the ease of their sliding on the substrate, protects the body from drying out. In addition, mucous membranes cover the walls of the passages of the worms inside the soil. Water does not erode them, but only soaks them and seeps further into the soil. This gives them much greater strength compared to random cracks in the soil.

Special glands inside the digestive tract of the worms produce lime, which neutralizes the acids produced by the decomposition of organic matter. Digesting it, the worms mix it with the mineral part of the soil, make its reaction neutral and create coprolites. Thus, the giant earthworms of Eisenia magnifica (northwestern Altai) lay huge masses of coprolites only on the soil surface: up to 22 t / ha on light gray forest ones and up to 15 t / ha on typical chernozems. And on the soils of hedges in the lower reaches of the Oder (Poland), worms annually lay 6–7 t / ha of coprolites, on humus sandy soils in the Saar region (Germany) - up to 24–44 t / ha, and in the mountain savannas of Cameroon - no less than 210 t / ha.

Coprolites contain an increased amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Worms translate these elements necessary for plants from an inaccessible form to an accessible one. So worms create a fertile soil, loose, saturated with air, moisture and nutrients available to plants. In addition, coprolites are balanced so that nutrients are released gradually, thereby providing nutrition to plants over a long period of time. By the presence of earthworms in the soil, their condition and activity, it is easy to determine the degree of its fertility. If when digging up the earth in it, worms of bright red color in large quantities, active and large, are found, then this is a sure sign that the soil is highly fertile and you can expect a high yield. If there are few worms in the soil, urgent measures must be taken to introduce manure and other organic fertilizers into the soil.

The more worms in the soil, the more intact coprolites, the looser and more fertile the earth. But there will be many worms if they have enough food. Such a problem is completely absent in the forest, where food is always there. At the same time, on arable land, where the soil structure is destroyed by heavy machinery and nutrients are washed out of the soil, the introduction of organic fertilizers, especially manure and compost, is absolutely necessary.