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and maintenance required are minimal, especially when verifying its low cost and

maintenance and the high return in nutritional terms, health improvement and
environmental balance.

➢ It is worth mentioning the level of consciousness that composting in all its forms
introduces into our societies that are increasingly voraciously consumerist and

disconnected from the environment. It is especially curious that the most profound and
simple beings, from bacteria to worms, give us recycling lessons and help us reconnect

with the nature that sustains us. Worms have taught us to convert waste into a resource

and are the very link with our origin and sustenance, we cannot forget them.

9.1.1. The role of vermicompost on soil fertility

The main role of earthworm compost is the change of physical, chemical and biological
properties of the soil by earthworm activities and therefore they are called soil managers. It

significantly improves the structure, texture, aeration of the soil and prevents soil erosion. By

increasing the macropore area between 50 and 500 μm, it causes the air-water relationship in
the soil to improve and thus positively affects plant growth. It also positively affects soil pH,

microbial population and soil enzyme activities. In addition, vermicompost is a rich source of
nutrients such as nitrates, phosphates and exchangeable calcium and soluble potassium. Besides

adding mineralogical nutrients, vermicompost is also rich in beneficial micro-flora such as N-

fixers, P-solubilisers, cellulose-decomposing micro-flora, etc. It also reduces the proportion of
water-soluble chemicals that cause possible environmental contamination. The mucus secreted

by the digestive tract of the earthworm produces certain antibiotics and hormone-like
biochemicals, thereby accelerating plant growth and increasing the decomposition of organic

matter in the soil. Vermicompost has been reported to have favourable effect on growth and
yield parameters of various crops like paddy, sugarcane, brinjal, tomato and okra. Thus,

vermicompost acts as a soil conditioner and a slow-release fertiliser, ultimately improving soil

structure, soil fertility, plant growth and suppressing diseases caused by soil-borne plant
pathogens, increasing crop yields [20, 61–63].

9.1.2. The role of vermicompost on the soil physiochemical properties

Vermicompost improves the physiochemical characteristics of soil, such as soil structure, soil

water holding capacity, penetration resistance, bulk density, soil organic carbon, aggregation,
nutrient content, etc. According to the findings of various long term research addition of

vermicompost reduces the bulk density of the soil and increases the water holding capacity of

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