CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to best breed earthworms

How to breed earthworms best

Generally speaking, earthworm nymphs come out to forage at night and hide in the soil again before dawn. So how to breed earthworms? Here I will introduce the breeding methods of earthworms for you, welcome to read.

Key points of earthworm breeding

(1) Breeding conditions. Earthworms like to live in dark, moist, loose soil rich in humus. They are highly adaptable and can be raised anywhere as long as a certain temperature and humidity are maintained.

(2) Three-dimensional factory breeding. The equipment used to raise earthworms is relatively simple, and plastic basins can be used for small-scale breeding. If you want to breed earthworms on a large scale, you can adopt a three-dimensional multi-layer breeding platform. The specific method is: lay bricks against the wall in the house, and the height of each layer should be about 30-38cm. It is best to use cement boards for the layer boards, and 5-7 layers of breeding platforms can be built on each wall. Practice has shown that this type of breeding platform can make the indoor temperature 6-10℃ higher than that of a flat pool, and the growth and development of earthworms is significantly accelerated. It only takes about 7 months to complete a generation, and the annual output is significantly increased.

(3) Feed configuration. Earthworms are omnivorous insects. They can be fed anything that pigs can eat, such as wheat bran, rice bran, cake meal, green fodder, potatoes, vegetable leaves, bones, etc. They only need to be fed once every night. Earthworms are the most voracious food for earthworms, so they can be used in pig breeding.

(4) Scientific management. Scientific management is the key to success in artificially raising earthworms. Mites are common parasites in earthworms. To prevent and control them, use chlorfenapyr and 20% mite egg ester powder, dilute with 1:400 times and mix into the breeding soil. Mites can also be removed by replacing the breeding soil in time or using fried dough sticks, bones, and pumpkin flowers as bait.

Hatching of earthworm eggs

Choose a plastic basin with a smooth inner wall (50-80 cm) diameter, place 4 kg of eggs in it, and mix it with 1/2 of the volume of breeding soil. The temperature of the breeding soil should be kept at about 40℃ (grab it into a ball, and it will break when it falls freely). The thickness of the basin with eggs and soil is 8-10 cm. The breeding soil should be prepared in advance and placed in the incubator for preheating. The temperature difference cannot exceed 5℃. During the incubation period, the temperature should be maintained at 25-30℃ (the incubation temperature is preferably 28℃). Turn the eggs by hand 2-3 times a day. When turning, the movement should be gentle to avoid damaging the earthworm egg mass. After 35-40 days of incubation, a large number of larvae will break out of the shell. At this time, the larvae can be screened out (using a 4 mm sieve), and the screened eggs are mixed with breeding soil again. The larvae can be placed in a 10 cm thick breeding soil pool for breeding, and the larvae are screened every 2 days.

Note: The formula of feeding soil is: the topsoil in the vegetable garden is sieved with a 4mm sieve, mixed with 50% burnt rice husk ash and mixed evenly. If some livestock manure or crushed crop straw or sawdust is added, the feeding soil will be fertile and loosened better. The moisture of the feeding soil is such that it can be grasped by hand and will break into pieces when it falls to the ground.

Feeding and management of earthworms

(l) Larvae feeding and management

Larvae start to eat 2 days after hatching. At this time, you can feed them some wheat bran, fruits, pumpkin flowers, small green vegetables, and pumpkin shreds. During the larval period, you can add some nutritious food such as soybean powder, eggs, and milk. Just sprinkle the feed on the surface of the breeding pool and keep the temperature at 25-43℃.

(2) Feeding and management of middle worms

The management of Chinese insects is relatively extensive, and there are no special requirements for feed, as long as they can eat enough.

(3) Feeding and management of egg-laying insects

Egg-laying worms require the soil to be 12 to 15 cm thick, and the feed requires a ratio of 50% green fodder and concentrated feed. If you can add a little soybean powder or animal meat scraps, it will be better to increase the nutrition of the earthworms. The feeding situation is that there is not much feed left on the surface of the earthworm pool by the next morning. The temperature in the breeding pool can be maintained at around 25℃, and the humidity is 60% to 70%. If the humidity is not enough, you can use a pesticide-free sprayer to humidify it, requiring small amounts and multiple times.

Feeding method of earthworm breeding method

1. Scattered feeding: This is a simple feeding method, just spread the feed evenly on the surface of the breeding soil. This method is suitable for feeding adult insects and is also suitable for farmers who have mastered the breeding amount.

2 Feeding on feeding boards: Feeding boards can be made of thin wood or cardboard, preferably 20 cm long and wide. Place several feeding boards on the surface of the breeding soil and sprinkle the feed on the feeding boards. This method is suitable for feeding newly hatched young nymphs, adults and egg-laying insects. Since earthworms mostly move around the edges and corners of the pond, feeding boards should be placed in these places.

Disease and Pest Control of Earthworms

Main pests

(l) Mites

Scrape off the top layer of soil in the breeding pond, sift it out with a sieve (window screen), and throw away the soil. If there are some earthworms on the sieve, mix them with lime powder and put them in the earthworm pond. Do it once a day. After 5 days, there will be basically no mites. Disinfection. Clean the ground, take veterinary trichlorfon tablets and dissolve them in 2000 times clean water, and then spray the ground with the liquid for disinfection.

Taking advantage of the habit of earthworms to hide during the day and come out at night, place fried dough sticks and fried sugar on the feeding plate during the day to lure mites to eat. Take them out two hours later and treat them to kill them. Repeat this several times to reduce the damage caused by mites. If mites have multiplied in large numbers in the breeding pond and caused harm, the only option is to replace the breeding soil.

(2) Natural enemies

Earthworms have many natural enemies, such as rats, ants, spiders, chickens, ducks, cats, etc. The breeding pool should be sealed to prevent the entry of natural enemies. For spider control, vacuum cleaners can be used once a week.

What is the prospect of raising earthworms now?

Hello, earthworm breeding is a traditional Chinese medicinal material. The price is not particularly high, the market prospect is average, and large-scale breeding also has certain benefits. I am a farmer who has been breeding centipedes in Hubei for many years and also raises some earthworms. Suizhou Xinxin Centipede will answer your questions. If you are satisfied, please give me extra points