Comparative Study on the Biology of Eudrilus Eugeniae (Kinberg) and Eisenia Fetida (Savigny) Under Laboratory Conditions

2009·2 MB·English

by  S S Hundal

,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE BIOLOGY OF EUDRILUS EUGENIAE
10.
(KINBERG) AND EISENIA FETIDA (SAVIGNY) UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS
S.S. Hundal1 andZinia2
'DepartmentofZoology, PunjabAgriculturalUniversity,Ludhiana 141 004,Punjab, India. Email: [e-mail]
^DepartmentofZoology,KhalsaCollegeforWomen-CivilLines,Ludhiana 141 001, Punjab, India. Email: [e-mail]
Introduction wereexaminedforclitellumdevelopment.Theywereweighed
Many species on our planet, such as bacteria, fungi, after drying on tissue paper. All earthworms and substrate
protozoa, nematodes, live in soil. The diversity of these werethenreturnedtotherespectivecontainers.Noadditional
animals is necessary to sustain key functions of the agro- feedwasaddedatanystageduringthestudyperiod. Cocoon
ecosystem. Earthworms have been long recognized to have production was recorded weekly. Afterthe earthworms laid
the capability of converting poor soil into rich soil. The cocoons,thecocoonswereseparatedfromeachdishbyhand.
accumulationofsolidwastesisanuphilltask,themanagement Freshly laid cocoons were kept separately in Petri dishes
of which can be done by enhancing the scope of (8.6 x 8.6 cm) with substrate and observed every three days
vermitechnology. Earthworms can be cultured and laterput to record hatching. The cocoons were kept in the same
tovarioususes,i.e.,toimprovesoilfertility,toconvertorganic substrate in which their parents had grown as followed by
wasteintomanure,toproduceprotein-richfoodforlivestock, Dominguez etal. (2001). These cocoons were further used
drug andvitamin source as natural detoxicant, and abaitfor forstudyingdifferentlifestagesofE.fetidaandE. eugeniae.
fish (Ghosh 2004). Mean numberofhatchlings were recorded in each plate.
Forthesepurposes,themostcommonlyculturedspecies
ofearthwormworldwideisEiseniafetida alsoknownasthe Results
,
TigerorBrandlingworm(Haimi 1990).Othersuitablespecies Growth rate -The mean weight offive earthworms
includeLumbricusrubelles,EudriluseugeniaeandPerionyx of Eudrilus eugeniae was 7.489 ±0.07 gm, which was
excavatus (Edwards 1995). Eudrilus eugeniae is used significantly (P<0.05) higher than mean weight of 3.926
extensively for bio-composting in the tropics, especially ±0.04 gm attained by Eiseniafetida. The maximum weight
Africa and Asia, and is capable of bioconversion of large (worm 1)gainofE. eugeniaewas 141 mgperweekasagainst
quantities oforganic waste (Sinhaetal. 2002). 56 mg per week for E.fetida (Fig. 1). The growth rate has
Before recommending the use of any species on a been a good comparative index to compare the growth of
commercial level, it is imperative that the reproductive different earthworm species as indicated by Edwards et al.
biology and the growth of the species be worked out. The (1998). Maximum weight gain ofabout 60 mg per week in
present study was designed to compare the life cycle of caseofE.fetida,comparabletothepresentobservations,has
Eudriluseugeniaewith thereference species Eiseniafetida
under laboratory conditions using farm yard manure as a
substrate.
TostudythereproductionandgrowthofEiseniafetida
and Eudrilus eugeniae, five non-clitellated hatchlings of
both species, weighing 500-550 mg were observed. Each
was introduced separately in rectangular plastic containers
(18.5 x 13.5 cm) containing 200 gm of farm yard manure
(FYM).These were placed in triplicate at room temperature
andcontinually monitoredformortality, sexual maturityand
cocoon production. The moisture content of substrate was
maintained at about 80%. Duration oflife cycle, incubation
time (in days) for cocoons to hatch and the number of 012345678
—
hatchlingsfromonecocoonwerethereproductiveparameters Eisenia
recorded (Table 1). The mean values were calculated from — —
No. ofweeks I Eudrilus
the triplicate sets. The substrate in the container was turned
out, earthworms were separated by hand, after which they Fig. 1: Growth of Eiseniaand Eudrilus
352 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 106 (3), Sept-Dec 2009
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
8i
clitellum
developement
g cocoon
Eudrilus Eisenia production
Fig. 2: Age (in days) at which worms of in FYM both Fig. 3: Time duration ofstartofclitellum developmentand
speciesdeveloptheclitellum. Each batch consistsoffiveworms cocoon production intwo speciesofearthworms
beenreportedbyearlierworkers (Graff 1974;Watanabe and productionstartedafteraweekinbothspeciesafterattaining
Tsukamoto 1976). Dominguez etal. (2001), however, have sexual maturity. The cocoon production per worm per day
reportedamaximumweightgainperweekof280mg,which for E.fetida was 0.47 ±0.07, and for E. eugeniae was 0.62
is in contrast to the present observations. The record of ±0.06 (Fig. 3). Cocoon production was thus higher in
increase of weight per worm per week by Reinecke et al. E. eugeniae. Mean cocoon production per worm per day of
(1992)was 150mgandcomparabletoourresults.Chaudhari E. eugeniae washigherthan0.46asreportedby Reineckeet
etal. (2004) have recorded similarcomparable growth rates al. (1992), but lower than 1.26 as reported by Vilijoen and
of202 mg per week in E. eugeniae and 44 mg per week in Reinecke (1989). Knieriemen (1985) and Dominguez et al.
E.fetida using rubber leaflitter as substrate. The results of (2001) reported mean cocoon production per worm per day
thisstudycorroboratetheearlierfindingsthatthereisageneral of 0.50 and 0.55 respectively for E. eugeniae. The mean
ruleestablishingadirectrelationshipbetweenthegrowthand cocoonproductionperwormperdayforbothspeciesduring
quality of feed material, i.e., substrate (Butt 1993; Elvira the present investigation is shown in Fig. 4.
etal. 1997), except forlocal climatic differences. Incubation period and number ofhatchlings from
Clitellum developmentand cocoon production-In one cocoon - The mean incubation period for E. eugeniae
boththeepigeicspeciesstudied,clitellumdevelopmentisan was 17 ±0.82 days and 21 ±2.5 days for E.fetida. Reinecke
indication of attaining sexual maturity (Fig. 2). Clitellum et al. (1992) recorded incubation period of 15 days for
developed in E. eugeniae in 36 days with all worms being E. eugeniaeand 19daysforE.fetida.Dominguezetal. (2001)
fullyclitellateby42days. In E.fetida thefirstfullyclitellate reported incubation period of 14 days in E. eugeniae. The
,
individual was observed after 44 days, with all the worms presentstudyrevealsthat,thehatchlingsofE. eugeniaefrom
being fully clitellate by 52 days after hatching. Reinecke et a single cocoon ranged between one and three. Only few
al. (1992) and Dominguez etal. (2001) reported a duration cocoons produced four hatchlings (Fig. 4). Vilijoen and
of35daysforattainingsexualmaturityincaseofE. eugeniae Reinecke (1989) reported that cocoons of E. eugeniae can
while Harteinstein et al. (1979) reported 42-56 days as the produce up to five hatchlings. The maximum number of
duration for producing cocoons in E. fetida. Cocoon hatchlings observed in the present study from a cocoon was
Table 1: Reproductive parametersof Eisenia fetidaand Eudriluseugeniae
S.No. Reproductiveparameters Eisenia fetida Eudriluseugeniae
1. Duration of lifecycle (days) 70±1.24b 58±0.82a
2. Cocoonproduction (worm ’day') 0.47 ±0.07b 0.62 ±0.06a
3. Incubation period (days) 21 ±2.5b 17±0.82a
4. No. ofhatchlingsfrom onecocoon 1-5 1-3
5. Mean numberof hatchlings 3.3±0.94a 2.66±0.44a
a,b: Significantdifference-t-test (p<0.05)
Valuesare mean ±SD (Triplicateset)
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 106 (3), Sept-Dec 2009 353
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Eisenia Eudrilus
Fig.4: Meancocoonproductionperworm perdayintwospecies Fig. 5: Mean Numberof hatchlings percocoon in both species
up to five in E. fetida, which is higher than in E. eugeniae in organic matter in the absence ofsoil and can be used for
(Fig.5).EvansandGuild(1948)observed 1-4hatchlingsfrom the conversion oforganic wastes into compost. E. eugeniae
one cocoon in E. fetida while Dhiman and Battish (2005) has a shorter life cycle (58 days), highercocoon production
observedemergenceoftwohatchlingsfromcocoonofE.fetida. (0.62), shorter incubation period (17 days) than E. fetida.
Life cycle - Life cycle duration was 58 days for Though,E. eugeniaehaslessmeannumberofhatchlingsfrom
E. eugeniae while it was 70 days for E.fetida, as the single cocoon it is well-compensated by the growth rate of
incubation period for E. eugeniae was shorter. Reinecke et 141 mgperweek.ThefindingsindicatethatE. eugeniaehas
al. (1992)observed lifecycle durationof60and 70days for ahigherreproductionpotentialthanE.fetidaandinfavourable
E. eugeniae and E. fetida respectively. The present results conditions is a fastergrowing earthworm.
follow a trend similar to earlier findings in different
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
laboratoriesoftheworld. However, indirectcontrastarethe
observations of Tripathi and Bhardwaj (2004) who have
reportedupto 120daysforE.fetidatocompleteitslifecycle. We thank the Professor and Head, Department of
Itisprobablyduetotheambientclimaticconditions(hotand Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University for providing the
dry in Rajasthan) where the experiment was conducted. necessary facilities for conducting research and the Punjab
Agricultural University forproviding financial assistance in
Conclusion theformofMeritFellowshiptoZiniaduringtheentirecourse
BothEiseniafetidaandEudriluseugeniaecansurvive ofthis study.
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—
CORTIELLA CAESPITOSA SHAN & SHEH (APIACEAE)
11.
ANEW ENTRANT TO INDIA
DebabrataMaity1
'TaxonomyandBiosystematicsLaboratory, DepartmentofBotany, Universityof Calcutta,35, BallygungeCircularRoad,
Kolkata700019,WestBengal India. Email: [e-mail]
,
The genus Cortiella Norman was established by A detailed description along with illustrations and a
Norman (in J. Bor. 75: 94. 1937) with the single species key to the species of Cortiella are presented in order to
Cortiella hookeri (C.B. Clarke) Norman based on Cortia facilitate its identity.
hookeri C.B. Clarke, distributed in the Sikkim Himalaya,
India. The genus Cortiella was segregated from Cortia DC., KeytothespeciesofCortiellaNorman
mainly based on the characters of rays and the morphology 1. Plant smaller, less than 5 cm diam.; leaves 1- (2-) pinnate;
offruits.Anotherspecies, CortiellacaespitosaShan & Sheh pedicels dilated at tip, collar-like C. caespitosa
—
(in Acta Phytotax. Sin. 18: 376. 1980) has been described Plants larger, more than 7 cm diam.; leaves 2- (3-) pinnate;
fromXizangareaofTibet(China)andconsideredasendemic pedicels neverdilated at tip 2
toChina (Menglan andWatson 2005). Watson added athird 2. Ultimateleafsegmentslonger,morethan4mm;wingsonfruits
species C. cortioides(Norman)Watson(inEdinburghJ. Bot. convoluted C. cortioides
—
53: 130. 1996) based on Selinum cortioides Norman. Ultimateleafsegmentssmaller,lessthan4mm;wingsonfruits
Presently, all the three species are known to occur in the not convoluted C. hookeri
Eastern Himalayas from Nepal, India (Sikkim), Bhutan to
China (Tibet). Mukherjee and Constance (1993) in their Cortiella caespitosa R.H. Shan & M.L. Sheh, Acta
revision oftheFamilyUmbelliferae (Apiaceae)ofIndiahad Phytotax. Sin. 18: 376. 1980; Menglan & Watson, FI. China
maintained two species, Cortiella hookeri (C.B. Clarke) 14:154.2005 (Fig. 1).
Norman and C. cortioides (Norman) Watson (as Selinum Stemless, caespitose, perennial herb, 3.5-5.0 cm in
cortioidesNorman). diam.Leavesfew,rosulate,oblonginoutline, 1.5-2.5cmlong,
mm
DuringthefloristicstudiesofSikkimHimalayasIcame uni-tosub-bipinnate;leafletsto5 long;ultimatesegments
across a few gatherings of Cortiella in the herbaria of obovate-ellipticorlinear,c. 2x1 mm,simpleor2-(3-)lobed.
Botanical Survey of India, Sikkim Himalayan Circle, thick, glabrous; petioles sheathing at base, sparsely
Gangtok, Sikkim (BSHC), and Central National Herbarium puberulous. Inflorescence a compound umbel; umbellule
(CAL),whichhadbeencollectedfromtheSikkimHimalaya, several (c. 10), crowded, unequal to equal, 0.5-1.5 cm long,
andidentifiedasCortiellahookeri.Thesmallcaespitosehabit glabrous, c. 10-flowered; bracteoles simple, linear-oblong
along with uni- to sub-bipinnate leaves and collar-like (-elliptic),c. 3-4x0.5-l mm,puberulousalongmargin.Flowers
mm
expandedpediceltipclearlyrevealedthatall thesespecimens bluish-green, white- orpurple-tinged; pedicels 2-5 long,
&
aretrulyCortiellacaespitosaShan Sheh,butnotC.hookeri dilated above, glabrous; receptacle annular; petals subequal,
as identified earlier. Further, the identity of the specimens obovate-elliptic, c. 1.5x0.8 mm, apex strongly inflexed,
was also confirmed by comparison with the protologue and apiculate;midveinthinlywinged,purplish;stamenssubequal,
mm mm
the other literature as Flora ofChina (Menglan and Watson c. 2 long; filaments 1.2-1.5 long, often with a
2005). Thus, its presence is a new record for India from the constriction towards apex, vein lateral; ovary oblongoid-
Sikkim Himalaya. obovoid, c. 1.5x1 mm, winged; wings unequal, thin; styles
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 106 (3), Sept-Dec 2009 355