UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

The commonly observed epigeic earthworms from the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest of Kolli Hill, namely Drawida gracilis Gates, 1925, Drawida bullata Gates, 1933, and Hoplochaetella stuarti Bourne, 1886, were evaluated for their vermicomposting potential. The results revealed that all three species, D. gracilis, D. bullata and H. stuarti, did not thrive on the food offered to them after two days of inoculation. Although the culture medium was maintained under optimum conditions, including desirable pH levels (6.5-7.5), temperature (25°C-30°C) and humidity (40%-60%), the inoculated earthworm species could not survive. This may have been due to differences in the physical and chemical composition of the culture medium. The inoculated earthworms might not have consumed the food and may have died due to starvation. The culture medium offered to them might have differed physically and chemically from the organic matter/soil of their natural environment; therefore, mortality may have occurred. However, this requires further investigation. Based on the results of the present study, these three earthworm species are considered unsuitable for the bioconversion of organic waste into vermicompost. Although all three earthworm species belong to the epigeic category, none was found suitable for vermicompost production.