Evaluation of Physico-chemical Parameters of Soil in Different Cropping Systems and their Co-relation with Earthworm Diversity

Aim: The present study is an attempt to evaluate the impact of earthworm diversity on physico-chemical parameters of soil in different cropping systems (i.e. basmati-wheat, basmati-chickpea, soybean-wheat, moong-wheat) under organic and conventional farming systems.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India from June, 2020 to March 2021.

Methodology: The four earthworm species found during the study period are Metaphire posthuma, Lampito mauritti, Amynthas morissia and Travoscolides chengannure, which belong to two families i.e. Megascolicidae and Octochateidae. Out of these Travoscolides chengannure was reported for the first time in Punjab.

Results: The results indicate that richer earthworm diversity was found in the organic farming systems as compared to the conventional farming systems. The correlation analysis of earthworm abundance with the physicochemical parameters of soil in different farming systems revealed that the abundance of earthworms in organic farming system shows positive but non-significant correlation with pH, nitrogen and potassium levels. In conventional farming system, significant positive correlation (p=0.01) was found for organic carbon, electric conductivity and nitrogen.

Conclusion: The findings of this encourage switching from conventional to organic farming practices. These practices not only increase earthworm diversity, but enrich the soil with many major and micro-nutrients. The agriculture practices which are earthworm-friendly should be adopted for long-term soil productivity.