ABSTRACT
I Introduction ..................................................................................................508 II Historical Background ..................................................................................508 III The Concepts of Vermicomposting ..............................................................509 IV Vermicomposting Research in Mexico ........................................................ 511
A Initial Studies on Vermicomposting of Coffee Pulp in the 1980s and 1990s ............................................................................................... 512
B Later Studies on Vermiculture in Mexico .............................................. 512 V Application of Vermicompost Products........................................................ 514
A Vermicompost ........................................................................................ 514 B Vermicompost Teas ................................................................................ 515
VI Vermicomposting Systems ........................................................................... 515 A General Aspects of Vermicomposting ................................................... 516 B Species of Earthworms Used in Vermicomposting ............................... 516 C Substrates or Feedstocks ........................................................................ 517 D Designs of Vermicompost Systems........................................................ 518 E Human Resources for Vermicomposting ............................................... 521 F Vermicomposting Operation Methods ................................................... 521 G Vermicompost Production ..................................................................... 522 H Commercial Aspects of Vermicomposts ............................................... 522 I Quality Control of Vermicomposting and Its Products ......................... 523 J Promotional Aspects of Vermiculture ................................................... 524 K Discussion and Conclusions from the Vermicomposting Survey .......... 524
VII Vermicompost Quality Standards ................................................................ 525
I INTRODUCTION
With the aid of earthworms, organic waste materials can be transformed into a material rich in nutrients readily available to plants. This earthworm-worked material, castings or vermicompost, provides a bene¤cial microbes growing substrate, which consists of very ¤nely structured, uniform, stable, and aggregated particles of humi¤ed organic material with excellent porosity, aeration, and water-holding capacity, rich in available nutrients, plant growth hormones, enzymes, and bene¤cial microbial populations. Thus, it can be added to agricultural land to improve soil structure, water retention, and fertility or used as a good-quality and marketable additive to potting soil or plant growth media (Edwards and Bohlen 1996; Aranda and Barois 2000).
