Vermiwash - An Effective Bio-Pesticide

Vermiwash is the liquid bio-fertilizer collected after the passage of water through a column of worms. It is very useful as a foliar spray. It is a collection of excretory products and excess secretions of earthworms along with micronutrients from soil organic molecules.

Vermiwash unit

Vermiwash units can be set up in a plastic or iron barrel of 200 litre capacity. A hole is drilled on one side and a vertical limb of a T joint tube is attached in a way that half to one inch of the tube projects inside the barrel.

A tap is attached to the end of the horizontal limb and the other end is closed with a dummy nut. The whole set up is mounted on a suitable pedestal. Keeping the tap open, a layer of broken bricks or pebbles is filled up to 25-30cm inside the barrel. Water is made to flow through this layer, followed by 20-30 cm layer of coarse sand.

This forms the basic filter unit. Over this a 30-45 cm layer of good loamy soil is kept moistened. In this layer E.foetida, E.enginiae anecics and lumbricus terrestris of earthworms are introduced. Cattle dung pats and hay are placed on top of this layer of soil. The unit is moistened every day.

Methods of preparation

1. Take one bucket and one mug
2. Set up one stop cork on the lower part of the bucket
3. Put a layer of broken bricks, pieces of stones having thickness of 10-15 cm in the bucket
4. Over this layer put another layer of sand having thickness of 10-15 cm
5. Then put a layer of partially decomposed cow dung having 30-45 cm thickness over it
6. Then put another layer of soil having 2-3 cm thicknesses
7. Now open the stopcock of the bucket and when the materials taken in the bucket
8. Then put 100-200 numbers of earthworms in the bucket
9. After that, a layer of paddy straw having 6cm thickness is given
10. Now open the stop cock of the bucket and spray water regularly for a period of 7-8 days
11. After 10 days the liquid vermin wash will be produced in the bucket
12. Hang one pot with a bottom hole over the bucket in such a way so that water falls drop by drop
13. Every day 4-5 liters of water is to be poured in the hanging pot
14. Keep another pot under stop cork collect the vermin wash, every day 3-4 liters of vermin wash can be collected

Application

1. Mix 1 liter of vermiwash with 7-10 liters of water and spray the solution in the leaf (upper lower side) in the evening at the growing crop
2. Mix 1 liter of vermin wash with 1 litre of cow urine and then add 10 liters of water to the vermin urine solution and mixed thoroughly and keep it over night before spraying 50-60 litres of such solution and to be sprayed in one big hectare of land to control various crop diseases

Wash collection

The tap is closed and water is sprinkled on top of the unit. The water slowly percolates through the compost carrying with it nutrients through the filter unit. The tap is opened the next day to collect the wash, which is sprayed on plants as a foliar and spray. The vermin wash may be diluted with water in 1:1 ratio or it may be diluted with 10 per cent cow’s urine, which is an effective pesticide. The casts formed on the surface of the unit may periodically be cleared. Vermiwash can be collected and stored or may be diluted before use.

Foliar spray

Vermiwash is the brown coloured liquid bio-fertilizer collected after passage of water through a column of worms. It is very useful as a foliar spray for all crops. It is a collection of excretory products and excess secretions of earthworms along with micronutrients from soil organic molecules. Vermiwash can be produced by allowing water to percolate through the tunnels made by the earthworms on the coconut leaf- cow dung substrate kept in a 200 litre plastic barrel. Water is allowed to fall drop by drop from a pot hung above the barrel into the vermin composting system. After 45-50 days, clear brown coloured liquid collects at the bottom of the barrel.

The collection can be carried for another two cycles. Then, the content of the barrel should be removed and fresh substrate along with earthworms should be added. Farmers can make an exit hole in the tanks built for large-scale vermin compost production and collect the vermin wash regularly. Vermin wash is alkaline in nature and contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, calcium, magnesium and zinc in appreciable quantities.

Extracted from AgriGold Swarna Sedyam