Vermiwash is a liquid extract produced from vermicompost in a medium where earthworms are richly populated. It comprises a massive decomposer bacteria count, mucus, vitamins, different bioavailable minerals, hormones, enzymes, different antimicrobial peptides, etc. This paper aimed to assess how these natural products in vermiwash suppressed the pathogen and pests. Thus, we have reviewed the importance of vermiwash/vermicompost in disease control, the mechanism of disease suppression, the components of vermiwash applied in disease suppression, and pest control to use the scientific facts in agriculture to enhance the productivity of the crops. The bioactive macromolecules from the skin secretion of earthworm, coelomic fluid, and mucus directly able to defend pathogenic soil microbes against the worm and thereby freed the environment from the disease. Earthworms establish symbiotic relations with microbes, produce an essential product that supports the growth of plants, and suppress plant's root disease. It is recomended that earthworm should be inoculated in an agricultural field, or prepare and apply its vermiwash/vermicompost as a spray or as additive bio-fertilizer in the soil to enhance the productivities of the crops.
Synthetic chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, are abundantly used in agriculture to enhance soil fertility and prevent the occurrence of diseases, respectively. Many studies have reported a negative influence of these chemicals on the soil environment. Natural sources from earthworms and their products, as a result of vermicomposting, may be considered better alternatives. The aim of this review was to reveal the source of antifungal efficiency of vermicompost and its derivatives, such as vermiwash, coelomic fluid, skin secretion of earthworms, and metabolites from decomposer bacteria in vermicompost, in order to highlight their application in agriculture. The synergistic activity of bioactive compounds present in coelomic fluid, mucus, skin secretion, and metabolites from associated bacteria (decomposer) assisted crop plants for effective action against various soil pathogenic fungi, such as Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, and F. graminearum. Thus, these bioactive metabolites can be recommended to suppress plant fungal diseases. Vermicompost and its derivatives should be considered for use in agricultural fields to control harmful soil fungi and increase crop productivity.
Triclosan 5-chloro-2-(2, 4-dichlorophenoxy) phenol (TCS) is widely used as a biocide in human and veterinary medicines, personal care products and household articles. To obtain biomarkers for the acute stress of Triclosan, the hatchlings of Labeo rohita were exposed for 96 h to 0.06, 0.067 and 0.097 mg/L TCS. Morphological deformities, cell viability, frequency of micronucleated and aberrant cells, transcriptomic and biomolecular alterations were recorded after exposure and a depuration period of 10 days. The exposed hatchlings had a pointed head, curved trunk, lean body, deformed caudal fin, haemorrhage, hypopigmentation and tissue degeneration at 0.067 and 0.097 mg/L only. The frequency of viable cells declined but that of necrotic, apoptotic, micronucleated and abnormal cells increased (p ≤ 0.01) in a concentration dependent manner after exposure as well as the depuration period. After recovery, the frequency of viable and micronucleated cells increased, but that of necrotic, apoptotic, and aberrant cells declined in comparison to their respective 96 h values. The mRNA level of HSP47, HSP70, HSc71 and α-tropomyosin increased (p ≤ 0.01), while that of HSP60, HSP90, DHPR, myosin light polypeptide 3, desmin b and lamin b1 declined (p ≤ 0.01) after exposure. Ten days post exposure, a significant increase (p ≤ 0.01) over control was observed in the expression of all the heat shock and cytoskeletal genes and the values (except for HSc71) were higher than the respective 96 h values also. Infrared spectra showed that band area of amide A, amide I, amide II and phospholipids increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) but peak intensity of lipid, glycogen and nucleic acids decreased after exposure. After recovery, area of the peaks for most of the biomolecules [except lipids (2924–2925, 1455–1457 cm−1) and glycogen (1163–1165 cm−1)] declined significantly over control and 96 h values. Collectively these changes seem to be responsible not only for the onset of paralysis but also for the concentration dependent increase in larval and cellular abnormalities as well as no/sporadic swimming movement in exposed hatchlings. It is evident that HSP60, HSc71, HSP90, α-tropomyosin and DHPR were strongly affected but DHPR can be used as the most sensitive marker for the toxicity of TCS. This is the first study reporting effect of TCS on the selected heat shock and cytoskeletal genes in a single model.
The population status and biomass of earthworms were studied in three different land use systems of pasture (Pa), silvopasture (SP), and mixed evergreen forest (MEF) from 2019–2020 in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The aim of this study was to assess the population status of earthworms and investigate how different land use systems influence their abundance, diversity, and biomass. Earthworms and soil were sampled using the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) method in all seasons (winter, spring, summer, monsoon, and autumn). The physicochemical properties of the soil were analyzed to evaluate their effects on the diversity, biomass, and density of animals. The diversity status parameters, such as the Shannon diversity index (H′), Margalef richness index (R), evenness (J′), and dominance index (D), were computed. A total of seven earthworm species, belonging to four families, namely, Amynthas corticis, Aporrectodea rosea, Drawida japonica, Eisenia fetida, Metaphire birmanica, Metaphire houlleti, and Lennogaster pusillus, were identified from all three land use systems. The lowest Shannon diversity index (H′), Margalef index (R), and evenness (J′) index values were registered in MEF (H′ = 0.661, R = 0.762, J′ = 0.369) compared to those in Pa (H′ = 1.25, R = 1.165, J′ = 0.696) and SP (H′ = 0.99, R = 0.883, J′ = 0.552), implying that MEF is the least diversified land system. In contrast, the highest dominance index (D) value was registered in MEF (Pa = 0.39, SP = 0.53, MEF = 0.67), which again showed that MEF is the least diversified land system. The highest values of abundance and biomass were recorded in MEF (754.15 individuals m−2 and 156.02 g m−2), followed by SP (306.13 individuals m−2 and 124.84 g m−2) and Pa (77.87 individuals m−2 and 31.82 g m−2). Both the density and biomass of earthworms increased from Pa to MEF (Pa < SP < MEF). This study is novel because it revealed that the diversity and productivity (biomass and abundance) values of earthworms were negatively correlated (as diversity increased, productivity decreased; as diversity decreased, productivity increased). The total values of abundance and biomass of earthworms in the three land use systems indicated perfect synchrony between aboveground and belowground habitats, whereas the diversity values revealed that MEF was dominated by one or two species and the least diversified. Therefore, for sustainable belowground productivity, aboveground conservation is recommended, and vice versa, regardless of diversity.
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