Biochemical analyses and auxin and cytokinin bioassays were performed to test the biological activity of wormcasts. Both cellulose paper pulp and soil casts of Lampito mauritii were rich in ammonia, urea, organic carbon content, organic matter, soluble phosphorus and ionic potassium levels. The total nitrogen content of the soil remained unaffected by worm activations. The casts of Lampito mauritii, Pheretima elonl/ata, Pontoscolex corethrurus and Ocnerodrilus occidentalis had greater urea levels relative to ammonia levelsin contrast to those of Drawida barwelli, Octochaetoides beatrix and Perionyx excavatus. Worm activations of the leaf compost amended-soils by these species reduced the total phenol levelsto varying degree depending on the speciesexamined. Aging and exposures to light reduced the activity levelsof these plant growth promotors in the casts of L. mauritii. A positive correlation between the worm density at the site of soil sampling and the plant growth promotor levels in the samples was obtained. The origin of these promotors from the gut microftora of the worm and their subsequent release into the environment were discussed.

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