Influence of lumbricid earthworms on yield and quality of wheat and clover in glasshouse trials
1997
Baker, G.H. | Williams, P.M.L. | Carter, P.J. | Long, N.R.
Field surveys have shown that the introduced lumbricid earthworm, Aporrectodea rosea, predominates in fields used for cereal-pasture rotations in South Australia and western Victoria. Another introduced lumbricid, A. trapezoides, also occurs in these fields, but is usually much rarer. A glasshouse experiment investigated the influences of A. rosea and A. trapezoides on wheat and subterranean clover production. The plants were grown in a red-brown earth (Palexeralf), maintained at 60% field moisture capacity with the equivalent of 460 worms m-2. Wheat was grown first and then the soil was re-used for the clover. A. trapezoides increased wheat plant biomass by 39%, grain yield by 35%, grain N content by 14% and straw N content by 19% compared with controls (no worms). A. rosea increased wheat plant biomass by 13%, but had no significant influence on grain yield or grain or straw N content. The biomass of clover herbage was increased by 21% by A. trapezoides, but A. rosea had no effect. Neither earthworm species influenced the N content of the clover or the dry weight of clover roots. The implications of these results for future management of earthworms in cereal-pasture rotations are discussed.
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