Avaliação de crescimento e desempenho de minhocas vermelhas californianas (Eisenia foetida) submetidas a doses crescentes de cálcio e ciclos de desidratação

Abstract

Earthworms are ecosystem engineers, as they act in the decomposition of organic matter, providing nutrients to the soil and plants. The present work had as objective to analyze aspects related to the growth and development of earthworms submitted to calcium treatment, evaluating aspects such as biomass, amount of cocoons, slurry pH, electrical conductivity of slurry, in addition to evaluating the resistance in the survival of earthworms through dehydration cycles. A completely randomized block design consisted of six treatments with eight replications each. The earthworms were submitted to two dehydration cycles at the end of applying the five calcium plots. The experiment was conducted at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Piauí-Cocal campus for 67 days, using the campus breeding shed and under laboratory conditions. Results showed that the earthworms showed a positive response regarding biomass from feeding eggshell powder at a dosage of 5% (T2) with an increase in biomass. However, there was no statistical difference concerning T0. Finally, concerning the dehydration tests, calcium did not work as a resistance-inducing element in earthworms, revealing an inverse response to what was expected, causing a toxicity effect on individuals and, consequently, their mortality