Economic Importance of Earthworm

Useful effects:

Earthworm as bait food:

Earthworm is used as baits for fishing in many parts of the world. They are used as food by a large number of animals like frogs, moles, lizards, small insects etc.The earthworm makes the best food of fish in an aquarium and small animals in the laboratory.

Earthworm in medicines:

The Ayurvedic and Unani system of therapy suggests that earthworms are used to losing body weight, removing bladder stones, curing jaundice, and piles etc.

Earthworms in agriculture:

Earthworm's habit of burrowing makes the soil loose and porous. Their burrows permit the penetration of air and moisture in the porous soil.The faces of worms is a good manure.The secretions of worm enrich the soil by adding nitrogenous bases.

Earthworms in laboratories:

Earthworms are universally used for dissection in zoological laboratories, as they are easily obtained.

Harmful effects:

• Their burrows may cause loss of water by seepage from ditches, canals and irrigated lands. Their casting on slopy lands easily get washed away and thus contributes to soil erosion.
• Some species bury in carcasses of animals and living species liberating germs which infect others. While a few species live as an ectoparasite on frogs and man. They also act as intermediate host of some parasites like the tapeworm of chicken and lung nematode of a pig.
• Pheretima elongate damages the roots of the betel vine, Malabaria poududicola and Aphanascus oxyzivorous damage roots of paddy.