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Extraction of earthworm from soil by different sampling methods: a review

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Abstract

Earthworms are so closely incorporated into the soil structure that they are not calculated easily from the soil. Due to this property, their extraction from soil is tedious and time-consuming. Different methods have been used for their extraction from the soil, and efficiency of each method is affected by physical properties, viz., temperature and moisture of the soil. This study explored the advantage and disadvantage of different sampling methods for the extraction of earthworms such as hand sorting, octet method, formalin method, mustard extraction method, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), and onion extraction method. Extraction efficiency of formalin is 20–60 times more as compared to hand sorting, but hand sorting gives satisfactory results for earthworms of more than 0.2 g live weight, and cocoons can also be recovered by this method. Octet method is effective in extracting anecic species and could easily be applied to site where chemical extraction is not a viable option. Extraction by mustard and AITC is simple, low cost, and more efficient for the extraction of deep-burrowing anecic species. The onion extraction solution is low cost and nontoxic which can be used as alternative to formalin. Like mustard, the onion solution is also inexpensive and not harmful to the earthworms and environment.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Department of Science and Technology, GOI, New Delhi, for encouragement and financial assistance in the form of a Major research Project letter No SR/SO/AS-030/2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India

    Jaswinder Singh & Sharanpreet Singh

  2. Department of Botanical and Environmental Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India

    Adarsh Pal Vig

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  1. Jaswinder Singh
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  2. Sharanpreet Singh
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Correspondence to Jaswinder Singh.

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Singh, J., Singh, S. & Vig, A.P. Extraction of earthworm from soil by different sampling methods: a review. Environ Dev Sustain 18, 1521–1539 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9703-5

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