Earthworm, a Beneficial Organism to Your Garden

Earthworm is a name given to a worm in the class Oligochaeta in phylum annelida.  The earthworm has a cylindrical shaped segmented body that tapers off at both ends. Some species are pale red while others are dark brown. Earthworm has bristles called setae that project from their body which it uses to hold to a surface. Some of them grow only about a few centimeters in length, but there are other tropical species that can grow up to 3.3 meters. Some earthworm species can live up to ten years.

With no other type of sense except its sense of touch, earthworm relies on its skin to observe and perceive its surroundings. Earthworms are hermaphrodites with each worm having both male and female reproductive organs.  However, they still need a partner to reproduce. Their eggs are buried in earth in cocoons. The cocoons protect the eggs until they hatch as small fully developed worms.

Earthworms live in a moist condition and usually live in the upper layer of the soil. They shun sunlight but usually get to the surface in special situation such as when their burrows are flooded during rains. They usually get out at night to feed and to throw off their castings. They usually feed on organic matter such as dried and decayed leaves in the soil. During hot weather they penetrate downward to avoid dehydration. In burrowing they swallowed soil containing decayed leaves, vegetable and other organic matter.

Species of earthworms can be categorized in three types according to their dwelling places in the soil. The litter dwellers or epegeic species live in fallen dried leaves and other organic matter on top of the soil. They usually consume decayed organic matter. The topsoil dwellers or endogeic species live 2 to 3 inches in the topsoil. They create horizontal burrows and consumes large amount of topsoil and organic matter. The subsoil dwellers or anecic species live 5 to 6 feet in the soil in vertical burrows and need surface crop residue to live. They also consume large amount of soil and organic matter in it.

Earthworms play an important part on the ecology of the soil. They benefit the plants by decreasing or controlling the amount of harmful organism in the soil and by improving its fertility. Plants need air in the soil so that their roots can thrive. The earthworms’ burrowing breaks the compaction of the soil that allows plant’s roots to remove carbon dioxide from the soil. At the same time they also help let in the needed oxygen of the plant in the soil. With the improve soil porosity, plants can now easily absorb water to facilitate its growth. As they burrow, earthworms consume soil and organic matter for food. The combination of soil and organic matter in the earthworm’s gut makes a good fertilizer in the form of castings in or on the surface of the soil when they are excreted. Earthworm castings have higher value of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, zinc and boron contents than the surrounding soil. Earthworms’ castings also improve the soil’s pH level.

Tropical Orchids

Orchid is a common name of orchidales, a monocot that composed one of the biggest groups of flowering plants. It is a perennial herb that grows in tropical regions of Asia, South and Central America except in Antarctica and the dessert zones of the world. The orchid has over 400 to 800 genera and about 15,000 to 35,000 species.

Orchids have narrow foliage leaves and parallel veins. The vascular tissues are scattered at random throughout the stem and they lack stem cambium that actively divide cells that produced woods. Some leaves of orchids are ovate, others are lanceolate and still others are nearly circular and they are very variable in size. Most of the flower consists of 3 outside sepals and three inside petals. Mostly, all of the sepals and petals of a species are of the same color and shape, and they are collectively called tepals. One of the inner tepals looks distinctly different from the rest. It is lobed or cup shaped and is called labellium which is virtually the landing platform of pollinators. Orchids have only one stamen and pistil, the sex organs of the flowers which are fused together into a structure called the column.

In their natural habitats most orchids are epiphytic which means that they are aerial plant that uses the branch or the trunk of other plants for support only and not for their nutrients. They obtain their water from trapped rain water and moisture in the air and the foods from the organic material that accumulated in the branch or stem of the plants where they cling to. Since they have green leaves, orchids process their foods through photosynthesis. Most of the species however are not tolerant of excessive sunlight. Some species of orchids are parasitic and get their nutrients from their host plant. Others are saprophytic and get their foods from decaying vegetation.                  

Pollinators such as moths, butterflies, bees, and others are attracted to the color, color patterns and shapes or orchid flowers. Fertilized ovary contains ovules that mature into small seeds. As many as 2 million seeds can be produced from a single seedpod.

In the Philippines the most popular specie is Waling Waling or Vanda Sanderiana which is considered the queen of Philippine flowers.  It is used to breed about 80% species of Vanda orchids in the world.

Not satisfied with the quality of flowers of natural orchids, horticulturists have developed more species of orchids through hybridization thus improving the quality of orchid species. Growers get financial benefits from orchids by selling the flowers or the plants. Most orchids are now domesticated and people plant them to decorate their yard or add them to their garden. Orchids can easily adapt to an environment that is simulated to their natural habitat. A species of tropical orchid that is grown for its economic value is the Vanilla Planifolia. The extract of the seedpod of vanilla is commercially produced to flavor cakes, ice cream and other foods.

Waling Waling, the queen of Philippine flowers

                           

              

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