Question

The number of earthworms found in one acre of the land is approximately
(a)500
(b)5000
(c)50000
(d)5 lakh

Answer 1

Earthworm has great significance in fertilizing and enriching the soil as well as in the maintenance of the soil structure. Therefore, their presence is considered very important in the soil in agricultural fields.

Complete answer:
Around 50000 earthworms can be found in one acre of land.
Earthworms are terrestrial invertebrates that have improved significantly in agriculture as they can fertilize the soil naturally. They live underground and eat a variety of organic matter. The practice of feeding organic waste to earthworms for the decomposition of food waste is known as vermiculture. Different types of earthworms are used in the processes of vermiculture and soil fertilization.
The population of earthworms in an area depends on the physical as well as chemical properties of soil such as temperature, moisture, pH, aeration, etc. The most important factor of these is the pH of the soil as most earthworms favor neutral to slightly acidic soils. Nitrogenous fertilizers increase the acidity of the soil which results in fatal conditions for earthworms. These are preyed on by many species of birds, snakes, mammals, and invertebrates which also affect their population in an area. Nowadays certain earthworm populations are merely getting destroyed due to the spraying of synthetic fertilizers and biocides.

So, the correct answer is "50,000".

Note: The earthworms have several environmental impacts such as the production of humus and hence improving the soil quality. They are known as "friends of farmers" due to this characteristic. They feed on the organic wastes in the soil which cleans the environment and the excreted remains they secrete are full of minerals that enriches the soil. The channels created in the soil by their burrowing activity helps in maintaining the soil structure.