The habitat of the geophagous tropical earthworm minhocuçu Chibui bari (Righi; Guerra, 1985), up to 60 cm long, are different soils in the state of Acre. The activity of this species results in the production of large amounts of nutrient-rich casts. The objective of this study was to evaluate maize growth in soil with activity of the earthworm Chibui bari. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse of the University Federal of Acre, in Rio Branco, Acre, in 2009. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with six treatments (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 animals/pot). The maize variety bandeirante was sown in 15.7 L PVC tubes containing medium texture soil. The variables stem diameter, dry matter weight of shoot, root and total plant and the soil nutrient content and microbial activity were analyzed. The presence of C. bari resulted in higher stem diameter (13.29 %) and shoot (28.73 %) and total (33 %) dry matter weight of maize. However, there was no significant change in the soil chemical condition and microbial activity, which can be explained by the higher nutrient export resulting from increased plant growth in the earthworm treatments.
Earthworm; Minhocuçu; macrofauna; Zea mays
