Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
13.3.11 i
ndiGenouS
o
rGaniC
/l
liquid
M
anureS
The ancient indigenous technology of low-cost nutrient sources such as
Panchagavya
(organic liquid manure), FYM, and crop residues can improve the soil fertility, soil
biological activity, and physical properties of soil, concurrently supplementing all
nutrients, including micronutrients (Meena and Bhimavat 2009). Various studies
have revealed that under summer plowing with green manure incorporation at 60
days and foliar application of
Panchagavya
, the water use efficiency increased, and
also, remarkable improvements in yield and yield attributes were recorded due to
green manure incorporation and foliar spray of
Panchagavya
. The
Panchagavya
solution (Sanjutha et al. 2008) was prepared from five cow products (i.e., cow dung,
cow urine, cow milk, cow ghee, and fermented curd) and kept for 15 days before use.
Panchagavya
is widely used in Tamil Nadu in many villages. Following the success
of
Panchagavya
, farmers started using
Gunapajalam
, which is a mixture of pork,
beef, mutton, pig dung, cow dung, goat urine, gur/palm gur, amla, jackfruit, dates,
bananas, honey, ghee, tender coconut water, toddy
, urad
(black gram) paste, and
sesame oil cake. This
Gunapajalam
can be applied as a foliar and basal nutrient,
using 1.5 L/acre. Field experiments showed that the application of
Gunapajalam
is
more effective than
Panchagavyam
(Narayana 2006).
The other commonly used indigenous liquid organic manure/biomanure is
kunapajala
(Nene 2006). The dictionary meaning of the Sanskrit word
kunapa
is
“smelling like a dead body, stinking.” The manure
kunapambu
or
kunapajala
(
jala
means water), which has been prepared and used since ancient times in India, was
appropriately named because it involved fermentation of animal remains, such as
flesh, marrow, and so forth. Two contemporary documents have references to
kunapa-
jala
, that is,
Vrikshayurveda
by
Surapala
and
Lokopakara
by
Chavundaraya
. The
excreta, marrow of the bones, flesh, brain, and blood of a boar mixed with water and
stored underground is called
kunapa. Surapala
also mentioned that the wastes from
animals such as cow, porpoise, cat, bird, deer, elephant, and so forth can be used for
the preparation of
kunapajala
;
therefore, it gives flexibility to farmers in picking the
animal of their choice. Experimental work carried out on
kunapajala
in Arunachal
Pradesh produced an herbal
kunapa
called
Sasyagavya
, which, when applied to soil,
showed good healthy-looking tea plants.
13.3.12 F
fertility
M
anaGeMent
throuGh
a
t
ree
-B
aSed
S
ySteM
Trees are a common component in arable lands all over India. In low-rainfall regions,
trees provide fodder for animals and fuel wood. However, farmers in India have inte-
grated trees in the farming systems and used their biomass and nitrogen fixation
properties to maintain soil fertility. The following specific examples describe how
this integration has helped farmers sustain soil fertility over centuries.
13.3.12.1 Alder in the Himalayas
Alder (
Alnus nepalensis
) is grown in Nagaland, Sikkim, and other northeast-
ern states for enhancing soil productivity. Alder grows well in altitudes between
1000 and 3000 m msl and in high-rainfall areas of Nagaland (>1500 mm). It is a
Search WWH ::
Custom Search