Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
nure (FYM), and four formulations of water hyacinth compost i.e., water hyacinth
only (H), with molasses (H + Mol), cattle manure culture (H + CMC) or effective
microbes (H + EM) and concluded in their study that the commercial
Rhizobium
inoculant is predominantly compatible with water hyacinth compost formulations
containing effective microbes and cattle manure culture, which could enhance toler-
ance of bean plants to aphids and possibly to anthracnose disease. These two water
hyacinth compost formulations need further investigation for their potential in en-
hancing food production and alleviating the water hyacinth problem.
4.6
Significance of Compost
The aquatic weeds are the source of green biomass with low C:N ratio. These aquat-
ic weed in the form of compost not only provides the suitable solution for checking
their unsuitability but will also make the soil enriched with nutrients. Due to high
percentage of cellulosic fibers,
E. crassipes
is suitable for making compost for ag-
riculture (Naskar et al.
1986
). Gaonkar and Kulkarni (
1986
) compared the chemical
composition of
E. crassipes
with that of bagasse, rice hull and paddy straw and ob-
served that presence of low lignin content make this plant suitable as a commercial
source of α-cellulose. The mineral status reported in the ranges from 23:1 to 35:1
as also analyzed by Crawford (
1983
). Thus, the compost from
E. crassipes
can be
easily prepared by modified method of Das and Ghatnekar (
1979
). As stated earlier
that green aquatic biomass (GAB) degradation was achieved within 1-2 weeks but
the GAB treated with biogas slurry and urea decompose more readily in comparison
to other treated combinations due to better microbial action (Joshi
1992
). Das and
Ghatnekar (
1979
) reported the degradation of durva grass mixed with cow-dung
within 2 weeks duration. Khandelwal (
1995
) studied on the compost mulching in
substandard soil and its influence on two fast growing fuel wood tree legumes viz.
Dalbergia sisoo
and
Leucaena leucocephala.
Application of compost increase the
nodule weight and size significantly by 21 and 104 % in
D. sisoo
and 44 and 54 %
in
L. leucocephala
respectively when compared to garden soil and substandard soil
respectively. Similarly, fresh weight (FW) of plants cultivated in compost was in-
creased approximately five fold in comparison to
D. sisoo
raised in substandard
soil. This value was more than 10 fold higher in case of
L. leucocephala.
The net
primary productivity (NPP) and gross primary productivity (GPP) of both the plant
species were found to increase significantly when grown in compost mulched soil.
The immense importance of organic manures/compost in the form of humus
rich with plant nutrients increases the fertility of several kind of soil. Extensively,
chemical fertilizer thought is the only way to increase soil fertility, but fertilizer
on soil under long term use leads the several harmful effects, in this scenario, an
urgent need for use of composting for agricultural benefits is the need of today as
it also helps in reclamation of waste lands. Organic materials are available as by
products from the plant (aquatic and terrestrial) and animal origin is considered as
