Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the immense source of crop productivity. Composting of aquatic biomass is the best
method for converting organic residue in the inputs for agriculture.
The preparation and applications of organic manures or compost in the agricul-
tural fields is a traditional system and widely adopted by the scientific community
and farmers around the globe.
4.7
Soil Reclamation and Enrichment
Soil is the important component of land. The degradation and destruction of soils
are due to several unforeseen and not-so-unforeseen problems, such as rapid and
unscientific spread of agriculture, construction of huge dams, canals, urbanization
and industrialization deforestation (Pathak and Rao
1991
) and natural calamities.
The degraded land does not give enough return rather it is a burden or otherwise
useless, hence termed as wasteland. Wasteland is usually uncultivated, un-habitated
and bare-land, lacking moisture with stress climate and poor soil quality which
is not conducive for the regeneration of any type of vegetation. Loss of the green
cover and ability to withhold water and soil, such lands are in critical condition.
Mostly, these are skeleton soil lacking in humans, these contain toxic elements with
low nutrients. Compost as organic residue includes green manures, animal and plant
waste, municipal waste, industrial effluent serves as quite effective sources for plant
nutrient and soil reclamations.
Stamp (
1948
) gave the definition and considered waste land as the land which
has been previously used but now abandoned and no further use has been found for
such land. These are cultivable waste land such as gullied and or ravenous land;
surface water logged and marshy land; salt affected land; shifting cultivation area;
strip lands; sands and industrial waste land on the other hand uncultivable waste
land includes barren, rocky, stony waste, sheet rock area; steep slopping area and
snow covered or glacial area.
Composting is another and effective way to stepping out agricultural production
and extension of area for cultivation through reclamation of waste lands. Waste lands
formed due to indiscriminate and over utilization of forest produce standing over
the area, unscientific land management by putting the area to improper land use and
sometime even as an unintended side effect of the very process of development.
Millions of farmers in developing countries need adequate resources for aug-
menting the crop productivity, and ensuring continued maintenance and building up
of the soil fertility for greater productivity from agro-waste residues. The organic
matter of the cultivated soil in tropics is low due to high temperature and intense
microbial activity with due to increases of need to add humic substance in soil to
replenish organic matter in soil. The organic matter provides the soil fertility with
both macronutrients as well as micronutrients. Farmyard manure (FYM), compost
addition, green manuring are among few options which proved best mode of replen-
ishing the soil humus content during the course of cultivation practices (Gaur
1990
).
Amendment of soil with plant compost is reported to be the best recycling method
