Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

A capsule for soil health

A. A. Michael Raj

Contains natural fertilizer produced by earthworms

VALUE ADDITION: Growth promoting bio-capsules developed by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. - Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore: When cultivable soil is in poor health, all it needs is a capsule of vermicompost to help it revive and become productive again. It benefits soil in kitchen gardens and in ornamental flowerpots, as well as farmland.

Developed by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), the bio-capsule contains natural fertilizer produced by earthworms in the vermicomposting pits on the campus.

"It is called the TNAU bio-capsule and contains a mixture of vermicompost, poultry litter, coir dust and three types of biofertilizer," said V. Murugappan, Director, Centre for Soil and Crop Management Studies at the University.

Vermicompost

"Normally, waste should be pre-digested before being given to the earthworms," added P. Subramanian, Professor (Environmental Science). "Earthworms have no teeth and need something soft to eat so that they can produce a larger quantity of vermicompost in a shorter period of time."

Environmental scientists at the University enriched the mixture with azatobacter, azo spirillum and phospho bacteria before filling it into the capsules. "It is value addition to the manure to help beneficial organisms to multiply fast. The outer coating of the capsule will disintegrate twenty minutes after being put into the soil and will deliver the nutrients close to the root zone," he said.

For best results, farmers could use a seed drill to bore holes in plant nurseries, drop a seed and a bio-capsule inside, and then close the opening. When the nitrogen-fixing organisms colonised the root zones of the plants, they would stay there and multiply.

Besides this, the University had developed an innoculum to speed up degradation of organic material and enrich the soil. It consisted of cellulose and lignin degrading organisms, polysaccharides and sugars.

"Earthworms have a long gut that supports millions of bacteria beneficial to the soil. Each creature consumes waste organic matter and converts it into 12 milligrams of nutrient a day. About 1000 earthworms can live in one square metre of soil," Prof. Subramanian observed.

Waste produced by earthworms was in granulated form that conserved nutrients and released them slowly into the soil. Worms used in vermicomposting laid an egg a day and three young ones hatched from each egg, causing a rapid increase in the worm population.

For ornamental crops, especially flowers, the University recommended the use of `vermiwash' that was water in which earthworms had been washed to extract plant nutrients and growth promoting substances that adhered to their bodies.

Plant nurseries in Ooty and Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu, as well as in some towns in Kerala, purchased vermiwash.

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