Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

VC vows varsity support for bio-fertilizer

— Photo: R. Ashok

Informative talk: A participant interacting with experts on bio-fertilizer in Tiruchi on Thursday.

TIRUCHI: The imperative need for farmers to nourish soil by switching over to organic cultivation of crops was emphasised at the inaugural of a three-day programme on ‘development of coir pith-based cyanobacterial biofertiliser cyanopith and organic farming’ at the Bharathidasan University on Thursday.

Presiding over the programme, Vice-Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko observed that mankind was distancing itself from nature at its own peril.

That the country has begun to realise the importance of nature is evident from the importance being accorded to Siddha medicine, he observed, and assured the university’s support for producing the bio-fertilizer on its premises.

The programme, organised by the National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria (NFMC), Department of Microbiology, attracted 54 participants, including 20 students, from different parts of the State.

P. Malliga, Reader and Course Director, Model Organic Farm, said that the participants would be exposed to the method of converting coir pith, which is usually disposed of by burning, into a bio-fertilizer within a fortnight using blue-green algae that could be easily cultured.

Inaugurating the programme, NFMC founder-director G. Subramanian explained that application of the cost-effective bio-fertilizer would nourish the soil and enhance production by 40 to 50 per cent. The plants treated with the bio-fertilizer will also be pest-resistant, he added.

Selvaraju of SEESDO and J. C. Ramesh Babu and A. Dhanaraj of Arivagam Trust gifted seedlings to the university. NFMC Director L. Uma also addressed the participants.

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