FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Vermi-technology to reclaim sodic soil
By Our Agriculture Correspondent
VERMI-TECHNOLOGY is an eco-friendly, economic and enduring process to reclaim problem soils, especially the sodic (salt-affected) soils.
It is a more suitable bio-remedial measure than chemical treatment with gypsum and other amendments according to Prof. (Dr.) Sultan Ahmed Ismail, Managing Director, Ecoscience Research Foundation (ERF), Chennai.
In extensive field experiments conducted in the sodic soils of Uttar Pradesh, scientists have established that vermi-technology brought about remarkable change in the soil structure.
Application of compost and earthworm management improved the soil nutrient level and crops such as wheat, rice, spinach, onion and potato grew well in reclaimed sodic soils.
In Uttar Pradesh more than 1.2 million hectares of farmlands are salt-affected, and agricultural productivity remains low. With a view to reclaiming the salt-affected fields and to improve the farm productivity, the Institute of Research in Soil Biology and Biotechnology (IRSBB), New College, Chennai, initiated a project with the Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam (UPBSN), Lucknow, in 1996.
Prof. Ismail, the then director of IRSBB and his team of young scientists, successfully completed the five-year project, and concluded that vermi-technology is the most cost-effective and ever lasting solution to reclaim salt-affected fields.
Prof. Ismail, a pioneer in vermi-technology in the country, has been actively involved in solid waste management using vermi-technology and has successfully demonstrated that tannery effluents can be effectively managed using this technology.
His new institution, ERF, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) committed to the popularisation of this low-cost and ecologically sound and farmer-friendly approach for rural livelihood security and sustainable agricultural development.
"About two thousand five hundred species of earth are recorded around the world, and more than five hundred of them can be cultured or used in composting through simple processes. The earthworms can be grown in a host of systems including pits, crates, tanks, concrete rings or any other containers.
The organic material to be used for vermi-composting should be pre-processed or pre-digested through partial anaerobic phase (using a black polythene cover or with a clay seal layer).
The biodung composting technology standardised by Dr. Priti Joshi is highly recommended as a pre-digestion mechanism," said Prof. Ismail.
Diversity of earthworm species varies with different types of soils and hence choosing a local or native species of earthworm for the local soil and for vermi-composting is an important step, according to him. "There is no need to import earthworms from anywhere. Local species of earthworms that are generally used in India are Perionyx excavatus and Lampito mauritii," said Prof. Ismail. The compost pits are to be kept under shade, and they may of any size convenient to the farmers, according to him.
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