PHOTO: M.J. PRABU

INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGY: S. Natesan, farmer of Karanodai in Sholavaram near Chennai looking at his bamboo clumps which are ready for harvest.

SOIL FERTILITY plays an important role in enhancing crop growth.

The term soil fertility means the availability of macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and micronutrients such as zinc, iron, boron and copper in the soil for use by the plants for their growth and development.

Crops grow well in soils in which the above elements are available in sufficient quantities. Soils in which these are absent are often treated as wastelands or barren lands.

Planned approach

Conversion of such barren lands into a productive agricultural resource by adding chemical and organic fertilizers can be achieved by a carefully planned remedial approach, according to Mr. S. Natesan, a farmer of Karanodai village near Chennai.

Mr. Natesan has converted his 5-hectare barren land into a bamboo plantation. According to him, initially the land was very hard to plough and infested with severe weed growth.

Hard surface soil

"There was no water source nearby and digging a well was quite difficult as the surface soil was quite hard.

"During monsoon, water used to stagnate on the lands and during summer they became parched," he said.

Though he had tried to grow some crops earlier in the barren land he was not successful.

To improve soil fertility Natesan had released a number of termites, black ants and earthworms in his land.

"Termites and ants are very good at improving the soil fertility. They burrow into the hard rocky surface creating small holes on it thereby making the soil porous and easy to plough," elaborated Natesan.

Giving details on how he had released the termites and ants Natesan said, "I sprinkled water on small wooden billets and covered them with an earthen pot. In a week's time a number of small termites could be seen on the wooden billets."

The termites were then carefully collected in a bag along with the wooden billets and released in the land.

"I also collected a number of black ants (known as Kattai erumbu in Tamil) from nearby anthills and released them in the land," he explained.

He had also applied about 5-6 tonnes of vermicompost every 10-11 months on his land and periodically released some earthworms.

Water harvesting

About six pits were dug in and around his land. "These pits were used to collect rainwater during the monsoon. The water table in the area had also risen considerably after digging these pits," he said.

"But this procedure did not produce an overnight miracle," explained Natesan. It takes a minimum of 5-6 years of patience and labour to prepare the land for cultivation.

After five years, rectangular pits of about 2 x 5 mts were dug and filled with compost and farmyard manure.

Planting details

The pits were then covered with sand forming a mound like structure on top. About 10-15 four feet high bamboo clumps were then planted on top of the mounds.

About 300 bamboo clumps can be planted in one hectare, according to Natesan. The clumps come to harvest in about three years.

At present one foot of bamboo is being sold for Rs.2. A full-grown bamboo measures 25-30 feet in height and is sold for Rs. 60 in the market.

"I had spent about Rs 4,000 for cultivating bamboo in one hectare of my barren land," he said.

Approximately Rs.60,000 can be expected from a hectare, according to Natesan.

Mr. S. Natesan can be contacted at Vijay farms, Karanodai, Sholavaram post, Chennai - 600 067, Tamil Nadu, Phone: 044 - 26330316, email: treenatesan@yahoo.com

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