Paddy husks not being put to good use in the past, has now proven to be a good source of alternate fertilizer for crop cultivation of both vegetables and fruits. It has also been found to be ideally suited for growing coconut trees as well.
A recent media visit to the model vegetable farm at Kalladi, Madurankuliya proved beyond doubt that if people are keen to grow even on a small scale to meet their daily vegetable needs, they could do so with the space available to them is with the able guidance provided by the Department of Agriculture.
The plot of land turned out to be a model vegetable farm run by Chanduni Agro Plantation (Private) Ltd headed by Chandana Hapuarachchi. Hapuarachchi ventured in to manufacturing paddy husk - compost fertilizer with the aid of the Centre for Excellence for Organic Agriculture, run by the Department of Agriculture, at Maakandura.
Obtaining proper advice on fertilizer
D.M. Priyanga, the Soil Scientist and Head of the Research Division at the Centre for Excellence for Organic Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Maakandura, was on a field visit in Kattuwa, Kochchikade on February 15 when she met the Daily News and spoke on the work being undertaken by them. She said that if people are keen to grow vegetables and fruits in their respective land, what they needed was ‘proper advice and guidance on using fertilizer’. “We recommend that they come in search of our advice to use ‘site specific fertilizer’. We also advice them that they also need to get the ‘soil tested’ before applying fertilizer,” she added.
Having inspected the site where vegetables were grown, she said she was really taken up by how successfully those involved had cultivated vegetables such as cabbage and beetroot using the newly manufactured compost fertilizer.
Priyanga a former Lecturer at Hardy Institute, Ampara in the field of Agriculture, Animal husbandry, Food and Nutrition had served at the Wayamba Open University for many years as a visiting lecturer (external) and worked at the Batalagoda Paddy Research Institute. Subsequently, she had joined the institute at Makandura, as a soil scientist in 2006 and was involved in research and soil testing. “We have carried out over 20,000 sample tests from 2009 and designed compost to go with our recommendations.
She went on to say that the Institute where she headed the Research Division was declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena in June last year and since then the Centre has been helping a large number of farmers by carrying out laboratory tests on soil and use of paddy husk compost. “Our Institute comes under the purview of the Agriculture Department and is the only institute to promote large scale compost production, quality assessment and organic farming in Sri Lanka. We have given technical guidance to a large number of farmers and producers under the Project of Compost Production and Promotion of Utilization, since 2009 under the Agriculture Ministry. Our Institute is well equipped to carry out tests and our charges are very affordable. We test the soil prior to recommending the fertilizer to use. We have certified compost fertilizer manufactured using coconut husk and it conforms to WHO accepted standards fertilizer for application,” she added.
Successful results
She also had a word of appreciation for those involved in the plot of land which came under her scrutiny as she said, “the outcome of their effort is well manifested in the richness of their crops, grown using the new fertilizer.” She did not mince words when she said “our people are a bit lazy to use organic material because they have to bring in a large quantity into the field and they have to put in some hard work at the start. For them it is easy to go with the chemical fertilizer than doing the hard work. But now with the training they have received on the use of organic fertilizer, the trend has changed. We advise people to go for a soil test before they use either organic or chemical fertilizers on their fields. If they follow that method, the results would be tremendous and we would have a plate of rice with healthy vegetables for our children and the future of this country.”
Priyanga also stressed the importance of ensuring the proper growth of a plant. The plant needs 16 ingredients in specific proportions. There might be different proportions of nutrients within the ingredients in the soil chosen for cultivation and the best solution would be to get the soil tested prior to using fertilizer while that test would help adjust the composition of those nutrients to suit the soil of the plot designed for cultivation.
Learning to make the best use of fertilizer
She also pointed out the availability of facilities at the Centre to provide training to farmers which would enhance their knowledge in making the best use of fertilizer. “We have registered thousands of farmers for training. They lack awareness of the dangers of excessive use of fertilizer. Many of them are ignorant and unaware of the polluted nature of the soil in the land they intend to use. The soil gets contaminated due to their own excessive use of fertilizer and the soil simply keeps absorbing the chemicals. The plant eventually rejects all these excesses and does not do well and in the end their labour is all in vain. To avoid such a situation, she insisted on the importance of making the farmers aware and be warned beforehand.
Chandana Hapuarachchi, Chairman, Chanduni Agro Plantation (Pvt) Ltd in the meantime informed the media that his plan was to turn 75,000 kgs of paddy husk into fertilizer and introduce it to crop cultivators; to encourage them to use compost fertilizer as his company does, to grow vegetables and fruits.
“We hope to move onto other crops with the passage of time,” he added and with the support of Herman Fernando, Director Operation of his Company assigned to see to the manufacturing of paddy husk compost, he expected paddy husk compost to be in great demand in the future.
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