Value Addition to Crop Residues: An Indigenous Resource Conserving and Soil Fertility Enhancing Technology of India

Abstract

A two-year field experitnenl was conductcd luring thc rainy seasons ol' 2004 and 2005 in the farnicrs• fields or Viahbubnagar district in Andhra Pradesh; India, to lest .the practicc ol' caltlc shed bedding with. groundnut (A rachis hypogaca L.) shells by preparing Groundnut Shell' iVianure (GSM) and •its application along with Farmers' practicc (FP) and in cotnparison with, live u•cattncnts nanlely, FP only, FP and GSlNi, FP and coinposti rc2cncrativc (only organics) and Reconuncndcd Dose ol' Fertilizers (RDF), FP and RDF being lhc checks,on rainy season Taint-ed groundnut and castor Ricinus- conununis crops. Thc results indicated that crops receiving GSM and compost perfonncd well during the deficit rainl'all year (2004) as well as during the nortnal rainfall year (2005) and recorded 12-16% hi2her yields or grounclnut and 9-14% highcr -yields in castor over the FP. Duling 2004 which was,a deficit rainfall year, GSM and conipost application cnhanccd soil ,moisture by 14-40%, percentagc of filled poclé by 59 L 65% and 100 seed weight by Il 8% in groundnut while ill castor 6-33% improved soil moisture enhanced cap sulcs per plånL from 45 to 57% without any significant cft•ecl on 100 sccd weight. Thesc tteatlncnts were •rollowcd by groundnut shell applied crop, RDF and rcgcncralive (organics only) -trcatmcnts. However, during 2005 the order •in. which highcr yiclds achieved. by treatments were GSM application, compost followed by RDF due to well-distributed rainrall. Therefore to sustain yields in rainfcd groundnut and castor crops; present experirnentation envhasized application of organics to •improve soil fertility and drought management ability recycling crop Fesidues through a simple process of cattle shed bedding. This was an attetnpt to introduce the practicc of cattle shed bedding as value addition -to process other locally available crop residues to the practitioners of farming (es pecially parts of Africa and Latin America).