Banana growers using organic fertiliser to get better yields

HYDERABAD: Banana growers have adopted new technology by utilising residue compost in making organic fertiliser to improve yields and regain soil fertility.

Banana compost is the mixture of different items, including farmyard manure, straw of grain crops such as wheat, rice, soybean, maize, mung beans, tree leaves, twigs, green grasses, wood chippings, vegetable waste, gypsum, etc.

Farmers believe these materials have rich nutrients for benefiting plants growth. The farmers are using chemical inputs excessively to crops in the name of getting more yield, but it badly affects the crops, as the increasing soil infertility created problems and caused overall low productivity.

Banana is considered the most important crop in the food market after wheat and rice. This crop's production contributes for food security, besides providing livelihood to a large number of people.

"Banana compost has high soil fertility and soil health value and can be used for any crop after 70 to 75 days, with two turnings at 30 days interval,” says Rasool Bakhsh Khaskheli, a senior instructor at the Agriculture Training Institute of the Agriculture Extension Department in Sakrand, Nawabshah district.

The initiative has been taken for residue composting in banana producing districts of the province, which included Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Khairpur and Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad).

All green crops' material at the middle age before flowering like maize, pulses, leaves and grasses, can be used for composting for organic fertiliser, he said. The senior researcher and trainer claims to have motivated banana farmers to attend trainings at field level under the project “Demonstration, diffusion and adoption of the best soil fertility and soil health management technologies and practices for the farmers of Pakistan”, being implemented in collaboration with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), which contributes in the field of agriculture, research, training and publications. These trainings attracted farmers and officials of these organisations to make use of this fertiliser for banana fields so that better yields can be achieved and soil fertility remains intact.

Agriculture training institutions in Sakrand and Jacobabad facilitate trainings on related themes, besides having advisory teams of officials to help farmers.

During trainings, farmers were given awareness about the effectiveness of organic fertiliser to gain fertility of specific area. Generally, four tons compost/acre is enough for complete restoration of soil fertility and soil health. The project under implementation aimed at creating awareness among banana farmers to use waste for restoring soil fertility, realising its importance in terms of nutrients.

Sindh grows banana on 35,000 hectares. After the harvest, the plant leaves a large quantity of residue in the form of banana stalks, pseudo-stems, leaves, etc. Disposal of this residue is becoming a problem for the farming community. Growers burn the residue, which not only causes environmental problems, but also is a loss of crop nutrients, especially nitrogen.

During the process of demonstration, the banana farmers were motivated about the usefulness of compost with the adoption of a mechanical chopper that can save labour and time.

Following these adaptations, the work has been extended to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which have networks of farmers in banana producing areas.

Javed Odhano of Goth Seegar Foundation (SGF), Khairpur district, whose organisation is also involved in producing organic fertiliser, said that they use banana residue chopping, filling of the pit with alternate layers of chopped banana residue and cattle manure and cover the material with plastic sheet or keep it at soil for some days. Organic fertilisers are safe for humans, animals and environment, as a partial substitute for mineral source, he said, adding that it is preferred to avoid pollution and to reduce the costs of chemical fertilisers.

Researchers in the agriculture field believe that after the introduction of new technology, there is a need to create awareness among farmers at field level to improve per acre yield of crops.

It is believed that farmers mostly use high inputs specifically in banana crops, which cause soil infertility. In this situation, banana residue compost may keep the land fertile for a long time. This organic fertiliser can also be used in kitchen gardening and seasonal vegetables, besides agriculture lands.

Agriculture researchers suggest to use available resources so as to combat hunger and livelihood issues emerging in the agriculture areas. Sindh is facing increasing salinity, floods, drought, land degradation, improper post-harvest handling and other factors, causing the productivity of agricultural land resources.

This newly-introduced technology of using banana residue compost for organic fertiliser may proof an alternative against chemical and restore soil fertility. Currently, the new technology is being adopted for the banana growing fields, but in the long run, it can be utilised at other food crops to get better yields.