30 4ateria&and

methods

3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1. COLLECTION OF RAW MATERIALS

The waste materials were obtained from nearby poultry farm, orchard, cow's farm

and goat's herd etc. Coir waste was collected from Tenkasi, which is one among the

largest producers of coir fibre in Tamil Nadu. Biofertilizers like Phizobium and

Azospirillwn were collected from Agricultural Extension Centre, Alangulam. The

collected materials were stored sally in Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environmental

Sciences for production of composts and maintaining organic manure stock.

List of different materials utilized are goat manure, vermicompost, coir pith

compost, neem compost, pig manure, poultry manure, farm yard manure (FYM), ground

nut oil cake, agricultural biomass (crop residues), Eichhornia crossipes, Ipomea cornea,

Coiotrophis gigantia, Cassia auriculata, Coleus parvWorus etc..

3.2. COMPOSTING OF ORGANIC MATERIALS

31.1. VERMICOMPOSTING

The raw materials used for vermicomposting are leaf litter and cow dung. The

earthworm species used for verniicomposting was Lampito mauritii - an anecic

indigenous species. The vermi pits were prepared in the dimension of 2x2xlm. The

bottom layer was filled with pebbles and sand, which Infiltrate the excess water from the

composting pit. The second layer was filled with rich garden soil and old compost as

noculuxn. The worms were introduced on the old compost layer. Cow dung and leaf

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litter were mixed at the rate of 1:2 ratio and added in the pit as a feed for the earthworms.

Finally the pit was covered by coconut fronds in order to prevent moisture evaporation

by direct sunlight and to protect the earthworms from its natural predators. Water was

sprinkled once in 2 or 3 days, the contents of the pit were turned once in a week for even

decomposition and enhanced aeration. After 60 days the matured compost was collected,

sieved and packed.

3.2.2. COIR COMPOSTING

The coir waste was composted by using Pie urotus sajorcaju - an oyster

mushroom and urea. S bottles of mushroom spawn per ton and 0.5 % urea as a nitrogen

source were used. The coir waste was spreaded in layers with mushroom spawn and urea

in alternate layers. The compost heap was given turning fortnightly. The heap was

moistened with water spray on alternate days. After 60 days the compost was matured

and was ready for field application.

3.2.3. NEEM LEAF COMPOST

The dried neem leaves collected from our campus was used to form a heap along

with cow dung for 20 days of initial decomposition because of which the

vermicomposting of the same was made easier. The cow dung and neem leaves were

added in the 1:4 ratio. Vermicomposting of predigested neem leaves combined with cow

dung was carried out as given in sub heading 3.2.1.

41

3.2.4. GREEN MANURES

The green manures collected were directly applied to the paddy field during the

first ploughing, where the decomposition of green manures took place. The green

manures include Eichhornia crassipes, Ipomea cornea, Calotrophis gigantia Cassia

auricutata and Coleus parvflorus.

3.3. FIELD APPLICATION STUDIES33.1. SELECTION OF FIELD

The compost produced by various methods and other manures collected from

various sources has been taken to field trial experiments. The field selected is located in

Karambai near Kallidalkurichi. The selected field was levelled and applied with pond silt

® 15 tons per hectare. This is to minimize the residual effect of the chemical fertilizers

once used. The plots were made in randomized block design (RBD) manner and

triplicates for each treatment were put.

33.2. CROP S11LCTION AND TREATMENTS

Field application of organic manures was carried out on crop cultivation viz., soy

bean, paddy and black gram. The variety of soy bean used for the present study was

for paddy It was 'white ponni' and that of black gram was 'Co-3'. The field was

partitioned into many small plots. The plot size for soybean and black gram was 20 in2

and for paddy it was 30 in2. The plots were put in randomized block design manner. Soil

bond was made in between each plot in order to minimize the seepage effect to the

maximum possible way. Vermicompost was applied at the rate of S tons per hectare and

green manures were applied at the rate of 12 tons per hectare. The dosage were made as

per the recommendations of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). The field

application studies were carried out during the following period.

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42

Soy bean (Glycine max) - from May 2000 to July - 2000

Paddy (Oryza saliva) - from October 2000 to January - 2001

• Black gram( Vigna mungo) - from February to April - 2001

The following were the treatments for the soybean and black gram field application

studies

TI - Control plot (with out application of any manures)

12 - Goat manure applied plot

T3 - Vermicompost applied plot

T4 - Coir compost applied plot

T5 - Neem compost applied plot

16 - Pig manure applied plot

T7 - Poultry manure applied plot

T8 - Farm yard manure applied plot

19 - Biofertilizer (Rhizobium) applied plot

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The following were the treatments for paddy cultivation with different organic manures

Ti - Control plot (with out application of any manures)

T2 - Goat manure applied plot

T3 - Vermicompost applied plot

T4 - Coir compost applied plot

T5 - Neem compost applied plot

16 - Pig manure applied plot

T7 - Poultry manure applied plot

18- Farm yard manure applied plot

19- Biofertiizer (Azospirillum) applied plot

T10 - Eichhornia crasipes applied plot

111 - Ipomea cornea applied plot

TI 2- Calotrophis gigantea applied plot

T13- Cassia auriculata applied plot

T14- Coleus parv Worus biomass (waste product) applied plot

115- Agricultural biomass (crop residues of belmoschus esculentus,

Beta vulgaris, Raphanus salivus, Alium cepa etc..) applied plot

T16 - Ground nut oil cake applied plot

The following were the treatments for paddy cultivation with different organic manuresand vermicompost

117 - Goat manure and vermicompost applied plot

Ti 8- Coir pith compost and vermicompost applied plot

119- Neem compost and vermicompost applied plot

T20- Pig manure and vermicompost applied plot

T21-Poultry manure and vermicompost applied plot

122 - Farm yard manure and vermicompost applied plot

T23 - Biofertilizer (Azospirillum) and vermicompost applied plot

T24 - Eichhornia crasipes and vermicompost applied plot

T25 - Ipomea cornea and vermicompost applied plot

T26 - Calorrophis giganlea and vermicompost applied plot

T27 - Cassia auriculata and vermicompost applied plot

45

T28 - Co1euparvjflorus biomass and vermicompost applied plotT29 - Agricultural wastes (crop residues of Abelmoschus esculentus,

Beta vulgaris, Raphanus sativus, Alium cepa etc..) and vermiconipost applied plotT30 - Ground nut oil cake and vermicompost applied plot

3.3.3. SOIL SAMPLING

The soil samples of all the trial plots were collected periodically. For soybean

and black gram growth studies the soil sampling was done on 25th day (first stage), 50th

day (second stage) and 75th day (third stage) and for paddy on 40 th day (first stage), 80th

day (second stage) and the day of harvesting (third stage). Wedge shaped cuts about half

a feet depth were made in the field away from the bunds in different locations of a plot,

the soil along the wedge surface was scraped, collected and pooled together. The

collected samples were kept in a polythene pack in order to protect the soil flora and to

maintain the moisture content of the soil.

3.3.4. SOIL ANALYSIS

The collected soil samples were taken for bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes

count. After enumeration of microbial count and estimation of moisture content the

collected samples were dried. This was to prevent the evaporation of nutrients from the

samples. The physicochemical properties like electrical conductivity, pH, bulk density,

porosity, water holding capacity, moisture content, NPK and micro nutrients were

analyzed. The methods used for the analysis of the samples are as follows.

1 Physical parameters

a) pH - Jackson, 1973

b) Electrical conductivity (EC) - Jackson, 1973

C)

Bulk density (BD) - Tandon, 1993

d) Porosity -Chandraboseet.aL, 1988

e) Moisture content - Chandrabose et. a/., 1988

0

Water holding capacity - Chandrabose et.al., 1988

ii Chemical parameters

a) Estimation of Nitrogen - Kjeldahl method

b) Estimation of Phosphorus - Colorimetric method

c) Estimation of Potassium - Flame photometric method

d) Estimation of Calcium & Magnesium— As above

e) Estimation of Zinc & Copper - Atomic AbsorptionSpectroscopy (AAS)

f) Estimation of Iron - Spectrophotometric method

g) Estimation of Manganese - Spectrophotometric method

iii Microbiological parameters

a) Enumeration of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes

46

Tandon, 1993

Tandon, 1993

Tandon, 1993

Tandon, 1993

Tandon, 1993

Jackson, 1973

Chopra andKanwar, (1991)

Allen, 1953

3.3.5. GROWTH PARAMETERS

The sampling was done during the initial (25th day), intermediate (50th day) and

final stages (75th day) of crop cultivation. From the triplicate plot a plant from each

plot/pot was randomly picked out carefully and examined for its various growth

parameters. From the triplicate for each parameter mean value was calculated. The

growth parameters including root length, shoot length, number of nodules, leaves, pods

flowers, buds and fresh & dry weight were observed.

Root length

The plants were picked out carefully and the length of the root system was

measured using a scale and recorded in centimetre (cm).

47

Shoot length

The length of the shoot system from the base to the shoot tip was measured using

a scale and recorded in centimetre (cm).

Inter nodal distance (IND)

The inter nodal distance observed in between two nodes of the shoot system was

measured using a scale and recorded in centimetre (cm).

Number of nodules, leaves, flowers and pods

The number of nodules, leaves, flowers and pods were counted and recorded in

the observation book.

Fresh weight

The fresh weight of the whole plant was weighed using a physical balance and

was recorded in grams (g).

Dry weight

The dry weight of the whole plant was taken by sun drying them for two days and

then keeping them in hot air oven for 12 hours. After that, it was weighed using a

physical balance and was recorded in grams (g).

Yield

The yield from each triplicate plot was collected and weighed in kilograms (kg).

The mean of them was calculated, this was yield obtained from twenty square metres.

From that, yield per hectare in terms of tons was calculated.

48

3.4. POT CULTURE STUDIES

The pot culture studies were carried out in Sri Paramakalyani Centre for

Environmental Sciences, Aiwarkurichi. The pots were filled with organic manures, sand

and red soil at 1:2:3 ratio. Each treatment was made in triplicate. The same composition

and number of treatments were chosen for soybean and black gram. The following are the

T9 - Biofertilizer (A.zospirillum) applied pot

T10 — VC + Goat manure applied pot

TI 1 - VC + Coir compost applied pot

T12 - VC + Neem compost applied pot

T13 - VC + Pig manure applied pot

T14 - VC + Poultry manure applied pot

T15 - VC + Farm yard manure applied pot

T16 - VC + Biofertilizer (Azospiri/Iwn)applied pot

treatments for pot culture of paddy.

T —Control pot

T2 - Goat manure applied pot

T3 - Vermicompost applied pot

T4 - Coir pith compost applied pot

T5 - Neem compost applied pot

T6 - Pig manure applied pot

T7 - Poultry manure applied pot

T8 - Farm yard manure applied pot

3.5. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The data on various physico-chemical characteristics of soil samples and growth

parameters of the experimental plants were fed into computer and mean values (X) with

SE were obtained. The differences in the mean values of experimental physico-chemical

analysis were tested for their statistical significance using ANOVA (Analysis of

Variance) test and 'Q' test.