Coir Pith: Micro Reservoir of Water and Nutrient Resources for Agriculture

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Authors

  • P. S Mukherjee
     Formerly in CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar & Raja Ramanna Fellow (BARC), Mumbai; Present address: Plot No.152, Dharma Vihar, Bhubaneswar-751030, Odisha ,IN
  • Ravi Prakash
     Plant Protection Advisor and Registrar, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India ,IN

Keywords:

Coir pith, Micro reservoir, Water, Nutrients

Abstract

Coir pith or coir dust is the organic waste generated during extraction of coir fibre from coconut husk. This waste which otherwise pose problem to the fibre manufacturing units, can be converted into precious inputs for farming due to its useful properties of water holding capacity, major and micronutrient contents, high porosity, etc. It has been observed that Farm Yield Manure (FYM)can to a great extent reduce the use of chemical fertilizer NPK when coir pith is mixed with soil or with 100% coir pith for the production of tuber crops. The ‘K’ content of coir pith is efficiently used when FYM is added to the coir pith to help the growth of tuber crops. Experimental results indicated the vast potential of large scale utilization of this golden dust not only for its use as soil conditioner but also for effectiveness in soil-water conservation sustainably.

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Published

2024-10-24

Issue

Volume 21, Issue 1, June 2024

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Articles

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