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ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
BIOFERTILIZERS
Biofertilizers are biologically active
products of microbial inoculants of bacteria, algae and fungi (seperately
or in combination), which may help biological nitrogen fixation for
the benefit of plants, when applied to seeds, roots or soil. They are
environment friendly and also protect plants from getting any disease.
Biofertilizers are supposed to be a
safe alternative to chemical fertilizers to minimize the ecological
disturbance. These are natural, organic, non pollutant, economical
products that are required in a small dose (Gahukar, 2005-06).
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It is recommended
that the biofertilizers may be applied in place of chemical
fertilizers as they are environmentally sound, pollution free and of
low cost. They increase crop yield upto 10-40% and fix nitrogen upto
40-50 Kg after using 3-4 years continuously. They improve soil
texture, pH, and other properties of soil. They produces plant
growth promoting substances e.g. IAA amino acids, vitamins etc.
However, some precautions may be taken while using them:
Types of Biofertilizers ...For
more details click here
Biofertilizers in India &
Punjab
In India commonly produced
biofertilizers are Rhyzobium strains, Azotobacter, Azospirillum,
Phosphate Solubilizers, Blue green algae, Azolla and Microhizae (VAM)
(http://planning.up.nic.in). The crops suites, benefits usually seen
by applying these biofertilizers.
The Department has reported zone-wise
data. During this period, the maximum of 18333.064 Tonnes was
contributed by south zone and minimum by North-East zone of 162.04
Tonnes. In North zone production of biofertilizers was 2050.617 Tonnes
and in Punjab the estimated production was 1.55 Tonnes approx. On an
average during this period of six years (2003-2008).
Further, the Department of Agriculture,
Punjab has reported that in Punjab area covered under Green Manuring
is 1,96,000 ha approximately with an application of 61,60,873 MT of
the green manure which includes, organic manure, vermicompost, press
mud, compost and biofertilizers. The biofertilizers contribute 370MT
in this. The department has reported 3426 organic units with annual
production of 56002 MT with estimated 91 biofertilizer units under
State & public undertakings (Department of Agriculture, Punjab,
2010-11).
Eco-Friendly Agricultural Technologies
Page updated on Aug 2011
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