Rajkot: Salt-resistant Fertilizer Kindles Farmers’ Hopes – Indian Innovation

RAJKOT: Farmers in coastal regions whose farmlands have been ravaged by salinity ingress can expect some breather.
Using biotechnology, scientists at Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU) have developed a new fertilizer which can actually reverse the salinity and turn the soil fertile again. The fertilizer has been made using halophiles, the ‘salt-loving’ organisms that are found aplenty in the saline environment.

Laboratory tests of this new fertilizer have yielded encouraging results. Moreover, the use of this new consortium (mixture of bacteria) will greatly reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and promote organic farming, scientists said.

The research team was led by head of biotechnology department BA Golakia and assistant professor Shraddha Bhatt. “We isolated the halophiles from farm soils near Veraval coast. These bacteria and withstand temperatures as high as 45 degree Celsius,” said Bhatt.

According to the data of state water resources department, a total 7,00,120 hectare area, 534 villages, 10,79,733 persons and 32,750 wells in Gujarat have been adversely affected due to salinity ingress caused by variety of factors excessive lifting of underground water by farmers for irrigation. The salinity ingress is increasing at the rate of 0.5 km to 1 km per annum in Gujarat.

“The halophiles revive living micro-organisms beneath the earth, which are damaged due to salinity and over use of fertilizer and pesticide. These living organisms like earthworms are important for crops and once revived, they will eventually help convert the non-fertile land to fertile,” Bhatt told TOI.

“These isolated bacteria were compatibly mixed to develop a consortium which can be used by the farmers in coastal regions. Being salt resistant, it will help plants bloom in saline soil under high temperature. The bacteria in the fertilizer will also provide different types of growth hormones and nutrients like phosphorus, potash, iron that are necessary for growth of any plant,” Bhatt told TOI.

At present, no such fertilizer having halophiles is available in the market. JAU estimates that the fertilizer will reduce the production cost for farmers by nearly 35% as they can completely do away with chemical fertilizers. The varsity has completed laboratory tests and trials will now be conducted on the plants using saline soil. Thereafter, it will be used in selected farms. “Once all the tests are done successfully, JAU will start selling this fertilizer to the farmers,” said Golakia.

Source:ToI

Image Courtesy: Organic Farming India