Every year, during winters, Delhi is engulfed in smog with air quality dropping to the poorest levels in the world, all because farmers in North India commence burning of stubble and crop residue to quickly clear the ground for the next season of farming.?
However, now researchers have developed a new way to clear out the stubble that would not only eliminate the mess without pollution but at the same time would also add to the fertility of the ground.
Reported first by Vigyan Prasar, Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute have developed a novel PUSA Decomposer, which accelerates the decomposition of the dead stubble with the help of fungi. Researchers have put strains of amylolytic and ligninolytic fungi in capsules that produce necessary enzymes that speed up the degradation process.
The application isn¡¯t the most instant. Capsules have to be scaled to 25 litres of the formulation. To make this degrading formula, farmers will have to boil 150 grams of old jaggery. With the scum removed and the mixture cooled, the jaggery is mixed with five litres of water. After this an addition of 50 grams of gram flour followed by 4 of the aforementioned capsules. Once developed, the mixture should be kept in a warm area for the fungi to activate. This takes around 5 days.?
Dr K. Annapurna, Head, Microbiology Department, IARI while speaking with India Science Wire, explains, ¡°Once the scaling up is done the formulation has to be diluted using another 200 liters of water for one acre of paddy straw. Every acre of paddy generates about 4-5 tons of straw so in every acre, there would be around 4-5 tons of straw.¡±
Normally, it could take at least 45 days for the decomposition to commence, however, with this formula, this can be completed in 25 to 30 days.?
Dr AK Singh, Director, IARI further added how this method can be beneficial not just for people who are affected with poor air quality but also farmers, ¡°Based on our experiments, the cost of employing this method will come to about Rs 300 per acre, including the cost of labour. That is not the only benefit though. When organic matter decomposes in the sand, it improves the quality of soil in a way that inorganic fertilizers cannot. As the fungi only impact dead straw, the wheat crop is not in danger.¡±