Secondary and Micronutrient Management Practices in
Organic Farming- An Overview
M.R. ANAND*, H.D. SHIVA KUMAR , POOJITHA KOMMIREDDY
and K.N. KALYANA MURTHY
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture,
University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru-65, India.
Abstract
Modern agriculture, no doubt has paved the way for “Green Revolution”,
but it has led to the application of heavy doses of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides with the sole objective of maximizing the yield. The unbalanced
and continuous use of chemical fertilizers in intensive cropping system
is causing deterioration of soil health, multi-nutrient deficiencies, low
productivity, poor quality and environmental hazards. Poor quality of
food and fodder has caused serious health problems and disorders
in both animals and human beings. Now, the agriculture research is
focused on evolving ecologically sound, biologically sustainable and
socio economically viable technologies like organic farming which
includes local organic sources of nutrients without using chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. Adoption of organic farming minimizes the
environmental pollution and maintain long-term soil fertility by improving
soil organic matter and essential plant nutrients including secondary
and micronutrients. For producing quality food by sustaining the soil
productivity and soil health are the challenges before us on one side and
minimizing the pressure on non renewable sources or limited available
sources on other hand needs immediate attention by all the stakeholders
engaged in agriculture. Application of technologies available in organic
farming and use of all locally available organic sources particularly on
farm biomass which are rich in secondary and micronutrients will meet
the twin objective of quality food production and reducing the pressure
on non renewable resources.
Current Agriculture Research Journal
www.agriculturejournal.org
ISSN: 2347-4688, Vol. 7, No.(1) 2019, pg. 04-18
CONTACT M. R Anand anandmruas@gmail.com Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural
Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru-65, India.
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Enviro Research Publishers.
This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons license: Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY).
Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CARJ.7.1.02
Article History
Received: 23 March 2019
Accepted: 29 April 2019
Keywords
Organic Farming;
Secondary and Micronutrients;
Soil Health;
Sustainability.
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Introduction
Organic farming is “a production system that sustains
soil health, ecosystem and agriculture production,
by relaying on ecological processes, biodiversity
and natural cycles and adapted to local conditions
than use of inputs with adverse effects”.9 FAO
suggested that “Organic agriculture is a unique
production management system which promotes
and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including
biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological
activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm
agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in
exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs”. Agricultural
practices of India date back to more than 4000 years,
organic farming is very much native to this country.
As mentioned in Arthashastra, farmers in the Vedic
period possessed a fair knowledge of soil fertility,
seed selection, plant protection, sowing seasons
and sustainability of crops in different lands. The
farmers of ancient India adhered to the natural laws
and this helped in maintaining the soil fertility over
a relatively longer period of time. The organically
cultivated food crops have a vast untapped export
potential growing at 10 to 15 per cent per annum3.
From the past two to three decades organic farming
is gaining more importance again and the area under
organic farming is increasing day by day. Emerging
from 42,000 ha under certified organic farming
during 2003-04, the organic agriculture has grown
almost 29 fold during the last 5 years. By 2010 India
has brought more than 4.48 million ha area under
organic certification process.23
According to the latest FiBL–IFOAM survey on
certified organic agriculture worldwide,9 data on
organic agriculture are available from 162 countries.
There are 57 million hectares of organic agricultural
land. The countries with the largest areas of organic
agricultural land are Australia followed by Argentina
and China. India stands in 9th position with 1.49 m ha
(0.8 % of total agricultural land) and including wild
collections it is 4.2 m ha. India stands in first position
with respect to number of producers with 8.35 lakh
producers followed by Uganda and Mexico.
There is a good market for organic goods in the
world market. Among the different organic products
that are exported from the country tea stands in first
position with 25% share followed by rice (21%) and
fruits and vegetables (15%).19
The reason why the organic products are accepted
worldwide is due to their superior quality and nutrition
than conventional products. For any plant to produce
fruit or grain with good quality and nutrition it needs
all the essential plant nutrients.
It is known that plant absorbs small amounts of many
elements, but 17 elements are known as essential
elements based on Arnon and Stout criteria of
essentiality.
A. Primary nutrients: It includes nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium.
B. Secondary nutrients: It includes calcium,
magnesium and sulfur. Calcium (Ca):
Involved in cell division and plays major
role in maintenance of membrane integrity.
Magnesium (Mg): Component of chlorophyll,
ribosomes and a cofactor for many enzymatic
reactions. Sulfur (S): Constituent of amino
acids (cystein, methionine), vitamins, lipoic
acid and acetyl co-enzyme A6.
C. Micronutrients: Micronutrients (trace
elements) are needed in tissue concentrations
equal to or less than 100 μg g-1 of dry matter.
They are referred as micronutrients not
because they are less important for plant
growth and development, but because they
are required in relatively small amounts.
They include: Zinc- It is a constituent of
several enzymes regulating various metabolic
reactions. Iron- An essential component
of many hemo and nonhemo Fe enzymes
and carriers, including cytochromes and
the ferredoxins. Involved in key metabolic
functions such as N fixation, photosynthesis
and electron transfer. Manganese- Involved
in oxygen evolving system of photosynthesis
and also influences auxin levels in plants.
Copper- It acts as an electron carrier in
enzymes and associated with oxidation-
reduction reactions. Boron- It is essential for
development and growth of new cells in plant
meristem. It is associated with translocation
of sugars, starch, nitrogen and phosphorus.
Molybdenum- It is an essential component
of enzyme nitrate reductase in plants. It is
also structural component of nitrogenase
associated with nitrogen fixation in legumes.
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Chlorine- Essential for photosynthesis and as
an activator of enzymes involved in splitting
of water. Associated with osmoregulation
of plants growing on saline soils. Nickel-
Essential for regulating N metabolism, grain
filling and seed viability.6
Secondary and Micronutrients Management
Practices in Organic Farming
In organic farming chemical fertilizers are not
allowed and only organic manures and organic
fertilizers are allowed. So whatever might be the
nutrient requirement of the crops, it has to be
supplied through organic sources only. Generally
organic sources are referred as complete plant
food as they contain all the essential plant nutrients.
Different nutrient management practices followed
in organic farming for secondary and micronutrient
management are application of FYM, compost, oil
cakes, liquid organic manures, biofertilizers, animal
manures and organically approved amendments,
cropping system management viz., green manures
(One season in a year), crop rotation, intercropping,
crop residues management as mulch.3
Table 1: Secondary and micronutrients range in plant and soil.
Nutrients Plant Soil
Low Medium High
Calcium 0.1-1.0 (%) <2 meq - >2 meq
Magnesium 0.1-0.4 (%) <1 meq - >1 meq
Sulphur 0.1-0.3 (%) <10 ppm 10-15.6 ppm >15.6 ppm
Zinc (ppm) 20-100 <0.6 0.6-1.2 >1.2
Iron (ppm) 20-250 <4.5 4.5-9.0 >9.0
Manganese (ppm) 20-300 <3.5 3.5-7.0 >7.0
Copper (ppm) 2-20 <0.2 0.2-0.4 >0.4
Boron (ppm) 10-100 <0.5 0.5-1.0 >1.0
Molybdenum (ppm) 0.1-0.5 <0.2 0.2-0.4 >0.4
Chlorine (ppm) 2000-20000 - - -
Nickel (ppm) 0.1-0.2 - - -
(Seenappa et al., 2019)
Table 2: Composition of the FYM, green manures, crop residues and mineralized sulfur as
percentage of sulfur added to soil through various organic amendments
Organic S C:N C:S Amount of S added % of added S mineralized
material content (%) ratio ratio (mg kg-1 soil-1) (16 weeks after incubation)
Vertisol Inceptisol
FYM 0.282 10.5 88.6 28.2 67.3 63.5
Subabul 0.242 12.2 157.0 24.2 55.5 53.6
Gliricidia 0.191 12.1 178.0 19.1 55.1 50.3
Soybean straw 0.097 34.9 371.1 9.7 -39.1 -20.9
Wheat straw 0.072 79.8 598.6 7.2 -109.0 -56.4
(Kotha Sami Reddy et al., 2002)
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FYM (Farm Yard Manure) is a well decomposed
mixture of dung and urine of farm animals along with
other farm wastes. It is the basic organic nutrient
source available in most of the farms. The nutrients
in manure can vary depending on the animal type,
health, age, feed ration, bedding and water content.
In addition, the various management practices
associated with handling manure, manure storage,
duration of storage, application amount, application
technique and weather can all dramatically alter the
nutrient content in manure and thus the amount of
nutrients available in the soil and for future crop use.
Understanding and applying the correct amount of
manure to your fields can be accomplished by testing
your manure prior to application.
The farm yard manure generally has 2.3 % Ca, 0.92
% Mg, 0.44 % S, 803.6 ppm Fe, 1312 ppm Mn, 132.4
ppm Zn and 30.4 ppm Cu along with nitrogen (0.90
%), phosphorus (0.63 %) and potassium (0.98 %).14
The total sulfur mineralized in amended soil varied
considerably depending on the type of organic
materials incorporated and soil used. Sulfur
mineralization expressed as percentage of sulfur
added to the soils was highest in FYM treated soils
(63.5 to 67.3 %). The percentage of S mineralization
from subabul loppings was higher than that from
gliricidia loppings. Regression analysis clearly
indicated the dependence of S mineralization on the
C:S ratio of the organic material added to the soil.
Soybean and wheat straw recorded net negative
mineralization i.e., immobilization due to wider C:N
and C:S ratio.11
Compost is an organic matter that has been
decomposed in a process called composting. This
process recycles various organic materials which
otherwise regarded as waste products and produces
a soil conditioner. The decomposition process is
aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water
and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning.
There are different types of compost available like,
Vermicompost, Rural compost and Urban compost.
Among all, vermicompost is widely used one in which
earthworms are used to decompose the organic
wastes. The feaces of the earthworms is rich in
nutrients and growth promoters.2
The liquid extract obtained through earthworm
worked soil is referred to as Vermiwash and it
contains all the secondary and micronutrients
Table 3: Physico-chemical properties of
vermicompost and vermiwash
Parameter Vermicompost Vermiwash
pH 6.12 7.11
Calcium (mg kg-1) 322.33 192.4
Magnesium (mg kg-1) 137.33 102.53
Manganese (mg kg-1) 0.69 0.40
Iron (mg kg-1) 0.21 0.11
Copper (mg kg-1) 0.09 0.05
Zinc (mg kg-1) 1.13 0.43
(Abdullah and Kumar, 2010)
Table 4: Soil chemical analysis after harvest and yield of okra
Treatments Increase Increase in Increase Increase Fruit yield)
in OC % Ca (ppm) in Mg (ppm) in Zn (ppm) (g/plant
Control -0.07 -2.45 -0.39 -1.50 24.69
Cattle dung @ 100 g/plant 0.27 1.79 0.73 5.12 31.64
Chemical fertilizers -0.15 1.15 0.35 0.86 75.43
Vermiwash @ 100 ml/plant 0.14 3.40 0.64 6.73 30.36
Vermicompost @ 100 g/plant 0.64 4.07 0.90 10.24 59.04
Vermicompost and Vermiwash 0.73 5.00 1.00 15.62 69.11
(Abdullah and Kumar, 2010)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
as that of vermicompost but in lesser quantities
comparatively.2
Combined application of vermicompost at 100
g/plant at the time of sowing and spraying of
Vermiwash at 100 ml/plant recorded higher fruit yield
per plant compared to vermicompost and vermiwash
alone. The higher yield is mainly due to supply of
more amounts of secondary and micronutrients.
The vermiwash and vermicompost combination
was also found to have a significant influence on
the biochemical characteristics of the soil with
marked improvement in soil nutrients like calcium,
magnesium and zinc.2
Oil cakes are the left over solid portion of seed after
extraction of oil from the seed. Mostly, edible oil seed
cakes are used as poultry and animal feed and non
edible oil seed cakes are used as concentrated
manure.
Oil cake obtained from castor is a good source of
iron and copper. Whereas oil cake obtained from
pongamia is a good source of manganese and
jatropa contains more of zinc along with other
micronutrients.5
Application of pongamia oil cake at 100 % N
equivalent dose recorded significantly highest cotton
yield (1790 kg/ha) compared to 100 % inorganic
fertilizer (1065 kg/ha) and farmers practice (950 kg/
ha) which doesn’t have any source of secondary
and micronutrients. One of the major constraints in
cotton production is secondary (magnesium) and
micronutrient deficiencies. Pongamia oil cake under
the study contains 0.25 % Ca, 0.17 % Mg, 1.89 %
S, 59 ppm Zn, 100 ppm Fe, 22 ppm Cu, 74 ppm
Mn and 19 ppm B along with primary nutrients N
(4.28 %), P2O5 (0.4 %) and K2O (0.74 %). Due to
the correction of nutrient deficiencies and balanced
supply of all nutrients pongamia treatment recorded
highest yield.16
Liquid organic manures is organic matter in liquid
form, mostly derived from animal feces, which can
be used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. The most
commonly used liquid organic manures in now a
days are,
a. Jeevamrutha: It is prepared by mixing cow
dung, cow urine, pulse flour, jaggery, and
bund soil in a ratio of 10:10:2:2:1 in 200 L of
water. It is for soil application.
b. Panchagavya: It consists a total of nine
products viz. cow dung, cow urine, milk,
curd, ghee, jaggery, banana, tender coconut
Table 5: Composition of different oil cakes
Constituents Castor Pongamia Jatropa
cake cake cake
Fe (mg/g) 138.3 53.4 134.4
Mn (mg/g) 102.3 294.0 256.5
Zn (mg/g) 244.8 275.3 378.2
Cu (mg/g) 184.3 127.3 103.3
C:N ratio 9.4:1 10.4:1 12.5:1
OC % 48.84 46.72 50.65
(Anon., 2010)
Fig 1: Cotton yield as influenced by application of pongamia cake
(Osman et al., 2009)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
and water. When suitably mixed and used,
these have miraculous effects. It is for foliar
application.
c. Beejamrutha: It is prepared by soaking 5
kg of cow dung bagged in cloth bag in 20
L of water containing 50 g of lime overnight
followed by squeezing the cow dung into
the solution and adding 5 L of cow urine.
Beejamrutha is for seed treatment only.
d. BDLM (Bio Digested Liquid Manure): Thirty
kilogram green biomass of selected plant
biomass, 15 kg cow dung, 20 L cow urine
were taken in separate 200 L cylindrical
cement tanks, and 100 L water was added
to each tank. The contents were incubated
for 45 days. During the period the contents
were digested by the microorganism present
in cow dung.
e. Vermiwash: The liquid extract obtained
through earthworm worked soil is referred
to as Vermiwash. It contains all nutrients
as vermicompost but in relatively lesser
quantities. Some other liquid organic manures
used under organic farming are: Leaf extracts,
Amruthjal, Liquid fish and bone meal, Sea
weed extract.
The various types of organic solutions prepared
from plant and animal origin are effective in the
promotion of growth and development in plants. The
Panchagavya is an efficient plant growth stimulant
that enhances the biological efficiency of crops. It
is used to activate biological reactions in the soil
and to protect the plants from disease incidence.
Table 6: Nutrient and microbial status of different liquid organic manures
Parameter Panchagavya Beejamrutha Jeevamrutha
pH 6.82 8.20 7.07
EC (dS/m) 1.88 5.50 3.40
Total Zinc (mg kg-1) 1.27 2.96 4.29
Total Copper (mg kg-1) 0.38 0.52 1.58
Total Iron (mg kg-1) 29.71 15.35 282
Total manganese (mg kg-1) 1.84 3.32 10.7
Bacteria (cfu/ml) 26.10×105 15.40×105 19.70×105
Fungi (cfu/ml) 18.0×103 10.50×103 13.40×103
Actinomycetes (cfu/ml) 4.20×103 6.80×103 3.50×103
(Nileemas and Sreenivasa, 2011)
Table 7: Effect of liquid organic manures on the yield parameters of tomato
Treatments No. of fruits/plant Fruit weight (g/plant)
RDF 11.12 167.23
Panchagavya only 16.12 216.60
Jeevamrutha only 11.87 149.43
Beejamrutha only 8.62 147.51
Beejamrutha + Jeevamrutha + Panchagavya 19.65 271.53
S.Em± 0.55 6.00
C.D.(p=0.05) 1.57 17.00
(Nileemas and Sreenivasa, 2011)
Note: RDF: 150-100-60 kg N-P-K/ha and 25 t FYM/ha, Panchagavya (3%) @ 25, 70 & 100 DAS, Jeevamrutha @ 500 L/ha
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Jeevamrutha promotes immense biological activity
in soil and enhance nutrient availability to crop.
Beejamrutha protect the crop from soil borne
and seed borne pathogens and also improves
seed germination. All the three organic solutions
contain significant amounts of micronutrients as
well as microbial population (bacteria, fungi and
actinomycetes).15
Treatment combination of Beejamrutha+Jeevamr
utha+Panchagavya recorded significantly highest
number of fruits per plant and fruit weight per plant
compared to individual treatments and RDF. All the
liquid organic manures contain significant amounts
of micronutrients and the combination treatment
has supplied higher amount of micronutrients which
resulted in higher fruits and fruit weight per plant.
The nutrient content available in the bio-digested
liquid manure depends on the source of green
biomass used for its preparation. When compared
to BDLM, the enriched bio-digested liquid manure
Table 8: Nutrient concentration in bio-digested liquid manures of
different green biomass (locally available) and EBDLM
Types of pH EC N P K Ca Mg S Fe Zn Cu Mn
BDLM (dS/m) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)
Parthenium 7.94 0.04 0.76 0.17 0.29 0.13 0.05 0.26 17.4 2.18 1.92 3.6
Lantana 7.23 0.04 0.83 0.20 0.31 0.09 0.06 0.28 14.3 1.91 1.41 2.59
Calatropis 6.41 0.15 0.87 0.23 0.35 0.07 0.03 0.31 22.3 1.99 1.84 4.78
Subabul 7.84 0.05 0.86 0.18 0.33 0.10 0.04 0.23 18.3 1.36 1.16 2.07
Glyricidia 6.45 0.06 0.98 0.22 0.36 0.07 0.05 0.32 19.4 1.92 1.96 3.96
Neem 7.11 0.08 0.61 0.24 0.32 0.08 0.05 0.25 18.5 2.06 2.58 3.98
Pongamia 7.91 0.27 0.81 0.22 0.26 0.09 0.04 0.27 22.4 1.80 2.45 3.83
Jatropha 7.10 0.04 1.04 0.25 0.38 0.08 0.05 0.31 24.5 1.87 1.76 2.19
EBDLM 8.10 0.26 1.29 0.39 0.57 0.17 0.08 0.35 28.7 3.68 3.66 7.74
(Pongamia)
(Anand, 2017)
Table 9: Pod yield, haulm yield, oil yield and B:C ratio of groundnut as
influenced by the different liquid organic manures
Treatment Pod yield Haulm yield Oil yield B:C
(kg/ha) (kg/ha) (kg/ha) ratio
BDLM @ 25 kg N equivalent per ha + 1783 2767 554 2.3
3 sprays of Panchagavya at 3%
BDLM @ 25 kg N equivalent per ha + 1752 2589 538 2.2
3 sprays of vermiwash at 3 %
EBDLM @ 25 kg N equivalent per ha + 2023 3090 668 2.7
3 sprays of Panchagavya at 3 %
EBDLM @ 25 kg N equivalent per ha + 1879 2794 596 2.4
3 sprays of vermiwash at 3 %
Control (25-50-25 Kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha) 1625 2518 482 1.8
C. D. at 5 % 186 303 61 -
(Shashidara, 2014)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
contains more amounts of all the nutrients. This is
because enriching is usually done with oil cakes
which are very good sources of plant nutrients and
moreover they are concentrated organic manures.3
All the organic treatments recorded significantly
higher yields and B:C ratio compared to control
i.e., RDF which doesn’t have any secondary and
micronutrients. Application of enriched bio digested
liquid manure at 25 kg N equivalent per ha + 3
sprays of Panchagavya at 3 % recorded highest pod
yield, haulm yield, oil yield and B:C ratio compared
to other treatments. This is mainly because
EBDLM (Enriched Bio Digested Liquid Manure)
and Panchagavya contains more secondary and
micronutrients than BDLM and vermiwash.21
Leaf Extracts
Modified neem leaf extract (1200 L/ha) gave
significantly higher yields in both maize and
watermelon (sole and intercrop) compared to NPK.
The modified neem leaf extract also improved
soil parameters like pH, organic matter, calcium
and magnesium after the harvest. NPK treatment
recorded lower yields as well as poor soil parameters
like pH, organic matter, calcium and magnesium
after the harvest as chemical fertilizers contains no
source of other nutrients.8
Biofertilizers is a substance which contains living
microorganisms which, when applied to seeds,
plant surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or
the interior of the plant and promotes growth by
increasing the supply or availability of nutrients to
the host plant.23
Though many biofertilizers are identified and used
regularly, most of them are specific for primary
nutrients. The work on secondary and micronutrient
solubilizing or mobilizing microorganisms is meager.
Some of the microorganisms identified in increasing
the availability of secondary and micronutrients
are: S- Thiobacillus sulfoxidans, Beggiota, Fe-
Thiobacillus ferroxidans, Ferrobacillus ferroxidans,
Zn- Bacillus spp.
Table 10: Secondary nutrient content
in different sources
Source of nutrient Ca (%) Mg (%)
Neem leaf extract 0.77 0.75
Poultry manure 0.32 0.41
Wood ash extract 15.00 1.00
Modified neem leaf extract 15.66 1.53
(Emmanuel, 2012)
Table 11: Yield and soil chemical composition after harvesting of maize + watermelon
intercropping under different fertilizer treatments
Treatments Yield (kg/plot) Soil status after harvesting of crop
Maize Watermelon pH OM % Ca Mg
(mmol/kg) (mmol/kg)
Neem leaf extract @3 L/25 m2 1.65b 20.3bc 6.25d 1.44b 1.00b 1.00b
Poultry manure @ 15 kg /25m2 1.70b 16.75b 6.10c 1.66e 1.25c 0.84d
Wood ash extract @3 L/25 m2 3.00d 10.4a 6.80f 1.51bd 1.29d 0.78c
Modified neem leaf extract @ 3 L/25 m2 3.85e 28.8d 6.34d 1.74f 1.31e 0.88e
NPK 15-15-15 @ 300g/25m2 2.15c 23.8c 5.38ab 0.38b 0.06a 0.06a
Control 1.20a 7.8a 5.2a 0.28a 0.03a 0.07a
(Emmanuel, 2012)
Note: Initial- pH: 5.45; OM: 0.69; Ca: 0.11; Mg: 0.09
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Azolla, a floating fern which is commonly used in
rice fields along with fixing atmospheric nitrogen also
supplies secondary and micronutrients like Ca, Fe,
Zn, Mn, Cu, B, Co and Ni4.
Initial soil status: P- 3.9%; Fe- 3.72; Mn -0.66; Zn -
0.29; Cu- 0.21
Higher values of P, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu uptake,
were observed by inoculation with VAM + PDB,
while inoculation by VAM or PDB solely recorded
relatively lesser values. Due to higher availability of
micronutrients in VAM + PDB, it recorded highest
yield as well as highest per cent increase over
control (16.6 %). VAM is more efficient in increasing
the nutrient availability than PSB. VAM (Vesicular
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae) is associated with the rots
of plants and increases the total volume of roots
which in turn increases the volume of soil in contact
with roots. As a result the micronutrients which are
less mobile in the soil is made available to plant by
these vesicular extensions.17
Animal manures
The most commonly used animal manures are
poultry manure and goat manure in India. Horse
manure and swine manure are also in use in foreign
countries.
Application of farmyard manure at 10 t/ha, poultry
manure at 5 t/ha and gypsum at 250 kg/ha increased
total uptake of all secondary nutrients and there
by pod and haulm yield of groundnut compared to
control. The increase in uptake of nutrients and yield
is mainly due to supply of nutrients by the organic
manures and gypsum. Poultry manure at 5 t/ha is
as effective as that of farm yard manure at 10 t/
ha. Irrespective of the time of application, gypsum
significantly increased the nutrient uptake and yield
of groundnut and there is no significant difference
whether gypsum is applied at the time of sowing or
half at the time of sowing and half at 35 DAS.18
Utilization of poultry manure has been a common
practice in India. Poultry manure is rich organic
manure since solid and liquid excreta are excreted
together resulting in no urine loss. In deep litter
manure, the litter absorbs moisture and helps keep
the manure friable. Litter is not used when the birds
are reared in cages so the manure obtained in
cage system is more concentrated. Lower C:N ratio,
Table 12: Mineral profile of Azolla pinnata
Minerals Content Minerals Content
Copper (ppm) 9.1 Calcium (%) 1.64
Boron (ppm) 31 Iron (ppm) 1569
Cobalt (ppm) 8.11 Zinc (ppm) 325
Nickel (ppm) 5.33 Manganese 2418
(ppm)
(Anitha et al., 2016)
Table 13: Effect of microbial inoculation on the availability
of P, micronutrients and yield of faba bean
Treatments Soil nutrient content after harvest Yield (t/fed) % increase over control
P Fe Mn Zn Cu
Control 3.71 3.55 0.67 0.28 0.24 2.62 -
VAM 8.44 4.22 0.84 0.61 0.30 2.97 12.03
PDB 6.15 3.75 0.70 0.39 0.28 2.85 7.14
VAM+PDB 8.93 5.43 1.00 0.79 0.53 3.09 16.16
L.S.D. at 0.05 1.30 0.30 0.29 0.09 0.20 0.30 -
(Raafat and Tharwat, 2006)
Note: VAM: Vascular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae PDB: Phosphorus Dissolving Bacteria 1 fed = 0.42 ha
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higher nutrients like sulfur, iron, zinc, copper and
manganese were recorded in cage poultry manure.20
Application of cage system poultry manure (CS-PM)
at 10 t/ha recorded higher protein content and oil
content in mustard and is on par with cage system
and deep litter system poultry manure (DLS-PM) at
higher rates i.e., at 20 t/ha. Higher protein and oil
content is mainly due to supply of secondary and
micronutrients. Lowest protein and oil content was
recorded in control due to no supply of nutrients.13
Even though there is a strict restriction in the use of
fertilizers in organic farming, IFOAM, Germany has
allowed the use of some of the chemical fertilizers as
amendments (which are mostly of natural occurring
substances) and they were shown in the above table
with their respective secondary and micronutrient
contents.23
Organically Approved Amendments
Some of the substances are allowed with some
restrictions like the substances should be free from
heavy metals and other pollutants.
Table 14: Effect of organic manure and gypsum on yield
and nutrient uptake of groundnut
Treatment Groundnut yield (q/ha) Nutrient uptake (kg/ha)
Pod Haulm Ca Mg S
Organic manure
Control 16.2 29.5 44.2 27.2 12.2
FYM 10 t/ha 18.5 32.2 51.2 30.9 14.0
Poultry manure(PM) 5 t/ha 18.1 32.0 51.5 30.5 13.7
CD (P=0.05) 0.73 1.17 1.78 1.13 0.42
Gypsum (250 kg/ha)
Control 16.6 30.5 45.8 28.1 12.5
Full at sowing 18.1 31.6 50.1 30.2 13.6
Half at sowing + half at 35 DAS 18.1 31.6 50.9 30.4 13.8
CD (P=0.05) 0.51 0.78 1.27 0.82 0.30
(Rao and Shaktawat, 2005 )
Note: FYM: Ca-0.24%; S-0.06% PM: Ca-1.1 %;S-0.1% Gypsum:Ca-18%;S-14%
Table 15: Effect of different poultry manures on protein and oil content of mustard
Treatments Protein Increase over Oil Increase over
content (%) content (%) content (%) control (%)
Control 21.25 - 40.25 -
DLS-PM @10 t/ha 22.42 5.22 41.41 2.80
DLS-PM @20 t/ha 23.78 10.64 42.35 4.96
CS-PM @10 t/ha 23.75 10.53 43.71 7.92
CS-PM @20 t/ha 24.31 12.59 44.11 8.75
LSD (0.05) 1.43 - 2.69 -
(Mohamed et al., 2010)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Cropping System Management
Crop rotation is the back bone of organic farming
practices and is a must to keep the soil healthy and
to allow the natural microbial systems working. Crop
rotation is the succession of different crops cultivated
on same land. Follow 3-4 years rotation plan. All high
nutrient demanding crops should precede and follow
legume dominated crop combination and returned
back to soil. Rotation of pest host and non pest host
crops helps in controlling soil borne diseases and
pest. It also helps in controlling weeds. It is better
for improving productivity and fertility of soil. Crop
rotations help in improving soil structure through
different types of root system. Legumes should be
used frequently in rotation with cereal and vegetable
crops. Green manure crops should also find place in
planning rotations. Some important benefits of crop
rotations are: a). Not all plants have same nutritive
Table 16: Organically approved and permitted sources as secondary and micronutrient
Source
Matter produced on an organic farm unit
Farmyard and poultry manure, slurry, urine, Composts, Vermicompost, Crop residues, green manure, Straw
and other mulches
Traps, barriers and repellants
Physical methods (e.g. chromatic traps, mechanical traps), Mulches, nets, Pheromones – in traps and
dispensers only
Mineral Origin
Clay (bentonite, perlite, vermiculite, zeolite) and Diatomaceous earth, Calcified sea weed, Basic slag, Lime,
Limestone, Gypsum and Calcium chloride, Kieserite, Epsum salt, Natural phosphates (like rock phosphate),
Sulphur (elemental) and Boudreaux mixture
Plant, Animal and Microbiological origin
Bacterial preparations (biofertilizers), Biodynamic preparations, Plant preparations and botanical extracts,
Plant based repellents (Neem preparations from Azadirachta indica), Algal preparations (gelatin), Casein,
Extracts from mushroom, chlorella, fermented products from Aspergillus, Beeswax, Natural acids (vinegar),
plant oils, Quassia.
Others
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, Soft soap, soda, sulphur dioxide, Homeopathic, ayurvedic preparations,
Herbal and biodynamic preparations, Sea salt and salty water
(Yadav, 2011)
Table 17: Mineral composition of eupatorium on dry weight basis
Constituent (unit) Value Constituent (unit) Value
Organic carbon (%) 1.87 Sulphur (mg/kg) 390.4
Nitrogen (%) 1.05 Iron (ppm) 500.3
Phosphorus (%) 0.11 Copper (ppm) 19.3
Potassium (%) 1.50 Zinc (ppm) 330.5
Calcium (mg/kg) 470.3 Manganese (ppm) 115.6
Magnesium (mg/kg) 320.0 Boron (ppm) 4.00
(De et al., 2008)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
needs. b). Soil structure is improved through different
types of roots and addition of organic matter. c).
Rotations help against the buildup of weeds, insects
and pathogens.
Green manuring is the growing of a crop for the
specific purpose of incorporating it into soil while
green, or soon after maturity with a view to improving
the soil and benefiting subsequent crops. Green
manuring helps in increasing organic matter and
nutrient content of soil, maintain and improve soil
structure, reduce the loss of nutrients and soil loss
by erosion. There are two types of green manuring: I.
Green manuring in situ: In this system, green manure
crops are grown and buried in the same field which
is to be green-manured, either as a pure crop or as
intercrop with the main crop. This is most common
green manure crops grown under this system are
sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea), dhaincha (Sesbania
aculeata), pillipesera (Phaseolus trilobus) and guar
(Cyamopsis tetragonaloba) II. Green leaf manuring:
refers to turning into the soil green leaves and
tender twigs collected from shrubs and trees grown
on bunds, waste lands and nearby forest areas.
The common shrubs and trees used are Glyricidia,
Sesbania, Karanj etc.
Eupatorium (Chromoleana odorata) an obnoxious
weed found in abundance in the India has become
a menace in younger plantations, waste lands and
along road sides. This weed is also known to cause
diseases in animals and human beings. Considering
its adverse impact on the environment, several
attempts have been made to control this weed by
adopting various methods. But, none of the methods
showed great promise in controlling this weed. Under
this juncture, few efforts were made to find out
alternate ways for controlling/minimizing this weed
menace. One of the environmentally friendly ways
to eradicate this weed would be its utilization for
productive purposes in agriculture. One of the ways
of using eupatorium is as green leaf manure before
its seed setting. Further, the nutrient (secondary
and micronutrient) content of eupatorium is quite
comparable to other conventional green manure
crops like sunnhemp and Glyricidia.7
Green leaf manuring with eupatorium, an alien
obnoxious weed at 10 t/ha recorded significantly
higher rice grain (6735 kg/ha) and straw yield (6206
kg/ha) along with highest B:C ratio (3.18) due to
supply of all plant nutrients including secondary
and micronutrients compared to control (5707 kg/
ha, 4650 kg/ha & 2.8, respectively).12
Table 18: Effect of eupatorium on grain,
straw yield and B:C ratio of rice
Treatment Grain yield Straw yield B:C
(kg ha-1) (kg ha-1) ratio
No eupatorium 5707 4650 2.8
Eupatorium @5t/ha 6120 5227 2.9
Eupatorium @10t/ha 6735 6206 3.18
Eupatorium @15t/ha 6915 6130 3.13
Eupatorium @20t/ha 6929 6862 3.08
C.D. at 5% 315 505 -
(Manjappa, 2014)
Table 19: Chemical properties of rice straw
Constituent (unit) Value Constituent (unit) Value
Organic carbon (%) 1.87 Sulphur (mg/ha) 390.4
Nitrogen (%) 1.05 Iron (ppm) 500.3
Phosphorus (%) 0.11 Copper (ppm) 19.3
Potassium (%) 1.50 Zinc (ppm) 330.5
Calcium (mg/ha) 470.3 Manganese (ppm) 115.6
Magnesium (mg/ha) 320.0 Boron (ppm) 4.0
(Abdul et al., 2016)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Crop residues is the portion of a plant or crop left in
the field after harvest, or that part of the crop that
is not used domestically or sold commercially. Total
amount of residue produced in India – 350 m t/yr.
Crop residue management: It is the use of the non-
commercial portion of the plant or crop for protection
or improvement of the soil. Management of crop
residues as a source of nutrients in organic farming
is done by Residue incorporation, Surface retention
and mulching, Composting.
Rice straw organic carbon concentration (1.87%)
was moderate. Straw was rich in phosphorus,
calcium, magnesium and sulphur (1170, 470, 320
and 390 mg/ha, respectively), as well as iron and zinc
(500 and 330.5 ppm, respectively). Other mineral
elements such as boron, manganese, copper and
sodium are in relatively lower concentrations.1
Application of rice straw at 1.25 t/ha after grounding
into small pieces of 2-5 cm recorded significantly
higher yield along with improving the organic matter,
secondary and micronutrient content of the soil. The
decrease in the growth traits at higher application of
rice straw might be due to the high dose of rice straw,
which apparently takes more time to decompose
for release of nutrients. The results suggest that the
use of rice straw at lower application rates could be
considered as optimum for groundnut production. Its
use could also limit environmental pollution arising
from burning of rice straw.1
Table 20: Groundnut yield as influenced by ground rice straw(GRS)
Nutrient content of soil after harvest (ppm)
Treatment Seed yield OM Ca Mg S Fe Mn Cu B Mo Zn
(kg/ha) (%) (meq) (meq)
Control 650 c 5.2 b 2.5 1.2 10 4.3 6.0 0.13 0.24 0.23 0.15
GRS 1278 a 5.8 a 2.4 1.0 15.5 8.2 8.0 0.19 0.34 0.12 0.50
@1.25 t/ha
GRS 976 b 6.0 a 2.6 1.1 16.7 7.4 7.6 0.18 0.28 0.13 0.31
@2.5 t/ha
(Abdul et al., 2016)
Table 21: Secondary and micronutrient content in different crops
Crop Ca (%) Mg (%) S (%) Fe (ppm) Mn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Cu (ppm) B (ppm) Mo (ppm)
Rice 1.2-1.4 0.2-0.3 0.2-0.4 70-150 150-500 18-50 8-25 6-7 -
Wheat 0.2-0.1 0.16-1.0 0.1-0.3 10-300 16-200 21-70 5-50 - -
Maize 0.3-0.7 0.15-0.45 0.15-0.5 50-250 20-300 20-60 5-20 5-25 -
Sorghum 0.3-0.6 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.3 65-100 10-190 15-30 2-7 1-10 -
Barley 0.3-1.2 0.15-0.5 0.15-0.4 40-250 25-100 15-70 5-25 - 0.1-0.2
Sugarcane 0.2-0.5 0.1-0.35 0.1-0.3 40-250 25-400 20-100 5-15 4-30 0.05-0.4
Soybean 0.36-2.0 0.26-1.0 0.21-0.4 51-350 21-100 21-50 10-30 21-55 0.1-0.5
Mustard 1.0-2.5 0.25-0.75 0.3-0.75 70-300 25-200 34-200 5-15 30-100 0.1-0.4
(Tandon, 2013)
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ANAND et al., Curr. Agri. Res., Vol. 7(1) 04-18 (2019)
Plants differ in their ability to uptake and accumulate
nutrients in their plant tissues. Legume plants
have a capability to accumulate more amounts of
molybdenum than other plants as molybdenum
is a component of nitrogenase enzyme which is
responsible for nitrogen fixation. Similarly, oil seed
crops will accumulate more amounts of sulphur
than other crop plants as sulphur is essential for oil
synthesis.21
Conclusion
The birthright of all living things is good health.
This law is true for soil, plant, animal and man: the
health of these four is one connected chain. Any
weakness or defect in the health of any earlier
link is passed onto the next and succeeding
link, until it reaches the last, namely, the man.
Therefore, to produce quality food and to sustain the
environment organic agriculture plays a crucial role
and organic management practices like application
of FYM, compost, oil cakes, liquid organic manures,
biofertilizers, vermicompost, organically approved
amendments, cropping system management viz.,
green manuring, crop rotation, intercropping, crop
residues management found beneficial for sustaining
soil health in terms of build-up of secondary and
micronutrients and safeguarding the environmental
degradation. Effective management and recycling
of available on-farm wastes helps to reduce the
dependency on external chemical inputs and limits
the environmental pollution arising out of burning of
farm wastes.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to the University of
Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru for carrying
research on organic farming during the Ph. D
program and supporting for the project.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
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