Organic Farming - Introduction
Organic Farming - Principles
Organic Farming - Steps
Successful Organic Transition
Organic Farming Vs
Conventional Farming
Organic Cultivation:
        - Agriculture Crops
        - Horticulture Crops

Biodynamic Farming
Biofertilizers Technology
Composting
Vermicompost
Coir Compost
Panchakavya
Dasakavya
Effective Microorganism
Recycling of Farm Waste

COMPOST

A mass of rotted organic matter made from waste is called compost. The compost made from farm waste like sugarcane trash, paddy straw, weeds and other plants and other waste is called farm compost. The average nutrient contents of farm compost are 0.5 per cent N, 0.15 per cent P2O5and 0.5 per cent K2O. The nutrient value of farm compost can be increased by application of superphosphate or rock phosphate at 10 to 15 kg/t of raw material at the initial stage of filling the compost pit. The compost made from town refuses like night soil, street sweepings and dustbin refuse is called town compost. It contains 1.4 per cent N, 1.00 per cent P2O5 and 1.4 per cent K2O.

Farm compost is made by placing farm wastes in trenches of suitable size, say, 4.5 m to 5.0 m long, 1.5m to 2.0 m wide and 1.0 m to 2.0 m deep. Farm waste is placed in the trenches layer by layer. Each layer is well moistened by sprinkling cow dung slurry or water. Trenches are filled up to a height of 0.5 m above the ground. The compost is ready for application within five to six months.

Composting is essentially a microbiological decomposition of organic residues collected from rural area (rural compost) or urban area (urban compost).

Methods of composting

In Coimbatore method, composting is done in pits of different sizes depending on the waste material available. A layer of waste materials is first laid in the pit. It is moistened with a suspension of 5-10 kg cow dung in 2.5 to 5.0 I of water and 0.5 to 1.0 kg fine bone meal sprinkled over it uniformly. Similar layers are laid one over the other till the material rises 0.75 m above the ground level. It is finally plastered with wet mud and left undisturbed for 8 to 10 weeks. Plaster is then removed, material moistened with water, given a turning and made into a rectangular heap under a shade. It is left undisturbed till its use.

In the Indore method of composting, organic wastes are spread in the cattle shed to serve as bedding. Urine soaked material along with dung is removed every day and formed into a layer of about 15 cm thick at suitable sites. Urine soaked earth, scraped from cattle sheds is mixed with water and sprinkled over the layer of wastes twice or thrice a day. Layering process continued for about a fortnight. A thin layer of well decomposed compost is sprinkled over top and the heap given a turning and reformed. Old compost acts as inoculum for decomposing the material. The heap is left undisturbed for about a month. Then it is thoroughly moistened and given a turning. The compost is ready for application in another month.

In the Bangalore method of composting, dry waste material of 25 cm thick is spread in a pit and a thick suspension of cow dung in water is sprinkled over for moistening. A thin layer of dry waste is laid over the moistened layer. The pit is filled alternately with dry layers of material and cow dung suspension till it rises 0.5 m above ground level. It is left exposed without covering for 15 days. It is given a turning, plastered with wet mud and left undisturbed for about 5 months or till required.

In Coimbatore method, there is anaerobic decomposition to start with, following by aerobic fermentation. It is the reverse in Bangalore method. The Bangalore compost is not so thoroughly decomposed as the Indore compost or even as much as the Coimbatore compost, but it is bulkiest.