Beejamrit is an ancient, sustainable agriculture technique. It is used for seeds, seedlings or any planting material. It is effective in protecting young roots from fungus. Beejamrit is a fermented microbial solution, with loads of plant-beneficial microbes, and is applied as seed treatment. It is expected that the beneficial microbes would colonize the roots and leaves of the germinating seeds and help in the healthy growth of the plants.
Inputs needed: 5 kg cow dung, 5 litre cow urine, 50 gram lime, 1kg bund soil, 20 litre water (for 100 kg seed)
Preparation of Beejamrit:
Step 1: Take 5 kg cow dung in a cloth and bind it using tape. Hang the cloth in 20 litre water for up to 12 hours.
Step 2: Simultaneously, take one litre water and add 50 gram lime in it, keep stable for overnight.
Step 3: Next morning, continuously squeeze the bundle in the water thrice, so that all the essence of cow dung is mixed in the water.
Step 4: Add handful of soil, approximately 1 kg in the water solution and stir well.
Step 5: Add 5 litre desi cow urine in the solution and limewater, and stir it well.
Application as a seed treatment: Add Beejamrit to the seeds of any crop; coat them, mixing by hand; dry them well and use them for sowing. For leguminous seeds, which may have thin seed coats, , just dip them quickly and let them dry.
For more information please refer to the Resource section
Reference video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq6-wM7s-QI
Jivamrit acts as a biostimulant by promoting the activity of microorganisms in the soil and also the activity of phyllospheric microorganisms when spayed on foliage.. It acts like a primer for microbial activity, and also increases the population of native earthworms.
Inputs needed: 10 kg of fresh cow dung, 5-10 litre cow urine, 50 gram lime, 2 kg jaggery, 2 kg pulses’ flour 1 kg uncontaminated soil and 200 litres water
Preparation of Jivamrit: The materials should be mixed in 200 litre water and stirred well. The mixture should then be allowed to ferment for 48 hours in shade. It should be stirred by a wooden stick twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. This process is to be continued for 5-7 days. The ready solution should be applied on the crops
Application of Jivamrit: This mixture should be applied every fortnight. It should be either sprayed directly on the crops or mixed with irrigation water. In the case of fruit plants, it should be applied on individual plants. The mixture can be stored for up to 15 days.
For more information please refer to the Resource section
Reference video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puX8Fmpc0T8
Mulching is defined as covering of soil surface using both live crops and straw (dead plant biomass) to conserve moisture, lower soil temperature around plant roots, prevent soil erosion, reduce runoff and reduce weed growth.
There are two types of mulches:
Crop Residue Mulch: This comprises any dried vegetation, farm stubble, such as dried biomass waste etc. It is used to cover the soil against severe sunlight, cold, rain etc. Residue mulching also saves seeds from birds, insects, and animals.
Live Mulch: Live mulching is practised by developing multi-cropping/inter cropping patterns of short durational crops in the rows of a main crop. It is suggested that the pattern should be of monocotyledons and dicotyledons in the same field, in order to provide all the essential nutrients. Monocots, like wheat and rice, supply nutrients such as potash, phosphate and sulphur, while dicots such as pulses are nitrogen-fixing plants. Such practices reduce the demand of a particular type of plant nutrient.
Whapasa means the mixture of 50% air and 50% water vapour in the cavity between two soil particles. It is the soil’s microclimate on which soil organisms and roots depend for most of their moisture and some of their nutrients. It increases water availability, enhances water-use efficiency and builds resilience against drought.
The generic principles that govern Natural farming are mentioned below:
- A healthy soil microbiome is critical for optimal soil health and plant health, and thereby animal health and human health.
- Soil may be covered with crops for maximum period of the year.
- The soil across a farm or larger field/collection of fields should have diverse crops, a minimum of 8 crops over the year. The greater the diversity, the better.
- Minimal disturbance of soils is critical, hence no till farming or shallow tillage is recommended.
- Animals should be incorporated into farming. Integrated farming systems are critical for promoting Natural farming.
- Healthy soil microbiome is the key to retaining and enhancing soil organic matter. Bio stimulants are necessary to catalyze this process. There are different ways of making bio stimulants. In India, the most popular bio-stimulants are based on fermentation of animal dung and urine, and uncontaminated soil.
- Increasing the amount and diversity of organic residues returned to the soil is very important. These include crop residues, cow-dung, compost, etc.
- Pest management should be done through better agronomic practices (as enshrined in Integrated Pest management) and through botanical pesticides (only when necessary).
- Use of synthetic fertilizers and other biocides is harmful to this process of regeneration and is not allowed.
Source: APCNF
- Beejamrit
-
Beejamrit is an ancient, sustainable agriculture technique. It is used for seeds, seedlings or any planting material. It is effective in protecting young roots from fungus. Beejamrit is a fermented microbial solution, with loads of plant-beneficial microbes, and is applied as seed treatment. It is expected that the beneficial microbes would colonize the roots and leaves of the germinating seeds and help in the healthy growth of the plants.
Inputs needed: 5 kg cow dung, 5 litre cow urine, 50 gram lime, 1kg bund soil, 20 litre water (for 100 kg seed)
Preparation of Beejamrit:
Step 1: Take 5 kg cow dung in a cloth and bind it using tape. Hang the cloth in 20 litre water for up to 12 hours.
Step 2: Simultaneously, take one litre water and add 50 gram lime in it, keep stable for overnight.
Step 3: Next morning, continuously squeeze the bundle in the water thrice, so that all the essence of cow dung is mixed in the water.
Step 4: Add handful of soil, approximately 1 kg in the water solution and stir well.
Step 5: Add 5 litre desi cow urine in the solution and limewater, and stir it well.
Application as a seed treatment: Add Beejamrit to the seeds of any crop; coat them, mixing by hand; dry them well and use them for sowing. For leguminous seeds, which may have thin seed coats, , just dip them quickly and let them dry.
For more information please refer to the Resource section
Reference video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq6-wM7s-QI
- Jivamrit
-
Jivamrit acts as a biostimulant by promoting the activity of microorganisms in the soil and also the activity of phyllospheric microorganisms when spayed on foliage.. It acts like a primer for microbial activity, and also increases the population of native earthworms.
Inputs needed: 10 kg of fresh cow dung, 5-10 litre cow urine, 50 gram lime, 2 kg jaggery, 2 kg pulses’ flour 1 kg uncontaminated soil and 200 litres water
Preparation of Jivamrit: The materials should be mixed in 200 litre water and stirred well. The mixture should then be allowed to ferment for 48 hours in shade. It should be stirred by a wooden stick twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. This process is to be continued for 5-7 days. The ready solution should be applied on the crops
Application of Jivamrit: This mixture should be applied every fortnight. It should be either sprayed directly on the crops or mixed with irrigation water. In the case of fruit plants, it should be applied on individual plants. The mixture can be stored for up to 15 days.
For more information please refer to the Resource section
Reference video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puX8Fmpc0T8
- Mulching
-
Mulching is defined as covering of soil surface using both live crops and straw (dead plant biomass) to conserve moisture, lower soil temperature around plant roots, prevent soil erosion, reduce runoff and reduce weed growth.
There are two types of mulches:
Crop Residue Mulch: This comprises any dried vegetation, farm stubble, such as dried biomass waste etc. It is used to cover the soil against severe sunlight, cold, rain etc. Residue mulching also saves seeds from birds, insects, and animals.
Live Mulch: Live mulching is practised by developing multi-cropping/inter cropping patterns of short durational crops in the rows of a main crop. It is suggested that the pattern should be of monocotyledons and dicotyledons in the same field, in order to provide all the essential nutrients. Monocots, like wheat and rice, supply nutrients such as potash, phosphate and sulphur, while dicots such as pulses are nitrogen-fixing plants. Such practices reduce the demand of a particular type of plant nutrient.
- Whapasa
-
Whapasa means the mixture of 50% air and 50% water vapour in the cavity between two soil particles. It is the soil’s microclimate on which soil organisms and roots depend for most of their moisture and some of their nutrients. It increases water availability, enhances water-use efficiency and builds resilience against drought.
- Plant Protection
- Universal Principles of Natural farming
-
The generic principles that govern Natural farming are mentioned below:
- A healthy soil microbiome is critical for optimal soil health and plant health, and thereby animal health and human health.
- Soil may be covered with crops for maximum period of the year.
- The soil across a farm or larger field/collection of fields should have diverse crops, a minimum of 8 crops over the year. The greater the diversity, the better.
- Minimal disturbance of soils is critical, hence no till farming or shallow tillage is recommended.
- Animals should be incorporated into farming. Integrated farming systems are critical for promoting Natural farming.
- Healthy soil microbiome is the key to retaining and enhancing soil organic matter. Bio stimulants are necessary to catalyze this process. There are different ways of making bio stimulants. In India, the most popular bio-stimulants are based on fermentation of animal dung and urine, and uncontaminated soil.
- Increasing the amount and diversity of organic residues returned to the soil is very important. These include crop residues, cow-dung, compost, etc.
- Pest management should be done through better agronomic practices (as enshrined in Integrated Pest management) and through botanical pesticides (only when necessary).
- Use of synthetic fertilizers and other biocides is harmful to this process of regeneration and is not allowed.
Source: APCNF