Back to solutions
1 Jan 2020 | NEPCAT technologies

Black plastic covered farmyard manure

1 min Read

70% Complete

Improving farmyard manure (FYM) by covering it with black plastic sheeting to provide a favourable environment for microbial activities, and to conserve available nutrients and moisture

Applying compost or farmyard manure (FYM) is an excellent way of maintaining and building soil fertility. Considerable nutrient losses often occur through the inappropriate handling or storage of compost and FYM. Drying out causes losses through volatilisation and rainfall whilst runoff causes leaching and the washing out of nutrients. To reduce nutrient losses, farmyard manure needs to be protected from direct sunlight, rainfall, run-on, and runoff.

A number of improved composting methods have been tested and demonstrated with farmers in the Jhikhu Khola watershed. The Sustainable Soil Management Project (SSMP) has recommended black plastic-covered farmyard manure as one of the most promising methods. Farmyard manure is covered with a piece of black plastic to prevent nutrients from leaching out, to decrease evaporation losses, and to provide a more favourable environment for the growth of microbes due to the increased temperature and moisture content. This method is especially suitable for areas with low temperatures.

light green: districts in 2007

WOCAT database reference: QT NEP16

Location: Panchkhal, Patalekhet, Hokse, Baluwa, Sathighar, and Kabhre VDCs and Dhulikhel municipality of the Jhikhu Khola watershed, Kabhrepalanchok district, Nepal

Technology area: ~ 1-10 km2

SWC measure: Management

Land use: Annual cropping

Climate: Humid subtropical

Related approach: Not described

Compiled by: Madhav Dhakal, ICIMOD

Date: November 2006

Download PDF

 

 

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Tomato grafting

Cleft grafting can be used to produce plants that are resistant to a number of pests and diseases and are ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Better quality farmyard manure through improved decomposition

Collection and proper storage of farmyard manure in heaps or pits Farmyard manure – a varying mixture of animal manure, urine, ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

A method for increasing the productivity of rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water, and nutrients The System of ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Low cost drip irrigation

An irrigation system which allows the slow and precise delivery of water to crops Drip irrigation is a very water-efficient irrigation ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Cultivation of fodder and grasses

Cultivation of fodder crops on marginal lands and terrace risers Fodder plays a major role in the crop-livestock-manure-soil nutrient cycle on ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Rehabilitation of degraded communal grazing land

Rehabilitation measures, including eyebrow pits and live fencing, were implemented on degraded communal grazing land to reestablish a protective vegetative ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Contour bunding

A traditional low-cost method of soil conservation suitable for sloping land; it promotes water retention and helps prevent erosion. Contour bunding ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Rooftop rainwater harvesting system

A water harvesting system in which rain falling on a roof is led through connecting pipes into a ferro-cement water ...