This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
1 min Read
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
Kiwi fruit cultivation on sloping land in the mid-hill areas of Nepal can help prevent soil erosion and is a ...
Riverbed farming can be used to increase household income and to improve the food security of landless and land-poor households ...
Collection of cattle urine in improved cattle sheds for use as liquid manure and organic pesticide Nitrogen is the most important ...
Plastic film technology, sometimes called plastic mulching, is an important breakthrough that can transform traditional agriculture into modern agriculture by ...
Structural and vegetative measures to improve the quality of drinking water contaminated due to poor sanitation and seepage This technology combines ...
An indigenous technology to help control channelled water during the rainy season and conserve it during the dry season For more ...
Local materials and knowledge can be used to construct low-cost structural measures that help to prevent the erosion of riverbanks ...
A treadle pump is a foot operated water lifting device that can be used by smallholder farmers to irrigate their ...