Imphal, April 19: Ahead of the cultivation of kharif crops, the Department of Agriculture, Government of Manipur has launched green manuring initiatives to minimise utilisation of chemical fertilizers.

As a part of the initiative, a team of the Agriculture Department staff led by AO (Chemistry) Pheiroijam Rajendra conducted random acid content test of the soil collected from Kiyam agricultural field, Khangabok part III .

Moreover, seeds of Chuchuramei plants which can absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere have been sown to make these fields fertile before cultivating kharif crops like paddy.

AO (Chemistry) Rajendra who is directly looking after the green manuring initiatives being taken up in collaboration with Multi-Farming and Rural Development Organisation observed that utilisation of chemical fertilizers to supplement nitrogen required by plants has taken great toll on soil fertility.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers ultimately leads to reduction in crop yield every year, he added.

It is for this reason that green manuring initiatives of using organic matter to supplement soil ingredients is being taken up to keep soil healthy for posterity and at the same to time to enhance crop yield, he said.

The Department of Agriculture is also making necessary preparations to take up the green manuring initiative all over the agricultural fields of the State.

He also appealed to all the cultivators of the State to contact the Department of Agriculture if they wish to take up green manuring in their fields.

Elaborating on the green manuring initiative, Rajendra said seeds of Chuchuramei plants which can absorb nitrogen from atmosphere in good quantity would be sown first.

When the Chuchuramei plants get mature after three to six months, the field should be ploughed out and the Chuchuramei plants should be kept buried under earth for at least 20 days.

On such fields prepared in this way, crops of all kinds can be cultivated, explained the AO (Chemistry) adding that Chuchuramei seeds will be available in the Department of Agriculture free of cost.

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