World Soil Day 2023 Celebration by ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai

ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai celebrated the World Soil Day on 5th December 2023 under the theme ‘Soil and Water: A Source of Life’.

A lecture was delivered by Dr. V. Mageshwaran, Senior Scientist from ICAR-NBAIM, Mau on ‘Use of compost for improving the soil health’. He explained the process of aerobic composting of biomass and its advantages over the use of chemical fertilizers in organic farming. He also highlighted the necessary quality parameters of compost and the importance of determining C/N ratio while assessing the maturity of the compost. He noted that in the current scenario, 20 to 30% of chemical fertilizers in crop cultivation could be replaced by using compost prepared from agro-residues.

Dr. N. Vigneshwaran, Principal Scientist, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai arranged the demonstration of compost preparation using kitchen wastes, dry leaves and microbial inoculum.

Dr. S.K. Shukla, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai explained the need to shift from the use of chemical fertilizers to organic fertilizers for the benefit of the entire society. He mentioned that though the chemical fertilizers helped to increase food production to meet the global demand for the last seven decades, currently it poses a potential health hazard. ‘Hence, it is an apt time to switch over to organic farming for the health benefit of the society’ said, Dr. Shukla.

The staff and students of the Institute participated in this programme.