MASSIVE ONLINE OPEN COURSE (MOOC) ON

ORGANIC FARMING–PROJECT REPORT II

ORGANIC MANURE MAKING

Submitted to

MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY, KOTTAYAM

Submitted by

ANNA MARIYA SAJI

Register Number :200021075976

B.com Computer Application

2020-2023

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

St.Paul’s College, Kalamassery

(AFFILIATED TO MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY, KOTTAYAM)

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project report on “Organic manure making” is

an authentic record of work carried out by ANNA MARIYA SAJI, student
of ST.PAUL’S COLLEGE, KALAMASSERY as part of MOOC course
on Organic Farming offered by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

Name of teacher Name of teacher

Ms. Teresa Stephan Dr. Asha E. Thomas
Mentor Head of the Department

Department of Commerce St.Paul's College, Kalamassery

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

No creation in this world is a solo affect, neither this project. It would not have
been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals. We take
this opportunity to express our gratitude to all of them. First and foremost, we
sincerely thank GOD ALMIGHTY, for his grace for the successful completion
of this project.

We extent our sincere thanks to Dr. Savitha K S, Principal of St.Paul's College,

Kalamassery for providing with all the necessary facilities.
We are highly indebted to Dr. Asha E. Thomas, Head of the Department of
commerce and our respected mentor Ms. Teresa Stephan, Department of
commerce for providing us their valuable guidance and encouragement.
We have immense pleasure in expressing our sincere gratitude to all other
teachers in the department who helped us in completing the project.

I would like to thank to my parents, friends and all those who have been
instrumental in the successful completion of the project.

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 CONTENTS

Chapter Description Page no:

1. Introduction 5
2. Materials and Methods 6
3 Observations and Data collection 7
4. Photos 8-11
5. Discussion 12
6. Cost Benefit Analysis 13
7. Conclusion 14
Abstract 15
References 16

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 CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

Per capita waste generation in India is estimated to be around 500 gram per
day. A nuclear family of 4-5 members generates 2 to 2.5 kg of wastes per
household. Organic wastes generated at household levels can be processed
at the source itself. Decentralized waste processing is more practical and cost
effective than a centralized one. It is the responsibility of each individual to
process the waste generated by him/her. One of the best ways to dispose
household waste is organic manure preparation.

Organic manures are natural products used by farmers to provide nutrients

for crop plants. There are a number of organic manures like farmyard
manure, green manures, compost prepared from crop residues and other farm
wastes, vermicompost, oil cakes, and biological waste-animal bones,
slaughter house refuse.

Organic manures increase organic matter in the soil. Organic matter in turn
releases the plant food in available form for the use of crops. However,
organic manures should not be seen only as carriers of plant food. These
manures also enable a soil to hold more water and also help to improve the
drainage in clay soils. They provide organic acids that help to dissolve soil
nutrients and make them available for plants.

Organic manures have low nutrient content and therefore need to be applied
in larger quantities. The nutrient content of organic manures is highly
variable from place to place, lot to lot, and method of preparation. The
composition of fertilizers is almost constant.

Composting is a biological process in which microorganism of aerobic and

anaerobic decompose organic matters. Kitchen waste and garden waste
generated on a daily basis are to be processed and converted by using
appropriate methods. Kitchen waste as well as garden waste can be used for
this process. But the composting process adopted for kitchen waste and
garden waste are different. For composting kitchen waste garden pot
composting, bio bin composting and pipe composting can be used.

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 CHAPTER- 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Materials required

1. Kitchen waste: It including vegetable waste, fish waste, food waste etc.
waste shall be devoid of plastics, oily materials, bottles and liquefied food
wastes.
2. Bio Bins: Bio bins can be earthen made similar to garden pots,
polypropylene pots or PVC pipes of 200 mm diameter. Micro pores on the
bin walls ensure aeration that facilitates microbial activity. Large garden pots
of one cubic feet can be an alternative, which may be less expensive. The
holes of such pots in the base may be closed using cement mortar. Different
types of bio bins are distributed by the panchayats, municipalities, and
municipal corporations, suitable for processing kitchen waste.
3. Composting inoculums: Cow dung slurry is used as composting
inoculum.

2.2 Methodology

• Type of compost - Kitchen waste composting

• Preparation process - Garden pot composting large garden pots
(cement/ terracotta) are the simplest and cheapest containers for
kitchen waste composting. The base holes of the pot are closed. At
bottom of the pot a layer of coir pith is spread at one thickness. Above
this layer, spread the kitchen waste of the day. Over this layer, add the
cow dung slurry or composting inoculum. The bin may be covered
with a tile or wood plank. This process of filling and addition of
inoculum may be continued daily the moisture within the bin has to be
regulated by spreading coir pith or dry leaves. It may take 25 to 30
days to fill one pot. Stirring the contents of the pot for a while
accelerates the decomposition process. After 30 to 35 days of last
filling, the compost is taken out.
• Harvest - The brown coloured compost in powder form is quality
manure that can be used four nourishing crops including vegetable.
A second pot may be prepared and filled as above subsequently. Care should
be taken to fill the waste on the same day of its generation as the delay may
cause egg laying by flies and contamination by its larvae.

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 CHAPTER-3 OBSERVATIONS AND DATA COLLECTION

Table 3.1: Type and Quantity of Waste

SI.no. Waste Materials Added Quantity
1. Fruits and Vegetable peels 750g
2. Egg Shell 100g
3. Tea or Coffee waste 150g
4. Food Waste 1kg
5. Fish Waste 1kg

Table 3.2: Observation

Day Observation
1 The material required were added to the pot and kept closed
under the Sun light.
7 The materials in the port had undergone a slight change.
Small amount of water were spread at the top of the compost
according to the dryness. Mix well to faster result.
14 The waste materials in the port started to decay and become
dry. So water is sprinkled on the top of it.
21 Half part of the waste materials were decayed, onion and
garlic peels are completely decayed. Egg shells were
somehow visible.
28 Earthworm can be seen in the manure which helps to faster
than decaying process.
35 The waste materials have completely decayed and the colour
of the compost have turned to black and the manure is ready
to use.

About 3kg of manure were produced.

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 CHAPTER-4 PHOTOS

4.1 Materials used

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4.2 Different stages of composting

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4.3 Harvest stage

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4.4 Application of vegetables

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 CHAPTER-5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Advantages of organic manure

 Organic manures provide all the nutrients that are required by plants but in
limited quantities.
 It helps in maintaining C: N ratio in the soil and also increases the fertility
and productivity of the soil.
 It improves the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil.
 It improves both the texture and structure of the soils.
 It increases the water holding capacity of the soil.
 Due to increase in the biological activities, the nutrients that are in the
lower depth are made available to the plants.
 It acts as much, thereby minimising the evaporation losses of moisture
from the soil.

5.2 factors influencing composting process

 Particle size: If particle is small, the space for the growth of

microorganisms will be more which ultimately increases the microbial
activity and fastened the composting process.
 Nutrients: Any waste materials which do not contain heavy metals/toxic
waste should be used. The list of nutrients should be taken in account to
increase the nutrition value of the waste. Preferably, the local waste with
some available agro waste is always ideal.
 Moisture: The total net weight moisture should be maintained 50-60%
which is optimum for microbial growth. Hence, this percentage of moisture
should be maintained throughout process which will increase the process of
decomposition. If the moisture is below 50%, the microbial activity is less,
which results slow down the composting process. If the moisture is above
60%, the anaerobic condition (clogging) will take place which also slows
down the activity of microorganisms.
 Aeration and Agitation: For the growth and activity of microorganism,
oxygen supply is most essential part. Any process to be adopted only to
ensure the oxygen supply. The agitation, turning by any tools or by means
of aero tilling may be used.

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 CHAPTER-6 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS

• The pot used here was not purchased, it was a useless pot in my home.
• Dried leaves, papers, and kitchen waste were made available from my
home.
• The composting inoculum used here is the food waste that I found in
my house itself.
• The compost once produced can also be used as inoculum. So here
money was not required for me.

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 CHAPTER-7 CONCLUSION

We are really thank full to our university for providing us such a wonderful
opportunity to practice and understand the procedures of organic manure
preparation and the best way of waste discharge.

There are several benefits of organic manure in improving soil quality and
soil health. The quality of soil is the most important and primary input of
crop production. By intensive agriculture the organic matter status of soil
declined day by day. So, to improve the fertility status of soil use of organic
mature instead of inorganic chemical fertiliser is a common practice and this
concept originated along with the crop production. Until mid of nineteenth
century the organic manures were the only source of nutrient required by the
crop plants. Even today it application is supposed to be of prime importance
despite of tremendous advances made in the field of agriculture. Organic
manure improve soil quality by modifying soil physical property, increases
biological activities, micro-organism activity, helps in decomposition of
organic matter etc. Organic manure helps plants to quick uptake of nutrients
from soil, increase nutrient availability in soil. Reduce soil pollution and
degradation, improve nutritional security and reduce many problems related
to crop production. Lastly, we can say that application of organic manure
and practice of organic farming has a desirable effect on sustainable food
production.

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 ABSTRACT

Organic manures provide all the nutrients that are required by plants but in
limited quantities. It helps in maintaining C: N ratio in the soil and also
increases the fertility and productivity of the soil .It improves the physical,
chemical and biological properties of the soil. It improves both the texture
and structure of the soils. It increases the water holding capacity of the soil.
Due to increase in the biological activities, the nutrients that are in the lower
depth are made available to the plants. It acts as much, thereby minimising
the evaporation losses of moisture from the soil.

In this MOOC organic farming manure preparation project, manure is

prepared from kitchen waste using garden pot composting method. For this
garden pot, kitchen waste, coir pith and cow dung slurry are required. The
holes of the pot are to be closed. At the bottom of the pot a thick layer of coir
pith is to be added. Then spread the kitchen waste of the day. Then add
inoculum. Then cover the pot with tile or wood plank. The addition of
inoculum and waste materials should be continued. The moisture content
should be maintained. After 30 to 35 days the manure is ready to use.

For preparing compost waste material such as food waste, vegetable and fruit
peels, egg shell etc. were used. About 3kg of manure were prepared from
these waste materials. It is also one of the best ways to discharge kitchen
waste.

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 REFERENCES

 www.google.com
 www.wikipedia.org
 Textbooks and other materials

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