What is Green manuring ?
Green manuring is the act of growing quick growing crops preferably legumes and plowing in situ and incorporating them into the soil.
What is Green leaf manuring?
Green leaf manuring is the incorporation of the green matter into the soil transported from elsewhere.
In green manuring the plants are grown and before their flowering starts they are cut down, and mixed with the soil.
They can also be directly incorporated in the soil with the help of tractor cultivators.
In green leaves manuring the leaves of the legumes and other green crops are cutted and mixed or buried in the soil.
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Below is the table containing Nutrient content of some Green manuring and Green leaf manuring crops.
Plant Green manure | Scientific name | Nitrogen content % | Phosphorus content % | Potassium content % |
Sunn hemp | Crotalaria juncea | 2.30 | 0.50 | 1.30 |
Manila agathi | Sesbania rostrata | 3.30 | 0.60 | 1.20 |
Dainchw | Sesbania aculeata | 3.20 | 0.60 | 1.20 |
Pillipesara | Phaseolus trilobus | 2.80 | 0.50 | 1.15 |
Sesbania | Sesbania speciosa | 2.71 | 0.53 | 2.21 |
Kolinji | Tephrosia purpurea | 3.10 | 0.52 | 1.18 |
Green leaf manure | ||||
Plant | Scientific name | Nitrogen content % | Phosphorus content % | Potassium content % |
Gliricidia | Gliricidia sepium | 2.76 | .28 | 4.60 |
Pongamia | Pongamia glabra | 3.31 | .44 | 2.39 |
Neem | Azadirachta indica | 2.83 | .28 | .35 |
Gulmohur | Delonix regia | 2.76 | .46 | .50 |
Vadanarayana | Delonix elata | 3.51 | .31 | .43 |
Subabul | Leucaena leucocephala | 3.50 | .48 | .81 |
Peltophorum | Peltophorum ferrugineum | 2.63 | .37 | .50 |
Weeds | ||||
Parthenium | Parthenium hysterophorus | 2.68 | .68 | 1.45 |
Water hyacinth | Eichhornia crassipes | 3.01 | .90 | .15 |
Sarannai | Trianthema portulacastrum | 2.64 | .43 | 1.30 |
Aduthoda | Adhatoda vasica | 1.32 | .38 | .15 |
Ipomea | Ipomoea carnea | 2.01 | .33 | .40 |
Calotrophia | Calotropis gigantea | 2.06 | .54 | .31 |
Cassia | Cassia fistula | 1.60 | .24 | 1.20 |
Benefits of Green manuring and Green leaf manuring in organic farming
Leguminous green manuring plants produce root nodules and fix atmospheric nitrogen.
Sesbania rostrata produces nodules on its stem besides root nodules. This special feature adds their green manuring value.
Sesbania produces about 22 tons of fresh biomass and could accumulate 150 kg N/ha in 45 days. It contains 3.3 % Nitrogen.
Sesbania aculeata helps in the reclamation of saline and alkali soils.
Green manuring also helps in the reclamation of sodic soil beside adding nutrients to it.
Sesbania aculeata can grow in the soil having pH of 4.5 to 9.5 .
It can produce green matter of 20 t/ ha in 90 days.
Sesbania aculeata contains 3.2 % N and 34 % calcium on a dry weight basis. Hence it helps in replacement of Na from sodic soils.
The addition of the Nitrogen in the soil reduces the cost of the growers on purchasing Nitrogen products like urea.
Besides that green manuring it the natural way of adding nutrition to the soil. Thus it doesn't have any hazardous effect on the environment.
It also has a beneficial effect on soil microflora.
Thus for doing organic farming the green manuring plays important role.
