AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

MANURES.

The utility of manures in maintaining the fertility of land and also in augmenting agricultural production cannot be minimised. Now-a-days the supply of manures and fertilisers has got pivotal importance in the agricultural, development programme launched by the Zilla Parishad. The personnel of the Agriculture Department organise demonstrations, village leaders' training camps, etc., and disseminate information regarding the application of manures and fertilisers. The technical experts also demonstrate the various methods of preparing compost by using the locally available material. Often, financial assistance in the form of loans, subsidies or even prizes are given to the cultivators to encourage them to prepare compost and to apply manures and fertilisers to land. Various schemes, such as, town compost scheme, fertiliser and varietal trial scheme, etc., have been introduced in the district mainly with a view to support more food production and to maintain the fertility of land.

About the use of manures in the old days, the old Gazetteer of the district says as follows: "Practically the only manure used is the dung of cattle. It is generally collected in heaps through the rains and cold weather, and is applied in the hot weather. Sometimes it is collected in pits instead of heaps, by which means it rots better; and these pits are kept for three years before use. Cattle dung is the best general manure obtainable, though it has been shown at the Nagpur Experimental Station that far better results again can be got by using also a suitable artificial manure. Cultivators know that manure is of great value, but in spite of the great quantity of wood burnt in this District so much dung has to be burnt as fuel that there is not enough left for the land. Fields are seldom manured more than once in three or four years. The ashes of juari stubble and cotton stalks were formerly largely used as manure in Pusad taluk [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Yeotmal District, Vol. A, pp. 111-12.]

The practice of collecting dung of cattle and keeping it in heaps or sometimes storing it in pits is still followed in the district. The personnel of the Agriculture Department is, however, propagating scientific methods of preparing compost in a pit of the size of 10'x6'x3'. as also the way in which the cultivators should apply chemical fertilisers to land.

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