The Tamil Nadu Agriculture University’s Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute near here has taken up a research project on using spent-wash, a distillery effluent, in reclaiming alkaline fields in Manikandam block in the district.
The block accounts for 50,000 hectares of alkaline soil and the college was started 25 years ago for evolving suitable rice varieties. In fact, the institute is located at Navalur Kuttapattu village in the block with salt-affected soil in about 100 acres.
The Institute’s Department of Soil Science has set up two plots, and paddy is being cultivated on one of the plots which has been reclaimed with the help of spent-wash. “The first plot has been registering excellent growth while alkalinity hinders the crop in the second plot,” says P.Balasubramaniam, Head, Department of Soil Science. Explaining the procedure to be adopted for preparing the alkaline fields before raising paddy, P.Pandiyarajan, dean of the college, said the spent-wash should be used only once and should not be repeated during successive seasons.
The scientists said that field should be properly ploughed before and after using spent-wash. The process enables to bring down alkaline content, enhances the pH level, and enriches soil fertility resulting in better growth of paddy.