438 



I December, 1912. 



THE APPLICATION OF MANURES IN 

 SOUTHERN INDIA. 



Some manures affected by the Ryot- 

 Mr. W. H. Harrison who has written an interesting "Note on the 

 Indigenous Manures of South India and their Application " states, that 

 the second portion of this note deals with the application of the manures 

 indigenous to South India and it may here be at once stated that the dry 

 lands generally receive practically no manuring, nor is it probable that 

 they will do for some years to come. He observes that the value of crops 

 usually raised on such lands is comparatively small and the ryots who 

 cultivate them solely have no money to spare for manures, while a culti- 

 vator who possesses both dry lands and lands of a richer type such as 

 garden or wet lands, naturally prefers to put his manures on the more 

 productive soil. In a general way practically all the lands in South India 

 are capable of yielding larger crops than at present and consequently as 

 the demands on the food-supply increase, the tendency will first of all be 

 to extend the productiveness of the wet and garden soil and not until 

 these are yielding fully will any great development occur in dry land 

 agriculture. 



Green Manuring finds its main application in paddy cultivation and 

 for this purpose green leaves and stems of Crukkam (Calotropis gigan- 

 tia) and Wild Indigo (Tephrosia purpurea), the leaves of such trees as the 

 Rain tree (Pithecolobium samari), Portia (Thespesia populnea), Pungam 

 (Pongamia glabra) are trampled in at the time of puddling, or in some 

 districts special green-manuring crops of the type of sun-hemp are raised 

 for this purpose. Tests at Palur and Coimbatore show that this system of 

 manuring gives an increased yield in paddy grain of about 18 to 20 per 

 cent, and at the same time the cost of the manure is small. 



Castor-cake is generally looked upon by the ryot as the best oil-cake 

 for manurial purposes, but its use is restricted mainly to valuable crops 

 such as paddy, sugarcane, betel-vines, etc. In the Godavari it is chiefly 

 used on sugarcane, and its general use for this purpose has led to a large 

 import trade from the surrounding districts. 



Neem cake is in great demand by tea and coffee planters thus accoun- 

 ting for the large increase in price during recent years, but on the plains 

 its use is not extensive compared to other cakes. It is reported that its 

 use for paddy has rapidly extended in the Tinnevelly district during the 

 last few years. 



Experiments carried out on the Government farms show that cakes 

 are efficient manures for paddy, but that the same effect can be obtained 

 in a cheaper manner by green-manuring. On sugarcane the experiments 

 at Samalkota show that here it is the manure most suited to the local 

 conditions and that it is superior either to farmyard manure or artificials. 



Castor-cake has also given encouraging results with the following 

 irrigated crops : cholam (Andropogon sorghum), ragi^Eleusine coracana), 

 turmeric and pepper. On cotton oil-cake has practically no effect. 



Fish Manure has proved itself a very valuable and cheap manure for 

 most crops and is very commonly used on the West Coast. Mixed with 

 wood ashes it forms a complete manure and gives good results with sugar- 

 cane and pepper. The effect on paddy is good, a dressing of 540 lbs. per 

 acre giving at Coimbatore an increased yield of 52 per cent, in grain and 

 34 per cent, in straw. 



