Understanding of Organic Fertilizers in Indian Context: A Review

Abstract

Today, Indian farmers have access to a wide variety of organic fertilizers. These fertilizers serve many agronomic purposes, including providing plant nutrition, controlling pests and diseases, and managing soil health. The most common organic fertilizers in India are compost, compost tea, earthworms, humus, meal blood and bone meal (MBBM), fish hydrolysate, seaweed extract, bio-inoculants, biomass and biochar. Many organic fertilizers contain nutrients in their organic molecular structure. These nutrients are not available to plants when they are mineralized in the first place. When the organic fertilizer is consumed by the microorganisms, minerals are released to stimulate the soil microbial activity. Providing organic fertilizers such as biomass, humus and seaweed extract can stimulate plant growth and development through the action of plant growth hormones such as cytokinins, auxins and gibberellins. However, despite these advantages, the use of organic fertilizers remains low in India. This is due to the high application rates required to produce agricultural crops, the lack of uniformity in the composition of some crops, and the lack of public awareness of these products' benefits. There is still a lack of significant scientific research on the agricultural potential of organic fertilizers.