A study to convert human urine into fertiliser for banana cultivation in 2012 by a principal scientist at National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) here has not gained traction among farmers even though adopting the technique could have reduced their expenses on fertiliser considerably Worse, the Centre and state have not evinced any interest in the idea.
The research was carried out by senior scientist (soil science) K J Jeyabaskaran with the support of Society for Community Organisation and People's Education (SCOPE), an NGO, which raised funds from Unicef and a few other international organisations for the project in 2012.
Considering the vital role of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) in banana cultivation, Dr Jeyabaskaran, who is also a principal scientist at NRCB, found out that the human urine which contains 4.6g of nitrogen, 0.6g phosphorus and 2.2g phosphate can be used as fertiliser for banana plants instead of chemical fertilisers to reduce the cost of cultivation.
A banana plant requires 200g of nitrogen, 30g of phosphorus and 400g of potassium per season for which the farmers have to spend a substantial amount on chemical fertilizers, according to his research.
Human urine may be sufficient for supplementing 100% of nitrogen and phosphorus and 25 % of potassium. By using 50 litres of human urine per plant and recommended dose of NPK at various levels, growth of plant height, pseudostem, leaves, leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration, phosphorous concentration and leaf potassium can be assured, the research concluded.
Dr Jeyabaskaran claimed that it also helps achieve highest bunch weight of 23.9kg than 21kg achieved without using urine.
His calculations showed a farmer could make an additional net profit of `45,175, of which `36,350, would be from an increase in produce and `8,825 from savings on fertiliser in `Poovan' variety banana cultivation, Jeyabaskaran's report said.
He said an average collection of 135 crore litres of human urine from rural areas in the country could be enough to supplement banana cultivation over 5 five lakh hectares in the country, thus saving `445 crore in expenses on fertilisers.
