With the need to sustainably increase the quality and fertility of soil, green manure – an organic fertilizer created from the decomposition of natural materials such as tree remains, coffee grounds, fruit waste and herbaceous plants – is becoming the leading solution. Green manure brings abundant nutrients, improves soil structure effectively and is environmentally friendly. So, what exactly is green manure, and how to compost and use green manure to fertilize plants for optimal effectiveness? Let’s go togetherMicrobial product Duc BinhExplore and answer these questions through the article: “How to compost green manureUse highly effective fertilizer“
What is green manure? How to effectively compost and use green manure to fertilize plants?
1. What is green manure?
Mostly, green manure is used fresh and not through the composting process. Therefore, the time after the decomposition process is when green manure achieves the best effect. For this reason, green manure is often used to fertilize perennial plants.
Plants used to create green manure are called green manure crops. These plants are often easy to grow and grow quickly and strongly. Besides the purpose of using green manure as fertilizer, this type of fertilizer is also used to make cover crops, shade trees, etc. Its effectiveness in improving soil and increasing soil fertility is highly appreciated.
Introduction to green manure plants
Today, the most popular green manure crops are legumes. However, plants of other families such as reeds, wild anemones, etc. are gradually becoming popular as green manure crops. Legumes always have symbiotic microorganisms living at the roots, indirectly helping the plant increase its ability to absorb nitrogen from the air. This amount of absorbed nitrogen will be partly transferred to the plant. Not only that, legumes are also known for their ability to “process” indigestible phosphate or potassium fertilizers extremely well.
Green manure plants are characterized by being easy to grow and having extremely strong growth potential
Another outstanding feature of green manure plants that cannot be ignored is their “easiness” – extremely easy to plant and grow. That’s why green manure has many species and is suitable for growing in many different places. From the above characteristics, it can be said that green manure plants play an important role in preserving and improving soil as well as improving the efficiency and productivity of other crops.
Classify green manure according to origin and method of use
Composts can be classified based on the origin of the organic material and the primary use:
- On-site green manure: Green manure is planted directly in the field and plowed right there, usually legumes with a short growing period.
- Transplanted green manure (Harvested green manure): A green manure crop grown in another place, then the stems, leaves and branches are cut to fertilize the main crop in another area.
- Green manure from agricultural by-products: These are materials such as tree remains, leaves, coffee grounds, weeds… collected for composting or buried directly into the soil.
How to choose green manure plants?
To be able to choose the right green manure crop, you need to consider them based on the following criteria:
- Plant growth ability: Selected plants should be plants with well-developed roots, large foliage and high green yield in a short time.
- Adaptability: Green manure plants are not “sensitive” to pH, the supply of nutrients is not high, and can grow in soils with thin arable layers. Besides, the plant also needs to be able to assimilate indigestible phosphorus well and withstand drought or excess soil moisture.
- Pests and diseases: Because pests are a source of infection that can spread from plant to plant, from one crop to another, green manure cropsrightIt is a plant with few pests.
- Propagation coefficient: Because green manure plants are characterized by being easy to grow plants and suitable for many different growing methods, green manure plants should be plants with high propagation coefficients. Normally, green manure plants are grown by sowing seeds so they will have many seeds and the seeds are small in size, easy to germinate and spread.
When choosing green manure crops, you need to pay attention to the propagation coefficient
- N, P, K content: Green plants need to have high levels of these substances, especially N content. In addition, plants also need to meet the average C/N ratio to ensure quick decomposition.
- Meets many different applications such as use as fertilizer, food, cover crop, intensive farming, etc.
Some popular green manure plants today
In Vietnam, the most commonly used green manure plants include the green manure plant, the pea plant, the cassia plant, the thornless virgin plant, etc. These green manure plants are highly appreciated for their adaptability, but not everywhere is suitable for growing them. Depending on the soil as well as the specific conditions in each different place, they affect the yield of green matter and the ability to develop green manure plants.
When choosing green manure plants, you need to carefully consider two key factors to achieve the highest efficiency: First, the plant must be suitable for local soil and climate conditions. Second, it is necessary to take advantage of the planting structure so that green manure crops maximize their ability to improve soil and provide nutrients in the crop rotation system.
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2. What are the effects of green manure?
Some outstanding effects of green manure include:
Provides nutrients for plants right away
Because green manure has a higher total protein content than manure, as well as an easily digestible protein content, the nutrient utilization coefficient of green manure is approximately 2 times that of manure, so green manure plants are highly appreciated for their ability to provide nutrients to plants.
Green manure has a high ability to provide nutrients to plants
This ability is shown even more clearly when using green manure on bad, barren soils. However, you need to make sure the green manure is buried at the right time when the plants produce young stems and leaves with a high nutrient ratio and low C/N ratio so that the plants are provided with food and increase crop productivity effectively.
Ability to synthesize land reclamation quickly and effectively
Green manure plants can improve soil extremely well, especially for degraded land, sandy soil, salty soil or reclaimed land. Some outstanding capabilities include:
- Quickly improve soil and synthesize good soil properties
- Create a good environment for microorganisms to function and grow strongly
- Improve soil, synthesize physical properties of soil
Effects of improving saline soil
Saline soil has up to 0.4% total dissolved salts – a high percentage – along with a lot of Na+ which has negative effects on both plants and soil, so when using green manure crops, they will have the following effects:
- Reduce the amount of water evaporating from the ground, reduce the possibility of increasing salinity concentration and salinity evaporation from groundwater because of the ability of green manure plants to quickly cover the soil.
- Soil can reduce the harmful effects of Na+ dispersing soil colloids thanks to its ability to decompose organic matter when green manure is buried in the soil.
Some other special uses
- Prevents erosion and washing away: Thanks to its high covering capacity, the soil will be less exposed to direct rain, thereby preventing the soil structure from being broken and causing runoff on the ground. Besides, the wind will also be blocked by trees, so the soil will effectively prevent erosion.
- Retain water for the soil: The soil will minimize the consumption of organic nutrients and water evaporation because the shade of trees prevents sunlight from shining directly on the soil. Thanks to that, water also easily penetrates the soil thanks to green manure plants, helping the soil retain water better.
Green manure helps the soil retain water effectively
- Reduce the growth of weeds: Thanks to the characteristics of trees that grow strongly into vegetation, they can also prevent weeds from multiplying and spreading extremely effectively.
- As a source of food for livestock: Because green manure plants have a low percentage of alkaloids, they are not toxic and have high nutritional content, so this is a very good source of food for livestock.
3. Green manure composting technique right in the field
To be able to effectively compost and use green manure to fertilize plants, you need to pay attention to the location of planting green manure plants and green manure composting techniques.
Location of green manure crops in crop rotation system
Characteristics such as local farming practices, land conditions, labor resources, economic benefits, etc. are important factors to consider when choosing and arranging green manure crops in a farming system.
- For intercropped green manure crops, priority should be given to areas where long-term planting is used when the main crops have not yet closed their canopy. Because intercropping is considered a form of growing with main crops.
- For pillow-planting green manure crops: This is a form of sowing and planting green manure crops at the end of the season, right after the previous crop has just been harvested. Accordingly, the growing time of green manure plants will be extended and you can bury them as fertilizer in the next crop.
The location of planting trees and pillows
- For purely grown green manure: This is a form mainly applied to improve the ability to utilize land. Green manure plants will be planted in one place, then the leaves will be cut and fertilized for the main crop in another place.
Green composting technique
Composting green manure is most effective when the crop has the highest dry matter yield, while the C/N ratio is low and the total N yield accumulated in the leaves is highest.
Green composting techniques and most effective use
In particular, when composting green manure, there are some characteristics you need to keep in mind as follows:
- Adding phosphorus should be done immediately after plowing and burying green manure. This will help decompose organic matter more effectively and provide balanced nutrients to plants.
- When burying green manure plants, remember to add probiotics EMZEO + Trichoderma Duc Binh to increase the quality of green manure and shorten the time to create green manure for soil and plants. Amount of probiotics used: 1 packet of EMZEO 200gr + 1 packet of Trichoderma Bacillus mushroom 200gr sprinkled on 70 – 100m2 of buried beds. Mix with irrigation water or mix with rice bran and sprinkle evenly.
- For fertile soil, it is necessary to compost green manure deeply in a place with stable moisture in soils with light mechanical composition. For acidic soils, it is necessary to add calcium or fused phosphorite or phosphate to the soil. Only then can we create favorable conditions for the decomposition of organic matter to take place more effectively.
The fastest and most effective way to compost green manure
Note when using green manure in different types of soil
To optimize the effectiveness of green manure, it is necessary to adjust the method of use depending on the characteristics of each soil type:
- Poor soil, sandy soil: Priority should be given to growing legume green manure crops to enhance nitrogen fixation and organic matter accumulation. You should bury them early when the plants are still young so that the decomposition process can take place quickly, providing immediate nutrients for the next crop.
- Acidic soil, acidic soil: Green manure should be combined with the addition of lime or insoluble phosphorus (such as phosphorite) to improve the pH, creating favorable conditions for microbial activity and the mineralization of organic matter.
- Heavy soil: Green manure needs to be plowed deeper to improve the physical properties of the soil, making it more porous and airy.
- Saline soil: Green manure plants help cover, reduce water evaporation and salt evaporation from groundwater, and decomposed organic matter helps reduce the harmful effects of Na+ ions dispersing soil colloids.
4. How to compost green manure and use fertilizer most effectively
Prepare ingredients to compost 1 ton of green manure
- Collect all green manure plants, leaves, stems, branches… that can be composted: 1.5 tons
- Manure, organic waste… 500kg (if not discarded)
- Rice bran, corn bran: 15kg
- Trichoderma Bacillus fungusDuc Binh 200gr: 2 packs
- EMZEO microbial product for composting200gr: 2 packs
- Clean water
The fastest way to brew
- Green manure plants are chopped and cut into pieces
- Stir well the probiotic Trichoderma Bacillus + EMZEO product + rice bran
- Spread a layer of about 10 – 15 cm of green manure + manure + organic waste on the ground
- Sprinkle the probiotic mixture mixed above evenly. Add clean water to reach incubation humidity
- Continue spreading green manure on top, sprinkle yeast, and water with clean water
- The height of the compost pile is about 1.2 – 1.6m
- Stack piles, cover with tarpaulin and incubate for 25 – 30 days to obtain high quality organic compost to fertilize plants.
The fastest way to compost green manure
The fastest way to compost green manure without fouling creates organic fertilizer for plants, good for soil, good for plants
How to use green manure to fertilize plants
- The amount of green manure used to fertilize plants depends on the type of plant, soil quality and season
- Fertilizing vegetables: Use 2 – 3 quintals of green manure to fertilize 1 acre of northern Vietnam. Sprinkle evenly on the surface of the vegetable bed
- Fertilizer for soil improvement: 3 tons/acre, applied when plowing and filling the soil
- Fertilizer for fruit trees and industrial trees: 3 – 5kg/tree, depending on the age of the tree
How to use green manure to fertilize plants
Thus, for questions such asWhat is green manure? How to effectively compost and use green manure to fertilize plantsHow?… wasMicrobial product Duc Binhdetailed answer through the above article. Hope the information provided will be useful to you.
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Microbial products Duc Binh – Center for research and application of biological productsspecializes in research, production and application of product lines: Probiotics, septic tank enzymes, wastewater treatment enzymes, aquatic enzymes, biological products…
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