◊ By Benefit Publishing Pvt Ltd

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Soil is a major source of nutrition for plants. The three main nutrients required are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

Aayna Bio Industries, the producer of organic manure and vermicompost, has a large automated layer farming unit in Panipat, Haryana. The key ingredient in its organic manure is poultry excreta, which, the company claims, is superior to manure containing cow dung.

“Protein is a vital nutrient for poultry. Owing to its amino acid constituents, protein plays a significant role in growth, egg production, immunity, adaptation to the environment, and is crucial for many other biological functions. A chicken converts its high protein diet into organic nitrogen and passes almost 70% of it as manure,” says Aayna Jaglan, Operations Manager, Aayna Bio Industries.

Aayna Bio, which has applied for the organic Ecocert certification, claims poultry manure is richer in nitrogen and other nutrients than traditional farmyard manures like cow dung manure.

Reduction in NPK availability may also occur when the litter is aged. “At Aayna, we capture maximum nutrients, because we receive raw material, ie, poultry litter, every day from our own farm. Hence, we control our supply chain from end-to-end,” says Jaglan.

Historically, the use of poultry manure is frowned upon because of the smell and the high concentration of nutrients that it contains.

Aayna decomposes its animal waste before processing it into the final product. It cannot be used as is, because raw excreta is highly concentrated and can burn the roots of the plant. Hence, it is decomposed, wherein microorganisms break down organic substances, resulting in odourless and nutritionally balanced organic manure.

The company says its organic manure is suitable for all kinds of crops, flowers, fruits and plants. It sells in bulk to farmers and also sells 1-kg packs of its ‘Organic Plant Food’—aimed at urban gardeners—through Flipkart and Amazon.