Organic Farming & Natural Farming
Organic Farming | 34+ Years of Sustainable Agriculture
Organic Farming Definition at KVK
No synthetic chemical fertilizers/pesticides. Uses on-farm and off-farm organic inputs.
Implementation on KVK Farm
Total farm area under organic: 15-20 acres (all fruit blocks of guava, sapota, mango)
Year of conversion: Started 1990 – fully organic for 34+ years
Certification: Participatory Guarantee System (PGS-India) certified organic (self-declaration with third-party audit)
Input Production and Application
FYM
10-15 tons/acre/year (from KVK cattle/goat shed)
Compost
5-10 tons/acre/year (from crop residues, weeds)
Vermicompost
5-8 tons/acre/year (2-3 kg per tree for fruit crops)
Vermiwash
Foliar spray 1:10 dilution (every 15 days during fruiting)
Oil Cakes
Neem cake (200-300 kg/acre), Castor cake (200 kg/acre)
Fish Meal
100-200 kg/acre (source of nitrogen and phosphorus)
Bio-fertilizers
Rhizobium, PSB, Azotobacter – soil application (2 kg/acre mixed with 40 kg FYM)
Jeevamrut
200 liters/acre (cow dung 10 kg, cow urine 10 liter, jaggery 2 kg, pulse flour 2 kg, soil 2 kg, water 200 liter – fermented for 3-5 days)
Ghanajeevamrut
200 kg/acre (cow dung 100 kg, cow urine 20 liter, jaggery 2 kg, pulse flour 2 kg, neem cake 20 kg, soil 20 kg – dried and powdered)
Vermicomposting Unit Expansion History
Initial Start
100 Eisenia foetida earthworms in a small pot
First Dedicated Unit
225 sq ft (15 ft x 15 ft)
Expanded
5,000 sq ft (50 ft x 100 ft) with 30-40 long beds
Earthworm Population
1-2 million earthworms
Bedding Material
Cow dung (60%), crop residues (20%), leaf litter (10%), soil (10%) | Harvesting cycle: Every 60-90 days; each bed yields 300-500 kg
Chemical Reduction Achieved
Yields after Organic Conversion (KVK data)
Guava
25-30 tons/ha (conventional: 30-35 tons/ha – 15% reduction but improved soil health)
Sapota
20-25 tons/ha (comparable to conventional)
Mango
5-8 tons/ha (comparable to conventional)
Quality: Improved sweetness, shelf-life, and taste; premium price of 20-30% in organic market.