Silt is a combination of sand and clay particles collected from tanks or lakes in the villages OR Silt can be referred to as a eroded soil accumulated in the tanks and lakes of the villages. It is mainly applied to improve soil and moisture conservation, water holding capacity as well as increase the aeration and porosity of the soil for better root growth.
Uses of silt application:
Application of silt in the main land helps in retention of nutrients in the soil and increases the fertility of soil which inturn increasing crop yield. Application of silt increasing the water holding capacity of the soil providing moisture throughout the growing season of the crop. Silt application can convert barren land into fertile soil. Silt application canbe applied to any type of soil but best suited for soils having sandy / sandy loam property. Silt application helps to increase the water table of the soil by increasing infiltration during rainy season. Before application of silt, farmers have to get their soil tested and complete knowledge of silt content from the soil testing laboratory and take necessary steps as per the lab recommendations.
Benefits of Silt application- This program was taken by 9 farmers in the month of June 2007 under dry land (rain fed) condition at Doddabejjalahatti village. The impact study has been conducted on the farmers field with respect to yield as mentioned below
| Sl.No |
Farmers name |
Crop taken |
Slit application (tractor load) |
Yield obtained in current year (per acre) |
Yield obtained Last year (per acre) |
Yield increase after Silt application |
| 1 |
Shivaraj.B.M |
ragi |
21 t.l |
10qtls |
5qtls |
5qtls |
| 2 |
Shankarappa |
ragi |
19 t.l |
8qtls |
3qtls |
5qtls |
| 3 |
Mariyappa |
ragi |
12 t.l |
8qtls |
4qtls |
4qtls |
| 4 |
Bhime gowda |
ragi |
15 t.l |
9qtls |
4qtls |
5qtls |
| 5 |
Puttamadaiah |
ragi |
12 t.l |
8qtls |
3qtls |
5qtls |
| 6 |
Ramachandraiah |
ragi |
15 t.l |
15qtls |
4qtls |
5qtls |
| 7 |
Rajanna |
ragi |
20 t.l |
9qtls |
3qtls |
6qtls |
| 8 |
Muneeraiah |
ragi |
18 t.l |
8qtls |
3qtls |
5qtls |
| 9 |
Muddegowda |
ragi |
12 t.l |
8qtls |
4qtls |
4qtls |
|
t.l. – tractor loads
During the interaction, the farmers have expressed that the ragi crop yields have increased by two folds due to application of tank silt. The farmers practicing chemical farming were astonished to see this increase and planned to shift towards organic farming. |
