Gbiligu (N/R), Sept 7, GNA - On-farm trials on the use of organic fertilizer has shown that best results come from the use of a combination of biochar and organic manure.

The trials, being carried out on the Gbiligu Ecological Farms near Walewale, involve the use of organic fertilizer made from kitchen waste and chicken droppings.

This is produced by decentralised composting and biochar that can be produced by burning plant material under low oxygen similar to the production of charcoal.

Different plots of groundnuts and sorghum are being used with different combination of organic fertilizer, biochar on its own, organic fertilizer alone and a combination of the two.

The plot under the combination of organic fertilizer and biochar had taller and deeper green colour broad leaves of both crops.

The field trials are being sponsored by the Abokobi Society Switzerland (ASS), an NGO that is promoting the use of biochar in Northern Ghana, to help improve the fertility of farmlands over the years.

This is being done in collaboration with DECO which is also promoting the use of organic fertilizer to help farmers with a cheaper and more sustainable means of improving soil fertility.

Representatives of the sponsors and a Research Scientist of the Savanna Research Institute (SARI) at Nyankpala near Tamale, Dr Mathias Fosu, told journalists that soils in the three northern regions were poor in nutrients.

They are sandy loams that cannot hold water and lack nitrogen and phosphorus that are vital for good crop yield.

He said the organic fertilizer not only had the minerals needed by the soil to support good plant growth but also enhanced the ability of the soil to maintain nutrients and moisture for a long period that help the crops when the rains fail.

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