Use of Deoiled Cake of Sal in Agriculture as Manures, Biopesticides and Nitrification Inhibitors opportunities and Challenges

摘要

Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.f) is an important forest tree and occupies 14.2% of the total forest area of the country. Sal seed contains 15-18% oil. After extraction of oil, about 2.0-3.0 million tonnes of sal oil cakes are left. The oil cakes of neem, mahua and karanj are widely used in agriculture but the use of sai oil cake in agriculture is not so popular. The present study was undertaken to explore the possibility of using sal oil cake in agriculture as manure, biopesticide and nitrification inhibitor. The average N. P & K contents of sal oil cake as observed were 2.06%, 1.04% and 1,54% respectively, it varies from region to region. After value addition, the nutrient content of sai oil cake was substantially improved (2.42% N, 1.31% P2O5 and 1.69% K2O).The average tannin content of sal oil cake was 14.2% and aqueous as well as alcoholic extract of sal oil cakes were found effective in controlling plant pathogens and nematode. The alcoholic extract was more effective than aqueous extract. The nitrification inhibiting capacity of sal oil cake was also estimated and found that its use can reduce the release of nitrate nitrogen.