Use of Cow Urine in the Field of Agriculture

Use of Cow Urine in the Field of Agriculture

Sachin Dongare¹, Indrayani Gawas², Mohit Bharadwaj³, Manoj Kumar Singh⁴, S. K. Singh⁵

¹ Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Livestock Production Management, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

² Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic crops, College of Horticulture, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Kokan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Maharashtra

³ Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Animal Nutrition,Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

⁴Assistant Professor, Department of Livestock Production management, SVPUA&T,Meerut,U.P.

¹ Professor, Department of Livestock Production Management, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar

Corresponding Author Email id- sachindongare12345@gmail.com

Introduction

Cow urine is a unique product with multiple uses. Cow urine has many beneficial properties particularly in the area of agriculture. Organic Agriculture is now becoming the new boom all over the world. The noteworthy aspects of cow urine are its eco-friendly nature, easy accessibility and multiple uses. The use of cow urine is known for a long time in India. Cow urine has been described as a liquid with innumerable therapeutic values, capable of curing several incurable diseases in human beings and also in plants.

It  has  been considered  that  cow  urine  is  very  useful  in agricultural operations as a  bio fertilizer  and bio pesticide. It is rich source of macro& micronutrients,disinfectant andprophylactic properties thus purify the atmosphere and improve soilfertility. Cow urine therefore, could be an effective tool to address multi nutrient deficiencies in most of soils in the country. It is believed to provide nutrients to plants at low cost; therefore, it is considered an alternative for plant nutrition, metabolic activation, pest and disease control. The exploitative agriculture for centuries in our country has brought down the fertility status of the soil to a level that even the application of fertilizers at higher rates is unable to sustain the productivity of soil. Intensive use of chemicals gives an immediate effect on crop production for small duration but creates long term ill effects on soil health leads to environmental problems. It is unfortunate that with the advent of fertilizers, slowly Indian farmers have forgotten use of cow products in agriculture and thus facing the current crises. chemical fertilizers alone do not provide all the nutrients in balanced quantities needed by the plants and on the other hand encourage depletion of soil organic matter content, adversely affect biological and physical properties of soil, also their increasing prices, soil health deterioration, sustainability and pollution consideration in general have led to renewed interest in the use of organic manures.

The Use of organic manure not only helps to sustain crop yields but also plays a key role by exhibiting both direct as well as indirect influence on the nutrient availability in soil by improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Cow urine is a free nutrient source and which is available to farmers free of cost in their own house; being organic in nature it is eco friendly and if used in crops has no adverse effect on ecosystem and human health. Further organic nutrient spray (cow urine) can be sprayed at critical growth stage of crop to overcome the problem of the slow release nutrients of organic sources affecting crop growth. Application of cow urine besides improving the soil texture and working as a plant hormone also been reported to correct the micronutrient deficiency, being organic in nature it is also likely increase the fertilizer use efficiency. Cow urine has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral properties.

Cow Urine uses in Agriculture

Cow urine is reported as a growth enhancer of plants and widely used as a bio fertilizer for different crop plants. Foliar application of cow urine is considered to be the best way of supplying nutrients. Cow urine uses is proved to enhance the resistance of plants against a wide range of plant pathogens like mycoplasma, viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and insects causing diseases and damages to cultivated plants. The nurturing effect of these products on useful soil bacteria enhances their activity resulting in better growth of plants and higher crop yield. Urine has applications in gardening and agriculture as a fertilizer.

Collection of cow urine-

1. Traditional method (Manual) – Collect the cow urine in Plastic mug or / daily use stainless steel mug early in the morning.
2. Collection Barrel-A plastic barrel would be a good choice as a collection barrel. The diameter of the collection barrel opening should be approximately 3.5 cm to ensure that the drainage hose can be inserted into the barrel. The urine will be removed and collect from the barrel twice each day. Therefore, the volume of the collection barrel should be about 20 L because cows can produce 9.1 to 35.7 L/d of urine.

How to use Cow urine as an organic nutrient –

• By Deeping– Deep the seedlings and cuttings of the plants in cow urine solution for 15 to 20 minutes before transplantation or before planting. It gives good results in survival.
• As a Foliar spray- Dilute the cow urine with water as 10 % (100 ml for 1 litr water), 20% (200 ml for 2 lit water) and sprayed on the crops. It enriches the soil with nutrients and this helps in controlling plant disease.E.g Highest total soluble solids was observed in foliar sprays of 10% cattle urine at pea stage. It was due to the nitrogen and auxin content of leaves which decreased with the advancement of fruit development. Since vegetative growth during this period was slow, decrease in nitrogen content may be due to its translocation to the developing fruit and hence it was critical period for supplementing nitrogen requirement of the tree.
• By drenching-Dilute the cow urine with water and soil is drenched with the solution to prevent some of the soil-borne pathogens as it has anti-microbial properties. Drenching to the cuttings in garden also gives good results in sprouting and other growth.
• As an organic manure– Soil application enhances the nutrient uptake by the plants and thereby it acts as a natural fertilizer for the crop.
• As An effective organic fertilizer– This is best for the cultivation of spinach and many other leafy vegetables. It can use as an organic pesticide; we can prevent some attacks by the insects with this. (Dilute it 100 ml with cow urine with 1 lit of water for making 10 % solution)

Composition

Cow urine contains 95% water, 2.5% urea, and 2.5% minerals, salts, hormones and enzymes. It contains iron, calcium, phosphorus, salts, carbonic acid, potash, nitrogen, ammonia, manganese, sulphur, phosphate, potassium, urea, uric acid, amino acids, cytokines, lactose etc.

Effects of cow urine on different aspects

1. Growth parameters –Cow urine at 10 and 20 % concentration significantly improve all vegetative growth like increasing emergence of plant, height, number of leafs, length and width of leaves.
2. Nutrient content and uptake – The nutritional effect of cow urine showed increased chlorophyll and protein content with increased concentration of urine.
3. Physical and Chemical properties of soil – Cow urine application has also reported to improve the soil texture and structure. High dose of Liquid Cow Manure application resulted in increased pH and EC values, nutrients and Dissolved Organic Carbon content of amended soils.
4. Biopesticides – Due to high content of urea in it which is toxic to most of the organisms, the pests and insects etc. will not attack the leaves and buds of the crop plants. Due to pungent and bad smell of the extract most of the pests and insects which are attracted due to nectar and fragrance get repelled, preventing the plant.

Conclusion–

For sustainable agriculture we need to follow organic methods in agriculture. From the above discussion, it can be concluded that cow urine could be a potent source to improve soil fertility, crop productivity and quality. Combined with manures and fertilizer frequent use of cow urine can address many challenges of agriculture and will be pave way for sustainable agriculture. In view of the multiple benefits of using cow urine based products in agriculture cow urine is seems a very critical in this regard as more and more effective products are being prepared. It can be used as an effective input in organic agriculture from nursery stage till disease and pest management.

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