MADURAI: A seminar was conducted at PNU APT Dorairaj Higher Secondary School on Friday to encourage government school students on organic farming and agro waste recycling.
The seminar, conducted by the Botany department of the Thiagarajar College, aimed to inform and inspire students about organic farming and to foster innovative ideas in them.
The students were taught how to prepare biofertilisers, vermicompost and panchakavya and cultivate mushroom at home.
There are three types of edible mushroom that can be grown within three weeks, said K Jegatheesan, assistant professor of the department, who showed how with the help of paddy straw and sugarcane waste, a bed can be made. The spawn is put in and the mushroom cultivated.The fertilisers ozolla, azospirillum and rhizobium are biofertilisers that can be made at home with charcoal and nutrients within 15 days.
Explaining the preparation of panchakavya, Jegatheesan said it was a natural manure that could be prepared at home.
A book was given to the students listing all the ingredients to prepare natural manure.