There is a good scope for rural educated youth to grab modern agricultural knowledge, and can start their own business in this agri-input sector and provide quality inputs and good agri-technics for sustainable production.

Fertilizer is the 2nd most important input in the agri sector after seed. The source of fertilizer may be organic or in-organic. In India, for fertilizer, seeds and pesticides business you should have proper license to continue the sector. Sometimes due to unavailability of a proper source of information a interested person can’t get a license.

So, here we discuss how to get fertilizer license and what are its basic criteria to avail it.

What are Fertilizers?

Fertilizers are mined or manufactured commercial products which contain one or more plant nutrients in an applicable amount and in a readily usable form. Fertilizers having the advantages of easy in storage, transport and handling. Fertilizers mainly applied through soil application, foliar spray and fertigation methods.

Read: DIFFERENT TYPES OF FERTILIZERS AND THEIR USES

Basic requirements before applying for fertilizer license

Qualification to apply for fertilizer license in India

• a person with possession of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture or chemistry or Diploma in Agriculture Science from a recognised University or Institute or equivalent course having one of the subjects on fertilizer or agri inputs can apply directly for fertilizer license.

• If a person does not have these degrees he/she can do a certain certification course organised by certain institutes /  state agriculture departments to apply for the license. 

• You may contact the local agriculture office to know more about it.

Please follow the govt guidelines in this regard as follows;

Other requirements

• A person should have space for a shop and godown area.

• The space may be owned or leased.

• For wholesaling much godown area is required as compared to retail business.

• The person should have proper PAN, GSTN, Aadhaar, mobile number and bank account, email id before applying for license.

• Now a single window online system is developed by different state govt for applying for seed, fertilizer and pesticides business. I am providing here the link for applying licenses of the Agriculture department, Govt of Odisha. Here you can directly apply for a license. e-License For Agri-inputs (click on it)

• For retail business you need to apply to wholesalers for approval, for wholesale business you need to apply to Manufacturers for approval.

• After online application and providing basic fees, you should contact the local agriculture office to get the license.

• After due verification by the Agri department officers they may issue a license for business.

Point of sale machine for fertilizer business (POS Machine)

• POS machine introduced by govt of India for proper monitoring of fertilizer sales. It is Aadhaar based operation.

• After getting a fertilizer license you should apply in the agri department for availing POS machine.

• You can get application form for POS machine from the department and after filling it submit it to the officers in charge.

• After due verification you can get a POS ID and PIN in your phone number.

• Then show the POS ID to the officer and they may issue you a POS machine to operate your fertilizer business.

• Agri department officers also give you basic training to operate the POS machine smoothly.

• If you possess a wholesale license, you get a separate Mfms ID for online stock monitoring and transferring of stocks to your retailers POS machine.

Maintenance of records

• In your shop you should keep some basic records of your business. 

• You should have a ledger of retail / wholesale business data.

• Fertilizer rate chart, fertilizer license copy, GSTN copy  should be hung on your shop wall.

• Stock position should be maintained in ledger, POS machine and godown. It should be equal.

• Agriculture officers may inspect your shop from time to time.

Some Basic fertilizers marketed in India

• In India farmers generally used prilled and granular fertilizers. They are available generally in 45 kg or 50 kg bags. Examples are Urea, DAP, NPK, Potassic fertilizers.

• Some speciality fertilizers are also marketed like water soluble fertilizers for drip and spray application, micro-nutrients, biofertilizers etc.

Conclusion

Hope this article may guide you to have your business in the agriculture sector. You can start your business with minimum investment and also try to provide the latest agricultural information to the farming community for more and sustainable production.

Agriculture is a constantly growing sector that meets the food requirement of a country and also contributes to the nation's economy. We can not imagine our life without basic needs like food, cloth and shelter which are fulfilled by agri products. It’s now challenging to meet those basic needs of a rapidly growing population and constantly decreasing land area. To meet the nation's food grain requirements , countries like India started the green revolution in the mid 19th century focusing more production. It causes over utilisation of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in the agri sector which results a negative impact on the environment and also lowers farmers income due to spending more on those agri inputs.

 We should go for soil testing of our garden soil in selected intervals to know its quality and nutrition availability, accordingly we can apply several plant nutrients for a healthy soil and plant. Nutrients are mainly classified as organic and inorganic.

Water Soluble Fertilizers for Gardening

The water soluble fertilizers are mainly applied as foliar application. Foliar spray is the method of applying fertilizers in solution form directly on plant leaves.

Some of the nutrient based water soluble fertilizers are as follows:

• 2-3 sprays in a 15-20 days interval, after a good vegetative growth of the plant.

• Mostly spray in 40-50 days after sowing and 60-70 days after planting.

• Recommended dose of water soluble fertilizers for foliar spray is 5-10gm/liter of water.

Micro and Secondary Nutrients.

Micronutrients are a group of nutrients which are essential for plant growth but are required by plants in small quantities.

Some Popular micronutrients available in this category are as follows:

Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur are popularly known as secondary nutrients because of their requirements being less than that of primary nutrients.

Plant Growth Promoters

These fertilizers are mainly from organic sources and have a very nice growth effect on plants. 

seaweed extract 

Seaweed extract is a product of red & brown algae containing proteins, carbohydrates, essential plant nutrients, plant growth Hormones etc.it also helps in greater microbial activity when applied to soil and  increasing the nutrient availability to plants. This is an organic product used for better growth and productivity in all types of crops.it is a safe and eco-friendly product, has no phytotoxic effect and is suitable for sustainable agriculture.

 Application methods

1) Granules

8-10 kg/Acre , in 2 split doses.

For perennials/ vines use 100-150 grams per tree/vines.

2) Liquid

250 ml/acre or 1-2 ml per litre of water as per crop stage in 3 split doses. 

Conclusion:

Gardening not only gives us physical and mental satisfaction but also reduces urban pollution.so everyone should practice this noble culture. I hope this article may give a brief idea about some gardening fertilizers and its application methods.

Thank you.

* Above recommendations are for information purpose only.

Please consult local gardening exports before application to plants.

Composting is a biological process of decomposing organic solid wastes. It can be used to recycle organic material. The process involves decomposition of organic material into a humus-like material, referred to as compost, which is a good fertilizer source for plants.

 Composting benefits

1. Compost improves soil texture, water holding capacity and fertility. Soil will gradually become fluffy and brown, an ideal home for healthy plants.

2. Compost provides a good and balanced source of plant nutrition.

3. Compost stimulates beneficial organisms, which help in converting soil nutrients into available form for plants.

4. The microorganisms, enzymes, vitamins and natural antibiotics that are present in compost help in prevention of many harmful pathogens for your plants.

5. Earthworms, millipedes and other soil microorganisms help in opening up passageways for air and water to reach your plant roots. 

6. Compost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

7. Composting helps in solid waste management and reduces methane emissions. 

5 elements of composting

Organic matter is converted into compost through the work of microorganisms and other soil elements. Composting requires the best possible environment for these beneficial organisms to do their work which faster the process of decomposition. If you do not provide the optimum environment, the decomposition process gets slower.

1. Carbon. Carbon-rich materials are the source of energy for microorganisms. The materials are mostly brown in colour. Examples are dry leaves, straw, garden soil etc.

2. Nitrogen. Nitrogen-rich materials provide the protein components that microorganisms require to grow and multiply. Examples are fresh grass clippings, over-ripe fruits and vegetables, kitchen scraps, freshly pulled garden weeds etc.

3. Water. Moisture is very important for the composting process to be carried out. Too much moisture will drown the microorganisms and insufficient moisture will dehydrate them. Maintain moisture in the compost like a squeezed wet sponge. Using an enclosed container or covering the compost pile will make the right moisture level.

4. Oxygen. Microorganisms require a lot of oxygen for an efficient composting process. When you first add the composting materials to the pit, there will probably be plenty of air between the layers of materials. But when the microorganisms start their work, they will start consuming oxygen. So proper aeration will help the microorganisms to work efficiently.

5. Temperature. Heat is a by-product of intense microbial activity. It indicates that the microorganisms are active on organic matter and converting it into finished compost.

Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (C: N ratio).

Microorganisms and other soil fauna work most efficiently with a suitable ratio of carbon-rich (brown) to nitrogen-rich (green) materials. It is approximately 25:1 (brown to green). Three parts brown and one part green materials works quite well. In practical terms, if you want to have an active compost pile, you should include lots of carbon-rich "brown" materials (such as straw, wood chips, dry leaves, paper etc.) and a lesser amount of nitrogen-rich "green" materials (such as grass clippings, freshly pulled weeds, or kitchen scraps).

If you have an excess of carbon-rich materials and not enough nitrogen-rich materials, your pile may take more time to decompose (there is not enough protein for those microbes). If your pile has an excess amount of nitrogen and not enough carbon, your pile also will decompose very slowly (not enough for the microbes to eat), and it will probably create a smell.

Turning of compost piles

• The purpose of turning is to increase oxygen flow for the microorganisms and to blend un-decomposed materials into the centre of the pile.

• After turning, the pile should heat up again, as long as there is still un-decomposed material to be broken down.

• When the temperature stays pretty constant regardless of how much you turn the pile, it gives the sign of readiness of compost.

• Turning also releases heat into the air. So it is not recommended for frequent turning in cold weather.

Other ways of aeration without the effort of turning:

• Make sure there are air vents in the sides of your compost bin.

• Put one or two perforated plastic pipes in the centre of your pile.

Composting methods

There are mainly two types of composting. One is below the soil and the other one is above the soil. Above the soil composting process is faster and easier as it exposes to more oxygen and aerobic bacteria for decomposition. 

1. Below the soil composting (Trench composting)

a) Digging a compost pit

• The compost hole should be about 1 ft. deep. If you have a lot of compost material, you can dig a deeper pit, but avoid going deeper than about 3 ft. as important decomposing organisms cannot live beneath this depth.

• If there is more composting material, you can make your pit longer or wider.

b) Fine chopping of compost materials

• Underground composting happens at a much slower rate than above ground process. So you can speed up the composting process by chopping the materials into smaller pieces.

• Kitchen scraps can be made into smaller pieces by chopping with a knife or pulverized in a blender or food processor.

• Garden scraps can be broken down using a lawn-mower. The pieces should not be bigger than 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) long, wide, and thick.

c) Add the organic materials to the compost pit

• Dump your food scraps and garden waste into the hole.

• Mix the materials together by a shovel so that the decomposition starts effectively.

• It is important to make sure that the carbon-rich materials (such as paper and dried leaves) are mixed thoroughly with the nitrogen-rich materials (like vegetable scraps and fresh grass clippings).

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d) Maintaining the compost pit

•  If your compost pit is not full, you can add more to it later. Cover the pit with a fine layer of soil or carbon-rich material, like dried leaves.

• Whenever you add fresh compost materials, cover the top layer with soil or carbon-rich material.

• Fill the pit until it is level with the surrounding soil.

• Speed up the composting process by watering the pit and ensure proper moisture.

e) Outcome

• The final compost material is prepared in 4-6 month.

• So prepare 2-3 compost pits in different time intervals for the continuous supply of compost for your garden. 

• You can raise plants above the compost pit.