Organic Fertilizer and Water Hyacinth
Organic fertilizers became a hot topic in Sri Lanka after the government imposed a ban on the importation of chemical fertilizers into the country. With this sudden change, farmers were forced to find alternative ways to produce organic fertilizers for their cultivation. That is when water hyacinth captured the attention of many people in Sri Lanka. Until then, it was known mainly as an aquatic invasive plant. However, once people realized the value of water hyacinth in producing organic fertilizers, the perspective began to change. Today, many people wade into water tanks and lakes to uproot water hyacinth for fertilizer production. What exactly is water hyacinth? Water hyacinth, or Eichhornia crassipes , belongs to the family Pontederiaceae. It is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant with broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves. It reproduces mainly through runners (stolons) and can also produce thousands of seeds each year. This plant is native to tropical and subtropical South Am...