SRISTI

Musa Jawneh, Gambia, May, 2005Iron toxicity has been a major problem for rice farmers in the lowlands especially in the mangrove and associated mangrove areas. Farmers have used many coping strategies since ideal solutions are seldom found. Musa Jawneh, president of the National Farmer’s Platform, said he and a couple of farmers tried lime and dried flower of oil palm tree and rice husks. About 7.5 kg of dried flower of oil palm tree and 10 kg of lime are thoroughly mixed, applied and incorporated into the soil before planting. The plot size measured 10m x 10m. The combination worked very well as traces of iron toxicity were minimal and farmers’ yields were increased. In the following year the combination was replicated and farmers in particular in the lowland observed the performance of the innovation and were very motivated. Now many farmers are using the innovation. Nitrogen fertilizer induced acidification and liming on micronutrients in soil and in brome grass hay.S. S. Malhi, M. Nyborg and J. T. Harapiak; Soil and Tillage Research; Volume 48, Issues 1-2, 1 September 1998, pp.91-101)A traditional method for the removal of iron from ground water by using rice husk ash, and ashes of various other substances has been systematically investigated. Ash was found to lead to enhanced precipitation of iron at high pH, and the method has been found suitable.

(Removal of iron from groundwater by ash: A systematic study of a traditional method; B. Das, P. Hazarika, G. Saikia, H. Kalita, D.C. Goswami, H.B. Das, S.N. Dube and R.K. Dutta; Journal of Hazardous Materials; Volume 141, Issue 3, 22 March 2007, pp. 834-841).Vol 18(3&4) Jul-Dec 2007