Description of practice
In the practice of in situ composting crop residues, green and farmyard manures, organic waste and ashes are composted in the field in trenches or pits. Crops are directly grown on or next to the pits which also serve to harvest rainwater and regulate soil moisture. Organic matter recycling like this can be developed into a circular system, depending on what materials are available locally.
| Examples of how to use insitu composting | Further information (see Note below) |
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In situ compost cultivationTrenches (0.6 m x 0.6 m and 0.9 m apart) are dug across the slope, filled with organic residues and backfilled with soil until slightly below the soil surface to capture runoff. Water and nutrient demanding crops are grown in the trenches, leguminous crops in between. |
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Kibanja cropping systemCompost pits (3 x 3 m in size and 0.6 m deep) are dug between 4 widely spaced banana plants and filled with farm manure, crop residues and ash. They are covered with soil to activate nutrient release though microbial disintegration and avoid volatilization of greenhouse gases. |
»WOCAT technology 1221 |
Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.