Terrace Gardening

Nutritive value of raw and composted coir pith compost
S.No Parameters Raw Coir Path(%) Composited Coir Path(%) 1 Lignin 30.00 4.80 2 Cellulose 26.52 10.10 3 Carbon 26.00 24.00 4 Nitrogen 0.26 1.24 5 Phosphorous 0.01 0.06 6 Potassium 0.78 1.20 7 Calcium 0.40 0.50 8 Magnesium 0.36 0.48 9 Iron(ppm) 0.07 0.09 10 Manganese(ppm) 12.50 25.00 11 Zinc(ppm) 7.50 15.80 12 Copper(ppm) 3.10 6.20 13 C:N ratio 112.1 24:1

Benefits of composted coir pith (called coco peat after processing)
	The addition of composted coir dust improves soil texture, structure and tilth, sandy soil become more compact and clayey soil become more arable.
	It improves the soil aggregation
	It improves the water holding capacity (more than 5 times its dry weight) contributing towards increased soil moisture.
	The bulk density of both the sub surface (15-30 cm) sioil is reduced to considerable extent with the application composted coir pith.
	Composted coir dust contains all plant nutrient elements and it can provide a supplemental effect along with inorganic fertilizers.
	There is improvement in cation exchange capacity of soils, where composted coir pith is applied.
	Coir pith compost application increased the soil native microflora because of addition of humic materials.
	Ammonification, nitrification and nitrogen fixation are increased due to improved microbiological activity.

Application of coir pith (coco peat) compost
	It is recommended that 1 kg of composted coir pith per square feet of land irrespective of the raised.
	Is is advised that composted coir pith should be applied basally before take up the sowing.
	For nursery development in poly bags and in mud pots, while preparing the potting mixture 20 % of composted coir pith can be mixed with the soil and sand before filing it in the poly bag or mud pot
	For applying to the established trees like coconut, mango, banana and other fruit bearing trees, minimum 5 kg composted coir pith is required.