Increasing population growth urges for more and more food production and chemical based agriculture is now the dominant practice by the farmers to achieve this. Although application of chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers
etc.) has played an important role in uplifting the agriculture sector for the initial few decades after green revolution, its charm has gradually faded away, resulting in stagnation in crop production. Excessive and unscientific use of chemical inputs in today’s intensive agriculture is creating poor soil health through hampering soil physio-chemical properties such as salinity problem, poor soil aggregation, abrupt changes in soil pH, compaction and less water holding capacity
etc. as well as depleting soil fertility, hampering micro-organisms’ activities, keeping toxic footprints in the environment for a long time, which altogether resulting in poor crop growth, yield and quality
(Sharma et al., 2021). On the other hand, agricultural land shrinkage due increasing population pressure continuously urges for enhancing crop productivity. In India, before green revolution, agriculture was practiced only using organic inputs and methods. During earlier days, organic agriculture was self-sufficient to produce food for the population. As population growth gradually occurred, it failed to sustain and chemical based agriculture took its place through green revolution
(Biswas and Das, 2022). However, setback in crop production due to continuous application of chemicals has become prominent from 1990 onwards and Indian agriculture is showing paradigm shift again towards organic agriculture to an extent
(Biswas, 2020). Organic agriculture maintains biodiversity, biological cycle and its proper interaction with environment. It is a well-known fact that organic agriculture is an eco-friendly, safe approach of farming as no chemicals are used. It provides various nutrients and accelerates micro-organisms’ activity and other natural functions related to crop production.
Organic agriculture mostly relies on application of organic manures, bio-pesticides, organic mulching
etc. and adoption of eco-friendly practices. As organic agriculture is a traditional approach, other than these organic products and practices, various conventional organic formulations are also associated with it in the form of indigenous technical knowledge (ITK). These ITKs are variable with location, availability of raw materials and farmer’s practice. They are the good sources of microorganisms, macro and micronutrients, plant growth promoting hormones, enzymes, vitamins etc. and have bio-pesticidal properties
(Ram et al., 2018). Among all these formulations, some of them are now available to us as ITKs. One such traditional organic formulation is
Kunapajala. It is a liquid organic formulation produced from animal and plant products through fermentation.
Kunapajala is rich in various nutrients specially, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium as well as micro-organisms, growth promoting substances
etc. which are essential for plant growth and development.
Mishra (2007) stated that
Kunapajala has the ability to substitute chemical fertilizers to a high extent. Considering the present population growth, as complete reliance on organic agriculture is not a practical approach at least for now,
Kunapajala can find its place in integrated nutrient management also as one of the ITKs having beneficial role in agriculture.
Kunapajala
Kunapajala (filthy fluid) or
Kunapambu (fermented filth) is one of the traditional liquid organic formulations used since ancient times.
Kunapajala was derived from Sanskrit words ‘
Kunapa’ (
i.e. smelling like dead body, corpse) and ‘
Jala’ (
i.e. water). Earliest record of this organic formulation was found possibly in two documents
i.e. ‘
Vrikshayurveda’ (written by Surapala around 1,000 AD in Eastern India) and ‘
Lokopakara’ (documented by a poet Chavundaraya around 1,025 AD in Karnataka of South India)
(Ali et al., 2012). Interestingly, the preparation, use and beneficial role of
Kunapajala was forgotten till english translation of
Vrikshayurveda was published. Even after that, agricultural researcher, scientists showed negligence on this formulation and Valmiki Sreenivasa Ayangarya, a mathematician was the first one who experimented with
Kunapajala and documented the beneficial role of herbal
Kunapajala on mango and coconut
(Ayangarya, 2004a). Ayangarya also observed enhancement in growth of chilli plant after application of herbal
Kunapajala prepared from naturally fallen sour mango and soapnut (
Sapindus emarginatus)
(Ayangarya, 2004b). Later, Ayangarya in Arunachal Pradesh, prepared different types of
Kunapajala like Indsafari (through aerobic fermentation of safari fish in cow urine)
(Ayangarya, 2005), Mushika Kunapa (through aerobic fermentation of body parts of rats in cow urine)
(Ayangarya, 2006a) and Kukkuta Kunapa (through aerobic fermentation of chicken flesh in cow urine)
(Ayangarya, 2006b) to apply in different crops like tea bushes, kiwi fruit garden
etc. and obtained positive results through their growth promoting and bio-pesticidal properties.
Kunapajala preparation and its history
Although apart from highlighting the beneficial role of
Kunapajala in enhancing crop growth and productivity, its detailed preparation procedure was not mentioned in
Lokopakara, Surapala in
Vrikshayurveda(verses 101-106) mentioned preparation procedure
(Sadhale, 1996) as follows:
According to
Vrikshayurveda, the flesh, bone marrow, brain, blood and excreta of a dead boar are collected as and when available and mixed with water for further storage under the ground to avoid foul odour as well as to protect from other animals like dog’s attack. Although Surapala at first mentioned dead boar, later suggested to use fat, bone marrow, flesh, blood and excreta of any animals (specially, with horns) and fishes as per the availability, which gives flexibility to the farmers to use raw materials properly. Before storage, all the animal and fish excreta or body parts should be boiled in water and kept in earthen pot with sufficient addition of paddy husk. During the time of use, this mixture is cooked after adding sesame oilcake, honey and water soaked black gram. A little ghee can also be poured into the mixture.
In Surapala’s
Vrikshayurveda, there was no mention of the quantity of ingredients required to prepare
Kunapajala which was documented as a highly effective nutritious liquid organic preparation for trees’ growth, flowering and development of reproductive organs
(Majumdar, 1935).
About 300 years after Surapala’s documentation, one chapter ‘
Upavanavinoda’ from ‘
Sarangadhara-paddhati’ (written by Sarangadhara, a scholar in the court of King Hammira of sakambhari-desa i.e. Bundelkhand) mentioned the preparation of
Kunapajala without giving details about the quantity of ingredients
(Majumdar, 1935). According to Sarangadhara, in order to prepare
Kunapajala, flesh, fat, bone marrow of animals (deer, pig, sheep, goat, rhinoceros
etc.) and fishes are boiled in water and compound milk, sesame oilcake powder, blackgram (boiled in honey), pulse decoction, ghee and hot water are added into the earthen pot containing the boiled substances. Afterwards, the pot is kept in a warm place for about two weeks to incubate boiled
Kunapajala before use.
After 250 years of
Upavanavinoda,‘Vishvavallabha’, written by Chakrapani (1577 AD) also described the preparation of
Kunapajala which was almost similar to Sarangadhara’s procedure with animal skin is the only new addition as a raw material
(Sadhale, 2004).
Nene (1999) expressed that other than animal or fish body parts and wastes,
Kunapajala can also be prepared using plant based products. This herbal version of
Kunapajala is popularly known as
Shasyagavya which is prepared by fermenting the mixture of cow dung, cow urine, weed or plant parts or vegetables wastes and water in 1:1:1:2 ratios, respectively. Over the years, several modifications have been made in order to prepare
Kunapajala. Some of them are listed below (Table 1).
Nutritional properties of Kunapajala
Depending on the raw materials,
Kunapajala is known to contain various macro and micronutrients, beneficial micro-organisms, plant growth promoting hormones, essential amino acids. According to
Martinez (2008),
Kunapajala is rich in carbohydrates, proteins and alkaloids obtained from milk, sesame and black gram. Further, animal and fish body parts supply ample amount of phosphorus, triacylglycerides, esters, sterolester, phospholoipids, vitamins A, D and E
etc. Use of honey in preparation of
Kunapajala acts as a source for carbohydrates which accelerate fermentation process. It is also rich in microorganisms like
rhizobium, azotobacter, azospirillum, phosphorus solubilizing bacteria,
trichoderma and
pseudomonas.
Chakraborty et al., (2019) analysed physical and chemical properties of
Kunapajala and stated that it is rich in various nutrients (Table 2). It can be applied into the soil or as foliar spray or through seed treatment/priming.
Different ingredients used to prepare
Kunapajala not only add nutritional properties but also ensure bio-pesticidal properties. For instance, addition of paddy husk in
Kunapajala makes the formulation rich in silica which helps the plants to become robust against pest and disease attacks. Milk used for
Kunapajala preparation shows resistance against certain viral diseases
viz. tobacco mosaic virus, rice tungro virus
etc. Patil (2007) mentioned that there is a risk of pathogen infestation through plant-based compost application, which can be avoided with the use of
Kunapajala as it is boiled and fermented.
Role of Kunapajala in agricultural productivity and crop quality
Kunapajala plays an important role in uplifting crop productivity and quality through providing various nutrients for the plant’s uptake from soil or foliar absorption.
Firminger (1864) recognised
Kunapajala as a good source of nutrients for enhancing vegetable productivity. Further, presence of beneficial micro-organisms, enzymes, plant growth promoting hormones
etc. in
Kunapajala can help to boost up the crop yield when applied alone or in combination with other organic/inorganic nutrient sources.
Kavya and Ushakumari (2020) observed highest plant height, number of branches, leaf area index and yield of bhindi under application of 50% N as FYM and foliar application of 5% non-herbal
Kunapajala due to availability of good amount of nutrients, micro-organisms, enzymes, growth hormones
etc. Sarkar et al., (2014) reported that soil drenching of
Kunapajala along with
Panchagavya ensured linear growth of root and shoots of vegetable seedlings more prominently over control as well as with each alone. In their study,
Kunapajala +
Panchagavya ensured 23.21%, 5-15% and 10-23% more shoot growth in tomato, chilli and cow pea, respectively. They obtained around 50% linear growth of root in all the three vegetables. Lamina size in tomato was also increased when
Kunapajala was applied either alone (51.13%) or in combination with
Panchagavya (39.95%). Even, there was an increase of leaf area through application of
Kunapajala in tomato (51%), chilli (10%) and cow pea (30%).
Kunapajala also increased plant dry biomass as high as 106.63% in tomato. They observed superiority of
Kunapajala +
Panchagavya over others on fruit yield in tomato (115%) and cow pea (127%) as well as fruit number in chilli (107%).
Narayanan (2006) also applied the mixture of
Kunapajala and
Panchagavya and found improvement in yield of vegetables.
Deshmukh et al., (2012a and 2012b) observed that in tomato plants, leaf number and biomass, relative water content of leaves, osmotic potential, total chlorophyll, chlorophyll stability index, carotenoids, xanthophylls were higher, while membrane injury was lesser under application of
Kunapajala than traditional organic farming and inorganic fertilizer application. Quickest attainment of flowering, extended fruiting phase, increments in size, fresh weight and shelf life of tomato fruits were recorded when
Kunapajala was applied. They also obtained highest contents of soluble protein, carbohydrates, polyphenols, proline, glycine betaine, ascorbic acid as well as anti-oxidant properties (catalase, super oxide dismutase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, indole acetic acid oxidase) of leaves and fruits of tomato grown under application of
Kunapajala.A positive impact of
Kunapajala on quality of crop produce was observed by
Rajasree et al., (2022) (Table 3).
In most of the cases, efficacy of
Kunapajala or such type of ITK formulations depends on the raw materials used for preparation.
Naik et al., (2022) compared three types of herbal
Kunapajala and observed that nettle based herbal Kunapajala registered highest chlorophyll (a, b, total) and carotenoid contents in mustard, followed by integrated herbal
Kunapajala and weed based herbal
Kunapajala. In a study by
Ali et al., (2012), Shasyagavya (20 and 10%) and
Kunapajala (5 and 10%) ensured improvement in growth and yield of black gram, while in mustard,
Kunapajala (3%) recorded the best result due to presence of organic carbon, beneficial micro-organisms and growth promoting hormones.
Asha (2006) sprayed
Kunapajala on langali (
Gloriosa superba Linn) plants and observed greater growth, flowering and yield over control and chemical fertilization.
Mishra (2007) also noticed increment in growth attributes
viz. plant height, leaf length, panicle length, number of grains/panicle of rice with application of
Kunapajala at 10 days’ interval. Similarly, in brinjal,
Bhat and Vasanthi (2008) obtained more number of branches, greater fruit yield with lesser seeds and less vulnerability to diseases with the use of
Kunapajala over chemical fertilizer application.
Ankad et al., (2017) reported that
Kunapajala application in
Ashwagandha and
Kalmegha seeds ensured higher leaf area, leaf area index, crop growth rate, leaf area duration, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids, dry root yield and root length over other sources of nutrients. Seed priming with herbal
Kunapajala was done by
Halder et al., (2022) on chickpea and results indicated that seed priming with 10%
Kunapajala ensured highest germination %, speed of germination, shoot and root lengths, seedling length, seedling dry weight, vigour index-I and II, water imbibition rate, α-amylase activity and seed metabolic efficiency as well as quickest germination time in chickpea over control, hydropriming and others (Fig 1 a, b, c, d). Earlier,
Sudhakar et al., (2010) mentioned the presence of beneficial microorganisms, amino acids, vitamins, growth regulators like IAA, GA3
etc. resulting in positive influence on germination and other seedling physiological quality parameters of crops.
a
b
c
d
Along with the nutritional properties,
Kunapajala also provides resistance against insects and diseases.
Deshmukh et al., (2011) stated that
Kunapajala can enhance the growth and provide greater disease resistance than other contemporary organic formulations, which altogether increase crop yield.
Ayangarya (2005) applied his
Kunapajala preparation (Indsafari) as foliar spray @ 1% and controlled tea mosquito bug (
Helopeltis theivora) and loopers (
Biston suppressaria) in tea garden.Being a liquid in nature, it has the property to reach the root zone of the crop when applied in soil, resulting in high uptake of nutrients. Foliar application, however, is more effective as compared to soil application as nutrients are absorbed more efficiently than root uptake. Further, through cooking and fermentation of the raw materials of
Kunapajala, protein, fat, carbohydrate etc. of this liquid formulation are broken down well into simple products (low molecular weight), resulting in quicker and greater availability of nutrients to the plants as compared to other conventional organic products
(Neff et al., 2003).
