Abstract:
Sri Lankan agriculture sector is vital to the country's economy but faces challenges:
expensive inorganic fertilizers, limited land availability, climate change and disease outbreaks
leading to reduced local agricultural production. he increasing population leads to a demand for
food. It shows the requirement of sustainable agricultural development. Improper livestock
waste management contributes to environmental pollution. This study proposes organic farming
combined with modern agricultural technology and livestock waste management as a solution.
To make hydroponics more affordable, the study focuses on liquid organic fertilizer production
from poultry slaughterhouse waste and cattle farming waste. A non-circulate hydroponic system
is used for chilli cultivation evaluating two liquid organic fertilizers: "Poultry tonic" and
"Jeevamurtha." Four treatments were used with controller, Albert’s solution used as control.
Treatments 2 and 3 using poultry tonic at dilution concentrations of 75 ml/10 L and 50 ml /10 L.
For Jeevamurtha treatments (Treatment 4 and 5) two Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture
recommended dilution concentrations are used. Data collection was done over two months,
measuring EC, pH, shoot length, number of leaves and leaf area index. Results show both
organic fertilizer treatments have pH and electrical conductivity values under the ideal range.
Treatment 1 with inorganic fertilizer exhibits the best efficiency in plant growth. Among organic
treatments, Treatment 5 (Jeevamurtha at 1 L/30 L) performs best, followed by Treatment 2
(poultry tonic at 75 ml/10 L) based on shoot length and number of leaves no any significant
treatment effect on leaf area index. The study recommends Jeevamurtha at 1 L/30 L and poultry
tonic at 75 ml/10 L for hydroponic chilli cultivation for providing sustainable agricultural
alternatives for Sri Lanka.
