Browsing by Author "Lavanya, S."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Analyzing the Performance of mahinda chintana Diary villages in Batticaloa District
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Asoomath, N.; Mahusoon, M.M.; Lavanya, S.
    Dairy sector is the most important of all livestock sub sectors and it has a great impact on the rural economy. The domestic milk production only constitutes about 26 percent of the country's requirement. Dairy village programme was introduced in 2005 by the President Mahinda Rajapakse in order to develop the dairy industry, and is being implemented by the Department of Animal Production and Health, Sri Lanka. In the present study, the performance of dairy village programme implemented in Batticaloa district was assessed through a field survey to evaluate the success of "Mahinda Chintana" programme. A total of 150 dairy farmers from 15 dairy villages including seven veterinary ranges in the Batticaloa district were randomly selected and interviewed using a formal questionnaire for collecting data on socio economic condition, details of dairy cattle, management practices, problems faced by the dairy farmers and extension services. About 66% of the respondents have prior experience in dairy cattle management. Fifty six percent of the farmers were small holders of dairy cattle and 35% were medium size holders. Almost 42% of the respondents practiced fully intensive rearing system while 39% were adopting tethering system. 48% farmers have got primary education and 7% of them were not even schooled. Concentrates feed was given by 75% of the dairy farmers. Constraints reported by the farmers were high cost for concentrate feeds, low price for milk, lack of grasses and grass land, lack of credit facilities, and drought. The implementation of dairy villages has increased the annual income of the farmers significantly due to better technical knowledge on management practices, pasture and fodder production, better health care practices etc. The management systems, however, were very poor (58%) in some aspects such as rearing system and feeding of the dairy cattle. The programme would perform better if the management aspects could be improved. Key words: Dairy village, Dairy cattle, Dairy farmers, Mahinda Chintana, Management practices
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Value Addition of Coir Pith by Composting: A Comparison between Coir Pith Compost and Traditional Compost
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2010) Lavanya, S.; Vijitha, N.; Mahendran, S.
    Coir pith is a natural and renewable resource obtained from coconut husks. Though coir pith has a number of beneficial properties, its direct utilization as a manure is restricted owing to its high carbon: nitrogen (C:N) ratio (100-120:1) and lignin content (30%) which delays natural decomposition. Hence, a study was conducted at the Eastern University, Sri Lanka to convert the raw coir pith to composted coir pith and to analyze its properties and suitability as a manure. The coir pith compost was prepared by using coir pith, spawn of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor caju) and cattle urine and allowed to decomposition. The samples of coir pith compost were analyzed for their properties such as moisture content, porosity, bulk density, particle density, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, macro nutrients and Carbon : Nitrogen Ratio. They were compared with the properties of traditional compost. The results of this study revealed that certain properties of coir pith compost namely, moisture content and porosity were significantly higher than the traditional compost. The Potassium content, bulk density particle density and electrical conductivity of composted coir pith were significantly lower than the traditional compost. However, there were no significant differences in the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and pH of the coir pith compost and traditional compost. Composted coir pith had more Organic carbon than traditional compost. The Carbon: Nitrogen ratio of composted coir pith was reduced to favourable level but, remained higher than that of the traditional compost. Hence, it could be concluded that coir pith can be converted into a manure by composting. The value added final product has favourable physical and chemical properties to be used as organic manure. Key words: Coir pith compost, Properties, Traditional compost