Use of Biofertilizers Made From Banana Stalks

Fertilizers are an important component added to plants to enhance food production. They provide crops with nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen for their growth. But eventually, The presence of chemicals in fertilizers has an impact on soil fertility and the survival of beneficial microbes. To address this issue, the emergence of biofertilizers has provided a solution. Biofertilizers, which are derived from organic waste, serve as a successor to synthetic fertilizers, given that they are free of any potentially dangerous substances and their ability to enhance soil quality. By utilizing natural products like biofertilizers in agricultural practices, we can protect soil health and ensure the production of high-quality crops. Agricultural wastes like coconut husks, wheat bran, paddy husk, banana stalks, etc. can also be a potential source for K, P, N, and many macro and micronutrients. As banana stalk can be considered a waste recycling product, fertilizer derived from it is of low cost. It helps degrade pesticide residues, improve soil fertility, and promote plant growth. This can increase the yield by 3.5%, and therefore a rise in economic benefit can be observed. Therefore, this study aims to explain the different production methods of biofertilizers using banana stalk as a feedstock, increase in the nutrient quality, and its effect on enriching the soil fertility. It also provides insight into the potential management of banana waste that can be converted into biofertilizers and the superiority of substituting chemical fertilizer with sustainable organic fertilizer derived from banana stalks.