Niger
Niger although considered a minor oilseed crop, is important in terms of its 32-40% content of quality oil with 18-24% protein in the seed. Niger oil is used in food, paint, illuminant, soap, to treat burns and in the treatment of scabies. The press cake from oil extraction is used for livestock feed. It has the yield potential of 800-1000 kg/ha under optimum growing conditions. Odisha ranks second (27.4 thousand tones) of Niger to the total country’s production. Niger is primarily grown on the denuded soils in the tribal pockets under input starved conditions in India. To improve production and crop sustainability various types of nutrient-smart practices are implemented in hilly areas like bio-fertilizers and manures etc. Bio-fertilizers that are used mainly are mentioned below:
- Nitrogenous (N) bio-fertilizer
- Phosphatic (P) bio-fertilizer
- Potash (K) bio-fertilizer