Gandhinagar, Sep 25 (IANS) : Natural farming produced more than twice the fresh turmeric yield under conventional chemical farming in field trials conducted at Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University (SDAU), with the findings also showing substantial differences in soil microbial communities and farm returns.
The study, conducted jointly by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) and SDAU, found that two natural farming treatments produced more than 40 tonnes of fresh turmeric rhizomes per hectare, compared with 19.3 tonnes per hectare under the conventional farming system.
The research was published in ‘BMC Plant Biology’ and examined nine natural farming treatment combinations against conventional farming.
“The study, published in BMC Plant Biology in 2026, compared conventional chemical farming with nine different natural farming treatment combinations. One of the natural farming treatments produced more than 40 tonnes of fresh turmeric rhizomes per hectare, compared with 19.3 tonnes per hectare under conventional farming,” Science and Technology Minister Arjun Modhwadia said.
Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is widely used as a spice and in pharmaceutical and traditional medicine applications, with curcumin being its principal bioactive compound.
The researchers examined not only crop yield but also soil nutrients, enzyme activity and microbial diversity to assess the effects of natural farming.
“Turmeric, often described as the ‘golden spice’, plays a major role in India’s food, pharmaceutical and traditional medicine sectors. Its active compound, curcumin, has also driven growing demand in domestic and international markets. However, intensive cultivation dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides can place increasing pressure on soil ecosystems and farm economics,” Modhwadia said.
SDAU Vice-Chancellor Rajeshwar Sinh Chandel said the results had also been seen in terms of farm income.
“Income doubled through the successful natural farming of turmeric. Positive results are also being obtained in all fruit crops from this successful experiment. Natural farming is the main foundation of the ‘One Health Mission’ initiated by the government,” Chandel said.
The research formed part of Gujarat’s Network Research Programme on ‘Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati’ through Biotechnology Interventions, which seeks to examine traditional natural farming practices using modern biological and molecular tools.
The programme covers research areas including microbial and metagenomic analysis of natural farming inputs, soil microbial interactions, metabolomic studies and crop- and agro-climatic zone-specific natural farming practices.
Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani said the programme sought to combine traditional farming practices with modern scientific methods.
“The findings have emerged from a Network Research Programme on Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati through Biotechnology Interventions, which seeks to combine traditional Indian farming practices with modern scientific tools to improve crop productivity, restore soil health and promote environmentally sustainable agriculture,” Vaghani said.
“The programme covers 18 crops across eight agro-climatic zones, with researchers examining how natural farming practices and biotechnology can work together to develop productive, chemical-free farming systems,” he added.
At SDAU in Banaskantha, researchers tested natural farming treatments based on cow-derived preparations traditionally used in natural farming, including Beejamrit for seed treatment, Jeevamrit as a liquid input and Ghanjeevamrit as a solid input.
The treatments were combined with wheat-straw mulch. “Researchers found that the turmeric crop performed substantially better under natural farming than under conventional farming, with the natural farming plots recording about twice the yield of the chemical-farming system,” said Digvijaysinh Jadeja, Mission Director, Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission.
The research also examined the economic performance of the systems.
According to the state, natural farming generated net returns of more than Rs 10.5 lakh per hectare, compared with approximately Rs 3.61 lakh per hectare under conventional farming, with the difference attributed to higher production and lower dependence on synthetic agricultural inputs.
The experiment was subsequently extended beyond research plots. Farmers in Banaskantha were trained in preparing natural farming inputs and adopting the practices for turmeric cultivation.
SDAU has separately documented farmers adopting preparations including Beejamrit, Jeevamrit and Ghanjeevamrit for natural turmeric cultivation.
The biotechnology component of the programme focused on understanding the microbial and chemical composition of natural farming inputs and their interaction with soil and plants.
“The Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) carried out an in-depth microbial and metabolomic analysis of key natural farming inputs, including Beejamrit, Jeevamrit, Ghanjeevamrit, and other natural farming bioformulations used as biocontrol agents. The analysis identified several beneficial microbes and around 300 to 500 important metabolites belonging to 11 different classes, several of which could play a role in stimulating soil health, plant growth and improving crop resilience,” said Dr Snehal Bagatharia, Joint Director, GBRC.
The programme also involved researchers from the CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, who isolated plant-growth-promoting microorganisms from soils cultivated under natural farming.
The work is aimed at identifying microbial resources that could eventually be used in biological inputs such as biofertilisers.
The study found that natural farming plots had greater representation of beneficial bacterial groups such as Priestia and unclassified members of Acidobacteria, along with saprophytic fungi including Humicola and Mortierella. It also reported enrichment of Trichoderma, a genus containing fungi widely studied for their role in plant health.
The researchers said these microbial communities are associated with processes such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling.
The study also found differences in microbial communities between natural and conventional farming systems, providing a biological basis for examining how natural farming practices affect soil health and crop performance.
