ABSTRACT
366Ramie, the king of natural fibers, has an important place in the global textile market. Many countries have climate suitable for growing Ramie including the north eastern region of India, but the raw material used globally comes from China, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. This study reports the implementation of organic Ramie cultivation in Tripura (23.9408N and 91.9882°E) using indigenously developed microbial biofertilizer. The decorticated waste was converted into vennicompost within 77 days of incubation with healthy growth of Eisenia fetida. The vermicompost positively impacted the height (p-value 0.01), basal diameter (p-value 7.72E-05), fiber yield (p-value 1.56E-07), and moisture content (1.38E-06) of Ramie fiber when compared to control (unfertilized condition) as well as chemical fertilizer treatment. The gum from the decorticated fiber was an excellent feed for bacterial growth and hence is of importance for biotechnology companies. The leaf extract with antibacterial property could be effectively used for green synthesis of the more potent bactericidal silver nanoparticles. The above findings indicated the prospect of putting the nonagricultural lands into eco-friendly Ramie cultivation through organic farming, thereby making it a zero pollution practice with generation of raw material for textile, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries.
