Activists use seed balls to increase green cover of Western Ghats

Deforestation due to human activities is increasing rapidly in the Western Ghats along the Mumbai-Pune route. In order to reverse the process, groups and individuals have dispersed seed balls — a mixture of mud, manure and seeds — in the jungles there. Dispersing seed balls, a Japanese technique, increases the chances of germination as compared to dispersing seeds alone.

“Many organisations disperse seeds in deforested areas. But the chances of these seeds germinating are low since birds and insects often eat or take away these seeds or they get burnt due to heat from the sun. The efforts are thus rendered futile. We are dispersing seed balls to increase the percentage of seeds that germinate. Seed balls are nothing but a mixture of seeds, manure and mud,” said Vikas Mahajan of Friends for Reviving Our Green Earth (FFROGE).

It is for the first time that FFROGE, a Mumbai-based voluntary organisation, is carrying out the process of dispersing seed balls in deforested villages in Panvel, Lonavala and Khandala along the Mumbai-Pune Highway and Expressway. The process would be continued till the end of the monsoon and would then be taken up again in the next monsoon season.

“We invited volunteers to collect seeds, dry them out and donate them to us. We encouraged them to collect seeds of indigenous plants grown in Maharashtra such as mango, lemon, sweet lime, oranges, jackfruit, custard apple, watermelon and so on. Volunteers have been asked to dry the seeds in indirect sunlight, since drying them under direct sunlight may damage the seeds, which wouldn’t germinate then,” said Megha Agarwal from Pune. Her group of friends collected two kilograms of seeds and made seed balls and, after two to three spells of rain in July, dispersed the same in deforested areas around Lonavala.

Speaking about the technique behind seed balls, Mr Mahajan said, “The concept of seed balls is centuries-old and originated in Japan. We have been dispersing seeds in jungles near Mumbai for a few years now. But we could not see an increase in the green cover. We thus decided to try out this technique.”

Yamaji Dhale of the Centre for Environment Education, a Pune-based NGO, said: “Take three portions of mud and one portion of manure or compost in a tub and put water in it. Give the mixture a dough-like texture. Take a small portion of the mixture in your hand and insert one or two or three seeds in it and roll it like a ball. Dry the balls in indirect sunlight and not under direct sunlight. Generally, seed balls should be dispersed after the first three to four spells of rain. Make a small ditch and place a seed ball in it. Do not leave it on open ground since it may dry up.”

Mr Mahajan added, “Generally, areas like semi-jungles where human activities take place, see deforestation. We located areas at Shahapur, Pen, Pali and others along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Highway where the number of trees was low, and placed seed balls there.”