Question

Cow dung is appropriately used as
(a) Manure
(b) Perfume
(c) Medicine
(d) Building material

Answer 1

Hint: Cow dung is used to nourish and increase the fertility of the soil. Many other animal’s feces such as horses, sheep, chicken, turkeys, rabbits, etc are also used for this purpose. This is because the feces of these animals are rich in organic compounds.

Complete Answer:
Cow dung is used as manure to fertilize the soil in a natural and inexpensive way. This is because it is rich in organic matter and nutrients as it consists of digested grass and grains. It adds both micro and macronutrients to the soil such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc all of which are vital for the growth of plants. The cow dung has antifungal and insecticidal properties that prevent the growth of harmful pathogens that may damage the yield of the crops. Cow dung is also used as fuel as it is combustible.

Additional information: Cow dung is also used in the production of biogas or gobar gas. Let us look at the production of this gas in detail.
- The rumen of the cow is rich in bacteria known as methanogens which break down the cellulose present in grass anaerobically to release biogas.
- The cow dung is collected which is also rich in these methanogens and fed to a biogas plant along with other bio-wastes which will be broken down to release biogas.
- Due to the action of methanogens such as Methanobacteria, the biogas released is supplied to nearby houses with the help of a pipe system.
- The remaining slurry in the biogas plant is used as a fertilizer.
So, the correct option is ‘a) Manure’.

Note:
- The stomach of cows is made up of 4 compartments known as the rumen (paunch), reticulum (honeycomb) , omasum (manyplies), and abomasum (true stomach).
- A cow on average can produce 5 - 7 kgs of manure per day.
- Humans cannot digest cellulose to produce manure as we do not have methanogens in our intestine to digest it.