A fermented liquid manure first described in Sanskrit agricultural texts more than a thousand years ago is now attracting serious scientific attention as a potential weapon against one of modern farming’s most stubborn problems: the slow degradation of soil health under decades of synthetic fertilizer use. In a comprehensive review published in Discover Soil, researchers at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, India, have synthesized the scattered evidence on Kunapajala, a traditional preparation made by fermenting animal tissues, fish waste, oil cakes, dairy products, and other organic materials. Their analysis suggests that this ancient formulation is far more than a nutrient source. It behaves, they argue, as a dynamic microbial bioreactor that simultaneously delivers plant-available nutrients, beneficial microorganisms, and a diverse arsenal of bioactive metabolites capable of promoting growth, suppressing pathogens, and buffering plants against stress.
The review arrives at a moment of mounting concern about the sustainability of intensive agriculture. The authors note that nearly 40 percent of the world’s land is already degraded, affecting an estimated 3.2 billion people, while fertilizer production and application account for a substantial share of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Synthetic fertilizers, when applied indiscriminately, disrupt soil nutrient balance, reduce microbial diversity, and contribute to acidification and contamination, with significant losses through leaching and volatilization further eroding their efficiency. Against this backdrop, the concept of circular nutrient management, in which farm and livestock residues are biologically recycled into value-added products, has gained traction. Kunapajala, the researchers contend, embodies this principle in one of its oldest documented forms.
The name itself reveals its origins. Kunapa refers in Sanskrit to decomposed animal-derived organic matter with a characteristic odor, while jala means water. The formulation is described in detail in Surapala’s Vrikshayurveda, dated to around 1000 AD, where verses 101 through 106 prescribe it as a nutrient-rich liquid prepared by fermenting animal and plant components. Chavundaraya’s Lokopakara of about 1025 AD mentions it as a farmer-friendly preparation, Sarangadhara’s UpavanVinoda of the late thirteenth century elaborates on the role of fermented flesh, fat, and marrow in enhancing tree growth, and Chakrapani Mishra’s Vishvavallabha of 1577 AD records a recipe combining flesh, fish, milk, sesame oil cake, black gram, honey, and ghee. Across five centuries of documentation, the core ingredients remained remarkably consistent, indicating an evolving but continuous tradition rather than a localized curiosity.
Modern formulations retain the same three functional pillars. Animal-derived substrates such as fish waste, flesh, marrow, and bones supply concentrated proteins, lipids, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, and micronutrients. Plant-derived inputs including oil cakes, legumes, molasses, and honey provide fermentable carbohydrates and organic nitrogen. Cow-based ingredients such as dung, urine, milk, and ghee contribute native microbial inocula that drive the fermentation. The choice of animal substrate matters considerably: cattle wastes offer balanced nutrient composition and moderate carbon-to-nitrogen ratios that support stable fermentation, poultry litter is richer in nitrogen and phosphorus but risks ammonia accumulation, sheep and goat manures decompose more slowly because of higher fiber content, and swine manure, though nutrient-dense, raises biosafety concerns related to pathogen persistence and odor.
The biochemistry of the fermentation unfolds in distinct phases. In the early stage, readily degradable carbohydrates from honey, black gram, and milk are metabolized by fermentative bacteria and yeasts into lactic and acetic acids, lowering the pH and creating conditions favorable for further degradation. As fermentation progresses, extracellular proteases hydrolyze protein-rich substrates into peptides and amino acids, which are then mineralized through ammonification to release ammonium. Notably, tryptophan liberated during protein degradation can serve as a precursor for microbial synthesis of indole-3-acetic acid, the principal auxin phytohormone, meaning the process generates plant growth regulators as a byproduct of nutrient transformation. A slower secondary phase involves keratinolytic microorganisms deploying keratinases and disulfide reductases to break down recalcitrant keratin from hair, horns, and nails, releasing sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine and methionine, while phytate-degrading microbes liberate phosphorus from oil cakes.
Nutrient dynamics follow a predictable temporal pattern that the review argues could serve as the basis for standardization. Soluble phosphorus peaks within five to ten days, driven by phosphatase-mediated mineralization and organic acid solubilization. Ammoniacal nitrogen continues to rise until roughly fifteen days as proteolysis and ammonification proceed, while soluble potassium accumulates more gradually, reaching maximum levels around twenty days as plant tissues are degraded and intracellular potassium is released. By thirty to forty days, the formulation stabilizes into a relatively consistent nutrient profile. Recent metagenomic and metabolomic analyses of fish-based and livestock-based preparations show that bacteria constitute more than 95 percent of the community, dominated by Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, with lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus and its relatives dominating early fermentation before hydrolytic genera like Clostridium, Comamonas, and Acinetobacter take over, and methanogens including Methanosarcina and Methanobrevibacter marking the maturation of anaerobic conditions.
Perhaps the most striking finding is the functional composition of the mature product. More than 30 percent of the bacterial community in approximately thirty-day fermented Kunapajala consists of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, including Bacillus, Clostridium, and Corynebacterium, associated with nutrient mineralization, phosphate solubilization, and phytohormone production. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling reveals that the metabolite landscape shifts over time: early fermentation is characterized by hexanoic acid, which exhibits strong antifungal activity against pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, while later stages show elevated levels of butylated hydroxytoluene, indicating enhanced antioxidant capacity and improved preservation. Additional metabolites, including methyl oleate, octadecanoic acid, and urocanic acid, contribute antimicrobial, insect-repellent, and growth-promoting properties. Functionally, the review classifies these compounds into plant growth regulators that stimulate root proliferation, nutrient-mobilizing agents such as organic acids and siderophores that solubilize phosphorus, iron, zinc, and manganese, antimicrobial compounds that activate plant defense pathways including lignin deposition through the phenylpropanoid pathway, and stress-alleviating metabolites such as flavonoids that scavenge reactive oxygen species and protect membranes under drought and salinity.
Field evidence, though still limited in scale and duration, supports the formulation’s agronomic promise. Studies cited in the review report yield gains, increased plant height, and improved stress resistance in crops including rice, tomato, brinjal, sweet basil, soybean, wheat, mustard, chamomile, and black pepper. In sweet basil, soil application of Kunapajala integrated with farmyard manure raised soil organic carbon from 0.68 to 0.78 percent, while soybean under natural farming recorded an increase from 5.24 to 5.49 grams per kilogram of soil following fish-based Kunapajala application. Microbial analyses consistently show enrichment of bacterial, fungal, and actinomycete populations, and work on black pepper demonstrated enhanced rhizosphere bacterial diversity following repeated application of pork-based preparations. Importantly, the formulation can be incorporated into soil, applied as a foliar spray, or used for seed treatment, making it adaptable across cropping systems and growth stages.
The review is candid about the caveats. In the soybean experiments, available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium remained lower than under recommended chemical fertilization even as microbial activity and biological fertility rose substantially, suggesting that Kunapajala enhances nutrient-use efficiency through biological processes rather than matching the raw nutrient concentrations of inorganic products. The authors therefore position it as a component of integrated nutrient management rather than a universal fertilizer replacement. They also identify serious obstacles to commercialization: preparation protocols vary widely in ingredients, proportions, fermentation duration, and aeration, producing batch-to-batch inconsistency; most studies have been small-scale with limited replication; biosafety assessments of pathogen survival, antimicrobial resistance genes, and heavy metals in animal-derived preparations are lacking; and no internationally accepted regulatory framework exists for quality certification.
The researchers propose a path forward grounded in modern analytical science. Standardized protocols based on measurable parameters such as pH, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and metabolite profiles, combined with multi-omics characterization through metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, could identify the key taxa, functional genes, and signaling molecules responsible for the formulation’s effects. Large-scale, multi-location field trials integrating enzyme assays, stable isotope-based nutrient flux studies, and life-cycle sustainability analysis would establish mechanistic links between application, soil microbial ecology, and long-term soil health. With roughly 1.05 billion tonnes of food wasted globally in 2022, contributing 8 to 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, the appeal of converting livestock by-products and farm residues into a validated biostimulant is considerable. Whether a preparation once prescribed in verses of the Vrikshayurveda can meet the reproducibility demands of industrial agriculture remains an open question, but the review makes a compelling case that the answer is worth pursuing.
Subject of Research: Kunapajala fermented liquid organic formulation and its effects on soil health, microbial ecology, and plant growth
Article Title: Harnessing the potential of Kunapajala as a sustainable liquid organic preparation for soil health and plant growth
Article References: Rathod, T. R., Solanki, A. D., Patel, D. D., Raval, V. H., Panchal, R. R., & Rajput, K. N. (2026). Harnessing the potential of Kunapajala as a sustainable liquid organic preparation for soil health and plant growth. Discover Soil, 3(1), Article 171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44378-026-00329-3
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1007/s44378-026-00329-3
Keywords: Kunapajala, fermented liquid biostimulant, soil health, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, Vrikshayurveda, nutrient cycling, soil microbiology, sustainable agriculture, circular bioeconomy, organic farming, metagenomics, biofertilizer
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Alan Morgan. (September 30, 2026). Ancient Indian Fermented Liquid Manure Kunapajala Emerges as Modern Soil Biostimulant. Scienmag. https://scienmag.com/ancient-indian-fermented-liquid-manure-kunapajala-emerges-as-modern-soil-biostimulant/
Alan Morgan. “Ancient Indian Fermented Liquid Manure Kunapajala Emerges as Modern Soil Biostimulant.” Scienmag, 30 September 2026, https://scienmag.com/ancient-indian-fermented-liquid-manure-kunapajala-emerges-as-modern-soil-biostimulant/. Accessed 30 September 2026.
Alan Morgan. “Ancient Indian Fermented Liquid Manure Kunapajala Emerges as Modern Soil Biostimulant.” Scienmag. September 30, 2026. https://scienmag.com/ancient-indian-fermented-liquid-manure-kunapajala-emerges-as-modern-soil-biostimulant/
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Tags: Ancient Indian fermented liquid manurebioactive metabolites in soil amendmentsbiofertilizercircular bioeconomyeco-friendly soil rejuvenation techniquesfermented liquid biostimulantimpact of synthetic fertilizers on soil degradationKunapajalametagenomicsmicrobial soil health enhancementnatural pathogen suppression in soilsnutrient cyclingorganic farmingorganic fermentation for soil fertilityplant growth promotionplant growth-promoting rhizobacteriasoil biostimulantsoil healthsoil microbiologysustainable agriculturesustainable farming solutionstraditional Indian agricultural practicestraditional knowledge in modern agricultureVrikshayurveda
