Seed balls to be dropped in Delhi's Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

Seed balls of native species will be dropped at the Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for the first time at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary in Delhi, reported TOI. The forest and wildlife department will use drones and catapults for the process that will take place on August 10.

The seeds have been made using a mixture of soil, cow dung, neem cake and trichoderma — a plant-beneficial fungus, with a seed pressed in the middle.

Forest officials said that the process is a part of a mega plantation drive at Asola, along with manual sapling plantations. The department will throw 1 lakh such balls across Delhi this monsoon, including the floodplain and the ridges.



The seed ball effort is to promote greenery and ensure plantation in remote and difficult areas, said a senior official to TOI.

Along with drones and catapults, the department will also use dibbling and is considering using a paramotor, which is like a small helicopter, is still being discussed.

“We plan to drop these seed balls using drones or catapults. At some places, we will use the dibbling method in which a small area is dug up for manually inserting the seeds. The plan is to ensure plantation in inaccessible areas like mining pits or small islands that have come up in the Yamuna,” said an official to TOI.


The department will throw around 10,000 seed balls and seed tablets at the sanctuary in the first phase. In the first phase,

Seed tablets are rectangular and smaller in size and contain small seeds like guava. For seed balls, species like neem, pipal, guava and pilkhan along with some grasses have been used.

Suneesh Buxy, additional principal chief conservator of forest, said, “This progressive approach not only accelerates the natural regeneration process but also aids in preventing soil erosion and maintaining the ecological balance of the sanctuary and the ridge.”


It also serves as a model for sustainable conservation practices that can be applied in other inaccessible areas, promoting biodiversity and the overall health of the forest ecosystem, Buxy added.

The seeds of indigenous trees of the ridge and a few fruit trees for fauna, especially avifauna and monkeys, are being used, he said.

The forest department will carry out a survey after six months to one year to determine the survival rate. “Such a technique is being adopted globally. After shaping the mixture like a ball and pressing seeds in the middle, the balls are dried in the shade, away from direct sunlight. Once the balls are dried, they are ready for landing into forest land. Germination has already started inside,” said an official.