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EfďŹ cient Nutrient management for
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ted farming system for
D NUTRITIONAL SECURITY N A OD
Water Scarcity in Water Abundant KERALA 1
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Wo men IN INDIA
The poster girl of IISR I nd P ia
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Empowerment A ca
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Management of climate change effect
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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2017 ` 70 PAGES 84 Editor-in-Chief
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Women empowerment A CASE STUDY
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REARING
Poultry birds
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of 32 Management climate change effect IN WHEAT PRODUCTION R.L.Yadav
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BIOFUELS
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44 Rainfed AGRICULTURE B.C.Biswas
The king of
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rishi Jagran welcome the historic first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel, which resulted in the signing of seven agreements to increase cooperation in key sectors like innovation, water conservation, agriculture and space. The agreements included the decision to create a bilateral technology innovation fund worth $40 million for research in industrial development, and to establish a strategic partnership in water and agriculture to focus on water conservation, waste-water treatment and its reuse for agriculture and desalination, among other deals.
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India is the third-largest Asian trade partner of Israel and tenth-largest trade partner overall. In 2008, Israel and India signed the Agriculture Cooperation Agreement, which established the Indo-Israel Agricultural Cooperation Project to establish Centres of excellence. Currently, there are 29 centres in 10 States. At these centres, experts from Israel have been training Indian officials as well as farmers in nursery management, protected cultivation, post-harvest management, precision farming of micro irrigation and other best agricultural practices. Farmers of such States are reporting many success stories largely due to Israeli farm technology and training that helped them choose the right crop for cultivation. Now, Israel has agreed to offer latest agricultural technology and advanced expertise to double farm income by 2022. Prime Minister Modi’s slogan for Indian agriculture, ‘per drop, more crop’ can be fulfilled with such technology and expertise. Undoubtedly, agriculture is one of the main pillars in India-Israel relations, the next step needed is to convert these Centres of Excellence into commercially viable business models. It’s a welcome move that to recruit members from the private sector to join with the government bodies to advance existing and future collaborative projects. Israeli agriculture is a laboratory for the development of agricultural technology industry. Learning the techniques of water resource management and cultivation in arid land from Israel is crucial for India in ensuring food and water security for 1.25 billion people. So far, India has adopted Israeli technologies like drip irrigation for water saving. India’s vast pool of research and development talent and skills would complement to it. During Modi’s visit, the two countries agreed to extend another three-year work programme in agriculture from 2018 to 2020. “Israel is among the leading nations in the field of innovation, water and agricultural technology. These are also among my priority areas in India’s development. We agreed that efficiency of water and resource use, water conservation and its purification and productivity increases in agriculture are key areas in deepening our bilateral cooperation,” Modi said. Netanyahu described the India-Israel partnership as a “match made in heaven” but implemented on earth. Hope this relationship will bear healthy fruits and seeds that allow continuing the strong bondage between the two nations that started in BC when Jews arrived in India for trade.
MC Dominic
Editor-in-Chief
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8
Women Empowerment
Efforts of IFFDC for
A case study
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Women in Rajasthan have been lagging behind because of prevalent child marriage, dowry system in marriage, and extreme poverty in the rural areas. IFFDC which was initially started to reclaim salt affected soil in some areas of the country has now become an important subsidiary of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative ltd. People have wrong notion that fertiliser company is pollution maker. But the work of IFFDC in improving environment , empowering women and improving the rural economy is unparallel example in the world
S. P. Singh Chief Executive
Dr H. C. Gena Sr Project Manager
IFFDC, FMDI ,IFFCO Colony, Sector 17B, Gurugram-122001, Haryana, India
T
he status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. With a decline in their status from the ancient to medieval times, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have held high offices including that of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Governors. Women’s rights are secured under the Constitution of India — mainly, equality, dignity, and freedom from discrimination; further, India has various statutes governing the rights of women. However, women in India continue to face numerous problems, including violent victimisation like rape, acid throwing, dowry killings, marital rape, and the forced prostitution of young girls. In 2012, the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked India as the worst G20 country on status of women. In rural area, the status of women is miserable due to male dominant orthodox society. The time long culture of rural society set and framed in such a way that space for women to express their views, decision making and assets ownership at the com-
munity level and at the family level is very narrow. However, the efforts to change the existing situation of the rural women are continuing and the change is being visible as time passes. Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative Limited (IFFDC), the Multi-state Cooperative Society is also contributing to bring the change and empower the rural women through its various social and livelihood projects.
The empowering Movement: While addressing the large group of 1600 rural women from 435 self help group in 36 village organisations of sanchore block presented at one platform during celebration of International Women’s Day Celebration on March 08, 2017 at Sanchore in Jalore district of Rajasthan.On the occasion, Ms. Madhu Kanwar described the process of mobilising and organising the rural women from the remote area into Community Based Organisations (CBO) with an objective to “fight collectively to crack the “poverty cycle” exists innately in their lives” in Western Rajasthan. Ms. Madhu Kanwar confidently said that “women also can undertake all those chores which can be done by men”. She made an appeal to all the women that “the time has now changed, women must come forward and join shoulders with men for the welfare of own self AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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cover story
10 and the country”.
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Despite of several barriers and problems related to gender and caste, Cooperative Ms.Madhu Kanwar, a student Society Ltd.” of 12th class played an important Despite of sevrole in organising the women in eral barriers SHGs not only in her own village and problems but also in the nearby villages. She related to gencreated an example of women der and caste, empowerment by developing a she played an women forum in the form of important role in organising the women cooperative society
“Mitigating Poverty in Western Rajasthan” (MPOWER) being implemented with financial support of Govt of Rajasthan and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) since June, 2010. The “Laxmi Women Integrated Development Cooperative Society Ltd.” was formed and registered in September 2016 by federating 4,456 women members of 435 Self Help Groups from 36 Village Organisations. The women cooperative society was formed to act as nodal agency to improve the status of women in the western Rajasthan.
Ms. Madhu Kanwar belongs to Rajput family, joined in the process of organising women in the year 2010 as an ordinary SHG member in village Dhanata of Block Sanchore when she was a student of 12th class. Now, she is the “Secretary” of the “Laxmi Women Integrated Development AGRICULTURE
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women in SHGs not only in her own village but also in the nearby villages. She created an example of women empowerment by developing a women forum in the form of women cooperative society.
Status of women in Western Rajasthan: Rajasthan is Known as “the land of Kings,” and founded on legends of warfare and chivalry, Western Rajasthan has always been a traditionally patriarchal society. Deeply ingrained social practices, traditions and customs passed down through generations have created a culture that accepts discrimination against women as a part of life. This discrimination shows up in
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cover story some of the most troubling statistics on the status of women in India; Rajasthan holds the record for highest percentage of married females between the ages of 10 and 14, and has one of the lowest sex ratios in India Discrimination against women manifests itself in many forms that start even before birth. Sex selection, not celebrating the birth of girl-child, naming girls Mafi (Sorry) or Dhapu (Enough) and forcing them to drop out of school after primary level to assist at home are just some examples of this. The prevalence of child marriage and the dowry system, an insistence that girls keep purdah (veil), domestic violence, and harassment of young girls by in-laws are also linked directly to gender inequality. Women are excluded from decision-making processes in their homes and communities, and traditional caste and community leadership structures do not encourage women to voice their grievances openly.
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the MPOWER Project has been launched.
Project Background: MPOWER programme is implemented in six blocks one each in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore and Sirohi districts of western Rajasthan for mitigation of poverty of the target groups through strengthened capacity, improved livelihood, sustainable enterprises, natural resources management and increased access to credit and market. The purpose of the programme was to support the provision of sustainable livelihood options for the target group by providing opportunities of increasing cash income through a coordinated set of actions that is initially built on the available resources and to minimize the risks that beneficiaries are facing in their lives.
Besides, increasing the income through the development of marketing organization and linkages for produce and improve productivity through transfer of technology and creating institutional environment The condition of women in Western Rafor savings, group lending and credit for jasthan is pitiable in comparison to other micro-enterprises were also initiated. The states.Infamous for child marriages, Rajassupport activities include building grassthan is among the states having worst sex roots institutions, promoting and ratios in the country. Here, womsecuring access of marginalen have to collect water from MPOWuncovered wells and cook ized groups to resources ER programme is and promoting the difood on firewood. Beimplemented for mitigaversification of onsides, the desert state tion of poverty of the target farm and off-farm also has the worst livelihood opportupercentage of girls groups through strengthened nities. going to school in capacity, improved livelihood, sus15-17 age group. tainable enterprises, natural resources Basic objecThe women are management and increased access tives of the not well emto credit and market. It provided opployed too. This project portunities of increasing cash income has been revealed through a coordinated set of actions • To secure and in the recently that is initially built on the available enhance the presreleased Samresources and to minimize the risks ent livelihood and ple Registration that beneficiaries are facing in copping strategies by System (SRS) their lives mitigating risk; baseline survey 2014 that the re• To promote productive span income and employment enof women here is hancing opportunities by building second highest in the councapacities, providing financial services try which is 9.2 years against the nationand establishing partnership with prial average reproductive span of 6.6 years. vate sector for securing better market The reproductive span is the duration beaccess and tween first marriage and menopause or sterilisation. It shows that longer the repro• To promote inclusion by empowering ductive span, higher the chances of getting and organizing the target households pregnant. With the view to improve the into SHG’s, marketing groups/produccondition of women in western Rajasthan, AGRICULTURE
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ers companies and village development committees. The project targets poor households headed by landless agricultural laborers , small and marginal farmers, owners of marginal land or wastelands, traditional artisans, women and young people who are without the skills and need to become employed. The project was designed to ensure empowerment of the poorest people.
About Project Area: The project is being implemented by IFFDC in 36 villages of 15 Village Panchayats in Sanchor block of District Jalore in western Rajasthan. The Jalore block falls in the agro-climatic zone ‘Transitional Plain of Luni Basin’ and part of Jalore district of Rajasthan. According to census 2011, there were 63 village panchayat and 213 villages in this block. The region has arid climate with an annual rainfall of 150 to 700 mm. It is drained by river Luni, which is seasonal and flows only during the rainy season. However, the average annual rainfall recorded during 1995-2014 is about 414.2 mm. The temperature in the area ranges between 38 - 48ºC during summer and 20 – 25ºC during winter. The soil texture is sandy loam. The major crop in the area is Bajra. About 85% land is under cultivation, 15% land fallow and 36.45% land is irrigated through tube wells. In this region, about 990 households are BPL, 165 are landless, and 685 are small and marginal farmers. Average land holding in the area is about 3.54 ha. About 91.27% area is single cropped area and 8.71% is double cropped. Major communities are Rajput, Dewasi, Kumhar, Suthar, Megwal and Bhil etc. About 18% of the total population falls under Scheduled Caste and 5.96% is Scheduled Tribes. As far as the literacy is concern, only 46.35% population is literate which constitutes male literacy 66.75% and female literacy is 33.25% only.
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IFFDC Efforts: The implementation of the project began with baseline survey of the villages and rapport building with the target community. The baseline information of the villages collected through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and household survey. Along with survey, the process for identification of potential candidates to work with the project also initiated. IFFDC project team was facing problem in identifying female canAGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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S.No.
Livelihood Activity
SHG (No.)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Micro-enterprises Agriculture Development Horticulture (Orchard Development) Goat Rearing Women Drudgery Reduction Total
268 210 73 70 210 831
Beneficiary Member (No.) 2680 1500 550 700 2222 7652
The Graph below reveals that majority of the beneficiaries are benefitted with Microenterprises (35%) and women drudgery reduction (29%) activities which follows by Agriculture Development Activities (20%). The project area is having lack of irrigation facilities ,therefore, the community seems more interested in unde taking various microenterprises for income generation
didate because the project villages are scattered in different helmets in the desert area where transportation mode is not available. Moreover, the temperature in summer rises upto 500C and in the orthodox society getting female to work was really a task . In such abnormal circumstances, the work of community mobilisation for a girl or woman was very difficult. 14
The IFFDC staff came to know about Ms Madhu Kanwar who was studying in class 12th and had interest in social work particularly for women. The economic condition of her family was not good as the livelihood of the family depend on agriculture only. The IFFDC staff contacted her family and offered to work with the project, but her father refused that the girls of their community cannot go outside for work. Her father was briefed about the work culture of IFFDC and respect for women and their development. After series of discussions, her father agreed half-hearted but Ms .Madhu Kanwar was very much happy to have an opportunity for the work of her choice and interest.
Step Forward: Ms. Madhu Kanwar started contributing in survey of the households within the village and other villages also. Her capacity was built through trainings and exposure visits to other projects at Udaipur, Barmer and Jodhpur. She also joined the Indira Priyadrshini Self Help Group formed in her village Dhanota. She encouraged other women to join the project . She continued her study along with social work and completed Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor in Education (B.Ed). Moreover, she has AGRICULTURE
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given financial support to her brother to study Bachelor in Science (B.Sc) and her mother in tailoring business. Now, the economic condition of her family is better and her father now feels proud on her. She got married in nearby area of Gujarat State but continuing the work in this field and known as “Madhu Bahan” in this area as she become instrumental to mobilise women towards development stream.
Development of Self Help Groups (SHG) and Micro-credit Activity: To organise the women, particularly,those falls under BPL category and provide them a suitable platform where they can meet and discuss about their own development, Self Help Groups (SHG) have been formed in the project villages. The capacity of the SHG members have been built through various need based trainings and exposure visits. These women used to meet once in a month and undertake discussion about their need and problems. They also undertake the thrift and credit activities to cater to their financial needs.
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So far, 435 SHGs with membership of 4,456 women have been formed. These members have saved Rs 134.28 lakh through regular monthly savings. Moreover, the project provided financial support of Rs 149.75 lakh (Rs 65.25 lakh as Revolving Fund and Rs 84.50 lakh as Seed Capital). They also have taken loan of Rs 208.58 lakh from banks to fulfil the financial needs for undertaking different Income Generating Activities (IGA). Now, these SHGs have financial base of Rs 492.61 lakh with them on the name of women. These SHGs are providing loan to their members and so far, the total loan of Rs 598.50 lakh has been provided to the members, out of which the members have repaid Rs 366.13 lakh to these SHGs in instalments. Similarly, the SHGs have taken loan of Rs 208.58 lakh from banks and so far, repaid Rs 183.12 lakh which is about 88% of the total loan from the banks. It shows that the Income Generating Activities (IGA) and Micro-enterprises undertaken by the members are functioning very well and the members are repaying the loan regularly.
Livelihood Development Activities of Self Help Groups: The project has facilitated the SHGs to undertake different need based livelihoods activities for improving the socio-economic status of the women in the project villages. As per the need, one member has undertaken more than one activity for sustainable livelihoods. The Activity wise beneficiaries are as under:
Micro-enterprises ment:
Develop-
For improving the economic status of the women and generating employment opportunities, 2680 women members of 268 SHG have been linked with the Micro-enterprises development with the financial assistance from the SHGs. The microenterprises undertaken by the members are Meenakri (handicraft), shoe making, shoe cobbling, Tailoring, Bamboo articles making, Grocery Shops etc. The women members are earning Rs 250/- to 300/- per day through these microenterprises which help them in earning sustainable livelihood.
Agriculture Development: The main source of livelihood in the project area is agriculture and cattle rearing. Kharif is the only season for cultivating crops in rainfed condition. Bajra (Pearl millet or Pennisetum glaucum) is the major crop of Kharif season while Mustard (Brassica juncea), Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and Isabgol or Psyllium Husk (Plantago ovata) are the major Rabi crops which are grown in places where irrigation facility is available. As the annual rainfall of the area is ranging from 300 to 500 mm , the area faces acute water problem. Due to lack of awareness of improved package and practices of cultivation, the average yield of Pearl millet was only 10-12 q/ha which was inadequate for the family consumption for round the year. While the yield of Mustard and Isabgol was 6-7 q/ha and 5-6 q/ha respectively. For generating awareness and knowledge about improved seeds, balanced fertilisation and other agronomical practices, crop demonstrations on Pearl millet, Green gram (Rigna radiata) and Mustard with improved variety were organozed for 1000 AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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to 1500 farmers every year . It was undertaken through “Krishi Sakhi” (women paraprofessional schme ) in that selected women were trained to provide handholding support to the farmers .
project area.
Pomegranate Cluster Development:
Earlier, only well of farmers were undertaking development of Horticulture crops or Now, the farmers are getting Pearl milfruit orchards and sold the yield in the nearlet yield of 20-24 q/ha, mustard by area of Gujarat state. The poor 10 q/ha and Isabgol 8-9 q/ farmers were unable to adopt To ha. It helped the beneficiathe orchard farming due organise the ry families in obtaining to lack of ample irrigawomen, particularly additional income for tion facility and poor ,those falls under BPL their livelihood. Moreeconomic condition. over, 300 famers who The project helped category and provide them a have irrigation fathe small and marsuitable platform where they can cility were helped ginal farmers by meet and discuss about their own with improved seed providing saplings development, Self Help Groups of Lucerne or Alfalof hybrid variety (SHG) have been formed in the fa (Medicago satiof Pomegranate project villages. The capacity of va) which increased i.e. ‘Sindury”, dethe SHG members have been green fodder proveloped water rebuilt through various need sources, installed duction and increase based trainings and exposure drip irrigation system in milk production visits and provided barbered as well as improve wire fencing for orchards health of the mulchin the clusters. ing animals in the AGRICULTURE
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S.No.
Activity
SHG (No.)
Beneficiary (No.)
Purpose
1.
Spray Pumps
58
330
For spraying insecticides/Weedicides for the crops. It enables the work easy and also save time.
2.
Pressure Cooker
26
192
For cooking food. It saves time and energy. Moreover, it also saves time in collecting firewood.
3.
Solar Light
110
600
For lighting the houses. It is renewable energy device to save energy.
4.
Steel Drum
50
400
For storage of food grain for and prevent grain from infestation.
5.
GI Drum /Plastic tank
120
800
For storage of drinking water. The women in the desert area spent lots of time in fetching drinking water from distant places. It saves time and energy of the women.
Total
364
2322
Each cluster is having 50 farmers and each farmer planted 50 saplings of pomegranate. Thus, 11 clusters were developed with a total of 25,500 plants of pomegranate. The farmers obtained yield of about 10 kgs per plant in second year which expected to increase to about 20-25 kg fruits/plant by third year onwards. In second year, the farmers got Rs 15,000 to 16,000 from a small orchard of 50 plants which may increase subsequently and ensure an additional income of Rs 30,000 to 40,000 per farmer per year.
Goat Rearing
inputs on goat health management, feeding, diseases, vaccination etc. Some of the women were developed as vet – paraprofessionals to provide handholding support to the goat rearing members by imparting advanced inputs. The vet-paraprofessionals are known as “Pashu Shakhi”. With the help of Pashu Sakhi, the goat rearing groups were provided 40 bucks of improved breed “Sirohi” which helped in breed improvement in the project area. Moreover, financial assistance has also been provided for construction of Goat sheds to the beneficiary members. Now, each family is having 15-20 goats of “Sirohi” breed. The goat rearing beneficiaries are now getting Rs 4,000/- to 6,000/- per goat and Rs 8,000/to Rs 10,000/- per buck in the market by selling surplus.
The livelihood of the families of Meghwal, Dewasi, Bhil belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes depended on wage labour and goat rearing due to less land owning. These families had 3 to 5 goats of Women Drudgery Reducing indigenous poor breed and poor health and Activities: thus , goat rearing was uneconomical for Meeting the practical needs of women have them. These families used to borrow from find prominent place amongst local moneylenders for purthe measures of the project chasing of goats on high rate E R R AT U M In our interview with to reduce women’s workload of interest and unable to repay Dr.D.K.Chopra,Honorary Chairman and drudgery. The project the loan from their income. and Sharad Awasthi, COO, Agrifort Technologies India on page 66-69 made efforts for drudgery of July 2017 issue, we mistakenly given the name of Dr.D.K.Chopra as reduction for the women to The project helped these 700 Dr.D.K.Kapoor in the photo and the introduction part.Profuse apologies. ease their burden as well as families by developing 70 goat to enable them to find time rearing groups in the project to participate in project activarea. The women members of ities. In the implementation the goat rearing clusters were of community infrastructure trained on various aspects of fund, poor households were goat rearing as profitable octhe prime target for rainwater cupation. They were provided AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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coverstory harvesting and water storage interventions. Similar attention was made on promotion of non-wood based fuels to free women to meet more strategic needs like participation in decision-making, accessing information and improving their knowledge. The drudgery reduction activities have been implemented through the self-help groups of women. The women were enabled to identify the drudgery reduction activities in their productive and reproductive roles. As per the need, so far, 2,322 women members benefitted with the following drudgery reduction activities in the project area:
Outcome of the Project: 1. Self Help Groups are helping to increase the ability of women to access financial resources independently which enhances their control and therefore
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their influence in the decision-making processes within households. 2. The SHGs are enabling the women to have their own space to build confidence, skills and to develop their networks. 3. The women have alternative livelihood options through various microenterprises and they are contributing economically to their families. It gives recognition to the women as earning entity in the family. 4. The women cooperative seems to be proving as sustainable institution for addressing the women issues at higher level to contribute towards women empowerment.
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Integrated Farming
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Integrated farming system for
FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY
Anup Das
Chief Executive
M. Thoithoi, Subhash Babu and Anup Das*
ICAR Research Complex for NEH region, Umiam-793 103, Meghalaya *e-mail:anup_icar@yahoo.com
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A
gricultural systems that combined crop production with animal husbandry was developed 8 to 10 millennia ago. These integrated systems provided a bouquet of offerings in terms of diverse products to a farm family for their nutritional and food security. Apart from that, they also offered a means of utilizing crop residues or non-cultivated land to produce meat, milk and associated products, while generating sustainable soil and land management system. In the past 60 years, however, agriculture in many industrialized countries has become increasingly specialized, resulting in a separation of crop and livestock enterprises. This specialized intensive agriculture raised agricultural growth but brought environmental and production vulnerabilities to land and water resources. The concern raised by the agricultural experts is not limited to the environmental aspect only but it extended their arms to the farmers due to the uncertainty in income and employment. In addition to the above, mono cropping will cause natural resource degradation, stage of plateau for profitability and stability of farm income, increased regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations and many more scientific aberrations . Integrated farming is an AGRICULTURE
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Mono- cropping has inherent serious problem of crop failure due to drought, flood or disease. This type of failure causes huge loss to farmers. Secondly, for balanced diet, all the ingredients of food namely carbohydrate, protein, fats , oils, minerals, vitamins, water and fiber materials are essentials . Thirdly, with the increase of purchasing power of the people of the country, there is clear cut shift of food habit from cereal to meat ,milk, eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables. Adoption of integrated farming system consisting of field crops(rice,wheat, maize etc), horticulture ( fruits, vegetables and flowers ), animal husbandry, fishery, poultry etc, is therefore, essentials to cater the needs of the hour
umbrella term which includes the two or more agricultural enterprise in a complementary manner to support each other in terms of byproducts utilization. Integrated farming system (IFS) refers to agricultural systems that integrate crop production, livestock and other locally suited farm enterprises. Due to the harmonious nature, it is a complete set of production system. Maxi-
mization of productivity for all the compatible agricultural enterprise with the goal of profitable farming as a whole, minimization of risk, economically and environmentally sound and achieving agro-ecological equilibrium are some of the encouraging results which underpin the popularization of IFS in the recent time.
Components of IFS The components of IFS include crops, fish
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Integrated Farming
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farming, poultry, pigs, cattle, sheep and goat, fodder production, kitchen gardening, etc. as per the demand, resources available with the farmers and edapho-climatic conditions. In this system, there is no waste i.e. primary produce and secondary produce of one system is utilized as basic input for the other system. So, there is reduction in the use of fertilizers and other agro-chemicals, provide pollution free, healthy produce and environment to the society.
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tion in a farming system results in higher nutritive output than cropping alone.
Advantages of IFS
The advantages of IFS include pooling and sharing of resources/inputs, efficient use of family labor, conservation, preservation and utilization of farm biomass including non-conventional feed and fodder resources, effective use of manure/animal waste, regulation of soil fertility and health, income and employment generation and increase yield, mini. Enterprise selection mization of risk of total crop The risk factor in IFS failure, provides an opportuassociated with the A combination of one or nity to solve malnutrition mono cropping in terms more enterprises with problem due to production of environmental degradacropping, when carefully of variety of food prodchosen, planned and ucts, improved standard tion, income of the farmers executed, gives greater of living of the farmer, and resource wastage etc. dividends than a single greater sustainability etc. provided the way for IFS. It is enterprise, especially IFS is part of the strategy based on a simple notion that for small and marginal to ensure sustainable use there is no waste, they are farmers. Farm as a unit of the natural resources for only the unutilized resource is to be considered and the benefit of present and fufor other agricultural enterplanned for effective inture generations. IFS is also prise tegration of the enterconsidered as a viable strategy prises to be combined to cope with climate variabilities with crop production and anomalies as in case of any aberactivity. Selection of farm enterprises to rations, one or other component will survive be combined depends on many factors viz.soil and farmer will get some assured income. and climatic features of the area, availability IFS in mid-hill of Meghalaya: of resources, land, labour and capital, present a case study. level of utilization of resources, economics of At ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, proposed integrated farming system, manageUmiam, Meghalaya, an IFS unit was established rial skill of the farmer, etc. Enterprise combinaAGRICULTURE
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during 2009-10 in an area of 1 hectare (30-40% it is difficult for small and marginal farmers to slope) for accommodating different components incur high initial investments mainly for the esof IFS. The main objective was to achieve food tablishment of farm ponds and purchase of live security of an average household by integratstocks, inadequate credit facilities; labor shorting different farming components. Of the 1 ha age especially for small families, which prearea, 7000 m2 area in bottom hill was vented them from adopting IFS and As allotted to agri/vegetable based high cost of labour, lack of skilled time is cropping system and 2000 m2 laborers, lack of information on changing, so the was allotted to horticulture type and size of enterprises to based system. Another, 500 be included, lack of cooragricultural system m2 was allotted to water dinated extension service, should also change to harvesting pond in which lack of demonstration on cope up with the changing composite fish culture IFS, lack of knowledge on needs of farmers and the was practiced, while 500 effective recycling of farm customers Thus, IFS has the m2area was kept for livewastes, inadequate market ample scope to cater the need stock, vermicompost unit, outlets etc. of farmers for income, and threshing floor and misalso for food and livelihood cellaneous uses.
security
Among the 7000 m2 area under agri/vegetables crops, 2300 m2 was allotted to French bean-rice- toria, 2500 m2 for maize based cropping system, 900 m2spices based cropping system, 600 m2 for groundnut based cropping system and 700 m2 vegetable based cropping system. During 2013-14, net return from the agri/vegetable based cropping system, horticulture, fisheries and livestock was Rs. 1,14,455.10, Rs. 6,480.00, Rs. 3,510.00 and Rs. 12,930.00,respectively. As a whole, IFS recorded gross return of Rs. 4,32,990.00while the cost of production/rearing was Rs. 2,95,471.90giving a net return of Rs. 1,37,518.00/ha/annum from the developed IFS model. Fig. 1: Components of IFS at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya
Constraints to adoption of IFS Some of the constraints to adoption of IFS are lack of awareness about IFS;integrating new enterprise requires more land and expenditure as AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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POULTRY BIRDS
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Poultry production in India has emerged as one of the fast growing sectors or industry among various livestock based vocations as evident from its transformation from traditional backyard rearing to organized commercial farming over the last four decades. This sector comprises of low, medium and high input/ output systems of rearing and is providing employment to over 7 million people, apart from household income and nutritional security to numerous small poultry keepers in rural and tribal areas of the country. It contributes about 0.5 % to the national GDP and about 10% to the livestock GDP. Technological support is, therefore, crucial for the sustained growth of the poultry sector. Poultry meat is an important source of high quality proteins, minerals and vitamins to balance the human diet. Specially developed varieties of chicken (broilers & layers) are now available with the traits of quick growth and high feed conversion efficiency. Depending on the farm size, Hi- tech commercial poultry farming and thereof backyard poultry farming can be a main source of family income or can provide subsidiary income and gainful employment to farmers throughout the year. AGRICULTURE
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traditional & primitive practices of rearing
POULTRY BIRDS UNDER BACKYARD POULTRY FARMING Dr. Purshottam kumar Associate Professor
Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying Naini Agricultural Institute (NAI), SHUATS E-mail: purshottam.kumar@shiats.edu.in, drpkumar585@gmail.com Contact- +91- 9935735530, +91- 9450595494, +91- 9889510601
C
hicken (Gallus domesticus) are gregarious, omnivorous, ground -dwelling birds that in their natural surroundings search among the leaf litter for seeds, invertebrates, and other small animals. They seldom fly except as a result of perceived danger, preferring to run into the undergrowth if approached. With a population of more than 19 billion in 2011, there are more chicken in the world than any other species of birds or domestic animals. They are one of the most common and widespread domestic animals and is the second most widely eaten type of meat globally. Chicken along with eggs, provide nutritionally beneficial food containing high-quality protein accompanied by a low proportion of fat. Backyard poultry production/ or farming and its management usually refer to the husbandry practices or production techniques that help to maximize the efficiency of production. Sound management practices are very essential to optimize production. Scientific poultry management aims at maximizing returns with minimum investment. Among various agriculture-related activities, poultry sector is the one with the highest annual growth rate. In spite of higher output of the sector in India, per capita consumption of eggs and poultry meat is one
of the lowest. Eggs and poultry meat supply high quality protein at cheaper costs compared to other protein sources. These products have a huge potential to alleviate food and nutritional insecurity of people. In this context, skilled human resource becomes essential for the growth of this sector, both as managers in the industry as well as self-employed entrepreneurs.
Backyard poultry farming: Backyard poultry rearing requires hardly any infrastructure setup. Besides targeted egg production, it is a potent tool for upliftment of the poor. It has a very positive impact to improve the socio-economic factors of the socio economically backward people. Backyard poultry production can cater to the nutritional requirements of the family as well as cater to a niche market, thus providing a source of subsistence income. Backyard poultry can be taken up by every household as a subsidiary occupation, as a source of additional income or to cater to the egg and meat requirements of the family by taking up colored bird units ranging from 10-20 birds per family in their backyards. Such units require very little hand feeding and can give a fairly handsome return with bare minimum night shelter. Backyard poultry production/ or farming is a AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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POULTRY BIRDS
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traditional primitive practice of rearing poultry birds in rural regions of India. Most of the backyard poultry production comprises rearing of indigenous birds with poor production performances. The potentiality of indigenous birds in terms of egg production is only 70 to 80 eggs/ bird/ year and meat production is also very less. However, the backyard poultry production can be easily boost up with improved varieties of chicken and can promise a better production of meat and egg. To improve the socio-economic status of the traditional farmers, backyard poultry is a handy enterprise with low-cost initial investment, but high economic return along with guarantee for improving protein deficiency among the poor.
Benefits of Backyard Poultry Farming: • • • • 26
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Low initial investment in return of higher economic foreign exchange. It can be started with as low as small flocks of poultry birds. Cost of feeding is negligible due to better utilization of agricultural by-products. Egg and birds can be easily sold in local markets with high price, because due to growing demand for local chicken. Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for high quality desi chicken meat or desi egg. To increase up family income. Backyard poultry farming acts as an ‘ATM’, because as per family need the birds and eggs can be sold at anytime anywhere with cash in hand. Quality of chicken and egg is better in
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• •
terms of organic farming as the birds are raised in stress less environment with natural input. Important steps/or improvements programs need to take to discard constraints of backyard poultry farming As we know both Desi or indigenous poultry birds are generally poor performers in terms of egg and meat production. To obtain maximum profit from backyard poultry farming ,there is an urgent need in the country to improve the status of backyard poultry farming with improved strain of poultry birds, who performs an excellent result when raised in backyard with low inputs. Improved chicken that can be introduced in backyard poultry farming should have following characters-
Giriraja:- Giriraja breed of chicken suited for mixed and backyard farming in rural low lying areas. Females lay 130-150 eggs per year, with each egg weighing 52-55g. The eggs have a good hatchability (80-85%), and enable farmers to raise their own stock. Their shells are brown in colour and thicker than that of other commercial eggs. The birds exhibit better growth compared to local varieties, they can be raised as free-roaming birds and can be fed with locally available materials. Being good scavengers, they feed on a variety of insects and green foliage. They can also be fed on farm and kitchen waste. The birds are resistant to many diseases, an exception being Ranikhet disease.
Swarnadhara:- Swarnadhara is a hybrid chicken breed developed by Department of Avian Production and Management (DVPM), HebBirds should have good adaptability in stress bal, Bangalore. It is a Hardy bird having high environmental condition. egg production potential along with better • Self propagation. growth compared to other local varieties and • Brooding capacity should be higher. are suited for mixed and backyard farming. • Birds would have mothering ability. The bird can be reared for its eggs and meat. • Birds should have good body size and Hens attain a body weight of about 3 kg and shape. the cocks about 4 Kg by 23rd week. They lay • Should be good scavengers. about 180-190 eggs in a year. The eggs have • Attractive and coloured plumage. good hatchability (80-85 per cent) and enable • Should have ability of escaping from predthe farmers to raise their own stock. A day-old ators. chick weighs about 35-40 g. The egg shell is • Resistant to disease. brown in colour and thicker than that of oth• Breeds of Poultry birds recommended for er commercial eggs and does not break easily. backyard poultry farming: The birds are only layers and not brooders. The Vanaraja:- Vanaraja is a dual-purpose breed eggs have to be hatched by local brooder hens. for free range farming in rural and tribal areas. For backyard rearing, a flock of five hens and Males weigh about 1.2 to 1.5 kg at 10 weeks one cock can be ideally grown. They can be and females lay about 120-140 eggs per raised as free roaming birds and can be fed year. The bird is hardy and has better with locally available materials.Being immune competence. Because of good scavengers; they feed on a Major its multi coloured plumage and variety of insects and green fobreeds of Poultry brown eggs, it is well accepted liage. They can also be fed on birds recommended by the rural people across the farm and kitchen wastes. The for backyard poultry country. birds have a high longevity, farming are Vanaraja, they are sturdy and resistant Gramapriya,Giriraja, Gramapriya:- Gramapriya to major infections except is a layer type breed develnew castle disease. Swarnadhara,Gramaoped for free range farming lekshmi, Gramasree and in tribal areas. The bird has Gramalakshmi and Athulya the production potential of Gramasree:These two 230-240 eggs in a year and breeds have a high production can lay 160-180 eggs in freepotential along with better growth range conditions with minirate suited for mixed and backyard mum supplementary feeding. The males farming. Gramalakshmi birds are white in weigh around 1.2 to 1.5kg at 15 weeks of age colour with black speckles throughout the body and suitable. The bird has coloured plumage while Gramasree birds are dark brown with a and lays bigger 57-59g brown eggs. It is hardy sprinkling of black, and grey on different parts and livability is high. of the body. The hens attain a body weight of AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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POULTRY BIRDS
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1.4 kg in five months and start laying eggs after 160 days. The males attain a body weight of 1.5 kg in three months and are popular for their meat, which is low in fat content compared with present day broilers. Both the varieties lay about 200 eggs each year with each egg weighing about 50 g. The eggshell is brown in colour and thicker than that of other commercial eggs and does not break easily. It can be stored for 8-10 days at room temperature. The birds are hardy and require little care and can be reared in the open. They can be fed on farm and kitchen waste. In addition, they have to be provided with a special protein feed to meet their high production requirement. These breeds have lost their brooding character so native broody hens should be used to brood eggs laid by these birds.
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Athulya:- High producing heat tolerant Athulya strain (ILM- 90) of layer chicken is developed for high egg production with desirable egg weight. Athulya is a white coloured bird that attains maturity at an early age of 123 days. It produces 280-290 eggs an year.
Keeping management for backyard poultry farming No elaborate housing is required for backyard poultry farming but, it should protect the birds from sun, rain and predators. If free range system is practiced the birds are let loose in day time for foraging and at night sheltered in shed. For better production performances certain criteria that can be considered are – • AGRICULTURE
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The poultry house should be in east-west
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orientation to protect from summer wind and cold stress and also for direct sunlight in winter months. •
During summer,direct sun light should be avoided to reduce the summer stress in birds.
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Low cost housing material like wood, bamboo, grass, thatch etc can be utilized.
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The poultry house should be free from water seepage or moisture.
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Floor should be in elevated land or above ground level (minimum 2ft) and free from water crack, easily cleaned, rat proof and durable.
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There should be free air movement in upper part of the shed to reduce gas formation inside the shed.
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Height of the side wall in poultry house is generally 7 ft to 8 ft. The centre height is 9 ft to 12 ft with slope in either side.
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Roofing material like thatch, tiles, asbestos etc can be used.
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Brooder house should have easy ventilation and wire netting which is used for open air ventilation.
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Provision of bulb fitted above the ground as hoover may be utilized to keep the chicks warm.
Brooding of Chicks There are two types of brooding viz. Natural brooding and Artificial brooding that can be adopted for backyard poultry farming.
Natural brooding
If natural brooding is practiced, the local 29 broody hen is used as the indigenous hens are very good sitters. Improved variety of fertile eggs is put into incubation. The hen is provided with nesting materials. Food and water supply
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Vaccination program poultry birds S.No.
Age of birds
Name of Vaccine
Name of Disease
Doses
Route of Vaccination
1
Day old Chicks
HVT MD Vaccine
Marek’s Disease
0.2 ml
S/c or I/m
2
4 to 7 days
F-1/ Lasota
Ranikhet Disease
One drop
Eye or nostril (Occulonasal)
3
14 to 18 days
Intermediate plus
Gumboro disease (IBD)
-
Drinking water
4
35 days
F-1/ Lasota
Ranikhet Disease
One drop
Eye and nostril (Occulonasal)
5
6 to 7 weeks
Chicken embryo adopted
Fowl Pox
0.5 ml
Wing stab method
6
8 to 10 weeks
Strain killed vaccine
Ranikhet Disease
0.5 ml
S/c or I/m
R2B/RDVK
is given throughout the incubation period. A broody hen can easily take care for brooding and hatching of 12 to 15 chicks. After hatching ,the chicks are let loose along with mother for scavenging. There should be provision for separate place inside the shed for young chicks and mother at night.
Artificial brooding In artificial brooding, provision of artificial heat is necessary. Artificial heat can be provided with electricity, gas, kerosene, wood, sawdust etc. ‘Bukharies’ can also be used as 30 a source of artificial heat. Wood, charcoal or sawdust is used in ‘Bhukaries’ and it is an ideal source of artificial heating when there is acute shortage of electricity, gas and kerosene. The optimum temperature is 950 F in first week and it can be reduced 50F per week up to 6 week till 700F. Two watt/ chick heat is required up to 6 week in brooder house. The necessity of light in brooder house is to increase feed consumption for maximum growth in a short period and also to prevent stampeding or piling if scared. Initially (up to 6 weeks) there should be provision for at least continuous light up to 48 hours in brooder house and in growing stage (8 to 18 weeks) light hour is 10 to 12. But in laying period light should be for 15 to 16 hours. The provision for extra light may be in the morning or evening or may be both morning and evening . To prevent direct contact with heat ,a chick guard made up of card board or metallic guard can be used in brooder house. The height of chick guard is 15” to 18” is placed in circular shape at a distance of 3’ away from the hover.
Feeding management The feed cost alone is 70% of total expenditure in poultry production. In backyard poultry farming the feed cost is considered to be minimum. Hence, the birds are let loose for scavenging in the open yard and collect the required AGRICULTURE
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protein, energy, minerals and vitamins etc from insects, snail, termites, seeds of grasses and weeds, leftover grains, crop residues and household wastes. Feed ingredients like broken rice, ground nut straw, wheat or job’s tear grain, rice bean etc can also be given to the birds. During rainy season, poultry feed should not be stored more than 1.5 months to avoid fungus growth (Aflatoxicosis). In backyard poultry farming generally two times feeding is practiced; one at morning and another at evening. The space requirement for feeder is 2 to 7 cm at brooding period, 7 to 10 cm during growing stage and 12 to 15 cm / bird at laying stage. The water space should be 0.5 to 1.5 cm during brooding, 1.5 to 2.5 during growing and 2.5 cm during laying period. The birds may be supplied with extra concentrate ration @ 30 to 60 gm/ day/ bird for better performance. The balanced ration may be formulated with appropriate percentage of maize, rice polish, wheat bran, ground nut cake, fish meal, shell grit or lime stone along with salt, minerals and vitamins or may be with locally available ingredients. The poultry feed should contain at least 20% protein in starter level, 16% in grower and 18% in laying stage with energy level (ME) 2800 kcal/ kg feed in starter, 2600 kcal/kg at grower and 2650 kcal/kg in layer ration.
Care & Disease management In addition, strict sanitation, good litter management and adequate floor space will help to check the occurrence of diseases. For better health care in backyard poultry farming the birds should be vaccinated against virus diseases in time. The diseases that mostly effect the birds are Ranikhet disease, Marek’s Disease, Fowl pox, Gumbroo disease etc. Regular vaccination schedule may be followed in a poultry farm. Deworming for internal and external parasites also should be done to maintain a healthy flock. Other diseases that may affect
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As most of the poor and marginal farmers have very limited capital assets and they mostly depend on poultry farming for their livelihoods, growth of the rural poultry sector can definitely contribute to poverty alleviation in India. Perhaps there is poor awareness among the governments on the potential of small scale poultry production in sustaining poor people’s livelihoods. Because of this government support towards improvement of rural poultry farming system is trivial. Therefore it is very much necessary to raise awareness about this activity. Besides reduction of poverty it will help in nutritional improvement especially in vulnerable groups. It can not only give employment to the rural small scale and marginal farmers but can also play an important role in women empowerment. the poultry birds are Coccidiosis, infectious coryza, Salmonellosis etc.
prevention of entry of rodents and other birds into the pen and periodical culling will greatly help in checking diseases.
Deworming:- Birds should be dewormed startImportant suggestions/ tips for ing from 7th week and repeated at 3 weeks backyard poultry farming interval so as to give a total of 4 deworming. Piperazine compounds, albendaDisease free, improved strain, dual zole, mebendazole etc. can be used purpose poultry birds may be against round worms. Against procured for back yard poultry Backyard poultape worms, Niclosamide, farming. try production/ or Praziquintel, Albendazole Periodical vaccination farming is a traditional can be used. While medicatshould be done on regular primitive practice of rearing through drinking water, basis. ing poultry birds in rural it should be done by mixClean drinking water and regions of India. Most of ing the required quantity fungus free feed should of medicine in water that be supplied to the birds. the backyard poultry prochicks normally consume The poultry shed should duction comprises rearing in 4 hours’ time (say apbe regularly cleaned and of indigenous birds with proximately 6 litres per one free from moisture and hupoor production perforhundred, 6 week-old chicks, mid condition. mances. per day). Additional water Overcrowding should be avoidshould be given only when ed. all the medicated water is c o n If possible there should be separate sumed by the chicks. space for different age group of birds. Sick bird should be immediately separated/ Ectoparasites:- On the slightest indication of culled from healthy flock. ectoparasites, the birds should be dusted or Poultry equipments particularly watered and dipped and houses fumigated. The following feeder should be regularly cleaned and disinmay be used for dusting and dipping, while fected. dipping care should be taken to avoid head dipThere should be restriction to outsiders into the ping. Dipping should be avoided on rainy days. poultry shed or farm. The birds should be free from predators and 1. Tick tox – synthetic pyrithrine compound. should not be scared by other animals. Dose – as per manufacturer’s instructions. Before procuring new flocks the shed should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. 2. Butox – Deltamethrin compound. Dose – There should be provision for footbath in front as per manufacturer’s instructions. of poultry shed. During summer and winter months the shed In addition to these, general measures of sanishould be protected from hot or cold wind by tation such as keeping young stock away from hanging curtain around the side of the wall or adult stock, keeping the poultry houses and shed. In summer months, water sprinkling also equipments clean, prohibiting visitors into the can be done. poultry house, proper disposal of dead birds, AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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wheat climate
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Management of climate change effect
ON WHEAT PRODUCTION IN INDIA
R L Yadav Former Director, Directorate of Cropping System Research A 703, Asha Deep Apartment, Plot 3-B, sector-2, Dwarka, NewDelhi-110075.
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he challenge of food insecurity in India will be exacerbated by the projected climate change and the attendant risks of declining soil fertility with emerging multiple nutrient deficiencies. However, the necessary increase in food production must be based on the improved and well tested crop production technologies, which could insulate the effect of uncertain weather vagaries during crop growth period. Wheat is the second most important food crop of the country cultivated in about 28 million hectares during winter ( Rabi) season in Indo-Gangetic plain and central India. The opAGRICULTURE
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timum time of wheat sowing is first fortnight of November. However, due to climate change effect, rains from south-west monsoon are generally received late in wheat growing tract of India. Due to which, wheat sowing is normally delayed beyond 15 November, leading to low wheat yields. It has been estimated that, each day delay in sowing date, beyond 15 November, cause wheat yield reduction by 57 kg per hectare per day. Similarly, rise in global temperature by one degree Celsius may cause six per cent reduction in global wheat production. Such ill effects of global warming, resulting in climate change, may be mitigated by adopting improved methods of wheat cultivation.
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For realizing potential yield of wheat in India, its recommended sowing time is first fortnight of November. However, owing to climate change effect , south-west monsoon rains are generally received late ,now a days. As a result fields are not prepared well for wheat sowing, and sowing is delayed considerably. It has been reported that delay in wheat sowing beyond 15 November, cause yield reduction of wheat by 57 kg/ha/ day. Under such situation, to minimize yield loss, wheat is sown on time in untilled soil by specially designed seed drill called zero-till seed drill. Apart from this, to minimize loss in wheat yield, recommended varieties of wheat for the region, should be sown. Scheduling of irrigation, and fertilizer application are another important aspects of wheat production technology which should be adopted as per recommendations. The optimum time of harvest for achieving potential yield of wheat is also very important.
To avoid the ill effect of climate change on wheat production, it is recommended that varieties recommended for the region should be sown in rows, 22.5cm apart, using 100-150 kg seed/ ha during first fortnight of November. If delay is expected due to late arrival of monsoon rains use especially designed zero-seed drill to sow wheat on time. Under optimum soil moisture, Bed-planting method should be adopted. For this purpose, bed-planters should be used.
Crop growth and Climate:
After sowing, wheat crop passes through several physiological stages ,namely, crown root initiation and formation, tillering, jointing, booting, ear emergence, grain development and dough, until its maturity. These growth and development stages of wheat crop are primarily governed by the environmental conditions of soil and weather. The success and failure of wheat as well as the qualitative and quantitative improvement in its production are intimately related to prevailing weather conditions during the span of each physiological stage.
Changes in weather conditions during wheat growing period also effect wheat production by interfering with routine agricultural operations and plant protection measures. Further, the influence of weather on crop growth and yield also depend on the crop growth stage, during which the weather has altered. Often, crops are also influenced indirectly by a few weather parameters for their growth and development. For instance, rainfall pattern in kharif season influences the sowing time of wheat after harvest of kharif crop. Similarly, in winter season ,temperature regimes in reproductive phase becomes critical for grain development. AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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wheat climate
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Normal pattern of rainfall in India: Indian agriculture is largely dependent on rainfall pattern in the country. In India, rains are received due to south-west monsoon which arrives around first of June in extreme south( Kerala) and extremes of east(Assam). Then it gradually starts moving from south to north and from east to west in northern India. The establishment of south-west monsoon in entire country except Rajasthan completes by the end of June. In Rajasthan it establishes by mid-July. By first week of September, the dry cold air from the northern latitudes begins to push back the moist equatorial maritime air of south-west monsoon in the west Rajasthan. The withdrawal is spread over 2 months. By 15 October dry air prevails over the entire country outside the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
it reaches late in north India. The distribution of rainfall which used to be heavier in east has now shifted to west. Due to late arrival of rains in north-west India, which is considered wheat bowl of India, the soils remain saturated until optimum time of wheat sowing. As a result farmers are not able to prepare fields and sow wheat on time. Delayed sowing tends to low yield.The ill effects of climate change may, however, be mitigated by adopting improved crop production technologies for wheat cultivation. Improved crop production technologies for wheat cultivation for mitigating climate change effect
Varieties:Â For harvesting optimum yields under adverse climatic conditions, apart from good management practices, choice of appropriate Shift in rainfall pattern due to clivariety for cultivation plays an important role. mate change In the absence of a right variety, proper producThe effect of climate change is clearly tion technologies cannot be applied efvisible on the pattern of rainfall fectively. Appropriate plant height, in the country. After arrival of maturity duration, disease wheat south-west monsoon in Keraresistance, fertilizer responshould be irrigat34 la around first June, its adsiveness lodging and heat ed adequately based on vancement towards north tolerance during grain physiological growth stagis slow down as a result filling period as well as es. First irrigation should be
given at CRI(crown root Initiation ) stage, between 18-21 days after sowing. Second irrigation be given at maximum tillering, then at jointing and boot stages, irrigation should not be missed at dough stage of grain development.
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shattering tolerance are some of the features for the variety to adopt to climate change. Such varieties should be grown under irrigated conditions. Under rain fed conditions, the ability to withstand soil and atmospheric drought during various growth stages and high temperature at sowing time are most important characteristics. Information on the latest recommended varieties for different production conditions in different part of the country have been described as under •
•
For North-Western Plain Zone: The North-Western Plain Zone comprises the States of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan(except Kota and Udaipur divisions, and Tarai region of Uttara khand.
WH542, UP2338, Raj3077, PBW343, HD2681 •
For irrigated late sown conditions, following varieties are recommended;PBW590, WH1021,DBW16,PBW5099forPunjab), Psabold9forDelhi), Raj3777( for Rajasthan). Other varieties suitable for this situation, in this Zone are; UP2338, PBW226, PBW373 UP2425.
•
For Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal: CBW38,HD2824,HD2733, Raj4120.
•
For Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat and Kota and Udaipur Divisions of Rajasthan: For irrigated timely sown condition; HW1544, GW366, GW322,MP1142(for MP), Raj6560(for Kota), MP0 1106.
For irrigated timely sown wheat in this Methods of sowing and seed rate: region, following varieties are recommended ; HD 2967, DW17, PBW550, Under optimum soil moisture conditions at PBW 502,PDW291(d), WH912(d),( for the time of sowing, wheat is sown Haryana), PDW274(d)for Punby broadcasting of seeds, usjab, WH711, (for Haryana), ing 125 to150 kg seed per wheat should UP2565(for tarai of Uthectare .If soil moisture be manured with tara Khand) , HD2851(for is sub-optimal, sowing 10 tones of farmyard is done by drilling. Delhi), other varieties;
manure at the time of land preparation then it should be fertilized with 120 kg N, 60 kg each of phosphorus and potassium per hectare. Sulphar at the rate of 30 kg/ha and Zn at 5kg/ha should also be applied to make the crop resistant to withstand climate change effect.
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35
wheat climate
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Sowing by seed drills, whether tractor-drawn or bullock-drawn, place the seed at proper depth in the moist zone, giving uniform plant stand and leads to early emergence of vigorous seedlings. In irrigated timely sown wheat, spacing of 22.5 cm is kept between two rows. In late sown conditions, the row spacing is reduced to15-18 cm. In areas, where late monsoon rains are received, due to change in climate, field cannot be prepared owing to excess soil moisture in the field, and thus, wheat sowing is delayed. To cope up this situation, wheat is sown in untilled soil using a specially-designed zero-till seed drill. This practice is prevalent in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. In saturated soils of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal Surface seeding is also practiced. In this situation ,seed germinate on the top of the soil, and when water dries out of the field, fertilizer application is done. This is another way of skipping delayed sowing of wheat in eastern part of the country. Bed-planting method, where, wheat is sown on top of 65-70 cm wide beds keeping 30 cm channel between two beds is another improved method of
wheat sowing for yield optimization and mitigating adverse effect of weather vagaries. Bed planting is also performed by specially-designed bed-planters. This method helps in saving of irrigation water, fertilizer and seed rate by 235 per cent without any adverse effect on yield.
Scheduling Irrigation: There are several methods to decide when to schedule irrigation to the crop. These include determination of available moisture content in the soil, consumptive water use and physiological stages of crop growth. The physiological stages of crop growth is the easiest method to follow for scheduling irrigation in wheat as no specific measurements and estimates are required and can easily be adopted by farmers. In this method, the first irrigation is applied at the Crown Root Initiation(CRI) stage, i.e. 20-25 days after sowing. After this, irrigation is given at late tillering, late jointing, and flowering, milk and dough stages. Among all these physiological stages, Crown Root Initiation(CRI) stage is the most critical stage for irrigation as crown roots are formed at around 2cm of soil depth which is subject to faster drying. Under dry soil roots fail to grow and subsequently result in low yields. Irriga-
36
In the month of March/April, when wheat reaches maturity which is indicated by its pale yellow color and drying of its leaves, it should be harvested immediately at physiological maturity. Otherwise, there are chances that it will be damaged by hail storm or rains which generally do come in March/April due to western disturbances.
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tion during grain filling is also extremely important as inadequate moisture at this stage can lead to grain shriveling.
Fertilizer application: To achieve high level of productivity and to keep plants healthy to withstand vagaries of weather easily, it is important that the crop should be fertilized adequately. It must be remembered that wheat crop removes large quantity of nutrients from the soil which should be replenished using synthetic fertilizers. On an average, every ton of wheat grain harvest along with 2 tons of straw removes about 25 kg N, 2kg phosphorus and 38 kg potassium along with 5-6 kg of each of S, Mg, and Ca with small quantities of elements like Fe, Mn, Zn,B, cu etc. Unless these nutrients are supplied adequately to the crop, the crop would not be able to resist weather changes caused by climate change. Use of organic manures is highly effective to achieve and sustain reasonable yield under changing environmental conditions. Use of Farmyard
manure@5-10 tons per hectare is recommended for cultivation of wheat.
Crop maturity and harvesting: In the month of March and April, when crop approaches maturity, it has generally been observed that hail storm and rains come, due to western disturbances, causing damage to the crop and yield loss. To avoid such yield losses ,farmers are advised to remain alert, and harvest their crop when the grains harden and straw becomes dry and brittle. Harvesting of the crop when plants turn yellow/ white before complete drying is recommended to reduce losses due to shattering. At these stages, grains have already become hard and break rather than crush when pressed under teeth. Under changing climate and rising temperature during grain filling period, harvesting time is most important for avoiding yield loss in wheat. The crop should be harvested at physiological maturity. This is the single most important point which farmers should remember to save wheat yield losses due to weather vagaries during March/April. 37
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biofuels
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Biofuels:
An Alternative renewable
ENERGY RESOURCE
38
Shashi Meena Division of Plant Physiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Campus, New Delhi-110012 *E-mail:- meena7shashi@gmail.com
F
ossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel are considered to be ancient biofuels because they are made from decomposed plants and animals that have been buried underground for millions of years. A biofuel is the fuel produced directly and indirectly from animal and plant material wastes. Biofuels are the source of bio -energy and now, it covers overall 10% of the toAGRICULTURE
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tal world energy demand. Due to increasing concern about global warming which is the result of carbon dioxide gas emission, biofuels have been regaining popularity. Biofuels may be derived from conventional food plants, forestry, agricultural and fishery products, special energy crops, waste from different industries such as agro-industry, food industry
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Extreme development in industrialization and urbanization is responsible for increasing fossil fuels demand which is depleting day by day. Increasing demand for fossil fuels and its negative impact on the environment indicates the significance of biofuel as an alternative energy fuel . It is non-toxic and biodegradable energy resource. It helps in reduction of the harmful green house gases significantly as well as decreases the dependency on other nations for energy. Earlier studies concluded that energy security and climate change are two major driving forces for biofuel development worldwide
etc. They may be produced through contemporary biological processes such as agricultural and anaerobic digestion. Biofuels mainly refers to the liquid fuels for transport, but they can be solid or gaseous also. They are the energy security alternative to fossil fuels hence they help in reducing greenhouse gas emission. There are number of methods like chemical reactions, fermentation and heat processes for the prepara39 tion of biofuels.
Biofuel History:
First generation biofuels are produced directly from food crops by abstracting the oils through fermentation. Crops such as wheat and sugar are the most widely used feedstock for bioethanol production while rapeseed oil is the most potential source in the production of biodiesel
In 1890s, Rudolph Diesel developed diesel engine using vegetable oil as a biofuel. In late 1800s, ethanol derived from corn was first used to run early cars such as Henry Ford’s Model-T. But today’s biodiesel fuel is made by transistors fiction process. The first biodiesel plant named as Pacific biodiesel was established in United States in 1966, using cooking oil for the production of biodiesel. The production of biodiesel got increasing after 2001 due to rising prices of petroleum byproducts. Biodiesel is becoming one of the fastest growing alternative fuels in the world due to its clean emissions profile, ease of use and many other benefits.
Production techniques of Biofuels: The techniques involved in biofuel production are widely varied. It mainly depends on the type of raw material, efficiency level, volume production, end-users requirement and surrounding situation etc. There are two methods currently brought into use to convert biomass into liquid biofuel: Bioethanol is a liquid biofuel which is produced from sugar or starch containing crops through AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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biofuels
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Sl. No.
Crop type
Oil yield potential (‘000 l/ha)
Sl. No.
Crop type
Oil yield potential (‘000 l/ha)
1 2 3 4
Microalgae Oil Palm Jatropha Canola
47.5-142.5 6.0 2.0 1.25
5 6 7 8
Rapeseed Sunflower Soybean Corn
1.2 1.0 0.5 0.2
Table 2: Oil yield potential of different crops (Swain, 2014).
the process of fermentation. According to India’s Biofuel policy 2009, it has been decided that molasses should be used for ethanol production rather than sugarcane or sugarcane juices.
engines. This oil can be further processed to produce biodiesel which can be used for various purposes.
Generations of Biofuels
First Generation Biofuels: They are There are some plants like jatroproduced directly from food crops pha and algae which naturally by abstracting the oils through Biodiesel is produce oil. These oils can be fermentation. Crops such produced from oil and heated at high temperature as wheat and sugar are the fat through a transesterto reduce their viscosity most widely used feedstock ification process. Rapeseed which they can be directfor bioethanol production ly used as fuel for diesel while rapeseed oil is the oil is the most popular source
for biodiesel production in Europe and soyabean in Brazil and America. But in the case of tropical and subtropical countries, palm, coconut and jatropha oil are the most commonly used feedstocks
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Crop
Residue type
Prod. (tons)
RPR
Res. (dry wt.)(tons)
Sustain. Res.(20%)
Biochem. EtoH-low (litre)
BiochemEtoH-high (litre)
Rice
Straw/ husk
9.60E+07
1.8
1.73E+08
3.46E+07
3.80E+09
1.04E+10
Wheat
Straw
8.70E+07
1.6
1.39E+08
2.78E+07
3.10E+09
8.30E+09
Jowar
Stalk
7.00E+06
2
1.40E+07
2.80E+06
3.00E+08
8.00E+08
Surgar cane
Bagasse/ leaves
3.42E+08
0.4
1.37E+08
2.74E+07
3.00E+09
8.20E+09
Bajra
Straw
1.04E+07
2
2.07E+07
4.10E+06
5.00E+08
1.20E+09
Maize
Stalk/cob
2.17E+07
2.5
5.43E+07
1.09E+07
1.20E+09
3.30E+09
Gram
Waste
8.20E+06
1.6
1.32E+07
2.60E+06
3.00E+08
8.00E+08
Tur (Arhar)
Shell/ waste
2.90E+06
2.9
8.30E+06
1.70E+06
2.00E+08
5.00E+08
Other cereal
Stalk
4.60E+06
2
9.10E+06
1.80E+06
2.00E+08
5.00E+08
Total
1.36E+08
1.50E+10
4.10E+10
Table 3: Biofuel potential from agricultural crops in India (Swain, 2014).
most potential source in the production of biodiesel. Second Generation Biofuels: Non-food crops such as wood, organic waste, food crop waste and specific biomass crops are the most widely used feed stocks for biofuel producion, therefore eliminating the main problem with first generation biofuels. The common second generation biofuels are grasses like switchgrass, myscanthus, indiangrass etc. Third Generation Biofuels: These types of biofuels are mainly produced from special energy crops such as algae. It has been predicted that biofuel production from alage culture is cost effective and produce high energy. Algae will have the potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops because of entirely renewable feedstock. Algae can also be used to manufacture into wide range of fuels such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel. Fourth Generation Biofuels: The main motive of this type of biofuels is to produce sustainable energy source and also a way of capturing and storing CO2. Biomass materials, which have absorbed CO2 while growing, are converted into fuel using the same processes as second generation biofuels. This process differs from second and third generation production as at all stages AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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biofuels
42
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As the world’s population increases, the aggregate demand for goods and services also enlarges. This in effect, causes an increase in energy consumption. In an account of changing demand and supply of oil or to enhance energy security most of the countries promoted the production of biofuel which is a renewable energy source. Most of the commercially produced energy is from fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal and gas which are limited energy resources . Biofuel is most commonly defined as a renewable energy source which is derived from a biological material or biomass. It has been realized that the production of biofuel is a threat to food security because crops consumed by human beings are now diverted for the generation of biofuel which leads to the reduction in the food supply for human consumption. Biofuel is carbon neutral because when biofuel generating crops are growing, they sequester carbon from the atmosphere or simply released back this carbon when they are burned as fuel. Biofuel has the potential to be used as a fossil fuel substitute to solve energy and environment crisis.
of production .The carbon dioxide is captured using processes such as oxy-fuel combustion. The carbon dioxide can then be geo-sequestered by storing it in old oil and gas fields or saline aquifers. This carbon capture makes fourth generation biofuel production carbon negative rather than simply carbon neutral; as it locks away more carbon than it produces. This system not only captures and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also reduces CO2 emissions by replacing fossil fuels.
Types of Liquid Biofuels Liquid biofuels mostly produced from agricultural and food commodities. The most commonly used liquid biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol: Any feedstock which contain significant amount of sugar, starch or cellulose can be used for the production of ethanol. Sugar cane, AGRICULTURE
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sugar beet and, to a lesser extent, sweet sorghum, are major sugar containing crops whereas, maize, wheat and cassava are considered to be common starchy feed stocks. Fermentation of biomass containing sugars is the easiest way of producing ethanol. Most plant parts are made up of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin; the first two can be converted into alcohol but the processing is very difficult than the one for starch. It has been investigated that there is no ethanol production from cellulosic biomass at the commercial scale, however substantial research is going on in this area. Bioethanol can be burned in its pure form or can be blended with petrol, gasoline etc. Bioethanol when mixed with petrol for transportation, it improves the performance of the vehicle due to higher octane level. It also improves fuel
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When it mixed with traditional diesel, it enhances the lubricity of diesel and raises cetane number (Measure of the ignition quality of diesel fuel). As like bioethanol, biodiesel also contain low amount of sulphur, thus reduce sulphur oxide emissions from vehicles.
Biofuel resources in India: After the United States and China, India is the third-largest importer of crude oil and continues to rely on imports considerably. As population keeps on increasing, the rate of energy consumption is also increased at 6.5 percent per annum, while petroleum reserves are decreasing day by day. India’s contribution to total crude oil production is 1% of global crude oil production, whereas consumption rate is 3.1 % of total global consumption. It has been known that different edible and non-edible crops such as soybean, canola/ rapeseed, sunflower, cottonseed, palm seed and palm kernel, corn and mustard seed oil may be used as feedstocks for biodiesel production. Along with these, animal fat such as pork, beef and poultry fat/grease can also be converted into biodiesel. Table 2 and Table 3 showed oil yield and agricultural biofuel 43 potential of India, respectively..
Advantages of Biofuels: • • • combustion in vehicles thereby reducing the emission of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and carcinogenics. Ethanol contains trace amount of sulphur, mixing with petrol, helps in reducing sulphur oxide emissions from vehicles. Biodiesel: Biodiesel is produced from oil and fat through a transesterification process. Rapeseed oil is the most popular source for biodiesel production in Europe and soyabean in Brazil and America. But in the case of tropical and subtropical countries, palm, coconut and jatropha oil are the most commonly used feedstocks for biodiesel production. It can be burned in its pure form or blended with traditional diesel fuels. It have higher oxygen content which help in the complete fuel combustion, reducing carbon monoxide, particulate air pollutants and hydrocarbons.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Renewable energy source that can be derived from plants and can be regrown every year Reduce dependence on foreign oils Produce less greenhouse gases as compared to fossil fuel Alternative source of fossil fuels. Ensure greater fuel security to the country Environment friendly Cost effective Improves Fuel combustion in vehicles May not produce any particulate matter in the atmosphere Disadvantages of Biofuels: Setting aside land for biofuel crops means less land for food production High cost of production Promotes monoculture cultivation means growing same crop every year which may deprive the soil nutrients High Investment in seed productivity ratio as in case of Jatropha Require large quantity of water and fertilizer Use of edible oil and feed for biofuel production AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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Rain-fed Agriculture
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Problems and Prospects of
Rain-fed Agriculture in India Bimal C Biswas, Aniket Sinha and Sameer Tiwari Krishi Jagran, New Delhi
I
n spite of visible increase in irrigated area in India, about 80 mil44 lion ha are still under rainfed. About 90 percent area in pulses, oilseeds and millets are rain-fed. Productivity in irrigated agriculture is stagnating. Therefore, increase in agriculture production has to come from rain-fed area which constitutes about 56 percent of net cultivated area. The productivity of the irrigated agriculture is either on decline or stagnating. Creation of irrigated area is very costly and the gestation period is lengthy. At the same time the quantity of water available for irrigation is on the decrease as more and more water is diverted to non-agricultural usages. And it is not possible to bring all area under irrigation. This
implies that certain areas of our agriculture will remain rain-fed. Therefore, it would be desirable to use the available agro-techniques for higher productivity and also to develop new and better technologies so that still higher productivity could be obtained.
Problems of rain-fed agriculture Problems of rain-fed agriculture are many. Rain-fed area is not only thirsty but hungry too. Two most important limitations of the rain-fed area are soil moisture and plant nutrients deficiencies. Rain-fed farmers are resource poor too. They have very little to invest in farming. Rain-fed area is infested with natural calamities like drought and flood even in the same cropping season. Crops grown are
Table 1: Some Important Moisture Conservation Measures Sl. no
Soil moisture conservation methods
Crop/cropping system
1
Compartmental bunding
Rabi sorghum, sunflower saower, chickpea, maize, bajra, cotton
2 3 4 5
Conservation furrow Broad-bed and furrow Ridges and furrow Ridges planting
Groundnut, ragi, soybean, etc. Soybean, groundnut Rabi sorghum, pigeon pea+ rice Bajra
6
Set furrow
Bajra, sunflower
Source: Ch Srinivas Rao and Gopinath (2016).
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There are some serious limitations in rain-fed farming like soil moisture availability, nutrient deficiency, low organic matter content, labour availability, etc. Use of technologies developed by ICAR research institutes, SAU, Central universities, KVKs etc. can be gainfully used to reduce the problems and harvest high yield. In promoting the agro-technology, integrated approach consisting of skill development of farm labourers is also needed.
45
Table 2: Growth (% per year) in area, production and productivity of major dry crop in selected states
Crop Bajra Jowar Groundnut Mustard Soybean Sunflower Gram Redgram Cotton
Area 0.1 -1.9 -0.2 5.3 8.8 4.5 1.5 1.7 1.0
Production 4.2 -1.3 2.9 7.1 11.3 4.8 2.9 2.5 5.7
Yield 4.1 0.6 3-1 1.7 2.3 0.3 1.4 1.1 4.6
Source: Ch Srinivas Rao and Gopinath (2016).
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Rain-fed Agriculture
46 energy hungry but soil is energy starved. This is why productivity is low.
Two most important limitations of the rain-fed area are soil moisture and plant nutrients deficiencies. Rain-fed farmers are resource poor too. They have very little to invest in farmnologies developed by ing. Rain-fed area is infested with the ICAR institutes, natural calamities like drought State Agriculture and and flood even in the same cropCentral Universities, ping season. Crops grown are enNGOs, Input industries ergy hungry but soil is energy could be gainfully used to starved. This is why producharvest the potential that exists in the Rain-fed areas. tivity is low.
Rain-fed farming is risky and hard work is very much needed. As there is very little scope of opportunities for employment in the rain-fed area, migration to the cities is very common. This results in serious labour shortage which restricts the agriculture operations. Available labourers are unproductive and costly too. That is why use of farm machinery is on increase.
Many institutes are working in rain-fed areas. The Centre for Research Institute for Dryland Area (CRIDA), Pulse Research Institutes, Oilseeds Research Institute, Coordinated Research Projects related to pulse crop are some of them. The technologies developed by different institutes create confusion for the farmers.
Prospects The prospects are many. Proper use of techAGRICULTURE
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Soil and water conservation technologies Soil and water conservations are very important issues in rain-fed agriculture. Hence soil and water conservation measures are to be adopted rigorously. Many soil and water conservation measures are available (Table 1). Method 1: The impact of the method is more during suboptimum rainfall years. It also significantly controls run off. This method has been adopted in more than 800ha in Northern Karnataka. Method 2: Opening of the conservation furrow enhances in situ moisture conservation, thus the crop can overcome the effect of dry spell resulting in increased rain water efficiency, better yield and additional net return.
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Table 3: Beneficial effect of pulses cropping system Preceding crop Chick pea Pigeon pea Lentil Peas Mongbean Cowpea
Succeeding crop Maize Wheat Bajra Bajra Maize Bajra Bajra wheat
Fertilizer N equivalent (Kg/ha) 60 40 40 40 20-30 30 60 43
Source: Masood Ali (2016).
47 Method 3: The ridges and furrow method helps drawing out excess water in the black soil. Further, the rain water conserved in the furrow result in better yield of the crop during long dry spell. Method 4: The method conserved 30-45 percent more soil moisture than the method followed by farmers of the locality concerned. This practice is adopted in the 60 percent of the sorghum area in Sholapur district. Method 5: It provides enough aeration and porosity to the soil for enhanced root growth, safe disposal of excess water and reduction of soil loss apart from moisture conservation during low rain fall period. Method 6: Conserved more moisture and make it available for longer period to the crop. This helps to overcome the effect of drought. It is observed that a large number of crops are grown in dry land condition (Table 2). In addition to the work done by the different government agencies, IFFDC, a sister organization of IFFCO , Anna Hazare, Popot Powar
in Maharashtra, R K Mission Ashram in Ranchi District, Rama Krishna Ashram KVK, Nimpeth, South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, SRCM- Knahna Santi Vana project In Chegur Village near Hyderabad, Telangana deserve mentions. The forest , soil and water conservation departments of Telangana government are also actively involved in the development of the Kanhna Santi Vana project of SRCM.
Use of plant nutrients Use of plant nutrients in rain-fed has given very encouraging result. Indian soils are universally deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. Very good response of fertilizer has been obtained in the Rain-fed agriculture. Because of uncertainty, basal dose of fertilizer has been recommended before the onset of monsoon.
Harvest of interaction As the rain-fed farmers are resource poor, low cost or no cost technology needs to be encouraged in these areas. Harvest of positive interaction is one such technology. Phosphorus is recommended in the legume oilseeds like soybean and groundnut in the rain-fed areas. These two are the main oilseed crops of the country and AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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Rain-fed Agriculture mainly grown in Rain-fed areas of India. Use of Zn and P in legume oilseeds and pulses can increase the crop yield considerably. Similarly Mg and K interaction has to be wisely used to get higher yield in jute crop.
Harvest of legume effect Legume effect is well documented (table 3). In addition, the following listed agro-techniques are also useful. 1.
2. 3.
4. 5. 48 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Mulching: It controls weeds and conserves moisture. Mulching is very cheap and practical method of soil and water conservation. Polyethylene mulching is very effective mean to conserve water and in controlling weeds. Agro-forestry: It has been used in many projects. In addition, it is very environment friendly. Rain-fed horticulture: Rain-fed horticulture has been encouraged by the Maharashtra state department of agriculture and the result is encouraging. Maharashtra has become number one in the production of many fruit crops namely, mango, chicku, banana, grape, pomegranates, etc. Ridge and furrow. Climate change mitigation techniques. Rearing of goats/sheep. Suitable crop and suitable variety Integrated Farming System. Minimum tillage. Watershed management. Laser leveling. Precision and timeliness farm operations. Maintenance of optimum plant population. Effective weed control. Foliar fertilization.
FEED BACK We invite your opinion on articles published in the magazine and your comments on the subject discussed . Please send the feed back to feedback@krishijagran.com
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Rain-fed farming is risky and hard work is very much needed. As there is very little scope of opportunities for employment in the rain-fed area, migration to the cities is very common. This results in serious labour shortage which restricts the agriculture operations. Available labourers are unproductive and costly too. That is why use of farm machinery is on increase.
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bitters
50
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Andrographis paniculata Nees (Kalmegh)
The King of Bitters Archana Peshin Raina*
Prinicipal Scientist, Division of Germplasm Evaluation, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi-110012; E mail-aprraina@yahoo.co.in
A
ndrographis paniculata Nees. (Kalmegh) is an important medicinal herb of India, endowed with wide range of medicinal and pharmacological properties against a variety of ailments. The plant is widely used in ayurvedic and homeopathic system of medicines. It is traditionally used for the treatment of anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antispasmodic, antidiabatic, anticarcinogenic, antipyretic, antidiarrhoeal, hepatoprotective, nematocidal, anti-HIV and several infectious diseases ranging from malaria to dysentery. Andrographolide is the major diterpene lactone obtained from Andrographis paniculata plant and is found to be responsible for its pharmacoAGRICULTURE
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logical activities. The plant is usually collected from wild sources for domestic consumption and its cultivation is confined only to gardens especially maintained by the traditional users of medicinal plants in traditional system of medicine. Therefore, there is a need for commercial cultivation of this medicinal plant for meeting growing demand of pharmaceutical industries for health benefits. Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex Nees, commonly known as “Kalmegh” or “King of Bitters” is one of the important medicinal plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae. The plant is found in the plains of India from Himachal Pradesh to Assam and Mizoram, and all over
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Kalmegh Serves Remedies for… Digestive Hepatoprotective Vermicidal Anti-acne Analgesic Anti-inflammatory Antibacterial Expectorant Hypoglycemic Immune Laxative Sedative
: Promotes digestion : Protects the liver and gall bladder. : Kills intestinal worms & support intestine : Protect skin from pimples : Pain killer : Reduces swelling and cuts down exudation from capillaries : Fights bacterial activity. It has remarkably beneficial effect in reduc ing diarrhea & symptoms arising from bacterial infections. : Promotes mucus discharge from the respiratory system. : Blood sugar reducer. : Enhancement. : Aids bowel elimination : A relaxing herb, though not with the same effect as the accepted herbal sedatives, valerian roots, hops etc.
South India. It grows wild as under shrub in tropical, moist, deciduous forests. It is also reported from certain parts of other Asian countries such as China, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh. The fresh and dried leaves and juice extracted from this herb are official drugs in Indian Pharmacopoeia. Kalmegh forms the
principal ingredient of a household medicine called “Alui” extensively used in West Bengal for general debility and for certain forms of dyspepsia amongst adults and infants. Both in Ayurveda and Unani, it is confused with ‘Chirata’ (Swertia chirayita), but both are different plants. It can be distinguished from the latter AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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bitters
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Fig. 1 Andrographis paniculata herb as source of andrographolide drug used for liver disorder
easily by the green color of its stem, numerous erect, slender, opposite branches and its lanceolate, green leaves (Fig.1). Andrographis paniculata plant is an erect, branched annual herb with dark green stem, 0.3-1.0 m in height, 2-6 mm in diameter, branches quadrangular with longitudinal furrows and wings on the angles of the younger parts, slightly enlarged at the nodes. Leaves simple, opposite, short-petioled, upto 8.0 cm long and 2.5 cm broad, lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers are small, solitary, in panicles, whitish or pale pink. Capsules erect, linear-oblong, compressed, longitudinally furrowed on the broad faces. Seeds are numerous, sub quadrate and yellowish brown (Fig. 2).
Traditional uses of Kalmegh Kalmegh has been used over many centuries as a household remedy specifically for jaundice and fevers, especially intermittent type. For centuries, the Ayurvedic practitioners of India have used the roots and leaves of the herb Andrographis paniculata to treat ailments ranging from poor digestion to hepatitis. In the Chinese medical tradition, the plant has been used to AGRICULTURE
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Kalmegh has been used over many centuries as a household remedy specifically for jaundice and fevers, especially intermittent type. For centuries, the Ayurvedic practitioners of India have used the roots and leaves of the herb Andrographis paniculata to treat ailments ranging from poor digestion to hepatitis
treat everything from gastrointestinal complaints to throat infections. It is an ingredient of over 50% of the multi-ingredient herbal formulations available in India for the treatment of liver ailments. A decoction of leaves is used in general debility and dyspepsia and a tincture of the root as a tonic, stimulant and aperients. The whole plant is bitter, acrid, cooling, laxative, antipyretic, antiperiodic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, anthelmintic, digestive and stomachic. It is useful in hyperdipisa, burning sensation, wounds, ulcers, chronic fever, malaria and intermittent and vitiated condition of pitta. A study conducted in Indonesia has also revealed anti-HIV activity of the crude extract from the whole plant. The plant is used for general debility, to relieve bowel complaints and loss of appetite and also considered to be highly efficacious against chronic malaria. The hot water extract of dried leaf and stem is used as stomachic, febrifuge and tonic.
Active chemical constituents of Kalmegh The whole herb is medicinally valued and contains important diterpenoids like andrographolide which is distributed in different propor-
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53 Fig. 3 Field view of Andrographis paniculata crop
tions in different parts of the plant. The leaves contain the maximum andrographolide content while stem contains a smaller amount of this active principle. In a study conducted at NBPGR, New Delhi, germplasm of A. paniculata augmented from different agro-climatic regions of India were evaluated for andrographolide content which showed andrographolide content ranges from 1.14 % to 2.44 %. Leaves showed maximum andrographolide content followed by stem and negligible in capsules. Plant contains other bitter diterpenoid compounds such as deoxy andrographolide and neoandrographolide, andrographiside, andropanoside, andrographin and flavonoids. For better andrographolide yield, the thrust should be given to higher leafy biomass as compared to other plant part.
Plant Pharmacology The therapeutic activity of this herb has been attributed to andrographolide and related diterpenoid compounds i.e. deoxyandrographolide and neoandrographolide. Recent clinical studies reveal that andrographolide in the herb demonstrates better hypoglycemic effects, choleretic and hepatoprotective activity while dehydro andrographolide is a better in vitro inhibitor
Fig. 2 Andrographis paniculata plant (A) with whitish or pale pink coloured flowers, mature pods (B), seeds (C)
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bitters
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plant grows luxuriantly and starts flowering with the moderation in temperature after end of monsoon. The propagation is done through seeds and is cultivated as a transplanted crop. The seeds (300- 400 g) are broadcast or each bed surface and they should be covered with thin layer of soil and compost mixture. Bed should be covered properly with suitable mulch and irrigated regularly with water till seedlings emerge (8-10 days). Liberal use of organic manure in nursery is advised for raising healthy seedlings. Immediately after germination (70- 80%), mulch is removed to avoid elongation of the seedlings. If possible seedlings should be raised in shade to protect them from heat. In well prepared and laid out beds, transplanting of seedlings Recent clinis done when they are one ical studies reveal month old at row spacing of that andrographolide 45 x 60 cm and plant spacin the herb demonstrates ing of 30 x 45 cm (Fig. 3). better hypoglycemic effects, Beds should be irrigated choleretic and hepatoprotecimmediately after transtive activity while dehydro planting. It can be grown andrographolide is a better on poor to moderate ferin vitro inhibitor against the tile soil but application of human immunodeficiency 80 kg nitrogen and 50 kg phosphorus per hectare will virus (HIV) increase the herb yield.
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against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These compounds also possess choleretic, antidiarrhoeal, immune stimulant, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antihypertensive and antipyretic activities. Extracts of Andrographis have been shown to stimulate powerful immune responses in living creatures. The immune response may be specific directed at a microbial invader already present in the body, or generally, strengthening the immune system in preparation against future infections. Herb is used to treat gastrointestinal tract and upper respiratory infections, fever, herpes, sore throat, hepatitis and a variety of other chronic and infectious diseases. It is a potent scavenger of a variety of reactive oxygen species, preventing oxidative damage.
Kalmegh Cultivation In India, it is cultivated in rainy season as kharif crop. The climatic requirement for the plant is hot and humid conditions with ample sunshine. Kalmegh can be cultivated on wide range of soils from loam to lateritic soils with moderate fertility. It can also be cultivated on shady wastelands. With the onset of monsoon, AGRICULTURE
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Nitrogen application may be splitted into two doses, which can be applied as basal and after 30 days of transplanting. In addition, 3-6 tonnes of well rotten farm yard manure are required for raising nursery. Maximum herb biomass can be obtained in 90 -100 days beyond which leaves start shedding. The crop remains dormant in winter. At the time of flower initiation, the active principle andrographolide is high in leaves. At this stage they are harvested by cutting the plants at the base or by uprooting whole plant. It should be dried in the shade and properly dried material should be packed in gunny bags. A well maintained crop grown during monsoon season yields about 2.5 to 3 tonnes/ha of dried herb. At present, it is being collected from forest areas, and a lot of variation in the active principle contents could be seen. Thus, in order to obtain the drug of uniform potency and to increase Andrographis supply, there is a need to cultivate this crop to meet requirements of drug industry. More over availability of the material also has to be ensured to meet the growing demand for the pharmaceutical industries.
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NAVARA RICE
Indu Narayan
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9287933983
n Malayalam,Navara rice is known as Njavarayari. This is an annual plant belongs to Oryzafamily. Its botanical name is OryzaSativa Linn. It grows and matures in 60 days. The rice is of two varieties, blackglumednavara and golden yellow glumednavara. The first one matures in 60-90 days. The seeds are red in colour. It grows up to one metre. It is cultivated in North of Kerala. It is extensively used for its medicinal properties. Golden yellow glumednavara is grown in the second cropping season. It is also known as white glumednavara. The seeds are red in colour. But the grains are golden yellow. It grows in South Kerala. It grows one metre high. Navara rice, in general, has a number of medicinal properties. Navara rice is optimal for curing rheumatism. It relieves the pain associated with arthritis. It helps in treating paralysis. Navara can control the growth of tuberculosis .It can promote the growth of red blood cells in the blood. Therefore it is a helpful remedy for anaemic patient. It heals ulcers. The rice is potent to keep skin diseases at bay. It boosts the immune system to protect our body from the diseases. So it protects us from different types of fevers. Navara rice stops external bleeding. It protects and provides strength to the nervous system to avoid the risk of nervous disorders. It strengthens the weak bones and stops causing osteoperosis. It is easily digestible for aged people. So it is also good for the patients with the problem of digestion. It is a beneficial herbal remedy for treating psoriasis disease. It protects the tissues of the liver from damage.
This prevents cirrhosis. It treats piles. It is good for urinary tract infection. Its rejuvenation effect makes you stronger, younger and fresher.Thus it delays the aging process. During the month of karkkidaka (Mid July to mid-August) navararice occupies a very important place for treatment and cooking.It is used in Navarakizhi,a traditional ayurvedic treatment 55 in Kerala for curingneuromuscular problems and navarakkanji, a traditionally used replenishing drink. As it improves our metabolism, drinking navara rice water is very good for health. Natural products always have a wonderful effect on our beauty, especially in the skin.Navara rice soaked in milk and then ground into a paste and added with certain herbs is good for the skin. It removes dryness of skin, moisturises the skin, cleanses the pores, strengthens the facial muscles, nourishes the skin cells, removes tan and helps to improve complexion. Navara rice water also has beautifying effects. You can make your own tissue face mask by using this rice water. Take a paper napkin and cut into oval shape that will remain in your face,cut out eye, nose and mouth holes. Fold up and then soak in the rice water you prepared. After a few minutes, lift the mask and gently squeeze out the excess fluid, simply apply to the face and lay down for 15 minutes. Face will regain the lost brightness and shining. In cooking,this rice has a prominent place. Navara rice kanji, payasam, kozhukkatta are unique in its taste and medicinal properties.Though it is costly it will do a great for health and also for beauty. AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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soil management
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To meet the demand for increasing the food production in the country, a rise in crop productivity seems to be the only viable option. In this context, potassium (K) as a major plant nutrient suffers the most from the neglect in respect of its application, despite the fact that K requirement of most crops is either equal to or even more than that of their N counterparts. Such a disturbing trend chiefly arises from the concept that the Indian soils are rich in native K. The latter leads to so much of drawl form the inherent non-exchangeable K pool of soil that such depletion may denude the interlayer K of the illitic clay minerals of soils sufficiently for the clay lattice to collapse, thereby adversely affecting the soil K dynamics. Rather a balanced approach that takes into account the soil properties, its nutrient supplying capacity and nutrient requirement of crops in the realm of site-specific management can reverse the declining production trend, improve the soil quality and thus will leave a vibrant agricultural production environment for the posterity.
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Nutrient Mining with Special Reference to Potassium in SOIL-CROP Management PRACTICES
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Saroj Kumar Sanyal, Ex V C, BCKVV, West Bengal
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he need to increase the food production in the country hardly requires any over-emphasis. Because the total area under cultivation remained more or less constant over the past several decades, and there are indications that some land under cultivation is getting diverted to accommodate non-agricultural end-uses.There is no other viable option than raising the productivity. Maintenance of native soil fertility in the intensively cultivated regions of the country is one of the preconditions of maintaining and improving the current crop yield levels. Intensive cropping systems remove substantial quantities of plant nutrients from soil during continued agricultural production round the year. The basic principle of maintaining the 57 fertility status of a soil under high intensity crop production systems is to annually replenish those nutrients that are removed from the field. The removal of crop residues from the agricultural fields renders this a more difficult task . The term “Nutrient Mining� refers to a situation when the quantity of soil nutrients removed by a crop from an agricultural field exceeds the amount that is recycled back and/ or replenished to the field. This causes a decline in the native soil fertility and may seriously jeopardize the future food security of the country.
Relevance in the Indian Context It is apparent that the well-documented soilcrop management practices in this country are yet to address adequately the issue of nutrient mining from soil by the crops and cropping sequences, and the effect thereof on the longterm native soil fertility. There is thus a need for appropriate environmental auditing, concomitant with soil-crop management practices. In this context, the major plant nutrient, potassium (K) has remained for long a neglected nutrient in Indian agriculture. Temporal fertilizer consumption over the past decades showed that potash contributed to less than 10% of the total fertilizer nutrient consumption in the AGRICULTURE AUGUST 2017
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soil management Location
Rice-wheat System yield
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Nutrient depletion factor (Output: Input Ratio)
Depletion of soil nutrients from soil reserve (kg ha-1)
(t ha-1)
P2O5
K2O
S
P2O5
K2O
S
Sabour
13.8
1.74
1.86
1.20
88
261
42
Ranchi
10.4
0.73
1.09
2.04
63
205
41
Ludhiana
16.1
1.36
2.29
2.07
126
354
58
Palampur
9.8
1.70
1.83
1.35
74
226
36
R.S.Pura
13.2
0.67
1.71
1.48
94
301
45
Faizabad
12.3
0.97
1.52
1.48
80
252
39
Kanpur
14.6
1.03
1.48
2.27
66
247
43
Modipuram
16.7
1.98
1.63
3.50
100
294
58
Varanasi
12.1
1.35
1.50
1.60
65
221
38
Pantnagar
12.4
0.77
1.45
2.02
67
220
42
Source: Cited in Sanyal et al. (2014)
country . Notwithstanding such ground-level reality, the fact remains that K requirement of most crops is either equal to or even more than their N counterparts. Such a disturbing trend chiefly arises from the concept that the Indian soils are rich in native K. Further, the estimates of apparent N balance, 58 which was positive at all the locations, may not also mean a sustainable input-output relation either. In rice soils, the inclusion of N losses from rhizosphere by leaching, volatilization and gentrification in the nutrient balance calculation may render the N balances negative at all the locations. Thus, the current practices of nutrient management in cropping systems are exhaustive in terms of N and K withdrawals, leading to depletion of these nutrients from the native soil reserves. The nutrient output- input ratio (nutrient depletion factor) provides a measure of the extent of nutrient uptake exceeding the additions, and provides gross estimates of possible depletion. Site-specific studies conducted across the ricewheat growing regions of India indicates that crop uptake of P exceeds its input at 6 out of 10 locations, whereas the output-input ratio for K and S were more than 1.0 at all the locations (Table 1), indicating a stress on native soil K and S supplies. These results become more revealing when nutrient uptake of P, K and S was furnished from the soil native reserves in the absence of their external input. Results show the largest nutrient removal accompanying the highest productivity level.
The Concerns There is an on-going debate in the policy and AGRICULTURE
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at the scientific level as to whether potassium is actually required to be applied in Indian soils and crops, and if so, how much? On one side of the debate is the understanding that Indian soils are rich in potassium because of the abundant presence of potassium bearing minerals (as mentioned above), such as micaceous minerals, namely biotite, muscovite, illite, etc. The potassium bearing minerals can provide ample potassium to the crops that reduces the necessity of applying potassium through external sources, such as fertilizer. Table 1. Nutrient depletion factor and nutrient uptake from soil reserve under rice-wheat system with best management practices correcting all the existing nutrient deficiencies except that of the indicated nutrients
The above argument gets strengthened by the fact that India imports its entire potash fertilizer requirement that is a large liability to the national exchequer . The other side of the debate, while accepting the above opinions, argue that not all Indian soils have abundant supply of K-bearing minerals. Furthermore, presence of potassium bearing minerals in the soils does not necessarily mean that crops have access to the required potassium at the right physiological growth stage when the potassium demand is highest. This may affect crop growth, productivity, and farmer’s income. This is particularly true when two or more modern high yielding varieties of crops are grown in succession in a yearly cycle, leading to high demand of potassium.
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soil management
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Besides, whether or not we replenish potassium through fertilizer or other sources (organic matter, crop residues, irrigation water, etc.), plants will extract potassium from the soil to produce a certain yield. In the absence of external supply, plants will fulfill their requirement from the native reserve potassium present in the soil, leading to a general depletion of soil K fertility, which will go largely unnoticed and undetected by the conventional soil test for potassium. It is expected that the outcome of the above debate would have important bearing on the national policy, future food security, and soil health.
The term “Nutrient Mining� A balanced approach, taking refers to a situation due cognizance of the soil when the quantity of soil properties, its nutrient supplying capacity and nutrinutrients removed by a crop ent requirement of crops from an agricultural field exin the realm of site-speceeds the amount that is recycific management, can cled back and/or replenished to reverse the stagnating or the field. This causes a decline even the declining proin the native soil fertility and duction trends, including may seriously jeopardize the the declining partial and future food security of the total factor productivity, country. 60 thereby sustaining the food production, while improving the soil quality. The latter is believed to leave our environment clean for the posterity.
Recent Approaches--Way Forward The nutrient balance methodology, based on the modified QUEFTS (Quantitative Evaluation of the Fertility of Tropical Soils) model, for estimating the K balances in agricultural fields for single crop and cropping systems involving cereals was developed . The essential components of such K balance calculations included contributions (input) from the retained crop residues, irrigation water and the added organic matter as well as the loss (output) of K from the system through leaching and export through the grain of the crops. Two options for rice to calculate the fertilizer K rates, based on partial maintenance of soil K level with gradual drawdown or depletion of such native soil K. In one option with partial maintenance, fertilizer K requirement was calculated as a fraction of the full maintenance. The other option with partial maintenance allowed K depletion from the soil reserves up to a threshold limit, which is treated as an input in the nutrient balance. In such approach, the indigenous soil K supply to support the AGRICULTURE
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targeted crop yield was obtained from the corresponding omission plot data. However, nutrient balance in rice-wheat systems by replacing the omission plot data with the indigenous nutrient (N, P and K) supply contributions from the soil available pool (soil test data) and the appropriate nutrient use efficiency factors. For addressing these issues, the nutrient input from irrigation water and losses through leaching would feature prominently in the nutrient balance equations that help estimate fertilizer requirement to achieve a targeted crop yield. A portion of the K and other basic cations added to the field through irrigation water, for instance, may also be lost via leaching from the highly permeable soils with adequate drainage and low CEC. Further, there are several researchable issues pertaining to the assessment of an equitable distribution of crop residues among different competitive uses, such as that between animal feed requirement and nutrient recycling in fields, thereby providing options for farmers to retain at least a part of the residues in the field. Critical estimation of the rate of mineral-
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maintained by several organizations, which are unavailable in the public domain. Integrating the former into one national portal will help the overall assessment of the national soil resources and developing other knowledge resources, such as fertility maps for different soil nutrients at a finer scale. Once developed, such a database could be periodically updated with contribution from different organizations. However, the data querying from several disparate sources may cause concern for the appropriate reconciliation of the soil test data. Indeed a national committee to oversee the data input, with particular reference to data sources and data quality could A national minimize such concerns. Develportal for soil data oping a national portal of soil repository is a critical data will strongly fit into the requirement for assessing current initiative of generatnutrient mining from soil. ing the “Soil Health Card” Such a national-level initiafor millions of geo-referenced tive to develop and maintain farm field soils. This would a soil data repository will be a logical starting point for a allow tracking of soil fertility “national soil data repository” changes in intensive cropfor the posterity, and will be an ping regions over time extremely valuable resource to facilitate research, planning and implementation of the improved agricultural practices at the local, reization of crop resi d u e s gional and country scale. Such a reposiwith different (C- N) ratios under varying tory will also help reorient fertilizer manageagro-climatic conditions and management ment practices, based on agro-climate, soil scenarios would also be required for assessing type and management practices to minimize the net nutrient availability from crop residues soil nutrient mining, while sustaining the soil in the nutrient balance and nutrient mining fertility levels under the current climatic abercalculations. The availability of organic rerations . sources, having several competitive usages, for agricultural uses, along with their nutrient Admittedly, nutrient mining in agriculture loading needs to be ascertained for reliable nucannot be avoided altogether. However, the trient balance computations in the context of varying inherent buffering capacity and vulthe integrated nutrient management options . nerability of different soils, under similar cropping systems and comparable manageA national portal for soil data repository is ment practices are to be recognized. Muna critical requirement for assessing nutrient dane management practices further complimining from soil. Such a national-level initiacate the scenario. There is thus need for the tive to develop and maintain a soil data reposassessment of the allowable ra. Nutrient minitory will allow tracking of soil fertility changing poses considerable threat to the quality of es in intensive cropping regions over time. At soil resources and the food security for now this point, such databases are fragmented and as well as for the posterity. Hence, there is an
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indian turmeric
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Mr.Suresh Kumar with his Prathibha turmeric packets.(Inset) Mr.Suresh with a clump of Prathibha.
IISR Prathibha:
The poster girl of Indian turmeric!
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Lijo Thomas and B Sasikumar
ICAR Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode -673012. Email:sasikumarsooranadu@gmail.com
T
urmeric (Curcuma longa) is one of the most commonly used spices in India and the ubiquitous spice finds a variety of uses in traditional medicine, flavouring and as a colouring agent apart from its use in religious ceremonies. It is quiet natural that our country being the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world, should also provide the lead in developing and sustaining innovations in turmeric crop. Towards the end of the last decade of the 20th century, researchers across the globe realised the medicinal value of this spice enshrined in the scriptures and have been showing a renewed AGRICULTURE
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interest in turmeric due to its perceived medicinal and therapeutic properties. However,an ideal turmeric variety with the cult value of the ageold turmeric was yet to emerge .The turmeric variety IISR Prathibha filled this gap and it became the poster girl of turmeric over time and space typifying the quintessence of turmeric! IISR Prathibha is a value added turmeric variety released by the ICAR -Indian Institute of Spices Research(ICAR-IISR)during 1996. Prathibha’s juggernaut across the country set in with exceptional speed since then and has met with unprecedented consumer acceptance. Surely
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such a growth trajectory merits a closer look to learn the underlying factors behind this meteoric rise.
Breeding bears fruit IISR Prathibha along with its twin sister IISR Prabha are developed through Open Pollinated Progeny Selection, a non-conventional breeding approach for varietal development in turmeric. In fact, these are the lone turmeric varieties evolved through true turmeric seedling selection in the whole world till today. IISR Prathibha is recommended for cultivation in all the turmeric growing regions of the country. The variety is renowned for its high yield (35-40tonnes/hectare fresh weight), high dry recovery (19-20%), high curcumin content (6.2 %) and short duration (190-200 days). The high curcumin content in IISR Prathibha has made it a preferred variety for the curcumin and oleoresin extraction industry. There are several reports that some firms are offering premium price for Prathibha turmeric owing to this distinct advantage.
medicinal properties of turmeric. Leveraging the strong network under the All India Coordinated Network Programme on Spices, the variety was introduced to the farmers of major turmeric growing tracts followed by popularization of the variety through multiple channels of mass media. The farmers were quick to respond to the variety and a surge in demand for Prathibha planting material was manifested within a short span of five years from the time of release. The inherent advantages of the variety notwithstanding,the strategic varietal dissemination efforts and farmer to farmer spread of the variety have also played an important role in making IISR Prathibha a highly sought after variety among turmeric farmers.
The new varietal licensing strategy, adopted to address the issue of non-availability of enough quality planting material, was another significant stride in augmenting the capacity to match the demand for planting material across the country. The meticulous selection process of the licensees, close monitoring Prathibha pervasive of the licensed production plots and The Right from its birth, the variety stringent quality control measures characterhas been positioned as a high ensured that the varietal purity istic taste and curcumin, short duration vaand quality are maintained riety. The variety also rode a in the seed production plots aroma of Prathibha, favourable wave of increasand only good planting mawidely acknowledged ing interest about curcumin, terial reaches the farmers. by consumers has the major compound in turprompted some of the meric imparting the ascribed The initial licensees of the farmers in exploring ave-
nues for niche marketing of Prathibha turmeric powder
Mr Abdul Nabeel in his IISR Prathibha field
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indian turmeric
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Mr Chandrashekhar Azad with his harvest of IISR Prathibha
variety were the farmer entrepreneurs smitten by the varieties superior features who could foresee a commercial potential in venturing into planting material production of IISR Prathibha. No doubt, these entrepreneur licensees played a decisive role in promoting the variety as a superior option to the tradi64 tional turmeric varieties.
Meet the apostles For most of these torch bearers, agriculture is not merely a profitable business, but a passion and a mission to serve fellow farmers. P Chandra Sekhar Azad, a 75 year old enterprising farmer from Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh, exemplifies this creed. Azad, whose innings as a farmer began 3 decades back has wide ranging experience across several crops and tends to a nine acre land inherited from his father. Before his tryst with IISR Prathibha in 2004, he was cultivating local turmeric cultivars like Duggirala, Kadappa, Armoor, Tekurpet and the profits from turmeric farming were low. Azad was searching for a high yielding and good quality turmeric variety when he came across the Prathibha turmeric variety. He started the cultivation of Prathibha in 2004 on an experimental basis procuring 50 kilograms of rhizomes from ICAR-IISR. Since then his turmeric production has increased manifolds. He started supplying seed rhizomes to Horticultural departments and other farmers in the area and reaping rich dividends for himself and other fellow farmers. He asserts that the higher yield, early maturity, good quality and a good demand for seed rhizomes are the factors that endear the variety to the farmers in AGRICULTURE
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the area. The success story scripted by Abdul Nabeel, from Meppayyur in Kozhikode district of Kerala is another case in point. A successful tie up with ICAR- IISR through non-exclusive licensing of IISR Prathibha and the commercial planting material production earned him rich financial rewards from farming. Nabeel is one among the new class of young educated entrepreneurs who has ventured into farming, often leaving behind other lucrative professions. Ramprasad Reddy (34) from Zaheerabad, Telangana, an unassuming IT professional turned farmer is another one lured to Prathibha’s prathibha. Young Reddy took charge of the ancestral property of 14 acres located 20 km away from downtown Zaheerabad, Telangana state after his return from abroad, few years ago. A chance encounter with Chandra Sekhar Azad of Guntur, made Reddy to take a different path as Azad convinced him of the advantages of IISR Prathibha. Reddy planted Prathibha in 2.5 acres of land with drip irrigation in the year 2013-14 and has since then he expanded his sphere through value addition in turmeric!
Taste is the test The characteristic taste and aroma of Prathibha, widely acknowledged by consumers has prompted some of the farmers in exploring avenues for niche marketing of Prathibha turmeric powder. A recent small scale product test of IISR Prathibha turmeric powder, conducted among
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women homemakers saw it being consistently rated higher over the existing market brands of turmeric in terms of smell, colour and flavour imparted to dishes!. Many a farmer entrepreneur has leveraged this exquisite taste, flavour and appeal of IISR Prathibha.
The strong house boat tourism industry in the district is another boon for Suresh Kumar who regularly supplies his produce to several house boats directly. He says that once smitten by the enticing fragrance and taste of Prathibha, the customer will come back to him.
Suresh Kumar from Aleppey district, Kerala, a part time farmer shows how small holder farmers can take maximum benefit from agriculture through post-harvest processing and value addition. Sureshkumar who ventured into Prathibha few years ago realised that powdered Prathibha is the best option for him rather than selling whole turmeric.Setting aside seed material for the next season and some for fellow farmers, Suresh Kumar now processes the entire turmeric at the farm itself.
The variety IISR Prathibha, which has left its teenage behind, has evolved into a preferred variety among turmeric growers due to its better yield, exquisite flavour and high curcumin content. The emergence of a market for specific varieties suited for curcumin extraction industry might help the variety to consolidate its presence further cementing its place as the poster girl of Indian turmeric!
Tail piece
Under one of the projects of ‘Farmers First Apprehensive of the market reception, he iniinitiative’,the Indian Council of Agricultural tially powdered a small quantity and did a test Research, ICAR Central Plantation Crops Remarketing among his colleagues at S.D Colsearch Institute, Kasargod’s Regional Station lege, Alappuzha, where he worked as a lab asat Kayamkulam, has chosen IISR Prathibha sistant in the Botany Department. People who variety for popularizing among the farmers as an intercrop crop in coconut gardens in brought the powder came back for more and Alleppey District. The initiative will adopt recommended it to their friends and soon farmer participatory group approach in Suresh was finding it difficult to IISR turmeric planting material producmeet the demand!.On back Prathibha tion in Pathiyoor Panchayath in of the word of the mouth has evolved into a the district as a livelihood inpublicity alone, last year tervention strategyunder the about 350 kilograms preferred variety among leadership of women selfof dry turmeric was turmeric growers due to its help farmer groups. Evenpowdered and sold in better yield, exquisite flavour tually processing and value small packets directly and high curcumin content. addition for additional into the final consumer, The emergence of a market come is envisaged for the that too at a premium for specific varieties suited for small and marginal farmers price of Rs 40 per 100 curcumin extraction industry of the location. gram!.
might help the variety to consolidate its presence further
Mr.RamaprasadReddy(fourth from left) along with scientists of ICAR-IISR,Kozhikode and farmers from Telangana and AP at his Zaheerabad plot.
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arrowroot
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ARROWROOT
Figure 7: Arrowroot field view
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A M U LT I P U R P O S E C RO P
Sanket J. More, V. Ravi, Namrata Giri, Suresh Kumar J. and Arutselvan R. ICAR – Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram –695 017 Photo credit - Dr Sanket J. More, ICAR – CTCRI
W
est Indian Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) plant is a tall herb with short-leafy branched stem from Marantaceae family which yields thick, fleshy, creeping, spindle-shaped, long (15 to 20 cm) and dull white to creamy colored rootstock rhizomes which contain fine easily digestible starch. It is indigenous to tropical America. It is an under-exploited tuber crop and the rhizomes are valued as foodstuff and as a source of starch. The crop comes up well under shaded conditions and no serious pests and diseases are noted in the crop. It is tolerant to shade conditions and can be cultivated under coconut and arecanut plantations and can yield 20-30 tonnes fresh rhizomes per AGRICULTURE
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hectare. Extraction of starch from arrowroot rhizomes can be done even in households by adopting a simple procedure. It can be economically important crop as it serves as a raw material for cottage industry by unemployed women and rural youth. The starch possesses demulcent and anti-diarrhoeal properties and is used in the treatment of intestinal disorders which add medicinal value to the crop. It is widely distributed throughout the tropical countries like West Indies particularly St. Vincent, which produces about 95% of the world’s commercial supply; India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines and Australia. In India, arrowroot is mainly cultivated in Uttar Pradesh,
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Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. Its powder is one of the nature’s finest carbohydrates.
STARCH EXTRACTION PROCESS Fresh arrowroot rhizomes contain about 25-30% starch on fresh weight basis. The rhizomes are washed thoroughly and then
the starch because they impart a disagreeable flavour. After removing the scale, the roots are washed again, drained and finally reduced to a pulp by beating them in mortars or subjecting them to the action of a wheel rasp. The milky liquid thus obtained is passed through a coarse cloth or hair sieve and the pure starch, which is insoluble, is allowed to settle at the bottom. The wet starch is dried in the sun or in a drying house. The result is a powder, the “arrowroot” of commerce, which is quickly packed for market in air-tight cans, packages or cases. It is the best source of easily absorbable starch. It is a nourishing food for children, chronically ill and convalescents. Arrowroot starch has many medicinal uses as well. As it is nutritive starch that can be easily digested, it is given to baby and people recovering from an illness or medical treatment.
Arrowroot plant with attached rhizomes
cleaned off the paper-like scale. The scales must be carefully removed before extracting
Due to urinary antiseptic properties, arrowroot helps in urinary problems. When taken daily it helps to lower cholesterol. It works due to the presence of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, carbohydrate, cardiac glycosides, amino acids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, saponins, flavones and gum. Arrowroot 67 starch has extensive application in medicinal, nutraceutical, industrial and bakery products. Applications of arrowroot starch have been given in detail below. Arrowroot starch extraction is outlined in Figure 1. Figure 1: process of arrowroot starch extrac-
Table 1. Nutritional facts of raw Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) rhizomes Principle
Nutrient value
% RDA
Principle
Nutrient value
% RDA
Folates Niacin Pyridoxine Riboflavin Thiamine Vitamin A
338 µg 1.693 mg 0.266 mg 0.059 mg 0.143 mg 19 IU
84% 10.5% 20% 4.5% 12% <1%
Vitamin C Minerals Calcium Copper Iron Magnesium Manganese Phosphorus
1.9 mg
3%
6 mg 0.121 mg 2.22 mg 25 mg 0.174 mg 98 mg
0.6% 13.5% 28% 6% 7.5% 14%
Selenium
0.7 µg
1%
Vitamins Energy Carbohydrates Protein Total Fat Cholesterol Dietary Fibre
65 Kcal 13.39 g 4.24 g 0.20 g 0 mg 1.3 g
3 10 7.5 1 0 3.5
Electrolytes Sodium Potassium
26 mg 454 mg
1.5 10
Phyto-nutrients Carotene-ß Carotene-α
11 µg 0 µg
— —
Source: USDA National Nutrient database Nutrition Value per 100 g, RDA: Recommended Dietary Allowance
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Arrowroot rhizomes without scales
Fresh rhizome collection Grinding Pulp (add water) Mixing Filtering Settling the filtrate (30 min.) Sun drying (9.9% moisture) Water soluble starch (storage in airtight container)
Arrowroot plant
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USES OF ARROWROOT STARCH
as corn starch, flour, or other starchy thickening agents would. In more recent years, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commonly used as an alternative to corn starch which is usually more expensive. Arrowroot powder is twice the thickening power of wheat flour and is gluten free. Unlike corn starch, arrowroot powder creates a perfectly clear gel and does not break down when combined with acidic ingredients like fruit juices. Arrowroot also stands up to freezing, whereas mixtures thickened with corn starch tend to break down after freezing and thawing. Arrowroot powder is great as a thickener for everything from gravy to puddings and soups. Naturally gluten-free, arrowroot starch is an excellent thickening agent in puddings, sauces and stews, and makes a great binder in meat loaf and veggie burger mixtures.
1. BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY PRODUCTS
2. INDUSTRIAL AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS
Arrowroot can be consumed in the form of biscuits, pasta, bread, cakes, puddings, jellies and hot sauces. Arrowroot makes clear, shimmering fruit gels and prevents ice crystals formation in homemade ice cream. It can also be used as a thickener in acidic foods such as Asian sweet and sour sauce. It will not make the sauce go cloudy, such AGRICULTURE
Arrowroot is extensively used in many cosmetic products. Applied in place of talcum powder or chemically laced moisturizing creams, arrowroot is recognized as a herbal treatment to make skin softer and smoother and also as an oil absorbent. Arrowroot is the perfect alternative for baby powder. Not only does it have superior properties to talcum
Rooting pattern of arrowroot plant
tion
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Arrowroot rhizomes with scales
powder, but talcum powder-based makeup and skin care products often contain carcinogens. Due to its excellent thickening property, it is also used in hair dye. In Britain, Canada, Europe and the U.S.A, it also has non-food uses such as in carbonless paper manufacturing for computers.
3. MEDICINAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL USESÂ Arrowroot flour has been known to be used in many medicines and health-related products. Arrowroot contains several B vitamins, including thiamin, niacin and pyridoxine, and minerals such as copper and iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, all providing necessary nutrients for the human body. In the Victorian Era, it was used, boiled with a little flavouring added, as an easily digestible food for children and people with dietary restrictions. The lack of gluten in arrowroot flour makes it useful as a replacement for wheat flour for those people with gluten intolerance. Widely used in primitive cultures, arrowroot has had such traditional uses as healing wounds from poison arrows, scorpion bites and gangrene. Arrowroot starch may help prevent birth defects,
support proper growth and development, and improve your circulation, blood pressure, weight and digestion and studies show it to be highest in protein compared to other native starches and flours. As gluten intolerance becomes more and more common, naturally gluten-free arrowroot is a welcome option for preventing the bloating and stomach pain prevalent in this condition. Arrowroot has also been found to be effective for treating diarrhoea in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Copper and iron in arrowroot are vital red blood cell components, preventing fatigue, weakness and decreased cognitive function, all symptoms of anaemia. Fibre helps push foods through your system efficiently while simultaneously allowing nutrients to be absorbed. This process can prevent constipation, and also helps control blood sugar and subsequent diabetes. Arrowroot promotes bile production, which increases cholesterol uptake by gallbladder for necessary bile synthesis and helps to optimize cholesterol levels. Folate (vitamin B9) is a B vitamin amply present in arrowroot providing 84 percent of the folate needed in one day in 100 grams (128 grams equals 1 cup). Woman who ingest vitamin B9 during pregnancy help prevent neural tube defects in their unborn children. High amounts of potassi- 69 um in arrowroot help soften your blood vessels and arteries, benefiting several areas of your body, including helping to prevent heart attacks, high blood pressure and strokes, and promoting oxygen flow to your brain to stimulate brain health. Arrowroot is anti-inflammatory and also can work as an antiseptic, making it perfect for irritated areas such as burns, rashes and sores. In some countries, it is even used with water as a paste to apply to open wounds. Arrowroot is predominantly known for its soothing properties. A natural healer for small irritations, it assists with the drying out of wounds, rashes or blemishes. Because of its natural origin, arrowroot flour will not hurt the skin further, allowing it to rest without additional irritation.
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GST is worrisome,
FARMER’S BURDEN CONTINUES Rajshekhar Sakhalkar
A
Director of CropLife India, a Section 8 Company, representing 14 Research based MNC’s & Indian companies engaged in Crop Protection Products.
t a time when millions of farmers across India are getting ready to sow kharif crops such as rice, sugarcane, oilseeds, and pulses, manufacturers of fertilizers and pesticides are seeing 70 a large disruption in dispatches. This comes as the deadline for the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) nears where farmers are confused and worried, despite the fact the country is having a healthy monsoon. The 18% cap on the GST is simply adding more fodder to the farmer issues. Crop protection products have proved to be a vital part of the Indian agriculture system and arecrucial to the ever-growingagricultural output year on year. In the past decade, the Indian crop protection sector has swelled and has made dynamic changesby embracing imported and indigenized technology which in turn has enhanced production yield and capacity in the country. As the cultivable land is getting limited day by day, India will require vigorous and state of the art agriculture sector to guarantee food and nutrition security for consumers. The proposed GST ruledistinguishes Crop Protection from seeds, fertilizers, farm equipment, etc. Seeds (exempt), Fertilizers (12%), Tractors (12%) etc., crop protection products (HSN 3808) remain taxable at 18%, depriving the industry of equal treatment vis-à-vis other agricultural contributions. In order to meet the food grain necessities of the nation, agrarian productivity and its AGRICULTURE
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growth needs to be constant and further improved in terms of quality and quantity. With a blend ofIntegrated Pest Management and Plasticulturetechniques, agrochemicals stand at a very critical point by providing pre-and post-harvest protection to the crop yield and agricultural output. As the farm segment, will remain largely exempted from GST, any input taxes suffered on the inputs incorporated in the farm sector, such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, tractors etc, will remain congested and play a part towards increase in prices of farm productivity. The yield output prices are controlled by market forces and farmers have very little control over the regulation. As the price rises and output price remains to be stagnant, the farmer stand with no option but to accept the cost, thus increasing the farmer’s burden. Indian cultivators are already reeling under great pressure from many ends and the augmented burden of the taxes will create a sizable dent in his income slab. If somehow, the output charges increase, the whole nation will have to shell out more as the food prices will go up, thus creating additional trouble for the common people. The way out will be that the GST rate for crop protection products is reassessed and reduced from 18% to the lowest denominator possible. This step will safeguard equality across all agricultural units and reduce the un-necessary encumbrance on the farmer.
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IFFCO divests 21.64 % stake of IFFCO-TOKIO to TM Asia
orld’s largest processed fertilisers Cooperative, IFFCO has divested its 21.64% stake in its insurance arm, IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited (IFFCO-TOKIO) to Joint Venture Partner, Tokio Marine Asia Pvt Ltd (TM Asia). Along with IFFCO, Indian Potash Limited (IPL) will also sell its 1.36% stake to TM Asia. The decision to divest was made after Indian Government hiked the FDI limit in Insurance Sector to 49%. Upon acquisition of 23% stake in IFFCO-TOKIO for Rs 2,530 crores, the shareholding of TM Asia will increase from 26% to 49%. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has accorded approval for increasing shareholding of TM Asia. IFFCO entered the Insurance Sector in the year 2000 after the opening up of the Insurance Business for the private sector. One of the main objectives was to take insurance to the doorsteps of Indian villages and farmers. Leveraging IFFCO’s strong network and brand recognition across India, IFFCO-TOKIO has become one of the most respected private sectors General Insurance Companies in India with a strong brand presence.
Dr U.S. Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO said “this is a good opportunity for IFFCO to unlock the valuation of its investment in IFFAGRICULTURE
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CO-TOKIO by the sale of its part shareholding. This transaction would help IFFCO in raising the required capital to focus on more agri-businesses and to better serve the interests of the Indian farmers in the fast changing agriculture sector in India.” He further said “even after the divestment, IFFCO will continue to exercise control in the business affairs of IFFCO-TOKIO in compliance with IRDA’s Guidelines on ‘Indian Owned and Controlled’ Insurance Companies.” “The additional share purchase is in line with Tokio Marine Group’s international business strategy to achieve sustainable growth and profit expansion as well as enhance diversified business portfolio through capturing growth opportunities in emerging countries”, said, Arthur Lee, the Chief Executive of TM Asia. K Srinivas Gowda, Chairman, IFFCO-TOKIO said, “With continuous high economic growth and increasing middle income population, the Indian insurance market is expected to grow rapidly. By further utilizing Tokio Marine’s expertise and know-how in insurance sector from diverse geographies, IFFCO-TOKIO aims to increasingly provide high-quality products and services that meet customer needs and contribute to the further enhancement in business and profitability of the company in the non-life insurance sector in India.”
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IIITM- K develops Location-Aware Apps
for efficient e-governance
T
he Geospatial Technology Division of the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management - Kerala (IIITM-K), the government’s autonomous institute in Technopark, has developed advanced location-aware apps for efficient e-governance.
IIITM-K has developed a series of ten such applications for various departments, which mainly include a mobile app provides rubber growers location-specific soil nutrient status and generates specific fertilizer recommendations. 74 Another similar app helps livestock inspectors plan farm animal vaccinations for their better longevity and resistant to diseases. These are among the user-friendly, cost-effective mobile apps that are being leveraged by the Kerala government for their incredible e-governance potential and diverse applicability of the location-aware technology. Expected to roll out over the course of the year, the apps offer simple and affordable avenues for data capture and management. The Division has already developed ‘RubSiS’ (hosted on the Google Play Store) for the Rubber Board, which was looking for a means to disseminate individually-tailored straight-tophone soil nutrient data and fertilizer recommendations to rubber farmers. In addition, an intuitive GIS-based (Geographic Information System) app created for the Department of Animal Husbandry supplies its inspectors with information on farmers within three kilometers of their respective locations. Similar applications, for the Coffee Board and the Kerala State Land Use Board, are already operational. “Location-aware applications are of two types: push- and pull-based services. Mobile applicaAGRICULTURE
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tions can be used to collect location-tagged information and push these to a server. On the other hand, the device fetches related information from the server. In both cases, information is transferred dynamically with the help of mobile networks,” said, Radhakrishnan T, who heads the Division. Geographic information is becoming increasingly essential to strategic forecasting and decision-making, both at the ground and policy levels. Location-aware technology detects a user’s current geographic location by employing a combination of GPS satellites, wireless access points and cell tower triangulation, communicates with servers and processes the data. These apps use mobile technology, IT, geospatial technology and advanced analytical methods. “Applications are designed with very simple interfaces that require minimal key entries. They will mostly have drop-down lists that allow for error-free data capturing. The location-aware intelligence is built on top of this information that facilitates decision-making from the location itself,” said Project Lead Lal Prakash P.L. “We look forward to offering cutting-edge applications and services for the Smart City development, where location-aware information and spatial data analytics have a big role to play. IIITM-K is the only institute in the country that offers a post-graduate degree course in computer science with specialization in geospatial analytics, generating skilled manpower in solving real-world, spatial problems of this kind,” said IIITM-K Director Dr. Saji Gopinath. IIITM-K has been active in geospatial technology development for departments and agencies at the state and central levels for more than a decade.
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INDIA WILL OVERTAKE CHINA-
says OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026
I
ndia will be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest milk producer by 2026 and will account for the biggest increase in wheat production globally, according to a report by the United Nations and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 20172026 said that over the first quarter of this century, the milk production in India will be nearly tripled. The report observed that over the course of the outlook period alone, milk production in India will grow 49 per cent in 2026 with an output one-third above that of the second largest producer, the European Union.
At the same time, global production of wheat 76 is projected to increase by 11 per cent over the outlook period of 2017-2026, while the wheat area increases by only 1.8 per cent. In Asia and Pacific, increase in wheat production is expected to occur through higher yields, which will account for 46 per cent of additional wheat production. Within the region and globally, India will account for the biggest in-
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crease in production and Pakistan and China are also expected to have a notable rise. Rice production is expected to grow by 66 Mt and will be almost exclusively driven by yield growth, which accounts for 93 per cent of additional production. The global area dedicated to rice is expected to increase by only a per cent from the base period, while global yields will increase by 12 per cent. Major production gains are projected for India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam with yields in these countries are expected to increase by over 15 per cent. The report also states that as demand growth in a number of emerging economies is expected to slow down and biofuel policies have a diminished impact on markets, the global food commodity prices are projected to remain low over the next decade. The report also underlined the fact that India will overtake China and is projected to be the most populous country in the world by 2026 with a growth in the population from 1.3 billion to 1.5 billion which is an increase of about 150 million.
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