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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 06 JUNE 2018 ` 100
KRISHI JAGRAN in Limca Book of Records
WATER FOOTPRINT A POINTER TOWARDS WATER SECURITY
Probiotics The Functional food beneficial for health
TWO SUPER FOOD CROPS OF GRAVITAS www.krishijagran.com
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I C U LT U R E a g r i c u l At G u R r e
C o n t e n t s VOLUME 4 ISSUE 06 JUNE 2018 ` 100 PAGES 84
Editor-in-Chief MC Dominic Directors Shiny Dominic MG Vasan Editor Ajith Kumar V R Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy Technical Editors Dr. B C Biswas Dr. Mahendra Pal (Vet. Sci.)
Poonam Bishwakarma Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Hema Sharma Marketing Executive Farhin Sheikh Kajal Chauhan Marjeena Khan Divya Mehra
Associate Editors Sreeja.S.Nair Monika Mondal Dr. Sangeeta Soi Asha Sadasiv
Sr. Circulation Executives Pappu Rai Furkan Qureshi Pawan Kumar Tarun Singh
Sr. Correspondent Imran Khan
Accounts Abdus Samad
Correspondent Vibhuti Narayan Mahendra Kurre
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Video Editor Rishav V. P. Intl. Business DD Nair (Russia & CIS Countries) 6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198 Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10 Email: ddnair@krishijagran.com Gavrilova Maria V.P. Spcl. Initiative Chandra Mohan V. P. Strategic Alliance Ratnamanjari Sharan Sr. Manager Special Initiatives Harsh Kapoor GM - Marketing Farha Khan Deputy GM - Marketing K J Saranya Marketing Head Sanjay Kumar Sr. Marketing Managers Sara Khan Marketing Managers Megha Sharma Dhanya M.T. Saritha Reghu Sr. Marketing Exectives Chunki Bhutia
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Printed at : Pushpak Press PVT LTD. Shed No. 203, 204, DSIDC Complex Indl. Area Pahse-I New Delhi- 110020 All rights reserved. Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group. Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group. Editor in Chief: MC Dominic Disclaimer: While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications. No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.
The Functional Food Beneficial for Health Dr Indu Panchal, Sandeep KumarDuhan & Ruby Siwach
Water Footprint:
A Pointer towards Water Security
Two Super Food Crops for Gravitas
Dr B Sasikumar
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In vitro propagation of Banana
R S Sengar & Ankita Trivedi
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Legal Advisors James P. Thomas H. S. Asmuddin Printed and Published by: M. C. Dominic 60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016. Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923 Mobile: +91-9313301029, +91-9654193353 Web: www.krishijagran.com
Probiotics:
Dr. Shalini Pillai & Vinod Mavarkar
Sr. Circulation Manager Rahul Singh Asst. Circulation Manager Prashant Sharma
Sr. Correspondent Ritik Ranjan
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Circulation Head Nishant K Taak
Assistant Editor Karthika.B.P
Social Media Head Sameer Tiwari
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Wild Jackfruit:
A ‘little’ more than jackfruit
Suresh Muthukulam
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Lac: Valuable Gift of Nature
Dr J G Dulera
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Punjabi House at Tamil Nadu
V R Ajith Kumar
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Black Quarter Disease
Aakansha Tiwari & Pragya Joshi
Value Chain for Small Holder Farmers in Agri Nutri Aspects
V Sangeeta & Premalata Singh
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Editorial
AG R I C U LT U R E
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iotechnology in India is now seems entangled in law suits and all stake holders are eagerly waiting to know the result of the case ,as it is not considered as a dispute between two companies or a case for clarity on Government rules. It will have ramifications in the future research and development activities in agriculture sector in India, now, involved by so many private companies across the world.
The Delhi High Court recently revoked the patent of Bollgard -2 of Monsanto and later, company approached the Supreme Court and the apex court will consider it on July 18. Bollgard-2 is an insecticidal technology which uses a gene called Cry2Ab from the soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt). When inserted into a cotton plant, the gene confers resistance against cotton pests. Monsanto’s 2008 patent on Bollgard-2 protects several aspects of this technology: the modification of Cry2Ab to make it compatible with the cotton genome, the process of introducing this gene at a specific location in the cotton genome, and the protein expressed by the plant containing the gene. Delhi High Court reasoned that Monsanto’s Bt gene was useless to farmers unless inserted into a cotton hybrid, which farmers could then grow to repel pests. This insertion is carried out by seed companies, who cross a Bt gene-containing plant from Monsanto’s donor seeds with their proprietary cotton varieties. The judge said that this crossing of plants was a natural and biological process and under Section 3(j) of India’s Patents Act, a seed or a plant, or a biological process to create a seed or plant cannot be patented. Experts say if this argument is correct, few plant biotechnology innovations would be patentable in India. The analysts demur that lack of patent protection would discourage crucial research by the agri-biotech industry in future. The judgment appears to have conflated a step involving human intervention with a step involving a biological process. Transgenic technologies such as Bt cotton are an important part of India’s cotton production arsenal. Monsanto claimed that its proprietary Bollgard technology had played a substantial role in converting India into one of the largest producers of cotton in the world from being a net importer in 2002. The reduction in the damage by using its technology has led to an increase in the average cotton yield in India from 302 kg/ha in 2002 to 541 kg/ha in 2013-14. Two years ago, the Indian government had imposed price controls on the widely-used Bollgard II variety of Bt cotton seeds and slashed the trait value payable to Monsanto. Last month, the government reduced the seed’s maximum retail price in the market and the trait value further. The MRP for the Bt cotton seeds in the 2018-19 kharif season has been fixed at Rs.740 for a 450-gm packet, down 7.5% from earlier, while trait value was cut by a steeper 20% to Rs 39 per packet. Before the Centre capped retail price of the Bt cotton seed, its price was in the range of Rs 830-1,000 per 450-gram packet, as existed in 2015-16 kharif season. Currently, 90% of India’s cotton area of 11.8 million hectares is under Bt cover. Domestic cotton output has risen manifold since farmers started using Bt seeds, from 13.6 million bales in 2002-03 to 30.1 million bales in 2015-16.The important thing for India is to keep incentivising the development of such technologies and to use them properly. Strong patent protection is a crucial part of this process.
MC Dominic Editor-in-Chief
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International news
AG R I C U LT U R E
A NEW MODEL FOR COMMUNICATION IN PLANT CELLS IDENTIFIED
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new type of communication between plant cells, have identified by Researchers, according to the US study published in the Science journal. The study, led by University of Maryland (UMD) researchers, has shown proteins of many plant cells, resemble Glutamate Receptors(GLRs) which help to relay nerve signals from one neuron to another in animals.
on another group of proteins, called “cornichon” proteins, to shuttle GLRs to different locations and regulate GLR activity within each cell.
Plants use these proteins to orchestrate mating, dictate growth patterns and trigger defense mechanisms. Researchers experimented with Arabidopsis thaliana pollen cells and found that GLRs relied
With the help of cornichon proteins, GLRs act as valves that carefully manage the concentration of calcium ions, a vital aspect of many cell communication pathways within various structures inside the cell, the study found. The similarities between GLRs and animal glutamate receptors suggest that the proteins date back to a common ancestor or a single-celled organism that gave rise to both animals and plants
ZIMBABWE LAUNCHES THREE HYBRID SEEDS
RAW FRUITS, VEGGIES CAN IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH
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ecently in Zimbabwe, the new cotton hybrid seeds produced by Quton Seed Company and Indian Agricultural Firm Mahyco launched to revive the cotton sector which was badly affected by high production costs and low prices. The hybrids are Mahyco C571, Mahyco C567, and Mahyco C608. Despite cotton being one of the major foreign currency earners in the country, its production had been reduced in the past due to high production costs and low producer prices paid by ginners. This forced most farmers to abandon the crop and move to tobacco and maize, which fetch more on the market. Zimbabwe Government says it is committed to reviving the cotton sector, which had been negatively affected by high production costs and low prices. The Government has indicated willingness to offer competitive prices to farmers to ensure viability as this year Government is expecting a huge jump in cotton production. The launch of the new cotton hybrids indicates Quinton’s new partnership with its major investor Mahyco.
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ating raw fruits and vegetables may enhance your mental health than cooked ones. Raw fruits and vegetables such as kiwis, bananas, apples, dark leafy greens, cucumber, and carrots may lower symptoms of depression, more than cooked, canned and processed food, says a new study by the University of Otago, New Zealand. The findings showed that consuming raw fruits and vegetables leads to improved levels of psychological well-being including a positive mood and life satisfaction. However, when the fruits and vegetables are cooked, canned and processed, they lose their mental health benefits as the process potentially diminishes the nutrient levels. The researchers said that it may be due to the fact that many fruits and vegetables have more nutrients in their natural state and that those nutrients may have a positive impact on mood and brain chemistry. For the study more than 400 young adults from New Zealand and the US aged 18 to 25 years were surveyed. However, the study found that for mental health in particular, it may also be important to consider the way in which produce was prepared and consumed. The researchers say their findings are important because most current health guidelines do not distinguish between raw and cooked or canned fruits and vegetables.
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EGGS NOT LINKED TO CARDIOVASCULAR RISK DESPITE CONFLICTING ADVICE
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ccording to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ,eating up to 12 eggs per week for a year did not increase cardiovascular risk factors in people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The study was conducted in order to help people clearing up conflicting dietary advice around egg consumption. In the initial trial, participants aimed to maintain their weight while embarking on a high-egg (12 eggs per week) or low-egg (less than two eggs per week) diet, with no difference in cardiovascular risk markers identified at the end of three months. The same participants then embarked on a weight loss diet for an additional three months, while continuing their high or low egg consumption. For a further six months up to 12 months in total, participants were followed up by researchers and continued their high or low egg intake. At all stages, both groups showed no adverse changes in cardiovascular risk markers and achieved equivalent weight loss regardless of their level of egg consumption. The extended study tracked a broad range of cardiovascular risk factors including cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure, with no significant difference in results between the high egg and low egg groups. While eggs themselves are high in dietary cholesterol and people with type 2 diabetes tend to have higher levels of the ‘bad’ low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol -- this study supports existing research that shows consumption of eggs has little effect on the levels of cholesterol in the blood of the people eating it.
PLANTS ‘TALK TO’ EACH OTHER THROUGH THEIR ROOTS Plants use their roots to “listen in” on their neighbours, according to research that adds to evidence that plants have their own unique forms of communication. The study found that plants in a crowded environment secrete chemicals into the soil that prompt their neighbours to grow more aggressively, presumably to avoid being left in the shade. The study published in the journal PLOS One ,focused on corn seedlings, which tend to boost growth in a stressed environment. Previously, scientists have shown that when plant leaves are touched as they brush up against the leaves and branches of neighbours ,they alter their growth strategies. Mature trees have been seen to experience “canopy shyness” and rein in their growth under crowded conditions. Others take a more combative approach, diverting resources from root growth to expand more rapidly above ground. The latest study reveals that this behaviour is driven, not just by mechanical cues picked up by leaves, but by chemical secretions in the soil. The possibility that plants communicate has surfaced periodically as a crackpot idea – in the 1980s it was suggested that trees send out electrical pulses, called W-waves, when their neighbours were chopped down. However, in recent years, fresh evidence has emerged that plants are constantly sending and receiving signals that scientists are now learning to eavesdrop on. Compiled by Asha Sadasiv
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National news
AG R I C U LT U R E
CENTRE APPROVED CONTINUATION OF ‘KRISHONNATI YOJANA’
WATER SCARCITY: PUNJAB PROMOTES PAU RICE VARIETY
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n order to reduce water usage and avoid stubble burning, the state agriculture department is promoting PR 126, a short-duration rice variety developed by Punjab Agriculture Department. The PR 126 attains height of 102 cm and matures in 123-125 days. The variety is resistant to seven different bacterial blight pathogens and yields 30 quintals of paddy per acre. Groundwater depletion in Punjab is alarmingly high due to widespread exploitation of groundwater for growing paddy. Usually, paddy, a key kharif crop, is sown over 29-30 lakh hectares in the state. This year the area under paddy is likely to witness an increase as farmers had earned higher remuneration in the last paddy season.
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he Central government has approved the continuation of Green RevolutionKrishonnati Yojana, an umbrella programme in agriculture sector, for two more years as part of its objective to double farmers’ income by 2022. The programme comprises of 11 schemes to develop the agriculture and allied sector in a holistic and scientific manner to increase the income of farmers by enhancing production, productivity and better returns on produce. The scheme, launched last year, was approved for continuation beyond the 12th Plan. It will get the Centre’s share of Rs 33,279 crore for three years -- 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
BIHAR FARMERS TO GET DIGITAL PAYMENTS FOR PRODUCTS
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entre for Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) is collaborating with Bihar Agriculture Growth and Reform Initiative (BAGRI) to implement the KANCHI (Kisan Advancement through Cashless Innovations) platform in 11 districts of Bihar. The project was officially inaugurated by Gavin McGillivray, India Head, Department for International Development (DFID) - UK, with the implementation in the Dumraon Farm Producer Company (DFPCL) FPO in Buxar, Bihar. KANCHI is a cost effective digital solution to maximize cashless transactions in agriculture and facilitate small and marginal farmers in securing credit from formal financial institutions by building their financial history. KANCHI is currently being used by 14 FPOs in Tamil Nadu and more than 8,800 farmers have been registered on the platform. Since April 2017, using KANCHI, over Rs 3 million has been directly transferred into the bank accounts of 219 marginal farmers for selling milk at the aggregation centres in Tamil Nadu. 10
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INDIAN BANK SHIFTING FOCUS TO AGRICULTURE & MSME SECTORS Public sector lender Indian Bank is planning to shift focus from the corporate sector to the risk-prone agriculture, retail and MSME (RAM) industries. According to the bank CEO, agriculture as a sector may be risk-prone, but the returns are way higher than the returns from corporates. Now the bank gets nearly 2 per cent more than the standard 7.8 per cent, 1.5 per cent comes from
Central government subsidies and about 50 bps from Basel. Bank claims that it is becoming risk averse by diversifying into the RAM sector which has seen a growth of 26.12 per cent this year. The bank has also set a target of three per cent net interest margin, which will be aided by retail, agriculture, MSME and corporate clients.
CENTRE TO EASE CREDIT NORMS FOR SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMERS The centre has made the lending norms easier in schemes such as the Kisan Credit Card for small and marginal farmers, a group which constitutes over 90% of agricultural population. The aim is to cut their dependence on informal private lenders. According to the new guidelines, standard security requirements like hypothecation of crops are not required for loans of up to Rs1 lakh. This is also applicable to loans taken through the Kisan Credit Card, which allows land-holding farmers to meet short-term credit requirements. The government also aims to boost institutional credit disbursed through scheduled commercial banks, cooperatives and regional rural banks to farmers as these loans are crucial for them to purchase various agri inputs like fertilizers and irrigation equipment. Under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, small farmers can also apply for loans ranging from Rs10, 000 to Rs 50,000 for post-harvest warehousing needs and setting up of small-scale dairy and poultry farms. For this, branch managers have been empowered to disburse the amount based on their assessment and without relating it to the value of land owned by the farmer.
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National news
AG R I C U LT U R E
RYTHU BANDHU:
TELANGANA LAND OWNING FARMERS TO GET RS 4, 000 PER ACRE
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midst a lot of criticism for not including tenant farmers in the state, Telangana government has introduced Rythu Bandhu, a scheme to provide financial assistance to land-owning farmers for rabi and kharif seasons and issued special passbooks for them. Under the scheme, the farmers will get �4,000 each per acre in the kharif and rabi seasons to take care of the credit needs ahead of the farm seasons. The State Government has allocated �12,000 crore for the scheme in the Budget for 2018-19. Nearly 58 lakh farmers are expected to receive cheques as part of the programme over the coming three months. They will also be given ‘Pattadar’ pass books, which the government claims has 17 unique security features, as one single proof of ownership. The government also claims that this scheme will result a paradigm shift in state agriculture sector.
INDIAN TEA RECORDS HIGHEST EVER PRODUCTION
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ndian tea industry has recorded the highest ever production as well as exports in FY18. The total tea production was 1325.05 million kgs, an increase of 74.56 million kgs as compared to 2016-17. In percentage terms it is around 6 percent. In 2016-17, India produced 1,250.49 million kg of tea. Similarly, the total quantity of tea exports during the 2017-18 fiscal increased by 28.94 million kg or 12.71 per cent as compared to the last corresponding period. The tea exports stood at 227.63 million kg in 2016-17. The growth in exports was majorly driven by five countries - Egypt (7.49 million kg), Iran 6.95 million kg), Pakistan (4.96 million kg), China (2.91 million kg) and Russia (2.89 million kg). The earlier record for the highest quantity of tea exports was during the financial year 1976-77 when the total quantity exported was 242.42 million kg.
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FARM BODY URGES CENTRE TO BAN TOXIC INSECTICIDES The special task force constituted to tackle the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra has urged the Centre to accept the state government’s proposal to ban toxic insecticides. The demand comes in the wake of several cases of farmers’ deaths in Vidarbha region due to pesticide poisoning last year. The petition described that last year more than 60 farmers died in the state due to inhalation of poisonous pesticides while spraying the chemicals. Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought the Centre’s response on a plea seeking a ban on all pesticides that have been prohibited by other countries. The petition alleged that at least 93 pesticides used in India have been banned by other countries and an additional six more are used in India that have been either withdrawn or restricted by other nations.
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Company news/ corporate news A G R I C U L T U R E
ACADIAN SEAPLANTS OPENS SEA PLANTS PROCESSING FACILITY IN INDIA Canadian company Acadian Seaplants Limited, the parent company of Acadian Plant Health™ (APH) has established a wholly owned subsidiary company in India, Acadian Seaplants India Private Limited, and opened a processing facility in collaboration with a local partner Standard Pesticides, at Vadodara, Gujarat. According to the company, the products made at this facility will have a positive effect on increasing Indian farms’ productivity in a sustainable way and will support the Indian government’s initiative of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 and improving soil health. In celebration, India Post issued a commemorative postal stamp that features Perry Bevin, Acadian Seaplants’ Chief Financial Officer, who had the honour of cutting the ribbon during the factory’s opening ceremony.
COCA-COLA TO LAUNCH 10 PRODUCTS IN INDIA THIS YEAR Beverages major Coca-Cola plans to launch 10 new products in India this year, through its incubator that will tap insights from consumer feedback.
NESTLE & STARBUCKS LINKS UP FOR GLOBAL COFFEE ALLIANCE Swiss based food giant Nestle and Seattle based Starbucks are teaming up to create a global coffee alliance. As per the agreement Nestle will pay Starbucks $7.15 billion for the rights to sell its coffee beans directly to consumers through supermarkets and other food shops around the world.
“The idea of the incubator is to ensure that we can do many products,” said Coca-Cola India and South West Asia President T Krishnakumar. He further said, “Our present target is to really first try 10 products a year and then eventually want to scale up 25 or 30 products because we see whole lot of activity happening in the market.” Besides, the company would also come out with a range of products in the dairy segment. Now the company has a team in India and Shanghai at China, which can turn the consumer insight into a consumer product in just 12 weeks and then quickly get footprints of 30 per cent of its national distribution.
Nestlé is already big in coffee - it owns the Nescafe and Nespresso brands - and the company said this agreement would boost its market position in North America, while giving it more opportunities to sell premium range coffee to consumers overseas. At the same time, for Starbucks, the deal will increase its global presence as the company’s coffee beans and grounded blends will be sold through Nestle’s substantial channels in food retail, such as supermarkets and corner shops. The deal, which needs approval from regulators, is expected to complete by the end of the year. 14
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SKM LAUNCHES READY TO EAT EGG WHITE CUBE SKM Egg Products Exports (India) Ltd, India’s largest producer of egg products, introduced Best Egg White Cube, a novel product in the domestic market. Claimed as the first such product in India, the Egg White Cube made from chicken egg white, has been developed in house by the company and can be used in various dishes and is also ready-to-eat. A serving of 100 gm Egg White Cube provides 14 gm of natural egg white protein. It is available through online and in retail outlets and the packs are priced at Rs. 50 for 100 gm, Rs. 100 for 200 gm, Rs. 240 for 500 gm and Rs. 480 for 1 kg. This premium is currently available in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and will be expanded to pan-India in a phased manner. SKM processes 1.8 million eggs every day in its EU certified plant and exports to 27 countries.
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MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA TO SET UP AGRI RESEARCH CENTRE IN US Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the world’s largest tractor manufacturer plans to set up a Mahindra Ag Tech Centre in US at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. The company said that the research facility will focus on creating technology products for the North American agriculture market. Currently, M&M is ranked third in the 0-120 HP category of tractors in the US. M&M’s farm equipment business intends to tap into the US technology ecosystem at Virginia Tech in two ways. The first is to establish a hi-tech R&D facility at Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC). The second is to collaborate with Virginia Tech researchers on technology projects to develop new generation farm equipment and work on the latest in technology that envisions grape-picking robots and tractors that communicate with GPS systems and repair shops. The Mahindra AgTech Centre will complement the work being done in product development centres at Mahindra Research Valley in India, Japan and Finland to create product solutions for farmers globally. Mahindra North America has eight facilities for assembling, distributing and manufacturing tractors and utility vehicles in North America.
NITI AAYOG, IBM TIE UP FOR CROP-YIELD PREDICTION
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ITI Aayog has signed a Statement of Intent with information technology firm IBM to develop a crop-yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real-time advisories to farmers in backward districts. The partnership aims to use technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield and control agricultural inputs with the
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overarching goal of improving farmers’ income. First phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 aspirational districts in the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest and disease outbreak based on advanced AI innovations.
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Probiotics
AG R I C U LT U R E
Probiotics The Functional food beneficial for health
Indu Panchal*1, Sandeep Kumar Duhan1 and Ruby Siwach1 Assistant Professor, College of Dairy Science and Technology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences *Corresponding author: indupanchal33@gmail.com
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robiotics are living microorganisms, when consumed in adequate amounts, give a demonstrated health benefit. The root of the word probiotic came in the early 20th century from the Greek word pro whose meaning is promoting and biotic meaning is life. Elie Metchnikoff was to be known as the father of probiotics. He had observed that rural habitants in Bulgaria lived to very old ages despite extreme poverty and harsh climate. He found that health could be enhanced and age can be delayed by manipulating the intestinal microbiome with host-friendly bacteria found in sour milk. It is only been since about the mid-1990s that people have wanted to know more about probiotics and their health benefits. Probiotics
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are believed to play very important roles in regulating proper intestinal function and digestion by balancing intestinal microflora. There is some scientific evidence also which have been proved that some illness or diseases can be treated and even prevented with foods and supplements containing certain kinds of live bacteria (probiotics). Therefore, Doctors often recommend them for digestive problems. Probiotics can be found in everything from yogurt to chocolate. Northern Europeans consume a lot of these beneficial microorganisms called probiotics because of their tradition of eating foods fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt. Probiotic-laced beverages are also big business in Japan. Good digestion is essential for children as well
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Probiotics are believed to play very important roles in regulating proper intestinal function and digestion by balancing intestinal microflora. There is some scientific evidence also which have been proved that some illness or diseases can be treated and even prevented with foods and supplements containing certain kinds of live bacteria or probiotics.
as aged, as around 70 percent of our overall immunity (immune cells) lies there. So a healthy digestive system is a key to good health and longevity. An unbalanced diet, high stress, less sleep, and lack of daily exercise which are becoming common day by day can all put your digestive system out of balance, which then gives harmful bacteria the opportunity to multiply. Probiotics can help balance your “good” and “bad” bacteria and in this way, they can play an important role in improving our digestion system and overall health in today’s hectic life.
How Probiotics Work Researchers are trying to figure out exactly how probiotics work. Each of us has more than 1000 different types of bacteria that live in our diges-
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tive tracts, helping us to break down food and absorb nutrients. These bacteria can be both beneficial and harmful to us. Digestive experts agree that the balance of gut flora should be approximately 85 percent good bacteria and 15 percent bad bacteria. If this ratio gets out of balance, the condition is known as dysbiosis, which means there is an imbalance of too much of a certain type of microorganisms that is affecting the body in a negative way. Antibiotics play an imperative roll in disturbing this balance as these medicines are meant to kill illness-causing bacteria but eventually kills the healthy intestinal flora also which disturbs the balance between good and bad bacteria. As per Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study, it was found that about 30 percent of the patients suffered
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Probiotics
AG R I C U LT U R E
from diarrhoea after taking antibiotic medicine while some patients experience gastrointestinal distress. As a result, doctors commonly prescribe taking probiotics to “repopulate” the digestive tract with healthful bacteria. The study found that it was a viable solution for many.
Types of Probiotics Many types of bacteria are classified as probiotics. They all have different benefits, but most come from two groups Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Lactobacillus: This may be the most common probiotic, which is present in yogurt and other fermented foods. Different strains can help with diarrhoea and may help with people who are unable to digest lactose, the sugar in milk. Bifidobacterium: This type of bacteria’s is present in some dairy products. It may help ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and some other conditions.
Health benefits of probiotics
In spite of several benefits, probiotics are not widely accepted due to lack of enough solid evidence to recommend their widespread use. Better studies are needed to test specific strains for specific conditions and to determine the proper doses and regimens.
Probiotics are often called good bacteria because they keep your gut healthy. Some common diseases which can be treated with probiotics are: •
Irritable bowel syndrome
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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Infectious diarrhea (caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites) •
Antibiotic-related diarrhea
There is also some research to show they help with problems in other parts of your body. For example •
Boosting immune system.
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Prevent and treat urinary tract infections.
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Improve digestive function.
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Heal inflammatory bowel conditions like IBS.
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Manage and prevent eczema in children.
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Fight food-borne illnesses.
Where is it found? Probiotics are normally consumed in fermented foods with active live cultures such as yogurt. However, tablets, capsules, powders, and sachets containing the bacteria in freeze-dried form are also available. Some of the foods that contain natural probiotics are yoghurt, kefir, cheeses, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh and some soy beverages. There are also products available which are probiotic-fortified such as juices, chocolates, flour, and cereal. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates probiotics like foods supplements, not like drugs. Unlike drug companies, makers of probiot18
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ic supplements do not have to show their products are safe or that they work. In general, probiotic foods and supplements are thought to be safe for healthy people, short-term side effects may include mild gas and bloating. But, if there is any immune-compromised, have certain bowel problems or are seriously ill in other ways, avoid probiotics unless the doctor has approved their use. Probiotics should be used cautiously by pregnant women, infants, and young children and never given to pre-
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mature infants. Probiotics are a promising field of research and used to treat or help prevent many disorders. In spite of several benefits, probiotics are not widely accepted due to lack of enough solid evidence to recommend their widespread use. Vague claims that probiotics “support good digestive health� are meaningless. Larger, longer and better studies are needed to test specific strains for specific conditions and to determine the proper doses and regimens.
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water security
AG R I C U LT U R E
WATER FOOTPRINT A POINTER TOWARDS WATER SECURITY
Dr. Shalini Pillai, P* & Vinod Mavarkar
*Professor, Department of Agronomy, Kerala Agricultural University, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 522, Kerala, India
T
he concept of “ecological footprint” was formally introduced in the 1990s (Wackernagel et al., 1999). Since then, many different footprints have been created as complementary to the ecological footprint. These include the energy footprint (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996), water footprint (Hoekstra and Hung, 2002), carbon footprint (Wiedmann and Minx, 2008), biodiversity footprint (Yaap et al., 2010), chemical footprint (Panko and Hitchcock, 2011), phosphorus footprint (Wang et al., 2011), nitrogen footprint (Leach et al., 2012), and so on. The ecological, energy, carbon and water foot prints are the most important footprint indicators because of their close relation with the four worldwide concerns i.e., food security, energy security, climate security and water security. Water, water everywhere not a drop to drink Freshwater is a scarce resource. Its annual availability is limited and demand is growing. 20
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Only 2.5 per cent of Earth’s water is fresh water. Almost all of it is locked up in ice and in the ground. Thus only a little more than 1.2 per cent of all freshwater is surface water. Most of the surface water is present as ice and another 20.9 per cent is in lakes. Rivers make up 0.49 per cent of surface freshwater (US Geological Survey, 2015). The Falkenmark indicator is a measurement of water stress. It is defined as the fraction of the total annual runoff available for human use. The index thresholds 1,700m3and 1000m3 per capita per year are used as the thresholds between water stressed and scarce areas, respectively (Falkenmark, 1989). Thus, as per international norms, a country can be categorized as ‘water stressed’ when water availability is less than 1700 m3 per capita per year whereas classified as ‘water scarce’ if it is less than 1000 m3 per capita per year. India now is a water stressed country and the threat to become water scarce country looms ahead. www.krishijagran.com
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FAO states that by 2025, 1.9 billion people will face absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world population could be under water stress conditions.
Water scarcity Water scarcity is either the lack of enough water (quantity) or lack of access to safe water (quality). It currently affects around 2.8 billion people around the world, on all continents, at least one month out of every year and more than 1.2 billion people lack the access to clean drinking water. The world’s water resources are rapidly running dry creating a global crisis for every living being on the planet. One billion i.e., nearly 1/6th of the world’s population are already facing water shortages on a daily basis (FAO, 2015). The United Nations’ FAO states that by 2025, 1.9 billion people will face absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world population could be under water stress conditions. Physical and economical water scarcity The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) conducted a water scarcity assessment on a global scale based on the availability of renewable freshwater resources for human requirements. They categorized countries as “physically www.krishijagran.com
water scarce” when more than 75 per cent of river flows are withdrawn for agriculture, industry, and domestic purposes. This implies that dry areas are not necessarily water scarce. Indicators of physical water scarcity include: acute environmental degradation, diminishing groundwater and water allocations that support some sectors over others (Molden, 2007). Countries having adequate renewable resources with less than 25 per cent of water from rivers withdrawn for human purposes, but needing to make significant improvements in existing water infrastructure to make such resources available for use, are considered “economically water scarce” (Seckleret al., 1998). Water footprint Human activities consume and pollute a lot of water. At a global scale, most of the water use occurs in agricultural production, but there are also substantial water volumes consumed and polluted in the industrial and domestic sectors (WWAP, 2009). Water consumption and pollution can be associated with specific activities, such as irrigation, bathing, washing, cleaning, cooling JUNE 2018
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and processing. Total water consumption and pollution are generally regarded as the sum of a multitude of independent water demanding and polluting activities. The concept of ‘water footprint’ was introduced by Hoekstra (2002) and subsequently explained by Hoekstra and Chapagain (2008). The water footprint of a product is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the product (Hoekstra et al., 2009) or it is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed or polluted. The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that looks not only at direct water use of a consumer or producer, but also at the indirect water use. The water footprint of a product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured over the full supply chain. It is a multidimensional indicator, showing water consumption volumes by source and polluted volumes by type of pollution; all components of a total water footprint are specified geographically and temporally. The water footprint of a process is expressed as water volume per unit of time. When divided over the quantity of product that results from the process (product units per unit of time), it can also be expressed as water volume per product unit. The water footprint of a product is always expressed as water volume per product unit.
Components of water footprint Green water footprint The green water footprint is an indicator of the human use of the green water. Green water refers to the precipitation on land that is stored in the
Table 1. Water footprint of rice produced (m3t-1) in the 13 major rice-producing countries (2000–2004)
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India
2020
Indonesia
1187
soil or temporarily stays on top of the soil or vegetation. This part of precipitation evaporates or transpires through plants. The green water footprint is the volume of rainwater consumed during the production process. Green water consumption in agriculture can be estimated using empirical formulae or crop models suitable for estimating evapotranspiration based on input data on climate, soil and crop characteristics.
Bangladesh
1228
Blue water footprint The blue water footprint is an indicator of consumptive use of the blue water (surface or groundwater). Evaporation is more significant and is usually equated with consumptive use. All production related evaporation are included - water that evaporates during water storage (for example, from artificial water reservoirs), transport (eg. from open canals), processing (eg. evaporation of heated water that is not recollected) and collection and disposal (eg. from drainage canals, wastewater treatment plants).
Countries
Total water footprint (m3t-1)
China
971
Vietnam
638
Thailand
1617
Myanmar
1274
Japan
802
Philippines
1345
Brazil
1521
USA
1163
Korea
829
Pakistan
2874
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Projected year
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Per capita surface water availability (m3)
1951
5200
1991
2309
2001
1902
2010
1588
2025
1401
2050
1191
(Source: Water Resources at a Glance 2011 Report)
Per capita surface water availability in India
Table 2 Global average water footprint of primary crop categories (1996–2005) Primary Crop Category
Water footprint (m3 t-1) Green
Blue
Grey
Total
Sugar Crops
130
52
15
197
Fodder Crops
207
27
20
253
Vegetables
194
43
85
322
Roots and tubers
327
16
43
387
Fruits
727
147
93
967
Cereals
1232
228
184
1644
Oil crops
2023
220
121
2364
Tobacco
2021
205
700
2925
Fibres, Vegetal origin
3375
163
300
3837
Pulses
3180
141
734
4055
Spices
5872
744
432
7048
Nuts
7016
1367
680
9063
Rubber, gums, waxes
12964
361
422
13748
Hoekstra et al. (2011) www.krishijagran.com
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water security
Table 3 Water footprint of animals (1996-2005) Animal category
Average annual water footprint per animal (m3/year)
Beef cattle
630
Dairy cattle
2056
Pig
520
Broiler chicken
26
Layer chicken
33
Horse
1599
Sheep
68
Goat
32
Grey water footprint The grey water footprint is the degree of freshwater pollution associated with a process. It is defined as the volume of freshwater that is required to assimilate the load of pollutants based on natural background concentrations and existing ambient water quality standards. It is expressed in terms of the volume of water that is required to dilute pollutants such that they become harmless.
Water footprint of nation The water footprint of a nation is defined as the total amount of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation.The water footprint of a nation has two components. The internal water footprint is defined as the water use within the country in so far it is used to produce goods and services consumed by the national population. The external water footprint of a country is defined as the annual volume of water resources used in other countries to produce goods and services imported into and consumed in the country considered. The global average WF is 1385 m3/capita/year. The water footprint of USA, China and India has been estimated to be 2842, 1071 and 1089 m3/capita/year respectively (Hoekstra, 2014). The reason for higher WF in USA is the higher consumption of water for industrial purpose. In the case of China, the higher water productivity compensates for the higher water use.
Water footprint of products The water footprint of a product is defined as the total volume of fresh water that is used directly or indirectly to produce the product. It is estimated by considering water consumption and pollution in all steps of the production chain. The accounting procedure is similar to all sorts of products, be it products derived from the agricultural, industrial or service sector. The water footprint of a product breaks down into green, blue and grey components. An alternative term for the water footprint of a product is its ‘virtual-water 24
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content’, but the meaning of the latter term is narrower. The terms virtual-water content and embedded water, however, refer to the water volume embodied in the product alone, while the term ‘water footprint’ refers not only to the volume, but also to the sort of water that was used (green, blue, and grey) and to when and where the water was used. The water footprint of coffee (140 L cup-1, based on use of 7 gram of roasted coffee per cup) is much larger than the water footprint of tea (27 L cup-1, based on use of 3 gram of black tea per cup). Oel and Hoekstra (2010) reported that to produce one A4-sheet of paper, 10 L water was required. The water footprints of juices vary from tomato juice (270 m3 ton�1), grapefruit juice (675 m3 ton�1), orange juice (1000 m3 ton�1) and apple juice (1100 m3 ton�1) to pineapple juice (1300 m3 ton�1). Globally, rain-fed agriculture has a water footprint of 5173Gm3 yr�1 (91% green, 9% grey); irrigated agriculture has a water footprint of 2230Gm3 yr�1 (48% green, 40% blue, 12% grey). The water footprints of crops vary across countries and regions as well. This is mainly due to differences in crop yields. The water footprints of www.krishijagran.com
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Water-wise production and consumption practices will help to reduce the water footprint. Even a change in the consumption pattern by substituting a specific consumer product with a large WF with another having a smaller WF, could be thought of
Table 4 Water footprint of two different diets in industrial countries Meat diet Kcal/day
Litre/Kcal
Vegetarian diet Litre/day
Kcal/day
Litre/Kcal
Litre/day
Animal origin
950
2.5
2375
300
2.5
750
Vegetable origin
2450
0.5
1225
3100
0.5
1550
3600
3400
Total 3400 Source: Hoekstra (2012) different crops vary according to the farming system and the climatic condition prevailing there. The water footprint of a crop, to a large extent, is influenced by agricultural management rather than by the agro-climate under which the crop is grown and that cannot be influenced by the farmer. This provides an opportunity to improve water productivity, i.e., to produce more food per unit of water consumption.
Water footprint of farm animals and animal products In general, animal products have a larger water footprint per tonne of product than crops. From a fresh water resource perspective, it appears www.krishijagran.com
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more efficient to obtain calories, protein and fat through crop products than animal products. Most of the water footprint comes from the animal feed and the animal drinking water only accounts for a minor share. Three key parameters affect the water footprint of animals: feed conversion efficiency of the animal, feed composition and feed origin. Thus the nature of the production system – whether grazing, mixed or industrial – is important because it has an effect on all three parameters. Among the meat products the WF has been estimated to be in the order of beef (15,500 l kg-1) > sheep meat (10,412 L kg-1) > goat meat (4521 L kg-1) > chicken (3364 L kg-1). The global average JUNE 2018
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The ecological, energy, carbon, and water foot prints are the most important footprint indicators because of their close relation with the four worldwide concerns i.e. food security, energy security, climate security and water security. water footprint of whole cow milk is about 940 liters/kg. About 28% of this amount is allocated to the butter that is derived from the whole milk and the remaining 72% to skim milk. One kilogram of whole milk gives about 50 gram of butter, so that the water footprint of butter is 5550 litre/ kg. Although beef cattle, sheep and goat require much more feed per unit of meat produced than pig and broiler chicken, the fraction of concentrate feed in the total feed is much larger for the latter .Since concentrate feed has a larger water footprint per unit of weight than roughages. The water footprints of the different sorts of meat are closer than one would expect on the basis of feed conversion efficiencies alone. One third of the global water footprint of animal production is related to beef cattle. Consumers can reduce their water footprint through reducing the volume of their meat consumption. Alternatively, however, or in addition, consumers can reduce their water footprint by being more selective in the choice of which piece of meat they pick. Chickens are less water intensive than cows and beef from one production system cannot be compared in terms of associated water impacts to beef from another production system. Grazing livestock depends on local rain, while factory-farm livestock often relates to blue water consumption and pollution elsewhere.
Water footprint of consumer It refers to the total volume of water utilized for the production of the goods and services consumed. Thus the WF of a consumer is equal to the sum of the water footprints of all goods and services consumed.Dimensions of a water footprint volume of a consumer include, where and when and the types of water used, as green, blue and grey (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2011). •
About 3% of our WF is at home (150 L day-1)
•
About 97% ‘invisible’ (products we buy in the supermarket)
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3400 L day-1 for agricultural products
•
1100 L day-1 for industrial products.
•
About 60 to 65% of our WF lies abroad.
Water footprint of business The water footprint of a business is the total volume of fresh water that is used directly and indirectly to run and support a business. The water footprint of a business consists of two components: the direct water use by the producer, for producing/manufacturing 26
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AG R I C U LT U R E
The water footprint of a product is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the product or it is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed or polluted. and supporting activities, and the indirect water use, i.e. the water use in the producer’s supply chain. The ‘water footprint of a business’ is the same as the total ‘water footprint of the business output products’. Most companies have a larger supply chain water footprint than their operational water footprint. A classic example is the WF of Coca Cola, which makes a demand of 36 litres of fresh water to produce 0.5 litres of cola in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles (Hills, 2005).
Ways to reduce green and blue water footprint •
Reduced tillage, which promotes increased water-use efficiency.
•
Increase land productivity by improving agricultural practice; since the rain on the field remains the same, water productivity will increase and the green water footprint will reduce.
•
Advanced irrigation methods with higher water application efficiency
•
Rain water Harvesting.
Ways to reduce grey water footprint The grey water footprint can be reduced to zero through organic agriculture. It can be lowered substantially by applying less chemicals and employing better techniques and timing of application. In theory, the grey water footprint can be brought back to zero through organic farming. In practice, it will be quite a challenge and require substantial time before all conventional farming can be replaced by organic farming. •
Apply less or no chemicals (artificial fertilizers, pesticides), e.g. organic farming.
•
Apply fertilizers or compost in a form that allows easy uptake, so leaching is reduced.
•
Prevent soil erosion.
•
Optimize the timing and technique of adding chemicals.
•
Adopt “3R principle” for industrial use.
Water-wise production and consumption practices will help to reduce the water footprint. Even a change in the consumption pattern by substituting a specific consumer product with a large WF with another having a smaller WF, could be thought of. Considering the shrinking fresh water sources and the increasing water demand, water foot printing is an effective and wise means for managing the globe’s water resources. Water is for all generations to come, so conserve it, value it and love it www.krishijagran.com
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Super foods
AG R I C U LT U R E
TWO SUPER FOOD CROPS OF GRAVITAS Dr. B. Sasikumar
Email:sasikumarsooranadu@gmail.com
Quinoa Quinoa, pronounced as keen-wa (Chenopodium quinoa) and Chia (Salvia hispanica) are two super food crops entered India recently. Grown for the seeds, both the crops are spreading across the country steadily and farmers and nutritionists are excited about the prospects of these psuedocereals. No gainsaying! Today the entire world roots for quinoa as it is a force multiplier for health. Quinoa being an excellent source of antioxidants, minerals, amino acids and fibre is a medicinal diet recommended for cardiovascular problems, obesity, diabetics and 28
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even cancer. Icing on the cake is that quinoa is gluten free! Gluten, a protein found in cereals like wheat, is allergic to many populations and many people now routinely scout for gluten free food products. Quinoa, belonging to the Amaranth family, has been a staple food crop of the indigenous people of Peru, Bolivia etc., first domesticated by the Andean peoples around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago but remained relatively obscure or a sort of terra incognita to the rest of the world. The Incas, who held the crop sacred, referred to it as chisoya mama or mother of all grains. However, today quinoa is no more arcane and found across the world super www.krishijagran.com
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Quinoa being an excellent source of antioxidants, minerals, amino acids and fibre is a medicinal diet recommended for cardiovascular problems, obesity, diabetics and even cancer markets and it is cultivated in many nations such as US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan, and China . In India the crop is now cultivated in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra etc. Recently, the Horticultural Department of Uttarakhand has signed an MOU with Peru for scientific production of the commodity in the state. Quinoa may be a suitable crop for the Attappadi area in Kerala.
best temperature for cultivating quinoa is around 18-200 C, although it withstands temperature from -8 to 39 0C. Both direct seeding and transplanting are practiced in quinoa cultivation. Seed rate can be 15-20kg/ha. Seeds are sown during May. Crop duration is 3-4months.The crop responds well to both organic and inorganic manures and fertilizers and for better yield, integrated application of these nutrients is recommended.
Between 2006 and 2013, quinoa prices tripled. In 2011, the average price was US$3,115 per ton with some varieties selling as high as $8,000 per ton. This compares with wheat prices of $9 per bushel (about US$340 per ton), making wheat about 1/10 the value. However, after 2015 there has been a price fall due to over production.In recognition of the ancestral practices of the Andean people and its increasing popularity, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the International Year of Quinoa, adding burnish to its credibility .
Harvesting is done by whole plant cutting. Harvested plants are left in the field for 35-40 days and threshed thereafter by thrashing on the ground or beaten with sticks or trampled by bullocks. A yield of about 500-1500 kg/ha can be expected. Improved varieties better suited to Indian conditions are now being developed by some research centres in the country.
Quinoa is a hardy plant that can be grown up to 4000 meters from sea level. Sandy loam soils with good drainage will be ideal to grow the crop. The
The price of quinoa in the country now is about Rs.100/- per kg while the current international rate is US$ 1.10 per pound.
Few star hotels at Jaipur and Mumbai now have quinoa products in their menu card including breakfast items, chappathi etc.
Shivappa at his Chia plot www.krishijagran.com
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AG R I C U LT U R E
Chia, an annual herb (1.75 meters tall) of the Mint family, is a native of Mexico and Guatemala and is one of best sources of Omega 3 fatty acid.
Chia Chia, an annual herb (1.75 meters tall) of the Mint family, is a native of Mexico and Guatemala and is one of best sources of Omega 3 fatty acid. White and black varieties are there. Chia grain is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. The grains yield 25–30% extractable oil, including alpha-linolenic acid. It is also a good source of protein and fibres. In India, chia cultivation perhaps first started in Karnataka state few years back. In Karnataka, Mysuru, HD Kote and nearby places are now the hub of chia production and is fast replacing tobacco and ragi. Chia is raised as a transplanted crop with irrigation. As per a recent report, farmers in the region, on an average, harvest about 8-10 quintals of ragi per acre and the cultivation costs range
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between `10,000 and `15,000. For chia, the cultivation costs are around `15,000/acre, whereas the yield is 3 quintals/acre for the white variety and about 5 quintals for the black variety. But ragi fetches only around `2,500 per quintal, whereas white chia gets `22,500! Mr. Shivappa, a small farmer from Bidrahalli village, Mysuru says “Last year, I grew the black chia variety, which fetched a lower price of around `8,000 per quintal. But this year, I am hoping to earn double that of what I got last year with the white variety”. Mr.Madappa , a large farmer in Bidarahalli, Mysuru too is in an upbeat mood as now there is no problem of marketing of chia with the stepping in of the Mysuru based Raitha Mitra Farmer’s Producer Company. The company buys back the produce from the farmers and export to Singapore, Malaysia and even the United States, besides selling them to domes-
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High returns, low cost of production, less water consumption, short duration (90 days) and lack of pests are the primary reasons attracting farmers to chia cultivation tic customers. Raitha Mithra has also set up a processing unit at Mysuru where the seeds are cleaned and packed. High returns, low cost of production, less water consumption, short duration (90 days) and lack of pests are the primary reasons attracting farmers to chia cultivation. Quino and chia account for more than 100 acres in Mysuru and nearby places at present. In our country both these crops are promoted by the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru. The Institute not only supports
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the farmers with inputs/production tips but also researches on its processing and product diversification. From chocolates enriched with puffed quinoa and crispy chia seeds (break fast items) to quinoa laddu, CFTRI is looking to take many of its innovative food products to the consumers. For starters, protein enriched and Omega-3 enriched chocobars, developed by CFTRI, is expected to hit the shelves by this year. These chocobars are being made and marketed by Campco Ltd. Efforts are also a foot on introduction of chia and quinoa products in the school mid-day meal programmes by CFTRI.
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Banana propagation
AG R I C U LT U R E
IN-VITRO PROPAGATION OF BANANA
R.S. Sengar and Ankita Trivedi
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agri. & Technology, Modipuram, Meerut-250110 (Email: sengar65@gmail.com)
B
anana is the most popular fresh fruit all over the world and its name comes from the Arabic word ‘banan’, which means finger. The scientific name of Banana is Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. But the old
scientific names of banana are Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiacal. Bananas are rich source of carbohydrates and potassium. These are the first choice of athletes owing to its high energy potential. It is also an important source of trade
Top 10 producers of Banana
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The varietal characteristics of commercially grown Banana are given below VARIETY
CHARACTERISTICS
GRAND NAINE
It is the popular international variety. It is a tall statured plant and a heavy yielder with long cylindrical bunch. On an average it produces a bunch weighing 25 kg and may go up to 32-35 kg, with 8-10 hands with 200-220 fruits/bunch. The length of the fruit is 15-21 cm and girth is 12-13 cm.
ROBUSTA
It is normal statured with black brown blotches on the stem, bunches weigh around 20 kg having 8-10 hands/bunch. The length of the fruit is in the range of 15-20 cm and girth is about 12 cm with thick fruit skin.
DWARF CAVENDISH
The plant stature is dwarf. Dark black brown blotches appear all along the stem. Bunches are large with compactly arranged 8-10 hands weighing about 20kg. Length of fruit is about 13-14 cm and girth is about 8-10 cm. Skin is thick and the fruit gradually tapers towards the tip. It is not fit for export.
RED BANANA
The plant is tall and robust statured. The colour of the fruit, pseudostem, petiole and midrib is purplish red. The bunch weight is around 20-25 kg with 6-7 hands and 80fruits/bunch. The length of the fruit is around 16-18 cm.
NENDRAN
There is a considerable diversity in plant stature. Bunch has 5-6 hands weighing about 6-12 kg. Fruits have a distinct neck with thick green skin turning buff yellow on ripening. Fruits remain starchy even on ripening. Top 10 Banana producing states in India
In India, banana crop accounts for 2.8 per cent of agricultural GDP. It is an important crop for subsistence of farmers and ensures year round security for food or income.
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Banana propagation
AG R I C U LT U R E
BSV and income. To safeguard sustainable banana production and generate wealth for smallholder farmers, high quality planting material is crucial. Banana was first domesticated in the tropical regions of South East Asia. Banana is a nutritious gold mine. Its high Vitamin B6 content helps fight infection and is essential for the synthesis of ‘heme’, the iron containing pigment of hemoglobin. The fruit is also rich in potassium and a great source of fiber too. In recent years, considering the adverse impact of indiscriminate use of chemicals, new trend of organic banana production has been adopted
BBMV
BBTV
worldwide. A novel name, i.e. “Green Foods” for this has been coined. Banana is one of the world’s most important food crops. In India, banana crop accounts for 2.8 per cent of agricultural GDP. It is an important crop for subsistence of farmers and ensures year round security for food or income. Banana and Plantains (Musa spp.) are some of the earliest crop plants having been domesticated by humans. Bananas are consumed as ripe fruit, whereas plantains, which remain starchy even when fully ripe, need cooking for palatability and consumption. Irrespective of their commercial status, banana and plantains are referred as ‘Poor
Fig.: Flow chart for production of quality planting material of banana through tissue culture.
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man’s apple’. Banana is globally ranked fourth, next to rice, wheat and maize in terms of gross value of production. It is a major staple food crop for millions of people as well as provides income through local and international trade. Among the starchy staple food crops, banana ranks third with respect to the total production. Though cassava and sweet potato are positioned as first and second, banana and plantain have almost equal importance in all the tropical regions of the world. Many cultivars are consumed fresh as dessert fruit, while a great number of culinary varieties are used in hundreds of recipes based on cooking Bananas and plantains.
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Problems of Banana Production Conventionally, banana is grown as a perennial crop where the plant is allowed to produce continuous shoots from a subterranean stem. The decline in yields is seen after three to five years which increases rapidly after ten to fifteen years. There is a need of shift to cyclic replacement with a new plantation comprising cycles of one crop and one ratoon. Banana production is limited by vulnerable number of biotic and abiotic stresses particularly among small and marginal farmers with limited resources. Natural calamities such as typhoons,
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Banana propagation
AG R I C U LT U R E
Fig.: Culture Technique for Banana micropropagation: a) Sword sucker (explant) b) Shoot initiation c) Multiple shooting d ) Rooting e ) Hardening of plantlets (nursery) floods, droughts and occasional volcanic eruptions cause devastating losses in banana production. The demand for clean planting material is increasing due to consequent need for fresh seedlings at regular intervals. BBTV (Banana bunchy top virus), CMV (Cucumber mosaic virus), BSV (Banana streak virus) and BBMV (Banana bract mosaic virus) are the four most important virus diseases affecting bananas.
Disease and pest pressure on bananas is unlikely to lessen in the foreseeable future. Development of tissue culture technology has been the foundation of high quality, disease free planting material production at a mass scale, particularly in vegetatively propagated crops.
Micropropagation It is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock
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Banana production is limited by vulnerable number of biotic and abiotic stresses particularly among small and marginal farmers with limited resources. plant material to produce a large number of progeny plants, using modern plant culture methods. Micropropagation is used to multiply noble plants such as those that have been genetically modified or bred through conventional plant breeding methods.It is also used to provide a sufficient number of plantlets for planting from a stock plant which does not produce seeds, or does not respond well to vegetative reproduction. A sucker is detached from the nursery parent plant and brought to a laboratory where the outside tissue is pared away until only the growing point remains inside a plug of 10 mmÂł. This is placed in a jar on agar containing a nutrient solution in a sterile environment and under controlled conditions of temperature and light. The growing point subdivides into several shoots, which are subdivided and re-established on fresh agar. This process is called sub-culturing. The sub culturing, continues about five or eight times (one month per sub-culture) until approximately 1000 plants are produced from one original growing point. These plants are then transferred to a rooting medium and when fully rooted, they are www.krishijagran.com
transferred from in vitro conditions (sterile under glass) to in vivo conditions (seedling trays in a greenhouse environment). After 6 to 8 weeks, the 5 cm plants are relocated from the greenhouse trays to nursery bags in a netted shade house. After another 6 to 8 weeks, the 20 cm plants are ready for planting out in the field. The entire process from excavating the original sucker to planting out 200 mm plants in the field takes about 10 months. The environments of plants growing in tissue culture and those in a greenhouse are very different. Differences include physical parameters such as, lighting, both quantity and quality; relative humidity; nutrients and other growth promoters; the gaseous composition; and the medium substrate. Not only physical parameters, even difference in rooting conditions are also seen. In greenhouses, a high-auxin quick dip is used for rooting cuttings. This contrasts to in vitro rooting where a low auxin concentration is available over several weeks in a poorly aerated, gelled medium. Therefore, it is not surprising that the transfer of plantlets, whether rooted or not, from the tissue culture environment to the greenhouse causes tissue stress and is often associated with slow JUNE 2018
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Banana propagation
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Development of tissue culture technology has been the foundation of high quality, disease free planting material production at a mass scale, particularly in vegetatively propagated crops. growth and significant plant losses. In- vitro culture results in the formation of plantlets of abnormal morphology, anatomy and physiology. After ex vitro transfer, these plantlets might easily be impaired by sudden changes in environmental conditions and so need a period of acclimatization to correct the abnormalities. For micro propagation, development of successful hardening technique is prerequisite. Hardening accounts for about 60% of the total production cost. Many computer based acclimatization units are available nowadays, but at high cost. Therefore, an efficient and cost-effective acclimatization technique is necessary for raising in-vitro plantlets.
Ideal tissue culture raised plant An ideal tissue culture raised plant should:
be 30 cm in height and have a pseudostem circumference of 5.0-6.0 cm after 60 days of total hardening
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have 4-5 photosynthetically active leaves and inter-foliar space must be not less than 5.0 cm
have approximately 25-30 more than 15 cm active roots at the end of secondary hardening
be free from any visual symptoms of leaf spot, pseudostem rot and physical deformations
be free from root pathogens like Erwinia, nematode lesions and root knots
random checking of roots is essential to ensure health of plantation.
Advantages of micropropagation in banana A. Rapid multiplication The rate of multiplication in banana is restricted to 5-20 suckers per plant during its growth period, www.krishijagran.com
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Micro propagation is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock plant material to produce a large number of progeny plants, using modern plant culture methods.
which makes it difficult to obtain sufficient amount of planting material of a clone of choice. Micropropagation facilitates ,production of large number of plantlets/unit time, thus helping in rapid introduction and dissemination of new varieties. B. Requirement of limited mother stock The rapid multiplication technology ensures that limited number of mother plants are required for raising large number of progeny plants. These few mother plants can be maintained with required care at a limited cost. C. Product uniformity Being a vegetative reproduction method, micropropagation results a high degree of genotypic and phenotypic uniformity of the progeny plants. The limited variation sometimes can be overcome by following appropriate micropropagation, genetic fidelity testing and routing protocols. D. Season independent production In conventional field propagation, the production of suckers is highly season dependent and hence, availability of planting material in a given season is often a limiting factor. The planting season in most of the banana production areas starts with the onset of monsoon, which creates a heavy demand for the planting material often leading to supply of substandard material. Using www.krishijagran.com
micropropagation, the production of planting material can be achieved as per needs. E. Agronomic advantages Micropropagated plants exhibit uniform growth and maturity enabling one time harvesting. The once over harvest provides a gain of 60-70 days which allows the farmers to take a short duration legume crop that adds to the income and soil fertility. It also saves on labour and energy for transportation. These are major concerns of the growers. F. Production of disease free planting material Using tissue culture, it is possible to develop planting material which is free from sucker borne diseases and pests. Use of healthy planting material complemented with integrated pest management program is the key to a good crop stand in field. G. Plant exchange Production of plants in test tubes facilitates safe movement and easy handling of germplasm between laboratories within and across countries. H. High returns Since the micropropagation based progeny is genotypically and phenotypically similar to the mother plant, which is often a superior selection, the yield and returns are expectedly higher.
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Wild jack fruit
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Aini, (Anjili) is a tall evergreen tree generally 20-25 m in height and up to 5 m in girth. The fruits are edible one, bright yellow, over or globosem covered with spines. The tree is endemic to the Western Ghats and is grown in many parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Wild Jackfruit: a ‘little’ more than jackfruit Suresh Muthukulam Editor, Krishi Jagran Malayalam
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fter the State animal, bird, flower, and fish Kerala is all set to get its ‘official fruit’ now. And it is none other than jackfruit, the largest treeborne fruit known for its distinctive taste and aroma. But a close relative of common jackfruit named wild jackfruit or wild jack is being forgotten conveniently in spite of its delicacy and yummy taste. Like the jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Anjili chakka is Artocarpus hirustus which belongs to the same family Moraceae and same genus Artocarpus. The term ‘hirustus’ refers to the hair like growth on the skin of the fruit. Wild jackfruit once had a vital place in the traditional kitchens too.
la. This can grow in altitudes ranging from sea level to an elevation of 1000 m in places with an annual rainfall of 1500 mm or more.
Aini, (Anjili) is a tall evergreen tree generally 20-25 m in height and up to 5 m in girth. The fruits are edible one, bright yellow, over or globosem covered with spines. The tree is endemic to the Western Ghats and is grown in many parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. This tropical evergreen tree species is native to India, especially Kera-
Anjili fruit can be easily distinguished from the common jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus, by the smaller sized edible fruits. The fruits are syncarps and very sweet. The most wonderful thing about this fruit is that it can easily be peeled like an orange. It is also without any sticky gum. The thin layer of flesh that covers its nut is tasty. The edible portion
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The tree is monoecious bearing both male and female inflorescence on the same tree; male and female inflorescences are solitary, borne on axillary leafy twigs; male inflorescence is cylindrical in shape while female inflorescence is ovoid. The yellow to orange fruit, which is up to 8cm across and 400gm in weight varies in shape from round to ellipsoid and is covered with closely set rigid protuberances which are pointed. The Fruit
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is smaller, thinner and ripening yellow. The birds and the squirrels love the fruit and play an important role in propagating the tree. Ripe fruits are cooling in nature and rich in phenyl compounds, including flavnoids, stilbenoids, arylbezofurons and Jaealin, a lectin. Apart from this the unripe fruit which is sour and astringent is used as an aphrodisiae. Unripe fruit is used for making pickles and also as a vegetable. The ovoid white seeds inside the fruit are usually used as an ingredient in snacks. Roasted seeds powder mixed with honey is used for the treatment of asthma. Roasted seed can also be eaten. The seeds contain 16-17 percent of oil. Oil from the seeds can be used for the treatment of skin diseases. Oil is extracted from the seeds by boiling them in water for 15 minutes. Once it cools, water with these seeds is kept for a day. The oil appeared on the surface is collected and can be applied on the skin for the treatment of various skin ailments. The oil is also used in the preparation of local medicines. The Tree The tree is almost as strong as teak and possesses the advantage of lightness. The grains are interlocked and textured with blackish brown colour. It can be used for all purposes for which teak is used either for boat building or for construction purpose or for making furniture and agricultural implements. Bodybuilding material for trucks and wheels in irrigation are still made of this wood in some places of Southwest India. The cost of the timber is very high. The tree is cut after 25 years of growth. The bark is effective in curing ulcers and diarrhea. An infusion of bark can cure skin problems like pimples and cracks. The powdered bark is also used to heal sores. The dried leaves are used to treat hydrocele. Leaves are used as fodder for elephants. In Ayurveda, the wild jack plant pacifies vitiated ‘vata’ (air quality present within the human body) and ‘pitta’ (bile within the body) anorexia, burning sensation and sexual weakness. Unripe fruit cause vitiation of tridosha (the three types of substances significant in balancing the body)
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Lac culture
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Lac is hardened resin secreted by tiny lac insects belonging to a bug family. To produce 1 kg of lac resin, around 300,000 insects lose their life.
LAC VALUABLE GIFT OF NATURE Dr. J. G. Dulera
Assistant Research Scientist, AINPVPM, Agril. Ornithology, AAU, Anand- 388110
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L
ac is a resinous exudation from the body of female scale insect. Since Vedic period, it has been in use in India. Its earliest reference is found in Atharva Veda. There, the insect is termed as ‘Laksha’ and its habit and behaviour are described. The great Indian epic ‘Mahabharata’ also mentions a ‘Laksha Griha’, an inflammable house of lac, cunningly constructed by ‘Kauravas’ through their architect ‘Purocha’ for the purpose of burning their great enemy ‘Pandavas’ alive. Since ancient times, Greeks and Romans were familiar with the use of lac. The cultivation of lac insects has a long history in Asia, with some suggestion that it is as old as 4000 years in China where its cultivation accompanied the development of the silk industry. Lac is nature’s gift to mankind and the only known commercial resin of animal origin. It is the hardened resin secreted by tiny lac insects belonging to a bug family. To produce 1 kg of lac resin, around 300,000 insects lose their life. The lac insects yield resin, lac dye, and lac wax. Application of these products has been changing with time. Lac resin, dye etc. still find extensive use in Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine. With increasing universal environment awareness, the importance of lac has assumed special relevance in the present age, is an eco-friendly, biodegradable and self-sustaining natural material.
WORLD Since lac insects are cultured on host trees which are grown primarily in wasteland areas, promotion of lac and its culture can help in eco-system development as well as reasonably high economic returns. It is a source of livelihood of tribal and poor inhabiting forest and sub-forest areas.
Distribution Since the lac insects thrive and feed on certain species of the tropical trees, it is found distributed in South-East Asian countries. Lac is currently produced in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaya, Lao and Yuan province of China. India and Thailand are main areas in the world, while India has prime position in relation to lac production. Lac cultivation is introduced into Thailand from India. Over 90% of Indian lac produced comes from the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Eastern Maharashtra and northern Orissa. Some pockets of lac cultivation also exist in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Mysore, Gujarat, and Mirzapur and Sonebhdra districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Lac Insect Lac insect is a minute crawling scale insect which inserts its suctorial proboscis into plant tissue, sucks juices, grows and secretes resinous lac from the body. Its own body ultimately gets covered with lac in the so-called ‘CELL’. Lac is secreted by insects for protection from predators. Male is red in colour and measures 1.2 - 1.5mm in length. The Lifecycle of lac insect takes about six months and consists of stages: egg, nymph instars, pupa, and adult. The lac insects have an ovoviviparous mode of reproduction. Female lays 200-500 ready to hatch eggs, i.e. the embryos are already fully developed in eggs when these are laid. Eggs hatch within a few hours of laying, and a crimson-red first in star nymph called crawlers come out. The crawler measures 0.6 x .25 mm in size. The emergence of the nymph is called swarming, and it may continue for five weeks. The nymphs crawl about on branches. On reaching soft succulent twigs, the nymphs settle down close together at the rate of 200-300 insects per square inch. At this stage, both male and female nymphs live on the sap of the trees. They insert their suctorial proboscis into plant tissue and suck the sap. After a day or so of settling, the nymphs start secreting resin from the glands distributed under the cuticle throughout the body, except mouth parts, breathing spiracles and anus. The resin secreted is semi-solid which hardens on exposure to air into a protective covering.
Host plants Host plants, palas, kusum, ber and khair are of major importance, while others are of regional and minor importance. It is also important to mention that the quality of lac is directly related to the host plant and to the strain of lac insects. Based on industrial parameters, kusumi lac is www.krishijagran.com
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Lac cultivation is done by putting brood lac on suitably prepared specific host plants. The quality of lac is directly related to the host plant and to the strain of lac insects.
better and fetches higher price in market. In this respect, ber tree as a potential kusumi lac host is already getting momentum. This host species is available in plenty and can supplement and fulfill the kusmi brood lac requirement in many areas.
Strains of lac insect In India, Lac insect is known to have two distinct strains: kusumi and rangeeni. The kusumi strain is grown on kusum or on other host plants using kusumi brood. The rageeni strain thrives on host plants other than kusum. The life cycle of lac insects take about six months, hence, two crops a year can be obtained. In case of kusumi strain, two crops are: i) Jethwi (June / July) and ii) Aghani (Jan. / Feb). In case of rangeeni, tow crops are i). Karrtiki (Oct. / Nov.) and ii) Baisakhi (May / June). The crops have been named after Hindi months during which these are harvested. The lac of rangeeni crops is harvested while it is still immature. Aghani and baisakhi of rangeeni strain are the main corps contributing about 90% of lac production, remaining 10% is contributed by kusumi crops. However, the kusumi crop lac is considered superior resin, because of the lighter colour of resin, and it fetches a better price.
Lac cultivation Lac cultivation is done by putting brood lac on suitably prepared specific host plants. The brood lac contains gravid females which are about to lay eggs to give birth to young larvae. After emergence from mother cells, the young larvae settle on fresh twigs of host plants, suck the plant sap and grow to form encrustations.
Harvesting of lac Harvesting is the process of collection of ready lac from host trees. It is done by cutting the lac encrusted twigs when is crop is mature. It may be of two types:a) In Immature harvesting, lac is collected before swarming, and lac thus obtained is known as 46
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‘ARI Lac’. The immature harvesting has drawbacks, as the lac insects may be damaged at the time of harvesting. However, in case of palas lac (Rangeeni lac), it is found that ARI Lac gives better production. Hence, ARI lac harvesting is recommended in case of palas only. b) In mature harvesting, lac is collected after swarming. The lac obtained is known as mature Lac. To know the exact date emergence and swarming of nymph, a simple visual method is adopted. A yellow spot develops on the posterior side of lac cell towards crop maturity. This spot spread forwards until it covers half of the cell. Cutting of twigs for harvest can be done at any time between the stages while yellow spot occupies one third to one half of the cell area. It is sometimes desirable to wait till the emergence of the first few nymphs. The harvesting periods of different crops are different. The kartiki crop is harvested in Oct. /Nov.; baisakhi, in May/June; aghani in Jan/Feb.; and jethwi, in June/July.
Composition of lac Lac resin- 68%, Lac wax- 6%, Lac dye-1-2%, others- 25%
Lac processing Stick lac Following harvest, lac encrustations are removed www.krishijagran.com
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from the twigs of the host plant by scraping. The raw lac thus obtained is known as raw or crude lac or scraped lac or stick lac. Seed lac The primary processing to seed lac soon after harvesting is necessary, because the storage of stick lac is more congenial for lump formation and breeding of storage pests, and thereby causing substantial loses and deterioration in quality of desired industrial parameters. The stick lac is crushed and sieved to remove sand and dust. Shellac The shellac is the name of the finished product and is commonly used across the world. Seed lac is processed into shellac by any of the three methods: handmade country process or heat process or solvent process.
Lac products and their use •
Lac dye is a mixture of anthroquinoid derivatives. It is traditionally used to color wool and silk.
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Lac wax is a mixture of higher alcohols, acids and their esters. It is used in polishes applied on shoes, floor, automobiles etc.,
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Food and confectionary, and drug tablet finishing, lipsticks, crayons etc. •
It is used in fruit coatings, e.g. for citrus fruits and apples, parting and glazing agents for sweets, marzipan, chocolate etc.
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It is used as a binder for mascara, nail varnish additive conditioning shampoo, film forming agent for hair spray, micro-encapsulation for perfumes.
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It is used for enteric (i.e. digestive juice-resistant) coatings for tablets and as odour barrier for dragées.
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It is used in the manufacturing of photographic material, lithographic ink and for stiffening felt and hat material.
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It is utilized in the preparation of gramophone records.
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Jewellers and goldsmiths use lac as a filling material in the hollows of ornaments.
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It is also used in the preparation of toys, buttons, pottery and artificial leather.
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It is also used commonly as sealing wax.
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Spices
PEPPER VINE
Cultivation on PFP Post
P
epper vine cultivation in Percolator Fertigation Post (PFP) is a novel and innovative model for high yield harvest of pepper. An organic farmer cum industrialist, Adv. Joby Sebastian from Kothamangalam, Ernakulam District of Kerala is the man behind this innovation. Using this technology, the Pepper vine will start yielding from the first year itself and also bear berries throughout the year like bush pepper. This is the unique speciality of this Virgo model. This method can be successfully used for dragon fruit, vanilla, vertical garden and other creeper plant cultivations. This Percolator Fertigation Post (PFP) provides a three-dimensional benefit for the farmer. 1) A Prosperous and super beneficial pepper vine cultivation. 2)
Effective Waste Management
3)
Cost less organic manure production
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Percolator Fertigation Post (PFP) Concrete cylinders developed in the porous concrete of 30cm height and 33 cm diameter is used for PFP posts. Its girth will be more than the size of a coconut tree. The outer surface of this cylinder is very rough and full of pores from outside to inside. For planting purpose, these cylinders can be kept one above the other to form a pillar-like structure. Cement mortar can be used to join the cylinder if needed. Initially, only three or four cylinders are needed and as the plant grows up we can top up this PFP structure with more cylinders up to 8 or 10 feet height. Care should be given that the first cylinder must be below 15 cm from ground level. Then fill this PFP post up to 80% with potting mixture consists of topsoil, cow dung, organic manure mixed with sand or coconut pith. Now plant three or four polybag pepper plants around the bottom of the PFP post as if we plant at the bottom of trees. Give sufficient manure before planting the pepper. This can be done by a www.krishijagran.com
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Using this technology, the Pepper vine will start yielding from the first year itself and also bear berries throughout the year like bush pepper. This can be successfully used for dragon fruit, vanilla, vertical garden and other creeper plant cultivations. farmer by himself. Irrigate the plants as and when necessary. As the plant grows, top up with more cylinders and fill potting mixture inside up to little below the top end. Give shade for the infant plant during summer. We can see a wonderful growth and within a period of one year, the pepper vine will start bearing berries. Unique Benefits of PFP Post This PFP post has multiple benefits for the plant
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growth. While raining or irrigating from the top, the water and manure will percolate through the pores of the PFP post which is supplied to the roots of pepper vine. At the same time, the roots of the pepper vine will go inside through the pores of the PFP post to take the water and nutrients from inside. This is an advanced fertigation technology. Here the pepper plant gets extra nutrition from each of the climber roots in addition to the water and manure from the bottom ground, as of conventional planting.
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Spices
PFP supported pepper vine will get plenty of sunlight and aeration in the absence of support tree canopy and no need to cut the branches of support tree for shade regulation which incur a lot of labour costs every year.
When each of the roots gets this water and manure, a progressive growth phenomenon will result. Cow dung slurry of manure can be applied to the rough surface of the PFP post while the infant plant grows up and that supplement an additional growth initially. The pores and the rough surface of the PFP post will help the roots to climb strongly and firmly on the post. Even if the plant is cut or destroyed from the bottom, it will grow up with its climber roots. The sunlight cannot directly enter inside the pores of the PFP posts. Thus it will not get heated up like ordinary concrete. When the water inside potting mixture evaporates through the pores of PFP post, the latent heat escapes from inside. Thus it cools the inside of PFP post. The plant will cover the PFP post fully and fluffy within a short period, and it will no way heats the PFP post but cools during summer. The roots will get abundance of air because a breathing exercise is happening inside the PFP post which activates the plant growth. When the roots of lateral shoots of pepper vine go inside the potting mixture in the PFP post through the pores, the plant shows the character of bush pepper. In this phenomenon, the pepper vine will sprout and bear berries throughout the year. Replenishing the organic manure and cow dung at intervals through the top of PFP post will supplement the depletion of nutrients inside the PFP. The advantages of PFP post are numerous The pepper vine will get plenty of sunlight and aeration in the absence of support tree canopy and no need to cut the branches of support tree for shade regulation which incur a lot of labour costs every year. Water and manure will not be shared between support tree and pepper vine, but wholly and only taken by the pepper vine. PFP post saves the farmer from the hardship and time delay in growing support trees which can be destroyed by winds or disease. Chances of spreading 50
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disease from the support tree can also be avoided. Here PFP post, more than the size of a coconut tree is ready to use. A support tree will take many years to attain this size of girth. This delay of several years for a farmer to get income from pepper can be avoided. During the rainy season, plenty of sunlight and aeration help the reduction of moisture and humidity at the bottom of the pepper plant. This avoids the pepper plant from fungus attack, root wilt and many other diseases. This Virgo model is very effective especially in the place where wild elephants and wild animals cause destruction to support trees. Harvesting is very easy from PFP Posts since the height is less and regulated. Even a lady worker can harvest the pepper berries with a small ladder. Nowadays, there is a shortage of labours to pluck pepper from higher trees and if available it will be at a very high cost. The pesticide and fungicide application is very easy and can be operated from the ground by the farmer himself. Here the harvesting cost and other cultivation expenses are very less except the initial cost which is a lifetime investment for more than 50 years. Labour cost www.krishijagran.com
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for cutting the branches of support tree is out of the question. The most important benefit of this PFP post is its durability. It will get a life of more than fifty years for sure. This post can be used for growing pepper vine cuttings for nursery purpose. If we cut the top shoots, it is an excellent planting material which starts bearing berries from the bottom during the same year itself. Collection of these shoots is easier because of the less height of the PFP post. Virgo model supports to practice high-density planting and mono-cropping. We can erect 100 PFP posts in 10 cents of land at a distance of two meters apart for pepper vine cultivation. (ie 1000 PFP posts/ Acre) In the third year, a harvest of 300kg (ie 3 kg/ plant) dry pepper can be reaped from 10 cents of land. Here the berries are of increased size, weight and quality. A PFP post erected on the courtyard of the house or even on the terrace can cater to the needs of a household. It is ornamental to the house and can be successfully and easily grown on the terrace. With the depleting soil properties and changing www.krishijagran.com
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climatic patterns, there comes the necessity to adopt advanced farming techniques to make agriculture profitable. Waste Management by PFP PFP post can be effectively used for aerobic composting of all bio-degradable waste. When the biowaste is deposited inside the PFP post along with fresh cow dung or other composting media having beneficial bacteria, it will become excellent organic manure within a short period of time. The composting is done by the presence of air coming through the pores of PFP post along with the moisture and bacteria inside. The organic manure inside PFP post will fertilize the pepper plant without any extra cost for manure, which results in wealth creation and solves the waste problem. Contact -Adv.Joby Sebastian, Kurisummoottil Virgo Industries ThattekkadP.O, 686681, Kothamangalam,Ernakulam (Dist), Kerala Mobile: 09048365013, e-mail: jobysebas@gmail.com JUNE 2018
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PUNJABI HOUSE AT TAMIL NADU V.R.Ajith Kumar Editor, Agriculture World
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r .Manmohan Singh is a popular name as the former Prime Minister of India, world-famous Economist and Indian National Congress leader. For people of Tamil Nadu, the name Manmohan Singh is that of another icon, who developed a remote land near Madurai to an orchard of mangoes, guava, amla, coconut and many varieties of horticulture products. It is a story on search for survival. Manmohan and friends from Chandigarh were traditional farmers of wheat and basmati rice and during the first decade of this century, many calamities made the farming a fire burn to their 52
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economy. Their mentor, Guruji Baba Iqubal Singh, who visited Rameswaram and nearby places advised Manmohan and friends, “ why can’t you try horticulture in Tamil Nadu, where the land is so cheap and fertile “. His inspiration made them visit many places in Rameswaram and Madurai and finally they choose Valandi village of Kamuthi taluka of Ramanathapuram district to settle and do farming. In 2007, they purchased more than 400 acres of land at the cost of Rs. 10,000/- per acre and began to explore on many varieties of fruits. Baba Iqubal Singh himself an agriculture scientist, www.krishijagran.com
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presently aged 95 gave all guidance and accordingly tried 7 types of fruits for farming and finally decided to focus on mango, guava, and gooseberry with minor farms of papaya, sapota, coconut, lemon etc. Dr. Arumugham, previously at Madurai Agriculture College gave good support for soil test and expert opinion on cultivation. He is presently a dean at Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore. Horticulture Department of Tamil Nadu had also given full support and subsidy for the cultivation of fruits. Manmohan thanks the district administration and the local people for the ardent support given to him for building his dream of making Akal farm into reality. Presently 15 people from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are working at the farm. Local people are also doing daily wage job. “Now, the Government policies made the local people lazy” observes Manmohan. Akal farm presently has 65 acres of mango orchard, in that the major varieties planted are Hamam, pasand, Banganappalli, Alphonsa, Maliga and Ratna. Amla plantation is in 20 acres and the hybrid varieties planted are Krishna and Kanchan –NA-7. The largest cultivation they have is that of guava. The variety planted is Lucknow -49 and it gives a very good yield. Once, former District Collector of Ramanathapuram Mr. Nandakumar visited the farm and later had a meeting with local farmers. Farmers www.krishijagran.com
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complained about shortage of water and then he asked sarcastically, whether Akal farm was bringing water from Punjab. Manmohan says, “we are lucky that we get very tasty water that of good quality from the bore wells. First, we made 20 bore wells, out of that 13 are working well and 9 were fitted with motors, 3 in mango orchards, 3 in guava plantations and 3 in amla plantations. Solar pumps were also fitted to save electricity. The water from the bores will come to a common well and from there pumped for drip irrigation. Irrigation path will change every three hours to get enough water to all plants.” Akal means “never die” and the enthusiasm of the team also never die. They are trying sapota, local badam, cashew, dates, custard apple, and jackfruit in addition to the main plantations of coconut, gooseberry, lemon, and mango. Akal farm has a small diary also of 10 cows. Cow dung, urine, and the food waste are used to prepare vermi compost and planning to start a separate farm for organic cultivation. “In the present climatic conditions, it is very difficult to go without pesticides and chemical fertilizers”, Manmohan says. “we are using the chemicals in a limited way as per the advice of the officials” The supervisors of Akal farm are Darshan Singh, Sarbjit Singh, Jaspal Singh and Gurudev Singh . All are very polite and positive and Darsan Singh is very fluent in Tamil language. He stays there with his family and the children are JUNE 2018
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studying in nearby school. The trip to Akal is really a thrilling farm tourism expedition.One can reach Akal farm from Madurai via Karapatti, Tiruchili, Kamudi and from Kamudi a single lane road, dilapidated in many places, leads you to Valandi village where Akal farm is established. To achieve good things, we have to work hard. Like that, to see such a garden, one has to take the pain of travel through that road in very hot and humid climate of Ramanathapuram. Manmohan collects quality seeds and seedlings from Salem for all varieties and he is happy with the seedlings he obtains. In the beginning, marketing was a problem. They loaded the fruits in pickups and went to Madurai and other places to sell. Now, people are coming to the place to fetch the products and get a reasonably good price also. In addition to the Tamil Nadu market, the products are now transporting to Delhi also. During the season, papaya yield is that of 3- 4 tons per day and the demand is good, he says.
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The hospitality that we got at the farm was exemplary. The introduction was done by Vishnu Chandran, the Sub Collector of Paramakudi and Asha Ajith, Sub Collector of Devakkottai was also with us to know on the farm. We were welcomed with tender coconut water, mango and guava. After a brief introduction, he explained on the history behind the farm. Then, we went on our vehicle to mango orchard and other farms and then had the lunch, after a short prayer at the small Gurudwara. The food was served in plates on the ground as it is the custom of Sikh community. Chapatti, dhal curry, curd and fried vegetables were so tasty then provided a full course of fruits that included mango, guava and banana and then buttermilk and green tea for the needy. All of the above is the inspiring words of the team to eat more. After the lunch, we visited guava plantations, the largest plantation of Akal farm and bid goodbye to the Akal team. It was around 4 O’clock in the evening. Contact: Manmohan Singh, Akal farm, Vallandi, Abiramam.P.O, Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram – 623601. M- 9500748711
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Livestock
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BLACK QUARTER D Aakanksha Tiwari1 and Pragya Joshi2
1Ph.D Scholar, G.B.P.U.A&T, Pantnagar, 2Ph.d Scholar, I.V.R.I, Izatnagar, Bareilly
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uminant livestock plays a very major role in national economy and hence their care and proper livelihood is of foremost importance. There are various diseases which affect our livestock severely and leads to fatal outcomes. Out of these diseases, one important disease is Blackleg/ Black quarter which is prevalent in mostly the southern parts of India. It is a major, economically important disease of ruminant livestock. It is a fatal disease leading to the death of the animal within 12-36 hrs. It is mainly seen in cattle and sometimes also in sheep. It is a severe disease with heavy mortality. Blackleg is also known as Black quarter, Quarter evil, Quarter ill, Rauschbrand, Gerausch and Charbon symptomatique. This disease was for the first time reported by Bollinger in 1875. He studied the tis56
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sues of dying cattle and observed microscopically a number of short bacteria. ETIOLOGY Blackleg is caused by Clostridium chauvoei, a Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped, histotoxic anaerobe that has strong hemolytic activity. It is difficult to isolate because of its vigorous motility and tendency to swarm on the surface of agar media. C. chauvoei is one of the most pathogenic species in genus Clostridium. The name Clostridium chauvoei was given in honour of the French veterinarian Auguste Chauveau. CLINICAL SIGNS The disease is characterized by high fever, crepitent www.krishijagran.com
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R DISEASE Black Quarter disease is characterized by high fever, crepitent swelling of the gluteal muscle of the ruminant, lameness, anorexia and reluctance to move. The affected muscles are dark red to black, dry and spongy, have a sweetish odour, and are infiltrated with small bubbles but little edema. swelling of the gluteal muscle of the ruminant, lameness, anorexia and reluctance to move. The affected muscles are dark red to black, dry and spongy, have a sweetish odour, and are infiltrated with small bubbles but little edema. TRANSMISSION The disease gets transmitted through the transfer of the spores. The spores of the bacterium are very resistant to adverse environmental stress. They can withstand high temperature (120°C for 10 min) and desiccation and are resistant to disinfectants. In soil, the spores can persist for a number of years. PATHOGENESIS In cattle, blackleg infection is endogenous. Lesions www.krishijagran.com
develop without any history of wounds, although bruising or excessive exercise may precipitate disease in some cases. Commonly, the animals that contract blackleg are of the beef breeds, in excellent health and gaining weight. Most cases are seen in cattle from 6–24 months old, but thrifty calves as young as 6 wk and cattle as old as 10–12 yr may also be affected. The disease usually occurs in summer and rainy season and is uncommon during the winter. In sheep, the disease is almost always the result of a wound infection and often follows some form of injury such as shearing cuts, docking or castration. It is an economically important disease amongst the marginal dairy farmers of India though preventable by vaccination, it occurs sporadically. The portal of JUNE 2018
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According to the report by Ministry of Animal husbandry, Fisheries and Diary, Government of India, there were 68 outbreaks, 547 attacks and 218 deaths in India due to BQ from January 2016 to October 2016 alone in cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. entry of this organism in cattle is through ingestion of bacterial spores originating from contaminated feed or soil. The ingested spores enter the circulation, upon essential anaerobic conditions (on muscle injury) spores germinate and multiply. The bacteria produce toxins, which in turn actively circulates in blood and causes damage such as severe necrotizing myositis locally in the skeletal muscle and systemic toxemia. DIAGNOSIS The first diagnostic point involves the description by the owner ie the history of sudden disease and death of the animal and lameness in limbs of the animal. Secondly, by the clinical signs crepitant swelling of the heavy gluteal muscles and lameness. Laboratory diagnosis includes demonstration of C. chauvoei in affected muscle. For confirmatory diagnosis by laboratory examination, samples should be collected from affected muscles, as soon after the death of the animal. The fluorescent antibody test for C. chauvoei is rapid and reliable. A PCR is available and reported to be very good for clinical samples, but not for environmental samples. Conventional isolation and identification of the organism on the basis of morphology, cultural characteristics, biochemical properties, pathogenicity tests, serological and molecular methods are practiced. Post mortem findings in cattle include dark, discoloured, swollen and rancid muscle upon incision of the affected area. A characteristic rancid butter odour emanates from 58
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the incised muscle. Upon Gram staining of the culture, the organism will appear as Gram positive rods when examined immediately following death of the animal, but after several hours, samples from the lesions on culturing and Gram staining will show more spores and pleomorphic forms. TREATMENT The rapid progression of B.Q. usually makes individual treatment useless. Though early antibiotic treatment (Penicillin and Oxytetracyclin) may help the animal to survive, but permanent deformity due to muscle destruction may prevail. B.Q. antiserum in large doses may also be given. PREVENTION AND CONTROL Alum precipitated B.Q. vaccine 5 ml subcut each year before rainy season should be given. Other measures may include isolation of infected animals, proper disposal of carcass to avoid contamination with spores, not allowing grazing in infected areas. According to the report by Ministry of Animal husbandry, Fisheries and Diary, Government of India, there were 68 outbreaks, 547 attacks and 218 deaths in India due to BQ from January 2016 to October 2016 alone in cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. In India, this deadly disease is widespread in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Proper and effective measures should be devised and practiced for its prevention and control
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Noble Seeds
AG R I C U LT U R E
NOBLE SEEDS
STANDS FOR EXCELLENT SERVICES AND QUALITY PRODUCTS
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he history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined greatly by different climates, cultures and technologies. However, all farming generally relies on techniques to expand and maintain the lands suitable for raising domesticated species. Agriculture is the only culture on the earth which doesn’t have an alternative. Globally, India is considered as the future market of vegetables as agriculture is transforming into a dynamic commercial industry, with growth rate of 12%. The agricultural sector is highly dependent on the availability and quality of seeds for a productive harvest. Therefore, in order to increase the quantity and quality of produce, efforts are made to introduce enhanced varieties of seeds with the help of advanced technology and modern agricultural methods. According to a latest report the Indian seeds market reached a value of more than US$ 3 Billion in 60
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2017 and now India has emerged as the fifth largest seed market across the globe. Noble Seeds is one of the premier R&D based Vegetable Seeds companies having corporate headquarter at Kundli, (Haryana), registered in the State of Delhi, India and R&D Technology HQ at Bangalore. Journey of Noble Seeds started in 2004 by four professionals with more than three decades of experience in seed industry, under the leadership of Lakshminarasimhaiah M.N with a view to put a smile on farmers’ face by providing hybrid vegetable seeds of higher yield, earliness, disease tolerance, better shelf life and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In its quest for quality, Noble Seeds is using stateof-the-art technology in its Bangalore R&D & QA Centre. The company has a passion for vegetable breeding. www.krishijagran.com
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Noble Seeds as name suggests will stand for its excellent service and quality products to the farmers using its latest technology.
ers and have very high impact on environment to ensure our seeds reach vegetable growers with the highest standards in terms of purity and vitality.
Noble seeds has established a very large farmer base in India. The firm is involved in Research, Production, Processing, Marketing, Export & Import of vegetable seeds. We have also established a high performing supply chain for seed production, processing, packaging and quality assurance, providing significant yield and cost advantage to farm-
Noble Seeds has its presence in wide spectrum of vegetable crops, but is primarily focused on selected crops like Tomato, Hot Pepper, Watermelon, Bitter gourd, Okra, Cucumber and Tropical Cauliflower. Apart from this we also constantly working on other crops like bottle gourd, sponge gourd, ridge gourd, radish, as of secondary importance.
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Its mission is to make quality and productive seeds for farmers and develop product in response to the needs of the end consumer. The vision is to achieve leadership through knowledge, scientific innovation and customer service to reach out in every part of the globe. Noble Seeds is guided by its vision to address important challenges faced by farmers, food/agri processors and consumers ensuring a “Million Smiles”
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Innovation being the heart of our business, our focus remains on Research and Development investing our major shares for R&D. The standing testimony for these are our major vegetable breeding centers in Bangalore, Delhi, Guntur & Nasik, reflecting our commitment towards the future of Indian farming and the need for broadening the scope of our research. Noble’s In-house R&D is highly appreciated & has received recognition from the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Govt. Of India since April, 2011 Company’s world class breeding and research programs are built on a blend of excellent germplasm, detailed market knowledge and creative skilled breeders. Noble seeds has taken a major step towards implementation of advanced agro techniques in R&D locations. Focus on breeding and pathology is one of the key steps taken mainly towards disease resistance, heat tolerance and other quality parameters. Noble Seeds is aiming to develop hybrids that are resistant to multiple diseases by incorporating many resistant genes to single hybrid. For facilitating the above, well-equipped pathology laboratory and state-of-the-art screening facilities in the form of Cubicles and Polyhouses are established. In addition to these there is bacterial wilt sick plot for tomato. Major focus is on Bacterial wilt and Late blight in tomato, Cucumber mosaic virus, Chilli veinal mottle virus and Powdery mildew in Hot pepper, Downy mildew and Cucumber mosaic virus in Cucumber, Leaf curl virus and Powdery mildew in bitter gourd and Yellow vein mosaic and Enation leaf curl virus in Okra. Noble seeds have developed GMS, CGMS, CMS sustenance in hot pepper, radish and cauliflower, gynoecious lines and hybrids in cucumbers and bitter gourds. Noble seeds, with an attitude of looking way forward towards the future has taken lead in the R&D division, developing double haploids’ in hot-pepper, cucumber and water melon. We are working on disease resistance breeding through marker-assisted breeding in tomato with Ty1, Ty2, Ty3-B, Ty4, TMV, Fusarium wilt and Nematode. In hot-pepper, the company is working on restorer gene, chilli-veinal mortal virus and cucumber mosaic virus and in cucumber working on downy 62
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mildew, The crucial tests like Grow Out Test (GOT), and the purity tests are conducted for parent seeds and commercial seeds. The final release of the commercial goods to the market are the ones which have undergone the purity test and proven to be around 98% pure. The breeder seeds and foundation seeds are given at most importance and supervised by senior crops breeders. The production team is responsible for the reproduction of seeds stock to optimize the production and use of advanced crop techniques and upgrade the quality of the products Company’s research disciplines facilitate, complement and accelerate the plant breeders’ work. Close cooperation is core to Integrated Breeding approach of the firm. The integration of various technologies is guaranteed per crop through Research and Development teams. Together with the breeders, these teams cover all the different research disciplines that are needed to create innovative and competitive products.
Production Commercial Seed production activity is handled by professionally qualified and experienced staffs with a production capacity of handling more than 3000 metric tons of seeds every year accelerating www.krishijagran.com
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WORLD packed with utmost care using modern machineries and experienced staff. Our testing methods are so accurate that every single seed is tested before it is dispatched to destinations. An error free operation & logistic method is adopted with the help of special software applications and a systematic working methodology. Noble Seeds believes not to compromise on quality continuing to deliver the best of the seeds at all times. We work on precision and perfection, taking utmost care from the procurement of seeds to the delivery of seeds.
Seed Storage Good seed storage is an important phase of processing and is essential to successful seed marketing. Proper storage preserves seed viability from harvest to sale and protects the producer, the processor and the user. Company has built a new high-tech cold storage facility with the help of latest technology & automation. The storage facility is capable of storing seeds up to seven years without loss germination and vigour. Noble Seeds has also adopted the bead drying technology for drying of economically important seeds for long term storage
SALES AND MARKETING The Principle of Sales as per Noble Seeds is the creation of demand supported by the product development professionals. The sales team headed by the National Sales Manager serves the channel members recruited by the company.
the growth towards 5000 MT per year. Adoption of strong production and processing methodology has led the way as a successful seed producer in the country. The production units are located in seven states of India with branch offices in Karnataka and Delhi. Noble Seeds enjoys a good customer relationship with production team, keeping in mind the security of the seeds and business and is growing every year Seed is the single most important input in crop production. It carries the genetic potential of the variety and determines the ultimate productivity along with other inputs. The main role of other inputs in crop production is to exploit the maximum genetic potentiality of the seed. Therefore, seed is and should always be the pre-requisite of any food security scheme.
PROCESSING AND PACKAGING “Noble Seeds Supply Chain is very much focused on its customers and its consumers and is passionate about quality. We want to work and improve the equity of our brands every day and working with customers to improve our service levels which is mandatory for us. Our mission is to become the best Supply Chain in the industry�. The seeds are
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The final Products are selected after three consecutive seasons’ trial reports which later undergo analysis for various parameters and are launched after the approval of the committee headed by Breeder. Market ahead and road map are also considered for the final selection. Considering the current needs, all the Marketing operations are Online helping the staff to place orders, track and generate the reports. Noble seeds organizes timely training to farmers on latest technologies & advancements in cultivation methods. Marketing is not just advertising, distribution or sales but an integrated management process involving employees at every level of business. Noble seeds has a very large base of more than 500 business partners across the country with 50 Marketing Development Executives under 5 profit centre leads working with farmers! Noble seeds private limited Research Wing is also working on many breeding projects for South African countries, Middle East and neighboring countries. The recent publications estimated growth of vegetable seeds industry to 8000 crore from present 3500 crore is a great opportunity for all good Research and development companies working in India! Noble Seeds Private limited ,major Indian seed brand, aims for global presence in the years to come! JUNE 2018
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Value chain
AG R I C U LT U R E
Value chain for small holder farmers in Agri-Nutri Aspects
V.Sangeetha1, Premlata Singh1, Satyapriya1, V.Lenin1, Sudipta Paul1 and Shivani Singh2 1 Scientists and 2 Senior Research Fellow, Division of Agricultural Extension ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012 Email: sangeeq@gmail.com
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he agriculture system in India has undergone rapid transformations over the past few decades particularly after the economic reforms of 1990s. The traditional way of food production is being restored by practices more parallel to mechanized processes, with greater co-ordination across farmers, processors, retailers, exporters and other stakeholders in the agriculture value chain (Kumar et al. 2011). A value chain in agriculture identifies the set of actors and activities that bring a basic agricultural product from production in the field to final consumption, where at each stage value is added to the products. The value chain will include all the input suppliers, technology delivering agencies,
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scientists indirectly engaged in developing appropriate technologies and extension officers who are involved in capacity building and providing various services to farmers. Even after the observant of all these aspects and so many orientation programs and initiatives being run, there are many lacunas in this sector. Moreover, agriculture sector is yet to realize its full potential. The sector currently accomplishes only 60 percent of yield for most crops, particularly in conventional ones. Yet for many crops, India does not have global scale processing facilities and these are identified but underutilized . But, on the other side, with steep rise in income of middle class, change in lifestyle, transformation in work www.krishijagran.com
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profiles and demography created a huge demand for high-value commodities and products, such as whole grains, millets, cereals, livestock products etc. Apart from these, changes in tastes, preferences and food-habit of Indian towards frozen and pre-cooked or ready-to-eat items have also been increased. The demand is increased, the values have been increased too but there are still many gaps which are not filled appropriately due to which the most imperative stakeholder is still suffering and these are our small holders and marginal farmers. In several rural development projects, predominantly pragmatic scenario in the farming is where marginal farmers are dependent on external societies and marketing of the produce is not well considered. The profit margins are mostly under severe pressure, often ensuing in failures. This situation is one of the most overriding problems for small holders and marginal farmers. The troubles of marginal farmers are lower scale of maneuver, obsolete technologies, less financial support, deprived information and communication linkages with the market and exploitation by the middlewww.krishijagran.com
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men. Agriculture in India and other developing countries often is characterized by dual value chains operating in parallel for the same product: one informal or traditional and the other formal or modern. Small holders are frequently involved in informal chains that deliver products to local middlemen and then to small local stores. Formal value chains can deliver the same product, usually in better or more uniform quality, from larger farms or more organized groups of small farmers to more commercial wholesalers and from there to supermarkets or exporters. This duality has been accentuated by the explosive growth of supermarkets in developing countries. It can limit many small producers to markets characterized by low-quality products, low prices and low returns for them. Hence, a frequent concern is to find ways to integrate small producers into more modern value chains, both domestic and export-oriented. Farmers must be trained in diversifying their production systems and also in some collective activities. Farmer produce companies like Maha anar and Mahagrapes are best examples for collective activities by small and marginal farmers. This JUNE 2018
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Value chain
The agri sector currently accomplishes only 60 percent of yield for most crops, particularly in conventional ones. Yet for many crops, India does not have global scale processing facilities and these are identified but underutilized.
also opens a huge opportunity in the expansion of domestic & internal market for conventional crops, such as millets.
Prospects of Value Chain In the case of modern integrated value chains, producers gain from increased knowledge, better quality and food safety, reduced costs and losses, higher sales and greater value-addition in production. However, there are trepidation about the capability of smallholders to adjust to the emerging environment because of several operational constraints they face in production and marketing. Value addition and efficient marketing determine
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the success of most of the production-oriented development programmes. Several studies have recommended that the poor will endure from this process (Elizabeth et al., 2000). Also, the recent investigations have brought in another side of the argument by suggesting that the emergence of modern food value chains has improved linkages between buyers and farmers in India, which have cast out to be profitable for the smallholders (Dries et al., 2004; Minten et al., 2007; Maertens and Swinnen, 2006; Birthal et al., 2007). However, the studies have also shown that the underutilized crops such as millets, jowar and many more conventional crops may play the role of game changer in context of value chain integration with
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agriculture. Development of agricultural sector has a strong impact on reducing poverty and enhancing food security as well but considering the factor that marginal farmers are a predominant percentage of it and certain changes in this value chain are needed to be worked on. Analysis of the value chain is needed to attain knowledge that can be applied to upgrade value chain activities for Nutritional evolution in Agriculture. Organization of agriculture along the value-chain focusing on nutrition framework is one of the ways to make the full potential of this sector present itself. All the different aspects of value chains in respect of cereals, pulses, millets, spices, cash crops, and underutilized crops, among others needed to be addressed.
Tech-Expertise Driven Approach Realization of current times is all about technology. Fact says that no matter how well-designed a product may be, lending to smallholder farmers in rural areas is a difficult commercial prospect. In order to enable a front-end technology, local strategic centers should be opened by government focused on one or more set of agri-stakeholders,
WORLD which can be referred to as “High impact points�, Customized approach specific to small and marginal farmers is needed to make the entire process simple and easy.
Focus on Nutri-oriented Value chains Along with increased income, understanding the links between value chains, nutrition and the overall business environment is also a matter of thought. Though it is complex, involving a range of actors working in agriculture, health and nutrition but it is desired to look forward to an improved and truly modified value chains for double benefits of small holders. However, value chain approaches can provide useful frameworks to bring new heights in development aspects for small owners along with that holding the potential to achieve improved nutritional outcomes by leveraging market-based systems. There is a need to understand what constraints prevent increased consumption of nutritious food, and which interventions are likely to be effective in alleviating these constraints while focusing on these so many conventional crops will be revived and the demand of healthified food can be fulfilled. This whole process in Value Chains for nutrition approach can be defined as the process of developing a strategy that addresses a set of nutrition problems through interventions within specific value chains. The general aim of the value chains for nutrition approach is to identify opportunities where chain actors benefit from the marketing of agricultural products with higher nutritional value, in particular focusing on those value chains that are most relevant to the poor. For Instance, in Uganda, a brewery strengthened the sorghum value chain by offering farmers production contracts with guaranteed prices along with quality requirements, which led many more farmers to grow the grain. Many other examples like this has been placed by developing countries, it is a grass root solution that is not just a good start towards Agri-Nutri connection but also the solution to market strategy development that tackles with most leading obscurity for small holders. Opportunities available in utilizing millets in Agriculture Value Chain Millets are imperative food crop in developing countries. Millet crops are not just very important crops with great characteristics but they are also known to be drought-resistant, resistant to pests and diseases, have short growing season as compared to other major cereals. They contain major and minor nutrients in remarkable amount. Studies have also proved that millet is a high-energy nutritious food to help in reducing malnutrition, nourishing the common population and to help in preventing and curing the diseases like obesity, diabetes, CVD, etc. The most advantageous thing is as it is a gluten-free food, it is a good substitute for celiac patients. Millet has many nutritious and medical functions reported. If there is any single
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Development of agricultural sector has a strong impact on reducing poverty and enhancing food security as well but considering the factor that marginal farmers are a predominant percentage of it and certain changes in this value chain are needed to be worked on.
factor that tilts the scales in favour of millets in the food and farming landscape, is its nutrition. By any nutritional parameters, millets are miles ahead of many other crops. Food processing techniques which are very traditional (such as decortications, milling, germination, fermentation, malting, roasting etc.) is generally used for preparation of food products of millets to improve their edible, nutritional, and sensory properties. But these techniques fail in market driven loom. There are certain unconstructive changes of millets which are not preventable due to industrial method of processing not being well developed compared to other cereal. There is lacuna not only in technology, but also in awareness and attention. However, when we look forward to millets as an economically viable alternative to our small holders, it cannot be done in a single day. Other millets which are ignored could be taken into account and many new products can be produced and introduced in markets, saving the cost and efforts. It will not just develop positive market links in value chain for small holders ,it will also tackle the malnutrition impact in poor. Dayakar Rao et al. have reported in their study that the technological backstopping of sorghum cultivation with end-product specific improved cultivars realized 51 per cent rise in incremental net income for the participating farmers.
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Quality of seeds and varieties is poor & it becomes inappropriate for the various uses. Improvement in quality and awareness are to be raised.
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Poor quality of product at harvest, with inconsistent size and coloration. To resolve it ,introduction to proper grading techniques are needed
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Adequate and affordable techniques and solution for poor post-harvest drying and storage will help in increasing the market quality.
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Sufficient market development per nutritional value of the product is desired.
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Suitable training and finance for improved post-harvest management.
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Development of appropriate partnerships between the main players and game owners.(Private, Public, Farmers, groups and NGOs)
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All the giants in industries should take stand in connecting small holder farmers directly to remove the middle men and it will increase benefit.
Strategies for linking small holder farmers to market Many marginal farmers or small farmers have qualms accessing local and regional agricultural markets. This issue must be addressed in order to tackle price volatility, reduce poverty and enable smallholders to help meet the growing demand for food. Small holder farmers could expand their profits if following solutions were found for value chain issues such as: 68
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Introduction of hassle free subsidies with lesser paperwork and guarantees.
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during off season. •
Small holder farmers should be given preference in big investment plans such as mega food parks.
While evaluating agribusinesses for smallholder farmers, it is essentially not only to identify the financial constraint but also to fill the other gaps involved in the entire value chain activities. But, before undertaking any activity, it’s necessary to invest time in developing intimate knowledge of value chains and buyer-seller relationships to gauge future business cash flow. Extensive surveys should be conducted about the transactional relationship between small holders or marginal farmers and aggregators, the tenure of the transaction cycle, as well as the dimensions of profit and risk in the value chain. Agriculture sector is not viewed just as a matter of production anymore, but as a holistic process ranging from technology development to solid-
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ifying linkages with markets. A value chain in agriculture is increasingly becoming a sophisticated sector, especially for smallholders who do not have access to comprehensive agricultural support services. The rapidly changing market requires a substantial shift in the current paradigm to accommodate consumer focus, supply chain relationships and public-private sector partnerships. In context of nutrition, it has been proved that millets are not just nutritious food but also as a great source of income for poor. Hence, the demand as per the agriculture value chain is not just economical but nutritionally dignified and well explored. A policy initiative to stimulate the paradigm change is required. This will lead to the redesign of support systems and the development of an understanding of stakeholders, including smallholder farmers, in the agricultural value chain. However, general constraints facing smallholder farmers in developing countries should be empha-
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There is a need to understand what constraints prevent increased consumption of nutritious food, and which interventions are likely to be effective in alleviating these constraints. While focusing on these, so many conventional crops will be revived and the demand of healthified food can be fulfilled sized and acknowledged prior to the implementation of policies or programmes with the objective of promoting value chain among them. This new emphasis is increasingly accompanied by making an allowance for all the factors and earlier talked High End Points in order to make smallholder farmers competent.
Elizabeth, M., Farina, M. and Reardon, T. (2000) Agrifood grades and standards in the extended mercosur: Their role in the changing agrifood system. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82 (5): 1170-1176.
References
Gómez, M. I., & Ricketts, K. D (2013). “Food value chain transformations in developing countries: selected hypotheses on nutritional implications”. Food Policy, 42, 139–150.
Birthal, Pratap S., Joshi, P.K. and Gulati, Ashok (2007) Vertical coordination in high-value food commodities:Implications for smallholders. In: Agricultural Diversification and Smallholders in South Asia, Eds :P.K. Joshi, Ashok Gulati and Ralph Cummings (Jr). Academic Foundation, New Delhi. Chauhan, D. Shrivastava, A.K. and S. Patra. (2010) Diversity of leafy vegetables used by tribal peoples of Chhattisgarh, India. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences 3(4):611-622. Dayakar Rao B, Sangappa, Vishala A D, Arlene Christina G D and Tonapi V A. 2016. Technologies of Millet Value Added Products. Centre of Excellence on Sorghum, ICAR-Indian institute of Millets Research. Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India. pp 48.ISBN81-89335-61-8. Dries, L., Reardon, T. and Swinnen, J. (2004) The rapid rise of supermarkets in central and eastern Europe: Implications for the agrifood sector and rural development. Development Policy Review, 22(5): 525-556.
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El-Sayed, A. F. M., Dickson, M. W. & El-Naggar, G. O. (2015). “Value chain analysis of the aquaculture feed sector in Egypt”. Aquaculture, 437, 92–101.
Johanson, Jan and Matsson, Lars-Gunner. 1987. “Interorganizational Relations in Industrial Systems: A Network Approach Compared with the Transaction-Cost Approach.” International Studies of Management and Organization 27(1): 34-48. Kumar P, Joshi, P. K. and Mittal, S (2016) Technologies for Intensification of Production and Uses of Grain Legumes for Nutritional Security. Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy, Millets Net in India (MINI).82 (5): 1541–53. Maertens, M. and Swinnen, J. (2006) Trade, standards and poverty: Evidence from Senegal, LICOS Discussion Paper No. 177, LICOS, Leuven. Minten, B., Randrianarison, L. and Swinnen, J. (2007) Global retail chains and poor farmers: Evidence form Madagascar. LICOS Discussion Paper No. 164, LICOS, Leuven.
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Articles invited ultural innovaarticles on agric s, success s ite inv ld or W griculture ch finding nologies, resear s ( Agriculture, Hortions, new tech ld fie us rio va and s from stories of farmer ,Food technology c) et s rie he Fis of, s, iry ist Da , nt ry ie ult sc Po m e, ticultur ed subjects fro lat s re ad al he ur e ult at ric lists, corpor all types of ag students, journa publish specials as , s er ch ar se re ficials, ning to ions . We are plan and R&D institut follows. July 2018– Tea getable oils August 2018- Ve – Diary September 2018 Tuber crops October 2018– – Fisheries November 2018 – Sugarcane December 2018 Cotton January 2019 – Rubber – February 2019 Jute ing March – 2019 – les for the com and general artic ate news and all ial ec sp th bo it or We solic on corp ovations ted a new page issues. We star send details of inn to d te th of every es qu re e ar Os 15 re PR e fo at corpor d on or be at page. uts from your en and creative inp orporate relevant content in th s with rd inc wo ll wi 00 e 20 W . month imum of articles with max authors profile and passKindly send the t, phs on the subjec itor@krishijagran.com quality photogra to awed or th au e th of o port size phot
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KRISHI JAGRAN in Agritech Israel 2018
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rishi Jagran, India’s largest Agri rural magazine participated in the 20th edition of Agritech Israel held at Tel Aviv from May 8th to 10,2018. Agritech Israel is one of the world’s most important exhibitions in the field of agricultural technologies, innovations and food processing. Around 3000 professionals belonging to various industries like dairy, irrigation, organic farming, fertilizers, pesticides, water harvesting attended the event at Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Centre in Tel Aviv. The largest delegation of government officials and representatives attended from India, Spain, Russia, Thailand and China. M.C.Dominic , Managing Editor of Krishi Jagran was also a part of the Indian delegation and the magazine was the media partner to the event . Agriculture World, the English publication of Krishi jagran published a special on Israel agriculture, diary, water conservation, terrace farming and many more with an interview of the Israel Ambassador Mr. Daniel Carmon. 11 Regional editions also carried the Interview and major stories. The participants in the event appreciated the initiative of Krishi Jagran. Agritech, Israel’s International Agricultural Science and Technology Exhibition is held once in every 72
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three years. The professional conference, held within the framework of the exhibition, was devoted entirely to the challenges related to agriculture on the edge of the desert and its achievements. Dr. Uri Yermiyahu, from the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO-Volcani Institute), spearheaded the conference with industrialists, professionals, academics, farmers and the growers. The exhibition and the seminars once again proved that Israel will continue to be the trailblazer when it comes to professional innovations. A special area, the “Innovation Pavilion” was being dedicated to display the latest developments and most innovative technology in the Israeli agricultural industry. As in the past, the Government of Israel was a full partner in organizing the exhibition and its large variety of planned events, with the active support and participation of the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy and Industry, Foreign Affairs and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. Conference attendees shared views and ideas and thus improved their knowledge on the advanced techniques aimed at increasing the productivity of the industries. Agritech Israel worked as a platform for policy makers, directors, professors, scientists, www.krishijagran.com
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students and research scholars to exchange their views and ideas. Participants included CEOs, consultants, managers, economists and project managers from business and industrial sectors around the world. The theme for Agritech Israel 2018 conference was “Agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions”. The conference program was dedicated to the challenges and solutions facing these regions globally. It focused on efforts and achievements of policy makers, scientists, industries, organizations, farm-
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ers, project companies and bankers, working to overcome desert barriers, expand food sources and to “push the envelope” of agricultural limits. By participating in International fairs like Tel Aviv Agritech,Israel, China Agrochem, Shanghai and AgraME, Dubai, Krishi Jagran aims more interaction with International agri community and to disseminate the global innovations, techniques and products to our agricultural exponents, administrators and the scientific community. Compiled by: Dr. Sangeeta Soi
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AIMING A NEW FARMING CULTURE KJ OPENS ITS FIRST KISAN CLUB IN KERALA
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rishi Jagran, the largest agri rural magazine in India, has launched its first Kisan Club Unit in Neduvathoor of Kerala State on 28th April 2018. The club aims at bridging the gap between farmers and the authorities. It will undertake activities including grass root level interaction with the farmers, training classes, seminars, local markets and knowledge transfer. “The Kisan Club will make a significant impact among agriculturists in Neduvathoor”, said Hareesh, Agriculture officer who inaugurated the Club. While addressing the gathering V. R Ajith Kumar, Southern Head Krishi Jagran assured farmers a complete cooperation on behalf of Krishi Jagran and detailed the activities of the Kisan Club. Suresh Muthukulam, Editor, Krishi Jagran Malayalam answered on the queries raised by the farmers and Sreeja S Nair, Editor, KJ online portal introduced the digital version of Krishi Jagran to the farmers. Prabhakaran Pillai, President, Neduvathoor Swasraya Karshaka Samiti gave an overview of the activities of Karshaka Samiti. Thajudeen, FCMC (Fertilizers & Chemicals Manufacturing Company)
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representative and other successful farmers also spoke and shared their unique experiences in farming. Krishi Jagran also plans to open farmers club in every village across the country in the coming months. Objectives of Krishi Jagran Kisan Club •
Become the voice of farmers and raise their issues to mainstream
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Form platforms for discussing the farmers’ problems and sharing knowledge
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Facilitate the transfer of latest techniques
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Help farmers to take benefits of various govt. schemes and bank facilities
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Arrange groups for conducting local markets
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Organize Farm Tours
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Ensure Insurance coverage for farmers
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KRISHI J AG R A N
IFFCO & Krishi Jagran signs a New Agreement
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n yet another attempt to connect with all the farmers of the country, Krishi Jagran signed an agreement with IFFCO KISAN. M C Dominic, editor in chief of Krishi Jagran and Sandeep Malhotra, CEO, IFFCO KISAN signed the agreement in New Delhi on 21 May 2018. The agreement shares many fronts where the two organizations are supposed to work together for the welfare of the farming community.
ciety engaged in production and distribution of chemical fertilizers and marketing of agriculture related products. IFFCO is renowned for its activities associated with empowerment of farmers &
Both the organizations work for the emancipation of agri community with latest and advanced information which could educate the farmers. According to the bilateral agreement, Krishi Jagran will provide latest Agro related news of rural importance that is state specific in vernacular languages to IFFCO KISAN. Having a pan India reach, Krishi Jagran along with IFFCO Kisan, will participate in village activities from time to time in coordination with respective state team. Also, the organizations will jointly attend Agriculture events, fairs and forums for the benefit of the farmers and to promote the services of both the organizations together. Krishi Jagran will share the event calendar and other related information with IFFCO Kisan for successful participation. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited is an innovative concept promoted by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), which is world’s largest producer and distributor of Fertilizers, to promote rural communications with value added services. Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is a well known cooperative so-
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cooperatives. IFFCO is the backbone of IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited and provides its vast experience of rural development, agriculture and allied knowledge to ensure that latest information and services are provided on the mobile phone. Compiled by Monika Mondal, Associate Editor, KJ
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Outcome-based Agriculture
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The globally connected agriculture is benefited by the presence of MNCs in different countries which coupled with trickling down effect of advanced technologies will ensure the advent and success of outcome-based model of agriculture sooner than later.
Outcome based model of agriculture
Fact or Fiction Anand Singh Manager, Life Sciences Advisory Group, Sathguru Management Consultants
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ecently in an interview, Liam Condon, President of Bayer Crop Science division, mentioned that they are looking towards futuristic agriculture model where the focus, at least for them, would be the outcome based model. Elaborating on this, he said that “We want to create an outcome-based model. Instead of selling inputs, ultimately, we would sell a weedfree field, disease-free field, or a yield guarantee by selling a prescription for how to get there. If the 76
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outcome didn’t happen, then we would compensate the farmer.” Today the idea of outcome-based model is similar to the idea of online retail stores for daily use items like clothes, electronics, groceries etc. in 80s and 90s of the twentieth century. People never believed that online stores were possible. However, once the right technologies became available to the general public at affordable costs, online retailing www.krishijagran.com
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Outcome-based Agriculture became a norm, and today almost everything under the sun can be ordered online with established service providers stores like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart etc. Likewise, the outcome-based model may seem too good to be true today, it’s not impossible to achieve, if we take a closer look at the directions global agriculture has been moving in the last three decades. Some of the following are being practiced even today and are the steps in the direction to an outcome-based model that would be beneficial to all stakeholders involved •
Use of targeted trait integration in seeds,
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Use of precision tools for stress identification,
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Soil health assessment and management,
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Crop specific advisory for sowing of specific hybrids on a specific patch of land,
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Well-planned sowings based on weather forecast,
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Continuous monitoring of crops using scientific methods
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Crop and disease management.
If such a model for agriculture were to be developed and implemented, precision technologies coupled with big data analytics will play a critical role to make this successful. The farmers, whether from a developing or developed country, are convinced that efficiency is the key to any farming activity and they are willing to invest in technologies that will lead to efficient agriculture with increased profitability. The advent and evolution of precision technologies like sensors, imaging, drones and several other technological advancements are leading the digital transformation of agriculture. However, the single deciding factor about for managing farm operations in future will be the way Big Data is utilized and hasten the delivery of outcome-based agriculture services to the farmers. This will be more important as the available arable land is expected to decline over a period of time and global population increases. To achieve these goals, agricultural outcomes need to be optimized. The operations using precision agriculture will lead to the realization that Big Data helps in improving the yields and
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WORLD outcomes for farmers and stakeholders in the food chain. Some service providers have already begun to bundle smart digital farming insights and improvements to deliver products and services for precise and integrated agricultural solutions. Some examples are Climate Corporations’ the “Climate Field View”, various applications under “Precision Ag” by John Deere etc. The applications like these coupled with security of insurance for the farmers are optimizing outcomes based on farmer’s individual requirements. Initially such services will be focused on the farmers. The scope of services is expected to widen when the supply chain gets digitized. The success will be further boosted by artificial intelligence based on Big Data supported by precision tools that can predict demands of particular commodities optimizing the usage of limited storage and production space as required. With the technological advancements happening globally at break-neck speed, though more so in developed countries, their benefits and reach will not be limited to farming communities in few countries. The globally connected agriculture is benefited by the presence of MNCs in different countries which coupled with trickling down effect of advanced technologies will ensure the advent and success of outcome-based model of agriculture sooner than later.
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