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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, July 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Video films most effective to educate farmers Maize as alternative to rice crop Post-harvest problems and small farmers  |
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Rice variety with 25 pc more yield potential TRADITIONALLY Punjab was not a rice producing state. It was in the sixties that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, developed semi draft high-yielding varieties and the first variety given to farmers was IR-8. Encouraged by the success of semi dwarf high-yielding varieties of wheat Punjabi farmers experimented with rice cultivation. In the seventies rice became the major kharif crop of Punjab. Presently Punjab produces about 9 per cent of total rice production of the country. All most all the varieties being grown in Punjab have their roots in the IRRI and were developed by a son of a Punjabi farmer, Dr Gurdev Singh Khush, Principal Plant Breeder and Head of the department at the IRRI since 1967. It was been observed that the rice yield has been almost static since 1987 in Punjab and the same is the case in many other places. This was a challenge to Dr Khush. According to him they are facing four key challenges — increasing rice productivity, achieving sustainability, protecting the environment and addressing social equity. Dr Gurdev Singh Khush accepted this challenge and decided in 1989 to develop a better rice plant with a yield potential about 25 per cent more than the best high-yielding varieties. The increase in rice production has been necessitated by the sharp increase in population. The population is increasing at a faster rate as compared to food production. It is estimated that 50 million people, mostly rice eaters, are added to Asia every year. According to Dr Khush, world food prize laureate, combating hunger should be the top priority of the World Community Economic Development leading to gainful employment is essential for combating hunger. Every night 200 million Indians go to bed hungry. If everyone had the power to buy sufficient food, there would not be any surplus. It is estimated that by 2025, the world will have to feed 10 billion people or more, half of them in Asia and half of them rice eaters. To make that happen 870 million tonnes of paddy will be needed each year i.e. 70 per cent more than today. And that must be grown with less
water, less labour, less losses, less pollution and on much less land than today. A decade of hard work by Dr Khush and his team resulted in developing breeding lines of a new rice plant that promises eventually to produce under ideal conditions on the same amount of land 25 per cent more grain than the current high-yielding varieties. The plant is currently being tested on the IRRI’s experimental plots for fertiliser management technology and plant spacing. They have changed the plant’s architecture to that it directs more energy to grain production and less to foliage. The present varieties have 50.50 biomass and grain but the new plant known as “super rice” have 60 per cent grain and 40 per cent biomass and gives 12.5 tonnes per ha yield. The variety will be given to farmers in the next two-three years.
In fact, this will be Dr Khush’s last gift to humanity before retiring from the IRRI. He was able to develop the basic plant by 1995 and since then the work is concentrating on how to incorporate built-in disease and pest resistance to obviate the need to use pesticides. Planting it directly into the soil rather than transplanting seedlings will result in significant savings, in labour costs and water use. With the introduction of new plant type, rice production in Punjab can increase up to 90 lakh
tonnes. Dr Khush is very hopeful of bright future. He believes that we can increase yields enormously that the efficiency with which nutrients are used by the plant can be vastly improved. They have already begun a new frontier project to develop rice plants that fix their own nitrogen directly from the air. The new varieties will not only be having high-yield potential but also will be more nutritious with high iron and zinc right in the grain. Iron and zinc combine to form a strong team in the fight against malnutrition, a
scourge that cripples the body, mind and spirit, mortgaging the future of mostly young children and pregnant and lactating women. This highly decorated world agricultural scientist is keen to produce 50 per cent more rice by 2025 to avoid famine in Asia. |
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Video films most effective to educate farmers THE video films and printed material with discussion is found to be the most effective media to communicate and create awareness among the wheat growers of Haryana. The Chaudhry Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, made a study to develop training prototypes and suitable media mix for different groups of 100 farmers selected from five villages of Jind district. The five communication media — lecture with discussion, printed material with discussion, group meetings and print media with discussion, visuals and printed material with discussion and video films and printed material with discussion — were randomly selected for test on five groups of wheat growers. Farmers gained the maximum knowledge about improved wheat production technology when they were exposed to the video films and printed material with discussion method. Therefore, the video films and printed material with discussion was found to be the most effective media followed by the visuals and printed material with discussion, group meetings and printed material with discussion. The minimum gain in knowledge was noticed when the groups of farmers was exposed through lecture with discussion. Hence this method was rated poorest method of communication. A study revealed, according to the annual report of the university (1996-97), that a majority of the wheat growers belonged to the middle age group with low educational status, medium extension contact and mass media exposure and innovative proneness. A majority of them possessed medium economic motivation and risk orientation. The knowledge of farmers about wheat varieties, agronomic practices, fertilisers, irrigation and post-harvest technology of the wheat crop was found to be fair, but very poor in respect of plant protection measures. The background variables of the respondents, namely respondents’ education, family education, irrigation potential, socio-economic motivation and risk orientation were found to be positively and significantly associated with knowledge of the farmers about improved wheat production technology. Age of the respondents was found to be non-significant. Another study was conducted on 78 horticulture development officers working in the Department of Horticulture, Haryana, to assess their role perception and performance. A majority of the respondents belonged to medium and young categories of age, had rural background (95.4 per cent) and farming as their parental occupation (60.67 per cent), and possessed the minimum qualification of bachelor of agricultural science. The overall family literacy of a majority (82.42 per cent) of respondents was found to be of low to medium level, had undergone training (85.30 per cent) varied from one to four in number, communication skill (70 per cent), empathy (80.89 per cent) and media exposure (71.90 per cent). The role perception and performance results indicated that the perception and performance of more than 50 per cent agriculture development officers and about 70 per cent horticulture development officers was low to medium respectively. The study further points out that the variable training exhibited positive and significant association with role perception. Education was found to have influenced the role perception significantly, while media exposure (personal sources) has been found to be associated negatively and significantly with role performance. On the basis of another survey, it was found that the north-eastern parts of Haryana comprising Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal have the maximum number of beekeepers. Their average honey yield under stationary beekeeping is about 40-45 kg per colony. Migration of honeybee colonies to Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal have the maximum number of beekeepers and their average honey yield under stationary beekeeping is about 40-45 kg per colony. Migration of honeybee colonies to Kurukshetra area during dearth period resulted not only in higher honey production but also increased the strength of the colony. This will be of use for better survival of the colony during rainy season. Strains of Apis Mellifera having potential for better adaptation to local conditions of the state have been identified and shall be further multiplied for large-scale field trials. |
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Maize as alternative to rice crop Rice is the major crop during the kharif season. It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of the sown area of Punjab is under rice. The cultivation of this crop has given rise to a number of problems in the agro-ecosystem. Recent research has shown that due to rice cultivation, the salinity in water increases and the water-table recedes. The World Bank has warned that if the state does not give up growing rice at the earliest Punjab may become a semi-desert in the next 25-30 years. There are a number of alternatives to rice cultivation, but maize crop has emerged as an important kharif crop over the past few years. Maize is a cereal crop and its area and production have increased steadily. The crop is generally consumed directly as food in various forms — chapatis of maize flour with ''sarson ka saag'' are the favourite diet of Punjabis and roasted ears, popcorn and porridge are the other important forms in which the maize is consumed. The use of maize in animal feed, particularly for poultry and in the starch industry, is also increasing. The Punjab Government is also promoting its cultivation under a special
campaign called "second push in agriculture". This second push includes specialised training camps for farmers and supply of maize seed on subsidy at the rate of Rs 700 per quintal and maize planter on subsidy. Since maize is a short-duration crop, it conveniently fits into a wide range of crop rotations. The important crop rotations are maize-wheat-potato-barseem, maize-senji-sugarcane-cotton, maize-rayya-gobhi-sarson, maize-potato-wheat or sunflower, etc. The crop rotation with potato, wheat, sunflower, etc is of one-year duration and with cotton and sugarcane is of two-year period. The summer season is the suitable period for maize cultivation. The crop is also recommended for winter cultivation. The temperature required for the proper germination is 21°C and for its proper growth it is 32°C. It can be successfully grown where the night temperature does not go below 15.6°C. The maize plants cannot withstand frost at any stage of its growth. Most of the recommended varieties of maize are early in maturity (80 to 95 days ), hence to sustain the rapid rate of growth, an adequate supply of soil moisture is essential. The maize crop requires soil which meets its total water requirement in a short period of 30-35 days after tasselling. The non-availability of soil moisture at the grain-filling stage adversely affects the yield. The drainage of the field is also an important factor for the successful cultivation. It is advisable that only varieties recommended by Punjab Agricultural University and notified by the Government of India should be cultivated. The recommended varieties are Parkash (hybrid), Sartaj (hybrid), Parbhat, Partap, Kesri, Navjot, Megha, Punjab Sathi-I and Pearl Popcorn. The varieties notified by the Government of India and available on subsidy are Bio-9637, Bio-9681, pro-agro-4640, Pioneer-3342, Kanchan-945 and SSM- 510. About 7-8 kg of seed is recommended for all the varieties, except Punjab Sathi where the recommended seed is 6 kg. The seed before sowing should be treated with Carbendazim @ 3 gm per kg of seed. The time of sowing for the recommended varieties is last week of May to last week of June, but Punjab Sathi's time of sowing is from March 15 to April-end. The university has recommended the sowing with a row-to-row distance of 50 to 60 cm and plant-to-plants distance of 22 cm and at 3 to 5 cm deep. The sowing is recommended through seed-cum-fertiliser drill or maize planter. It is also
recommended that the seed bed should be fine, compact and free from weeds. For this four to five ploughings followed by plankings are sufficient. For the light, medium and weed-free soils, there is no need of ploughing and maize could be sown after rauni. Twentyfive to 30 cartloads of well-rotton farmyard manure or compost should be ploughed into the soil before sowing. For the hybrid and composite varieties of maize, the recommended dose of fertiliser is 50 kg of nitrogen, 24 kg of phosphorous and 12 kg of potash per acre. The other varieties, Parkash, Kesri and Pearl Popcron need 35 kg of nitrogen, 12 kg of phosphorous and 8 kg of potash per acre. However, it is also recommended that the application of these nutrients should be as per soil analysis. The whole of phosphorous and potash and one-third of nitrogen should be applied at the sowing time. The remaining nitrogen should be applied in two equal doses — one at the knee-high stage and second at the tasselling stage. In the freshly levelled fields and soil with light texture and also in high-yielding varieties, 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre should be applied at the sowing time. During the early stage of its growth the maize plant is suppressed by weeds. Effective weed control could be obtained by applying Atrazine or Simazine 50 wp @ 800 gm per acre for medium and heavy soils. For the light-textured soils the dose of weedicide should be sprayed within two days of sowing in 200 litres of water. The broad leaf weeds could also be controlled with the application of these weedicides. |
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Post-harvest problems and small farmers WHILE post-harvest is a unique period for earning income, almost the sole income in the case of small farmers and major income for large and medium farmers, it unfortunately has a very skewed distribution more biased in favour of larger farmers and less in the case of small farmers. In fact while small farmers look to this period with a high expectation to realise good income for their hard labour during the previous months they are generally disappointed with the results. They usually end up with disproportionate earnings to their labour which are far insufficient to meet the needs of their growing families. A recent study made by experts at PAU has estimated that the average income earned by a small farmer does not exceed the salary received by a newly recruited clerk in a government department. This shows the harsh realities of the situation. With growing families the area of an average holding has been gradually coming down. Thus, with successive partitions the average size of a farm has become quite small which is uneconomic for cultivation, little to talk of suitable mechanisation. No surprise, the average yield in Punjab, a state though blessed with the Green Revolution, has been declining, especially so in the case of small farms. What makes these small farmers not to take full advantage of encouraging market situation of foodgrains with rising prices, particularly so in the case of wheat and rice — the two staple crops in the basket of an average farmer? For this we have to look into the current credit, marketing and storage situation in particular. It is not that both Punjab and Haryana lack in modern storage, marketing as well as credit facilities. In fact they have these in abundance compared to any other state. The basic problem is the average farmer’s capacity as well as approach to make full use of these facilities. It is well known that driven by compulsions most of the small farmers borrow heavily mainly from the arhtias (middlemen) with whom they have close links and when unable to repay these borrowings they are invariably driven to sell their produce to them at prices lower than those fixed by the government. Thus, their produce hardly reaches organised mandis. How are then modern mandis with all facilities of much help to them? Arhtias not only take their produce in lieu of past debt but they also advance them further credit to meet their seasonal needs. Thus, a sort of vicious circle is created from where the small farmer finds it difficult to come out. Even when he has surplus produce he finds it difficult to store it for better days when the prices are higher. Here he faces poor storage facilities in areas around. Even where rural godowns have been created a study made a few years ago had revealed gross inadequacies of these facilities where it was found that hardly any safety existed to protect the stored grain. Farmers, thus, hesitated to use these godowns which lay mostly in a deserted state. Of course, we do have modern storage facilities but then these are beyond the reach of the small farmer, though these come to easy rescue of big and medium farmers who are able to sell their produce at higher prices later. We do talk of diversification of agriculture in the interest of small farmers for earning higher income and advise them to take to alternative more value adding and income-yielding activities like vegetables, dairy, poultry, even horticulture and floriculture where there is rising demand. But then the poor and illiterate farmer, who is financially and technically ill-equipped, is in a state of confusion. He badly needs proper guidance, financial support and technical assistance where we talk much but do little. The result is that he is back to square one from where he finds no escape. It is a big struggle for him and we must come out with practical approach and avoid sermonising. Incidentally most of the problems faced by these farmers in the post-harvest period are also due to their lack of education where the high average income states of Punjab and Haryana are badly let down. Hardly there is need to repeat that we must learn from the experience of Kerala which has demonstrated that successful universal education wipes out ignorance and helps in creating an egalitarian society. |
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Farm operations for July Paddy: — Complete transplanting of Pusa Basmati-1 during the first fortnight of July, and Basmati-370 and Basmati-386 should be transplanted during the second fortnight of July. Apply 27 kg of urea per acre after three weeks of transplanting basmati rice. — For the control of weeds in paddy, use 1200 ml of any recommended brand formulation of Butachlor 50 EC or Thiobencarb 50 EC or Pedimethalin 30 EC @ 1000-1200 ml or Pretilachlor 50 EC @ 600 ml or Anilofos 30 EC @ 500 ml per acre by mixing with 60 kg of sand. Broadcast any one of the herbicides uniformly in 4-5 cm deep standing water within 2-3 days of transplanting. — For the control of broadleaf weeds, spray Alley 20 WP (Metsulfuron) @ 30 g per acre in 150 litres of water 20-25 days after transplanting. Before spray, the standing water from the field should be drained out and irrigation may be applied one day after spray. The spray should be done on a clear and calm day. — Apply 37 kg of urea per acre to the paddy transplanted in June. In case, zinc deficiency appears, apply 25 kg of zinc sulphate per acre. On coarse textured soils (sandy soils) iron deficiency can be expected in rice. The upper leaves turn white. To correct it, spray 1 per cent ferrous sulphate solution 2-3 times at weekly intervals. — The rice fields showing more than 5 per cent dead hearts due to an attack of stem borer should be sprayed with either of the insecticide i.e. 250 ml of Phosphamidon 85 SL or 560 ml Monocrotophos 36 SL or one litre of Chlorpyriphos 20 EC in 100 litres of water per acre. Further application of any of these insecticides may be repeated as and when damage reaches economic threshold level. COTTON: — Cotton crop is highly sensitive to standing water during early growth stages. Hence, drain out the excessive rain water from the cotton fields. — At the time of thinning, apply half dose of nitrogen. — To control weeds in between the crop rows in place of hoeing/interculture apply Gramoxone 24 WSC (paraquat) at 500 ml per acre or Roundup/Glysel 41 per cent SL (Glyphosate) at 1.0 litre per acre in 100 litres of water when the crop is 6-8 weeks old and about 40-45 cm in height as directed spray. To avoid drift, spray the herbicide on non-windy days, using a protecting hood so that herbicide does not fall on the crop leaves. — In the case a severe attack of thrips, mites or jassid is noticed i.e. the leaves start curling, spray the crop with 250 ml Rogor 30 EC/Tara 909 (Dimethoate 30 EC) or 300 ml Metasystox 25 EC (Oxydemiton methyl) or Anthio 25 EC (Formothion) or 75 ml Dimecron 85 SL (Phosphamidon) in 100 litres of water per acre. For control of jassid only spray og 40 ml of Imidacloprid 200 SL can also be done. — Uproot and destroy leaf curl-infected American cotton plants up to initiation of fruiting phase. Protect the crop against white fly vector by using recommended insecticides. Keep the fields free from kanghi buti and peeli buti which act as collateral host of leaf curl virus. — To control leaf spots or blightr, spray the crop with Blitox 500 g along with Agrimycin 20 g or Streptocycline 3 g per acre at an interval of 15 to 20 days starting just after shower of rain. Maize: — Maize can be sown in trench which helps in avoiding lodging and crop showed more emergence. — For the control of weeds, use Atrazine/Simazine 50 WP as pre-emergence application @ 500 g per acre on light-textured soils and @ 800 g per acre on heavy-textured soils. Atrazine can also be sprayed 10 days after sowing maize for controlling weeds. — Do not allow the rain water to stand in the main crop as this crop is highly sensitive to standing water. — Maize responds to organic manures or farmyard manure or compost. To the Bio-9637, Parkash, Pearl Pop Corn, and Kesri varieties, apply 25 kg of urea, 75 kg of superphosphate per acre at the time of sowing. If maize follows wheat which received recommended phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, the application of superphosphate and potash may be omitted. If farmyard manure has been applied @ 6 tonnes per acre then there is no need to apply fertiliser at the time of sowing. If soil testing low in potash, 15 kg of muriate of potash may also be applied. — To check the attack of maize borer, uproot the borer-damaged plants and bury them at the time of thinning. Spray the crop with 40 ml Sumithion 20 EC/Ripcord 10 EC or 80 ml Decis 2.8 EC in 50 litres of water per acre. After this application, there will be no need to spray further
any pesticide to check this pest. — Spray the crop with Indofil M 45 @ 200 g per 100 litres of water to protect against diseases. SUGARCANE: — Earthing up of the sugarcane crop may be done if not done earlier during the first week of July. If sugarcane fields get flooded with water, excessive water may be drained out. — The attack of top borer can be minimised by applying 12 kg of granules of Carbofuran encapsulated 3 g or Phorate encapsulated 10 g at the base of the shoots during the first week of July. Earth up slightly to check the granules from flowing with the irrigation water and irrigate the crop immediately. — Progressive Farming, PAU
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