16-inch long French bean
By Bipin Bhardwaj
IT is yet another achievement of Mr Randhir Singh Shyokand, a farmer from Sajanpur village in Kaithal district. After having his name entered six times in the Limca Book of Records for his contribution to the agriculture sector, he has grown 16-inch long french bean.

Dangers of exposure to pesticides
By R. K. Goel
PESTICIDES are chemicals that are used in agriculture and forestry for the control of pests, diseases or weeds and as vector control agents in livestock production and public health programme. Pesticides have, thus, contributed significantly to the public health in two ways — by improving food security through increased food production and reduced post harvest losses, and by reducing human suffering through the control or suppression of vectors of the dreaded diseases like malaria, dengue, etc.

Treat wheat seed with solar energy
By Satya Pal Goyal
WHEAT is an important cereal crop of India. Its productivity is affected by a number of diseases from time to time. Among the diseases loose smut is prevalent in north-western plains of India. This disease causes 2 to 3 per cent loss in yield every year.

Dairy and animal health

Export potential of durum wheat
By Virender Sardana

WHEAT is the staple food of a larger segment of population throughout the world. Bewildering qualities and versatility of wheat have made it a universal crop. It is consumed by nearly 35 per cent of the world population and accounts for about 20 per cent of the total calories intake. Bread from wheat has been equated with the concept of sustenance. In every month of the year, a crop of wheat is harvested somewhere in the world. The importance of wheat worldwide has made a stylised wheat spike a symbol of food. Wheat also accounts for the greatest volume of international trade among cereals.

Among different wheat species, durum wheat, triticum durum, is next in importance to bread/common wheat, triticum aestivum. Durum wheat is generally free from karnal bunt and is less susceptible to loose smut. The closed glume conditions during fertilisation enable durum wheat to get low incidence of karnal bunt. However, for the same reason, it is more prone to black point as water stands in the glumes in case of rains at the grain formation stage. Durum is a special type of wheat used for the preparation of macaroni/pasta and spaghetti products. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the total wheat produced in the world is durum. Unlike bread wheat, a 42 chromosome specie, durum is a 28 chromosome specie. The characteristics and the qualities of grain of durum wheat considerably differ from bread wheat. The best quality durum grains are yellowish, translucent, very hard and difficult to grind. Grains are vitreous with excellent appearance. Durum wheat is less elastic but more nutritious and easily digestible than bread wheat. When produced under favourable conditions, it has more protein and mineral matter and less starch content as compared to bread wheat.

Durum wheat is highly priced for making semolina (suji) and for preparing Indian counterparts of sewayan known as vermicelli. It is also extensively used in the preparation of noodles, snacks, roasted doughs (batti), porridge, upman and ladoos. In the western countries, durum wheat is mainly consumed as pasta products (vermicelli, noodles, spaghetti, etc.) In Japan and countries of South America and North Africa, it is consumed in the form of macaroni products. In North India, it is consumed as noodles where as vermicelli and semolina prepared from durum wheat are preferred in the South. It is estimated that 50 per cent of the durum wheat in the world is converted into pasta products and the major quantity of it is consumed in France, the USA, the UK, Italy and Spain. Because of granular structure and non-binding properties of its gluten, these preparations are better prepared from durum wheat. It is also consumed as couscous (gelatinised dry product of dough, a ready to cook product), chapati, idli, dosa, dalia, burger, puffed cereals, etc. Thus, one of the major reasons for the popularity of macaroni products in the modern society is the large variety as well as number of possible shapes and sizes available and numerous methods for preparing macaroni food products. As a result of all these characteristic features, durum wheat fetches as premium price of 20-25 per cent over bread wheat.

At present about 10 to 12 million tonnes of durum wheat is traded annually. Areas of the world most suitable for quality durum production are the USA (North Dakota state), North Africa, erstwhile USSR, Italy, France and Argentina. India is one of the largest producers of durum wheat in the world and occupies about 1.5 million hectare area in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (Bundelkhand region) with an estimated production of 8 to 10 per cent of the total wheat production.

Indian participation in the international trade of durum wheat has so far been negligible, mainly due to more emphasis on bread wheat production, insufficient production and poor quality of its grains. Canada and the USA are the main exporters of durum wheat. However, with a continued increase in wheat production over the years (to the level of 73 million tonnes in 1999), there is sufficient buffer stock of over 15 million tonnes. With such a situation, India can export sizeable quantity of wheat on sustainable basis. However, there is limited export market for bread wheat. On the other hand, durum wheat offers great opportunities for export because of its greater demand in southern Europe, West Asia, Mediterranean countries, North Africa and Russia.

An increasing global demand, value addition potential, resistance to diseases, better market price are some of the key factors which make Indian durum wheat an export commodity. It has an export potential similar to basmati rice. The potential markets for Indian durum can possibly be countries of Middle East, Mediterranean region and Africa. Even within the country, the preference for low calorie food is increasing. Affluent people and office-goers have found these instant foods as a convenient source of their dietary meal. Demand for baby food and pasta products as well as backed food is on the rise in cities.

However, to be acceptable in the international market, durum wheat must fulfil certain quality requirements of protein content, sedimentation value, yellow berry percentage, B carotene content, hectoliter weight, etc. Durum wheat should have high protein content, medium strong gluten and low lipoxidase (an enzyme which destroys the pigments during storage). Such wheat yields higher semolina (raw material for macaroni products) of uniform size free from specks and grits. Durum wheat with 11.5 to 13 per cent protein is considered satisfactory. However, a higher protein content may be detrimental to the quality of pastry type soft wheat. A good quality durum gluten has yellow colour which is imparted by carotenoid pigments. High quality durum semolina should yield bright, pale yellow macaroni products after cooking. Hardness of grain is an important criterion for millers since such grains yield greater amount of flour. High hectoliter weight is also related to greater flour recovery. Yellow berry (grain mottling or non-vitreousness of grains) is an important physiological disorder which impaires quality of grains. It is caused by unfavourable climatic conditions and imbalance/inadequate use of nutrients, in addition to the fact that varieties greatly differ for this character.

With the availability of high-yielding superior quality varieties of durum wheat (PBW-34, PDW-233, WH-896 for the north-western plain zone, Raj-1555 for the central zone, HI-8381 for the peninsular zone), a part of the area under bread wheat can be diverted to durum wheat production, in addition to increasing its area in the central zone to fetch higher price to increase the profit margin of farmers. For higher yield, its sowing should be completed by the first week on November. Preliminary investigations conducted in North India revealed that for higher protein content with low incidence of yellow berry in grains, it should be supplied with higher dose of nitrogen (150-180 kg/ha) and part of this nitrogen (about 30 kg/ha) should be top dressed at anthesis or grain filling stage.

16-inch long French bean
By Bipin Bhardwaj

IT is yet another achievement of Mr Randhir Singh Shyokand, a farmer from Sajanpur village in Kaithal district. After having his name entered six times in the Limca Book of Records for his contribution to the agriculture sector, he has grown 16-inch long french bean.

Claiming it to be the longest bean ever grown in Haryana, Mr Shyokand says that he had nurtured the vegetable like a child.

Son of the soil, Mr Shyokand aims at enlisting his name in the world records in the field of agriculture and hopes to achieve it within the next few years.

He says the after making records in producing bottle gourd, garlic, bitter gourd, turnip, yam and calocassia, to produce french bean was his next aim. ‘‘I plough the fields over a foot deep and put mixture of compost and manure in the fields before sowing seed. Potash, nitrogen, phosphorus and ash are also mixed while piling loose soil on the stems of the plants,’’ he said.

‘‘Irrigation with extra care is required for the crop till it bears fruit. I also take guidance from the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, from time to time,’’ says Mr Shyokand.

He remains in touch with scientists in the university and other agriculture information centres at Kaithal and Kurukshetra about the new varieties of seeds and techniques of farming.

‘‘I have set records by producing 4.5-foot long bottle gourd, garlic weighing 700 gm, 19-inch long bitter gourd, 19-inch long calocassia, turnip and yam of 5 kg and 3 kg, respectively, during the past over a decade,’’ he claimed.

He has been honoured with the Dr Ramdhan Singh award by the Haryana Government and with the Krishi Rattan award by the PHD Chamber of Chaudhary Charan Singh Agricultural Haryana University. 

Dangers of exposure to pesticides
By R. K. Goel

PESTICIDES are chemicals that are used in agriculture and forestry for the control of pests, diseases or weeds and as vector control agents in livestock production and public health programme. Pesticides have, thus, contributed significantly to the public health in two ways — by improving food security through increased food production and reduced post harvest losses, and by reducing human suffering through the control or suppression of vectors of the dreaded diseases like malaria, dengue, etc.

As pesticides are inherently toxic to living organism, these are also likely to affect the health of human beings. However, the toxicity of different pesticides to human beings varies greatly and the adverse effects on health may be prevented by choosing the least toxic pesticides as well as measures to reduce human exposure.

Currently, in the pesticide market in India (the second largest after Japan), the biggest proportion is of insecticides (72 per cent) followed by fungicides (14 per cent), weedicides (11 per cent) and other chemicals (2 per cent). Annual consumption of pesticides in India increased from merely 434 tonnes (technical grade) in 1954 to 85,000 tonnes in 1994 and is expected to reach 1,00,000 tonnes by the end of 2000. Punjab with only 2 per cent of the total cropped area in India is the second largest consumer (10 per cent) of pesticides in India after Andhra Pradesh (24 per cent) of the total pesticide consumption, about 47 per cent is used on cotton alone (occupying merely 5 per cent of the cropped area) followed by rice (26 per cent), and the rest mostly on vegetables. The pesticide use in North India is particularly greater in the summer and rainy seasons.

In spite of the numerous advantages of the pesticides, the insecticide residue encountered in food, feed, fruits and vegetables, cattle and human milk, fat and blood, drinking water and soil and other components of the environment is the cause of serious concern. The pesticides may also affect non-target organisms, including beneficial insects like honeybees and other pollinating insects, parasites and predators, birds, fish and other aquatic and wild life, thus disturbing the natural balance by influencing the food chain.

Acute and prolonged exposure to pesticides is known to cause epilepsy, loss of memory, cancer, miscarriage, damage to the immune system, kidney and liver malfunctioning, allergic reaction on skin and many other ailments. The immediate symptoms of the acute pesticide poisoning include excessive salivatio, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea on the gastro-intestinal tract; broncho restriction, cough and wheezing on the respiratory system; and anxiety, headache and convulsion on the nervous system and sweating and rashes on the skin.

Suicide attempts and homicides, mass poisoning from contaminated food, chemical accidents in industry and occupational overexposure in agriculture are the causes of most of the serious health effects. Long term and low dose exposure to organ phosphorous compounds, dehydration and poor nutrition lowers the toxicity threshold to pesticides.

The use of pesticides and hence their public health impact differ between different regions and farming systems, family structure and traditional living habits. Risk of exposure, for example, is higher when farmers and their families are living close to the fields than when they live in villages and walk long distances to their work. Different segments of the population are exposed to pesticides in different ways and to different degrees. Proportion of the population dependent on agriculture being generally high, roughly two-thirds of the economically active members of the population in developing countries, are prone to exposure hazards.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides in unrecommended doses on vegetables, particularly when the prevailing market rates are high (e.g.) off-season vegetables) are a common practice with the farmers in several areas in India. Such an unscientific approach in pesticide usage threatens consumer safety, environmental quality as well as food security and hence needs to be curbed. Successful action in this regard will require collaborative efforts by governments, industry, NGOs and research institutions, to obtain background data, enact appropriate legislation, promote the awareness of hazards and ensure training and supervision of the agricultural workers. The integrated pest management (IPM) is the more recent approach which aims at the least disruption of our fragile agroecosystem.

Treat wheat seed with solar energy
By Satya Pal Goyal

WHEAT is an important cereal crop of India. Its productivity is affected by a number of diseases from time to time. Among the diseases loose smut is prevalent in north-western plains of India. This disease causes 2 to 3 per cent loss in yield every year.

Loose smut is an internally seed-borne disease of the wheat crop caused by a fungus ustilago muda var. tritict. The fungus survives as dormant mycelium in the seed embryo. Apparently such seeds look like healthy ones but when sown in the next crop season, they give rise to smutted spikes which contain a large number of smut spores in the form of black powder. The black powder from smutted spikes is blown away by wind and healthy spikes get infected.

To control the internal seed borne infection of loose smut causing fungus, treat the seed by solar heat method. The seed is soaked in ordinary water from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on any calm and sunny day of May and June when the temperature is likely to exceed 40°C.

During the process of seed soaking light or diseased seed and other foreign material floating on the water surface should be removed and destroyed.

Thereafter, the soaked seed should be dried in the open on a cemented floor or any suitable place up to 4 p.m. To ensure proper drying, spread the soaked seed in thin layer (40 kg wheat seed in 15 sq.m.).

The solar energy treated seed should be stored properly under dry conditions. This treatment provides a very effective control of the loose smut disease in wheat and at times even better results are achieved by solar energy treatment than the chemical seed treatment. Wheat seed treatment by solar energy method in May and June should be launched as a campaign to achieve better results.

Dairy and animal health

ANIMALS must conceive within 60 to 90 days after carving. For this, watch the animals regularly in the morning and evening for heat symptoms like mucous discharge, decrease in milk yield, etc.

When oestrus signs are observed, get the dairy animals inseminated/mated by adopting morning-evening formula. Animals seen in heat in the morning are to be inseminated in the evening and vice versa. Double insemination can be done in cows if their heat is prolonged.

Provide clean, dry and good bedding, especially for young calves. Colostrum must be fed to calves. Get the new calves disbudded and dewormed within 10 days of birth. Apply antiseptic cream on wound regularly after dehorning.

Keep the record of milk yield and cull the uneconomical animals to have more profit.

Do grooming of calves regularly to keep them clean. This practice will also help in detecting wound or tick infection.

The cross-breed animals are more susceptible to various diseases associated with change in climatic conditions. These animals and their calves are likely to get diarrhoea and other digestive troubles. Diarrhoea may be due to internal parasites. Seek veterinary advice early and get the calves dewormed and get diarrhoea treated.

Do milking quickly, cleanly, quietly and correctly with full hand for more milk yield.

Regularly feed the mineral mixture to the animal and give fresh water and green fodder.

The adult animals should be dewormed with broad spectrum anthelmintic. The anthelmintic used earlier should be changed in consultation with local veterinary doctor to avoid anthelmintic resistance.

Prophylactic measures for control of tick, flies and mites should be taken.

Fodder production

This month is ideal for sowing lucerne, oats, senji. Berseen crop may be applied six tonnes of farmyard manure and 125 kg of superphosphate per acre before sowing. Where FYM is not available, 185 kg of superphosphate per acre should be broadcast along with starter dose of 22 kg of urea.

In order to get higher yield from first cutting, sow berseem or lucerne in mixture with oat and sarson. This mixture also helps in keeping the itsit under check.

Conserve surplus maize/sorghum as silage to meet the fodder requirements in lean period for cheaper production.

Poultry

Provide 14 to 16 hours light, including daylight to your flock if the flock has come in production.

Provide extra grit, in addition to marble powder, in feed for better quality of egg shell.

Keep the litter dry by stirring it two-three times in a week. If there is any wet part of litter, remove it immediately. Keep the litter depth 4-5 inches.

It is good time for raising broiler chicks. Get your chicks from a hatchery of repute.

— Progressive Farming, PAU