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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, January 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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Key elements for precision farming New hybrid varieties of desi cotton, narma
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Key elements for precision farming The key elements required for generation, dissemination
and adoption of precision farming techniques, therefore, include
information, technology and managements. * Information is
needed about crop characteristics, soil properties (topography,
fertility status, texture, moisture content/retention, tillage needs,
salinity, waterlogging, etc), incidence of pests (insects, diseases,
weeds and others), weather/climatic conditions, other biotic and
abiotic stresses, plant growth response, harvest and post-harvest
handling, marketing and market intelligence, socio-economic conditions
of farmers, etc. Detailed information, so collected, can be used to
create different kinds of maps of the farms/villages/regions (e.g.
different soil characteristics, groundwater, pest incidence, weed
distribution, topography, environmental pollution, etc) which can help
the farmers in using the available information at each step while
making site-specific decisions for performing different farm
operations. Planners can use these maps for regulating the supplies of
inputs in different areas.
* Technologies are rapidly evolving
and farmers must keep up with the changes that can help in increasing
productivity and profitability. Use of remote sensing and geographic
information system (GIS), auto-analysers, sensors, computers along
with appropriate software, etc can help in precisely identifying areas
of nutrient deficiencies and other biotic and abiotic stresses, etc,
and quantifying the quantification of the economic significance of the
soil-water-fertiliser-pest-crop related constraints and their
environmental impacts at the farm/village/region levels. They can
provide useful guidance for adopting the systems of integrated
management of soil health, nutrients, pests, water, energy and
different crop genetic resources. By using sensors post-harvest
quality of the produce can be monitored and enhanced.
* Efficient management of the suite-of technologies is of paramount
importance. This will combine information obtained and the available
technology into a comprehensive management system. Without proper
management precision crop production will not be possible. Farmers
must know how to interpret available information, how to utilize the
technology and make sound production and making decisions. The
complexity of agriculture and diverse expertise needed for the
development and dissemination of knowledge-intensive precision farming
technologies, require multi-disciplinary efforts of agronomists, plant
breeders, soil scientists, agro-meteorologists, entomologists, plant
pathologists, weed scientists, biotechnologists, economists, extension
workers and farmers. Paradigm shifts are needed in the systems of
generation, transfer and adoption. Systems approach needs to be
followed to integrate, synthesise, and process information and develop
computer-simulated crop production models. User friendly computer
software can in turn guide the farmers in making appropriate decisions
for performing site-specific farm operations. user-oriented
cost-effective technologies generated through such efforts will help
in ensuring the adoption of precision farming technologies by the
farmers. For specific systems of technology dissemination and
adoption, following are some of the policy and technological
innovations, which need to be addressed:
* Appropriate
infrastructure for multi-source information generation and processing
using modern technologies (remote sensing, GIS etc) need to be
developed. The establishment of the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre is a
step forward in the right direction and needs to be strengthened. This
centre should develop linkages with agronomists, soil scientists,
meteorologists, economists, farmers, farmer-associations at
village/block/region levels, state development departments and others
to prepare detailed work plans for different eco-regions.
* Multidisciplinary research efforts need to be re-oriented towards
development of crop production models and generate suites of
site-specific user (farmer)-friendly and cost-effective
technologies.
* Precision farmers will have to acquire
micro-management skills (from seeding/planting to post-harvest
handling and marketing). Result-oriented training through field
demonstrations; training on use of computers; market intelligence;
availability of institutional credit and favourable public policies
will help the farmers in readily adopting precision farming.
* Provision of adequate public funding support and involvement of
private sector need to be ensured. * The problems of
decreasing size of farm holdings, heterogeneous system of
cropping/farming resource, poor farmers, land ownership and land
leasing, etc need to be addressed by making some public policy
changes. * To produce professionals and extension
workers/consultants capable of using information technologies in
sustainable crop production, profit-maximisation and natural resource
management, the educational institutions need to modify their
curricula, teaching and training methods. * High-speed
data/information connectivity systems (computers/Internet) need to be
developed in rural areas. To achieve this close collaborative efforts
are needed among farmers, farm associations, community groups, NGOs,
machinery manufacturers, research and extension agencies and other
public and private agencies. The adoption of major technological
developments in agriculture by the farmers generally takes much time
and efforts in our country where a majority of the farmers are small
and marginal, illiterate and resource poor. This will be particularly
so in the case of adoption of knowledge-intensive precision farming
based technologies. However, rapid developments being made in
cost-effective information generation (remote sensing, GIS, etc and
the analytical techniques e.g. auto-analysers, sensors, etc) and
delivery systems (using computers and internet) are going to make
precision farming technologies affordable at farm/village/region
levels. Individual small farmers are likely to adopt slowly while big
farmers, farmers, associations and village/region, as a whole will be
able to adopt quickly because of their greater ability to make
investments. Development of farmer associations at the village, block
and regional levels and giving them the required technical, public
policy and credit support can help in effective implementation of
these technologies. Since there are diverse cropping/farming systems,
variable land quality, decreasing size of land holdings, economic and
geographic conditions within a village/region, the adoption pattern
will also be diverse. Even for selected crops, while some farmers and
farmer associations may use the Internet for finding market
opportunities, others may use them for in-farm decision-making. These
technologies are likely to be more rapidly adopted in areas/regions
where farm consultant/extension agencies and farmers have been
imparted the desired training. There will be many difficulties in
developing and adopting the IT-based farming system, under our
conditions. But we must get started, step-wise, of course. We are
already far behind the developed world. Since the 21st century is
going to be a knowledge century, we may not lag behind in triggering
the next phase of the precision farming Green Revolution. We must take
advantage of the applications of IT revolution as far as possible in
developing and adopting new knowledge-intensive technologies, which
are applicable under our conditions, so that agricultural
sustainability any profitability can be assured while at the same time
and natural resources are conserved. (Concluded) |
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New hybrid varieties of desi cotton, narma A Hisar-based leading Indian seed producer Super Seeds
has evolved hybrid varieties of desi cotton and narma with "a
built-in genetic insurance over" for limiting losses caused by
insect infestation. Mr Ashwani Kumar; director of Super Seeds, says
that both the desi cotton hybrid, megha-!, and narma hybrid, Rajat-1,
have a genetic mechanism which ensures that about 33 per cent of the
yield can be picked by August-end before most known insects attack the
cotton crop. This means that the farmers will at least recover their
costs even if the crop is totally lost due to insect attacks like that
of American bollworm recently. He says Megha-1 I has been genetically
so designed that it matures much earlier than the existing varieties,
enabling farmers to pick up a substantial part of the yield before the
crops are infested. On the other hand, Rajat-1, if sown in April,
gives a heavy first picking which is insect-free. Scientific studies
have established that insect infestation usually begins in
mid-September by which time growers sowing these varieties will have
picked up around 33 per cent of the yield. This he claims provides
cotton growers with a "built in genetic insurance
cover". Mr Ashwani Kumar says megha-1 is only the second desi
cotton hybrid of North India. Only Haryana Agricultural University has
evolved a hybrid for desi cotton which does not incorporate the unique
genetic features of Megha-1. He says this variety also has
"built-in genetic cost and labour saving mechanism" which
reduces cost of production. The entire yield of this variety can be
picked in just three pickings as against several pickings for other
existing varieties. It has been genetically designed to ensure that
the bolls do not fall to enable harvesting in three pickings. This
results in substantial savings to the growers by way of labour costs
and no wastage. Besides, Megha-1 has the longest sowing period spread
over from end of March to the first week of June. This unique genetic
feature affords more opportunities for sowing the crop depending upon
availability of water for irrigation. This genetic mechanism also
allows growers to sow the crop even after harvesting wheat. The other
existing varieties, he claims can be sown only after harvesting the
mustard crop. The crop matures in 120 to 160 days with much less
irrigation compared to other varieties. The pre-release trials have
shown a yield of 36 to 40 quintals per hectare. Rajat-1 also
incorporates the "built-in genetic insurance cover" as it
allows the first picking by the first week of September before the
insects appear. The variety has been genetically designed to yield
bunches of five to seven bolls instead of individual bolls in other
varieties. This means that the crop can be picked with much less
effort in a shorter time resulting in considerable savings to the
growers. Rajat-1, if sown in April, also facilitates sowing of early
wheat varieties as the Rajat-1 fields can be completely vacated by the
second week of November. This variety yields 30 to 35 quintals per
hectare. Mr Ashwani Kumar says these varieties are a major
breakthrough in hybrid seed technology which can revolutionise cotton
growing in the country. He says these varieties will be available from
March onwards. |
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Farm operations for January Dairy Farming: — Provide dry bedding to animals and help save them from cold. Entry of very cold winds inside the shed should be minimised. Keep the animals under roof in night and in the sun during the day time. — Provide high energy concentrate. Increase cereals by 5 to 10 per cent in the concentrate. — Feed well-chaffed berseem mixed with wheat straw to avoid aphara (tympany). Do not feed rice straw (parali) alone to the animals. — Due to winter rains, there is likelihood of spread of haemorrhagic septicaemia or gall ghotu. Get your animals vaccinated. — Deworming should be done in calves, especially against ascariasis/malap with piperazine liquid 4ml/10 kg body weight. — New-born calves need special care in cold weather. They are susceptible to pneumonia and large number of them die due to this disease. Keep them warm by providing clean and dry bedding. Give them Vitamin ‘A’ concentrate 1 ml daily in milk for three days to be repeated after a month. Poultry farming: — Provide the curtains at windows in poultry sheds. The temperature should not go below 60°F in side the poultry sheds and suitable measures like doubling of curtains should be taken. — Keep the chicks warm by giving them artificial heat according to age. For the first week the internal temperature of the shed should be 90 to 95°F and it should decrease 5°F per week or according to weather conditions. — Poultry ration should have more energy. Increase by 5 to 8 per cent in the ration by reducing the rice bran. — Add coccidiostats in the ration to prevent its occurrence. Bee Keeping: Honey bee colonies should be least opened during winter, Under compelling situations the colonies should be examined during noon on some calm and sunny day. Extra cracks and crevices/holes in the hives should be plugged with mud. If the colonies are still under shade these should be shifted gradually to the sun by moving about 3 feet daily. The surrounding of the colonies should be kept clean of grass and weeds. Under a prolonged cloudy/misty/rainy spell, the colonies may fall short of honey stores. If so, the colonies should be given supplementary feeding of thick sugar syrup (2 parts sugar: 1 part water). Continue winter packing of the colonies during January also. Fish Farming — Maintain the water level of the pond of 4.5 to 5 m to provide warm deeper layers of water during late night/early morning. — Apply quick lime @50 kg per acre to prevent the incidence of diseases during unfavourable winter temperature. — Reduce feeding to a maintenance level of 500g of feed per day per 1000 fish. Mushroom growing: — The ready compost for the second crop is spawned in the cross ventilated covered space. — If cultivation is carried out on shelves/trays, the top surface is covered with newspaper sheets and water spray continued on these paper sheets once a day. — Dhingri can be sown during this month. — Treat the compost to be used for casing with 4 to 5 per cent formaline in order to disinfect it two weeks after seeding. Farm forestry: Poplar Transplant bare-rooted plants of poplar in channels. In block plantations, plant the poplars at 5x4 m apart and in single line on boundary at 3 m apart in the North-South direction. Clones PL-1, PL-2, PL-3, PL-4 and PL-5 should be planted in central plain region and clones PL-3, PL-6 and PL-7 in semi-arid region. Dig the pits of 15-20 cm diameter with the help of an auger. The depth of pit should be 75 cm in heavy soil and 100 cm in light soil. Soak the plants for about 48 hours in running fresh water before planting. Treat the lower 1 m of plants with 0.25 per cent emulsion of Durmet for about 10 minutes and then with 0.15 per cent solution of Emissan-6 for about 20 minutes. After planting, the pits should be filled with topsoil and FYM (1:1) mixed with 10-20 g lindane and 50g phosphorus (300 g single superphosphate). Safeda: For good marketing, harvest the trees for timber after 12 to 15 years of growth. For paper pulp, fuelwood and poles, fell the trees at 7 to 8 years of age with 40 cm girth. Fell the trees in winter and dry the logs in shade. Tahli: For raising a nursery of tahli, its ripe pods should be collected from healthy and straight trees during December-January and dried for extraction of seeds. — Progressive Farming PAU
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