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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, July 21, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
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Indian exports face rejections Biofertilisers: green way to soil fertility GREEN WISDOM WORLD WATCH
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Indian exports face rejections REJECTION of several export consignments of agriculture produce and processed food from India by the US and the European Union (EU) over the past few months has industry representatives and authorities in New Delhi worried. Indian authorities are keen to find out if it is genuinely a question of quality, poor labelling or a non-tariff barrier, although the number of rejections, they feel, is not as large as what certain other countries, like China, face. "We are now analysing the trend on a weekly basis in the case of EU exports and on a monthly basis in the case of the US regarding what are the products being rejected and for what reason," says Vijay Sardana, Executive Director of the Centre for International Trade in Agriculture and Agro-based Industries (CITA). The reasons for rejection have varied from presence of pesticide residues in grapes beyond permissible levels under the EU food laws to the presence of non-permissible artificial colour, higher than permissible level of antibiotics in products like egg powder, and filth. In the case of the US, it is ethnic foods like pickles and preservatives, ayurvedic supplements and tonics that have been rejected on account of bad labelling, unexplained process of manufacture and presence of unknown or unapproved substances in the products. According to data CITA has compiled, around 30 consignments were rejected by the EU in May and June. These included grapes (eight consignments), egg powder (four consignments), chilli powder, honey, soft drink concentrate and prawns. The US rejected around 50 consignments of food articles and health supplements in April alone. "In many cases we have found no scientific basis (for the rejection), nor is it explained what constitutes 'filth'-whether it is rat droppings or any other foreign matter in the case of basmati and other such products. At no point is the word 'filth' explained," claims Sardana. "There is a need to educate exporters on how to avoid the pitfalls. The problem is that neither the exporter nor the government is coming forward to examine the products rejected," he adds. "While we do not rule out that in some cases quality is genuinely a reason for rejection, at the same time vested interest often comes into play and a consignment is rejected intentionally," says Pravin Gupta, general manager of the state-owned Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA). "We have been informed about various cases of rejection and have asked exporters for explanation. Once we get that, we will be better equipped to analyse the reasons," says Gupta. Just back from a promotion visit to the US, Gupta says the reasons for intentional rejection of consignments could include "a slump in the price of a product contracted for and the importer not wanting to be at a loss". Says CITA's Sardana: "Unlike China, which faces the largest number of rejections on the hygiene count, in India's case it is lack of knowledge of regulations of the buying country. "Principally it is lack of knowledge of the buyers' market which is leading to rejection while around 20 per cent may be because of hygiene or incorrect processing and raw-material source leading to pesticide residue." But despite setbacks, Indian exports of agricultural and allied products have been on the growth trajectory. As against $4 billion in 2001-02, the exports went up by 10.32 per cent to $4.4 billion, with rice exports witnessing 66 per cent growth, wheat 25 per cent and tobacco 22 per cent in dollar terms. One of the major agriculture and horticulture producers, India has been making a concerted effort to push exports through various promotion campaigns and emphasis on better quality. Incidentally, APEDA does not support the CITA view that exporters are not well informed about food laws in the countries they are dealing with because all the information is available on the Internet. Industry representatives, however, feel it is not easy complying with changing legislation in the US, where new regulations like making the source of ingredients in a produce traceable to the country of origin have been introduced.
— IANS |
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Biofertilisers: green way to soil fertility Nowadays the followings items are sold on the pretext of marketing biofertilisers: vermicompost; non-edible and edible oil cakes; animal refuse; animal waste like dried blood, fish manure, meat meal, leather meal, raw and steamed bones, activated sludge, etc.; plant-origin waste like rice-husk, sugarcane thrash, pressed mud, seaweed extract, protein hydrolysed and other plant extracts; farm, factory and habitation waste such as compost, cakes, farmyard manure, or filter press cakes; wood and mine products and by- products like ash, coal, charcoal, lignite and micronutrients. Technically speaking, artificially multiplied culture of soil micro-organisms is known as biofertiliser. These micro-organisms play an important role in improving soil fertility and crop productivity by fixing atmospheric nitrogen, making insoluble phosphates soluble and decomposing farm waste, which results in the release of plant nutrients. In other words, biofertilisers are carrier-based microbial inoculants containing sufficient cells of efficient strains of specific micro-organisms that help in enhancing soil fertility, either by fixing atmospheric nitrogen, solubilisation/ mineralisation of phosphorous and potash or decomposing organic wastes or by augmenting plant growth and promoting substances with their biological activities. They are normally sold as carrier-based biofertilisers or liquid biofertilisers. Microbial inoculants, or biofertilisers, are used to hasten biological activity to improve availability of plant nutrients. A senior soil chemist, Patita Pabana Acharya, who is in the research division of Hindustan Fertilisers, Cuttack (Orissa), says, "Biofertiliser is essential for plant growth and maintaining the status of the soil and quality of food production. From experience, it is found that gradually Indian farmers are taking keen interest in the use of biofertilisers in their fields, which is of low cost." By using chemical fertilisers continuously in a particular soil, its nutrient value (status) is reduced, if organic manure is not used side by side. Nutrients are to be supplied to the plant in "available" form. Besides, depletion of soil nutrients has been posing a major threat to the sustainability of crop production in recent times. Hence, there is an urgent need for maintaining sustainability of crop production by tapping other plant nutrient sources. In the gloomy scenario of depletion of soil fertility and high prices of chemical fertilisers, it is felt that biofertilisers can be used as cheaper and renewable source of plant nutrients. Biofertilisers are a pollution-free low-cost input, playing a vital role in integrated plant nutrient supply (IPNS). Recently, in a major research finding, certain micro-organisms were isolated (from soil at Rasulgarh, Orissa) from banana root, which are capable of providing potash up to 60 per cent. In other words, it can replace 60 per cent of the dose of chemical potassic fertiliser. Extensive research was carried out by the Regional Director, Kishan Chandra, of the Regional Biofertiliser Development Centre, Bhubaneswar, who identified the first strain of potash found in Orissa soil and is used by plants. This is the first such finding anywhere in India or abroad, much to the credit of a local scientist. As a case study, this writer visited areas of undivided Purl district. It was found that a large number of farmers of the Chandanpur area applied biofertilisers in their betel vine crops by using Azatobacter and PSB (phosphate soluble bacteria) and with good results.
— CNF |
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GREEN WISDOM THE Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC) will procure single super phosphate (SSP) from Rajasthan and supply it to farmers in Punjab. SSP, a very valuable phosphate fertiliser, had almost disappeared from Punjab as the supply of its spurious versions had become widespread. According to Mr Kripa Shankar Saroj, PAFC MD and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation AMD, PAFC has signed an agreement with an Udaipur-based company for the purpose. This firm uses rock phosphate, which is naturally available in and around Udaipur, treated with sulphuric acid to manufacture single super phosphate that is real. Dr Tarlok Singh Sahota, an expert with PAFC, says that SSP is much better as a source of phosphorus than diammonium phosphate (DAP) for fields crops, especially potatoes, pulses and oilseeds, because phosphorus in SSP is water soluble, readily available to crop plants and suits Punjab soils that have a basic calcium carbonate as their parent rock, whereas the phosphorus in DAP is citrate soluble. Apart from 16 per cent phosphate, SSP contains 12 per cent sulphur, one of the primary essential nutrients, the deficiency of which is becoming widespread, especially in coarse-textured (sandy) soils, more so because of the use of sulphur-free fertilizer (urea, DAP and MOP). SSP also contains secondary nutrients other than sulphur (calcium and magnesium) and micronutrients, which come as natural impurities with the rock phosphate found in nature. As a result, SSP application increases yields markedly. Growers may apply SSP as a basal dose to all crops. PAFC's name and insignia would be printed on the SSP supplied so that farmers can be sure of its purity. To begin with, 20,000 metric tonnes of SSP would be procured, which would be available all over Punjab with PAFC dealers soon.
— TNS Air pollution Vegetable samples from Delhi markets indicate that the samples of spinach (palak) and okra collected during summer season manifest higher levels of heavy metal (Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd) contamination as compared to that shown in samples collected during August and September. Washing of vegetable samples twice or thrice reduced the level of heavy metal contamination drastically, especially contributed through air pollution—IARI Annual Report 2001-2002 |
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WORLD WATCH
A team of the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) at in Mississippi State is developing a high-speed wireless networking system, according to a report on the agency's Website. It will allow farmers to download aerial images via the Internet onto their personal computers-or even better, their PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants)-in a cost-effective and efficient way. By using their PDAs, farmers could go out onto their fields, download corresponding aerial images and use Global Positioning System coordinates to quickly locate problem areas. This would allow them to take care of whatever ails their crops within minutes after the aerial images were taken. The wireless local area network can also be used to download application maps directly to tractors or other machinery, eliminating time-consuming steps and reducing the chance of human error. Radio waves to zap pests Although the effectiveness of using radio waves to kill destructive insects in agricultural products has been known for 70 years, the technique has never been applied on a commercial scale. For several decades, methyl bromide has been a mainstay treatment to kill a wide array of quarantined pests. A recent cooperative effort by four ARS research laboratories and two universities aims to overcome the technical barriers to use of radio wave heating to control pests on a commercial scale in places such as orchards, packinghouses and food plants, says an ARS report. Electromagnetic waves of radio frequency can make molecules vibrate and heat up in the same way that microwaves heat food. The trick is to kill pest insects without killing the taste or texture of the food they infest. Since 2000, a team has been working on a four-year study to see if radio waves would be an economical, environmentally friendly alternative to the use of methyl bromide and other chemicals to effectively rid fruits and nuts of live insects. |
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Phenology: Jacaranda bears beautiful fern-like tri-pinnate compound leaves. Each has 9 or 15 pairs of sub-leaves called pinnae. A complete leaf is 30-40 cm long and 20-30 cm wide. The secondary pinnae bear small leaflets in opposite pairs. New leaves appear during March-April. The old ones are shed during autumn. Young trees flower from March to May. The older ones, however, have a longer flowering period, depending upon the location. Jacaranda bears beautiful flowers. These are bluish mauve in colour and are borne in loose clusters at the end of branches. Each panicle (bunch) bears some 40 to 100 individual florets. The petals are fused to form a long tube-like curved calyx, which is swollen at the top. Jacaranda fruit is a nearly circular, flat, woody, dehiscent (opening at maturity) capsule. Green in colour, it appears during May-June and in due course gradually turns brown, as it tends to mature by October-November. The capsule contains a number of light paper-like winged seeds. The bark of jacaranda is greyish. It has crisscross fissures. A fairly fast growing species, it matures in about 40 to 60 years. By then its diameter at breast height is 40-50 cm and height 10-15 m. Silviculture: Jacaranda is a sun-loving species of equatorial and tropical regions. It grows easily from sea level to about 2000 m. While it adjusts to all kinds of soil, sandy loam is ideal for its optimum growth. Atmospheric temperatures between 5º and 40º C and annual rainfall from 100 cm upwards are ideal. Being a global species, it is seen growing luxuriantly all over the Indian sub-continent, barring extremely cold high-altitude tracts. Utility: Jacaranda is mainly an avenue plant. Its wood is light and slightly fragrant. There are purple to greyish streaks in its tissues, which make the grain attractive. The tree is generally not felled for its wood or timber. The branches and stem of the dead and dry trees are utilised, generally as firewood. The trees, putting up good stature, if no longer required on the avenues, are converted into timber and used for cheap furniture, ceiling and floor planking, etc. It has medicinal use, too. The dried leaves of Jacaranda are used in an ointment for healing wounds. An infusion of the bark is used as a lotion for washing ulcers. The bark and leaves are also used for treating syphilis and gonorrhoea. Regeneration: Jacaranda fruits profusely every year. Its winged seed, being light, spreads to considerable distances from the mother tree. That helps in natural regeneration of the species. It can be regenerated artificially from the seed as well as cuttings. The essential stock can be raised in a nursery if large numbers are required. The sowing is done during June-July to coincide with the monsoon. One-year-old saplings are transplanted in the field during the subsequent monsoon with fairly satisfactory results. |
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AS the market is flooded with different organic and inorganic materials being sold under various fake names as biofertilisers, there is confusion all around. While some are called "vitalisers", others are "plant stimulants" and "biozymes". Due to lack of proper knowledge and understanding, most often the common man is duped while there is a boom of spurious biofertiliser manufacturers.
USING
aerial photographs taken from airplanes, farmers in the US who have adopted precision agriculture techniques can get detailed overviews of their croplands to see which plants look healthy and which don't.
JACARANDA
is a medium-sized deciduous tree. Belonging to the plant family Bignoniaceae, its full name is Jacaranda mimosaefolia. Some scientists call it Jacaranda ovalifolia also. It is a native of Brazil in South America and was introduced in India by the British for beautifying their bungalows, new colonies, avenues, especially the Malls, etc. The local populace call(ed) the exotic introduction neela gulmohar.