From farm to farming system
PAU gets project on integrated small-farm development
P. P. S. Gill
The clouds of pessimism have cast a shadow over rural Punjab. There is discernible frustration in the farming community and the rural youth. This has been brought about by shrinking incomes, diminishing cash availability, and a narrow economic base. 

Being native to the country, buffaloes can do better
Param Jeet Singh
In milk production India has made impressive progress in the past 30 years, producing 75 million tonnes per year. Punjab contributes 10 per cent of the national produce. Buffaloes are the mainstay of this production in Punjab, as well as the rest of the country.

Battling the noxious parthenium
R.S. Chhokar
Parthenium hysterophorus, popularly known as "Congress grass", is a weed that has caused grave concern. It not only threatens our agriculture, but also human and animal health. Parthenium reproduces mainly through seeds. It has a prolific seeding ability (3000-5000/plant). Maximum germination occurs from August to October, although it grows almost throughout the year. 

Disease hits Solan tomato crop
Jagmeet Ghuman
Tomato growers of Solan district are a distressed lot. First it was a slump in the market and now diseases have delivered a hard blow. Heavy rains in July have proven fatal for Naveen 2000 Plus and Rakhshita, two main hybrid varieties of tomatoes grown on a large scale. 

GREEN WISDOM

From farm to farming system
PAU gets project on integrated small-farm development
P. P. S. Gill

The clouds of pessimism have cast a shadow over rural Punjab. There is discernible frustration in the farming community and the rural youth. This has been brought about by shrinking incomes, diminishing cash availability, and a narrow economic base. There is also a lack of knowledge about subsidiary occupations, resulting from poor participation of farmers in extension and training programmes. The situation is getting grimmer by the day given the fact that 73 per cent of the population depends on agriculture. Of this, 48 per cent have land holdings less than 2 hectares and 70 per cent less than 4 hectares. 

This majority has little or no support, making it difficult for them to sustain their roots in the soil that apparently is fast eroding from under their feet.

In this backdrop, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been commissioned to undertake a project, "Farming system approach towards income enhancement," by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. It is a Rs36-lakh project for three years—first field-research project of its kind in the country.

The Project Director is Dr M. S. Gill, Senior Agronomist of the Department of Agronomy and Agro-meteorology, PAU. He says a unique feature of the project is the "multi-disciplinary" integrated approach to various subsidiary occupations to be taken up in a cluster of villages. The project aims at short-listing combinations that will on the one hand enhance incomes of the grassroots-level farmers, while on the other ensure sustainability of soil health and productivity. It will also open more employment avenues.

The different enterprises identified by Dr Gill include crop husbandry, dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, bee-keeping, vegetable growing, agro-forestry, and agri-horticulture. Focus will also be on their interaction with the environment without upsetting the ecology or the socio-economic balance.

The project envisages the setting up of several farming research centres, or "model sites," in the rice-wheat belt (Kapurthala) to expose rural youth to new agro-based enterprises. Explains Dr Gill: "It is proposed to establish one on-farm research project consisting of 12 sub-units—four each on 4 hectares, 2 hectares and 1 hectare of land in a cluster of villages in Kapurthala district and Phagwara block. The choice of sites will be representative of 70 per cent of the farming community having landholding of less than 4 hectares. All research would be under actual field conditions so as to involve farmers and their families directly in all operations and then evolve an integrated farming system.

"A benchmark survey will be carried out. It will establish the present income and production levels, enabling the evaluation of the economic feasibility and technical viability of various crop and farm-based secondary enterprises in relation to farm sizes. This will eventually help boost farm incomes, provide year-around employment to rural youth and also develop farm products using chains to reduce market dependence for resource inputs."

Dr Gill is relying on the resources and skills of farmers to frame an action plan that will include crop diversification, mixed farming and subsidiary professions. The cooperating farmers would be given token financial assistance for critical inputs and necessary infrastructure. "The real aim is to evolve viable and sustainable technologies for the small farmers by becoming a part of their operational life and effecting necessary changes and improvements in that, in accordance with their adaptation capacity," he adds confidently.

The project also has a co-principal investigator, Dr M. S. Toor, Associate Professor, economics and sociology. Others associated with the project will be a soil scientist, a horticulturist and an animal husbandry scientist. They will all impart to the target group vocational training in subsidiary occupations through value addition, post harvest processing and packaging. "We want farmers to carve out their destiny themselves and enable them to find solutions to their problems on their own."

Dr Gill has also been the coordinator for the state-sponsored Padhri Kalan (Amritsar) rural demonstration and training centre for self-employment. The findings of that project also corroborate that the "farming system" approach is the "sole instrument" to re-shape rural Punjab.

Earlier, Dr Gill has worked on an ICAR project on "Land use planning for management of agricultural resources". His findings, so far, have shown that there is sufficient scope to shift from the vicious rice-wheat cycle to other remunerative cropping systems that are have better income generation and are also eco-friendly.

He is working on an idea that direct-seeded rice is a better option than transplantation after raising nursery. If successful, it could cut down production costs.

Being native to the country, buffaloes can do better
Param Jeet Singh

While extensive genetic improvement in indigenous cows has been achieved through cross-breeding, very little has been done in the case of buffaloes.

In milk production India has made impressive progress in the past 30 years, producing 75 million tonnes per year. Punjab contributes 10 per cent of the national produce. Buffaloes are the mainstay of this production in Punjab, as well as the rest of the country.

While extensive genetic improvement in indigenous cows has been achieved through cross-breeding with exotic breeds, very little has been done in the case of buffaloes. That notwithstanding, buffaloes as dairy animals can be more efficient than cross-bred cows in view of the following factors:

* Buffalo is an indigenous animal of the region, so it can adopt easily to the hot, humid and cold climates.

* Buffalo milk is preferred-as fluid milk, for ghee and paneer, etc. The organised dairy sector prefers buffalo milk and the market prices also are favourable.

* Buffalo is better adapted to the Indian conditions in respect of poor feed quality and tropical diseases as compared to cross-bred cows.

* The Punjab buffalo compares well with the best of the buffaloes from any other region and is known for its performance.

* There is no problem of stray buffaloes, as opposed to cows.

* No special care is required for the buffalo as for cross-bred cows.

* With special care, we can achieve the following in the case of the buffalo too: early maturity and puberty; short calving interval; regular calving during their life span of about 20 years; high fat percentage—almost 1.5 or 2 per cent more than a good cow's milk.

* That buffalo is a seasonal breeder is a wrong perception. Provided the required atmospheric temperature and nutrition, it can breed regularly.

* Buffalo breeding, housing and progeny testing, along with herd book registration, are must to make buffalo the main milk producing animal and make Punjab livestock owners prosperous.

* Buffalo calves suffer high mortality due to neglect. There is delayed maturity in both the sexes. Heat detection in buffaloes is considered a problem, which can be improved by proper management.

Gene pool

Punjab is fortunate to have some of the world's best dairy buffalo breeds. But there is a need for better understanding of these breeds and steps to be taken for proper conservation.

A policy on organised breeding for genetic improvement is needed for good progeny from tested bulls. Good milking buffaloes should not be allowed to be crossed with inferior quality bulls.

Progeny testing of buffalo bulls for milk production should be done on a large scale. The involvement of farmers in animal-performance recording would be helpful.

Open-nucleus breeding of animals with elite females and making use of multiple-ovulation embryo transfer can be a feasible alternative to the lack of a large population of pedigreed performance-recorded females.

Embryo transfer technology (ETT) should be properly developed for buffaloes, too.

In Punjab, which has the highest per-capita availability of milk in the country, buffaloes contribute 75 per cent, but are underfed. Against the recommended 40 kg of fodder per day, buffaloes in Punjab barely get 12 kg.

The area under fodder has decreased from 7.2 lakh hectare to 6.9 lakh, which constitutes about 9 per cent of the cropped area. This, while the buffalo population has doubled during the past 25 years. Punjab, thus, has a ‘black revolution’ in spite of the lack of any support or incentive base.

Health

Buffaloes also need adequate attention to their health problems. Surveillance and monitoring of important buffalo diseases has to be strengthened along with disease-investigation facilities. Calf diseases also need more attention as the loss due to calf mortality is relatively higher in buffaloes as compared to cows.

Meat potential

Buffaloes are also potential animals for meat production. While the slaughter of cows is restricted, buffaloes can be slaughtered for meat anywhere in the country. Moreover, buffalo meat has low fat and is tender, especially if male Murrah buffaloes are properly managed for the purpose. Some of the developed countries are exploring the potential of buffalo as a meat animal.

According to an estimate, about 10 million male buffalo calves are born annually. Rearing of these calves for meat can have good potential. Buffalo meat can be exported as it has high content of lean meat and has 25 per cent higher protein than beef and is 50 per cent lower in cholesterol, and is considered quality meat for human consumption. Even though there is no ban on the slaughter of buffaloes, much of the buffalo meat available at present is from old animals.

Neglected male calves are also slaughtered at an early age to yield poor-quality meat. In the international market it is sold at a very low price. This area can do with more attention.

In the present context of WTO requirements, there is an urgent need to boost the breeding and maintenance of buffalo herds.

Battling the noxious parthenium
R.S. Chhokar

Parthenium hysterophorus, popularly known as "Congress grass", is a weed that has caused grave concern. It not only threatens our agriculture, but also human and animal health.

Parthenium reproduces mainly through seeds. It has a prolific seeding ability (3000-5000/plant). Maximum germination occurs from August to October, although it grows almost throughout the year. The most favorable period of its growth in the North is from July to October, when it attains maximum biomass. When the temperature starts rising in March-April, a fresh flush of this weed emerges and continues to appear till September-October. It has crown buds, which can give rise to several new shoots when the plant is removed. One of the measures to check this weed is that no chance should be given to it to flower and set seed.

Parthenium infestation in sugarcane and rice has been noticed. This weed is a major threat to agricultural productivity because of its allelopathic effect (the inhibition of growth in one species of plants by chemicals produced by another species).

Control

For effective control of this weed awareness should be created regarding its harmful effects and life cycle. Parthenium can be suppressed by employing mechanical methods, bio-control agents and herbicides.

Biological control: Cassia tora, Cassia uniflora, Cassia sericea, Croton spaarsiflorus and Tephrosea purpurea are competitive displacement plants for suppressing parthenium. Broadcasting stylo in parthenium brings about good control. Replacement can be faster if parthenium plants are pulled out in the initial stages of the competition. Mycoplasma-like organisms (MLO) could be utilised as they cause seed sterility. Zygogramma bicolorata, a leaf-feeding beetle, is also found promising, but its adult also attacks sunflower.

Mechanical control: Manual uprooting of parthenium at the appropriate time is very important. In gardens or orchards the weed should be ploughed in before seed set. Repeated mowing in lawns and playgrounds is also useful. While uprooting this weed manually, direct contact should be avoided by wearing gloves.

Chemical control: Owing to the high labour cost and health problems in direct contact, chemical control is a cheaper and safe alternative. In addition, herbicides prevent both re-growth and regeneration for a reasonable period. The use of herbicides in succession provides good control. Possible herbicides for this weed are: glyphosate 1.0% solution (Roundup or Glycel @ 24 ml in 1 litre of water); and metribuzin (Sencor 70% WP) @ 1.0 kg/ha.

Although metribuzin provides effective control, its residue remains in the soil for a long time. Where crops are to be grown, glyphosate should be used.

We can improve the efficacy of these herbicides by using low-volume spray nozzles and 0.1% adjuvant or surfactant (Treton, Teepol, Selwet, etc.) mixed in the herbicide solutions. This helps in reducing the dose of herbicide.

Atrazin, 2,4-D and paraquat @ 3.0 litre/10,000 m² before flowering also provides control.

For complete control, exhaust the soil seed bank, for which continued control measures for three or four consecutive years are required.

Disease hits Solan tomato crop
Jagmeet Ghuman

Tomato growers of Solan district are a distressed lot. First it was a slump in the market and now diseases have delivered a hard blow. Heavy rains in July have proven fatal for Naveen 2000 Plus and Rakhshita, two main hybrid varieties of tomatoes grown on a large scale. In most areas the crop has suffered seriously due to the buckeye rot disease.

Buckeye rot is a deadly disease in which the tomato fruit develops concentric ring patterns that look like dark patches. This makes the crop un-remunerative.

Poor arrivals at Solan, Dharampur and Chakki Ka Mour markets show that the disease has taken its toll on a large scale. On an average it has affected nearly 30 per cent of the crop. Markets that generally have a flood of growers during this peak vegetable season bear a deserted look. Kishore, a commission agent at Dharampur market, says, "The market is receiving only 170 or 180 quintal daily as against the normal of more than 250 quintal at this time of the year."

"Growers are selling in distress—most of them dumping unripe produce, fearing loss of crop to the disease," points out another agent. This has negatively affected the upward trend in prices: in the past few days the wholesale price of tomato has been around Rs 8 per kg, having touched Rs 16 on July 17. "The disease struck the crop suddenly; within a span of four or five days it wreaked havoc," said growers from Bhojnagar panchayat visiting Chakki Ka Mour market. They fear the total earning per bigha could come down to Rs 5,000 or 7,000 as compared to an average of Rs 10,000 or 15,000 during the season.

According to agriculture experts, buckeye rot occurs when temperatures fall at night after heavy rain during the day. Though the disease is common, there is a lack of knowledge on how to tackle it.

Treatment

Professor V.K. Kohli, Head of the Department of Vegetable Crops at YS Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University at Nauni, says the impact on the tomato crop could be reduced if the growers follow the recommend spray schedules.

The following sprays are recommended: 2.5 gm of copper oxy chloride (COC) in 1 litre of water should be sprayed immediately after the pre-monsoon showers in June. This solution should be sprayed regularly every 10 days. Farmers should also check waterlogging and weeds in their fields. If the disease still occurs, then spray Ridomil MZ—the same dose as of COC. After Ridomil MZ spray the COC spray should be done regularly at a gap of seven days. The affected fruits should be removed and disposed of immediately, advise scientists.