ICAR checks primitive ways
Peeyush Agnihotri
Traditional agricultural methods were at one time a compulsion in the North-East (NE) in the absence of proper guidelines on modernisation of agrarian techniques. However, the scenario is slowly, but steadily, changing due to a handful of dedicated organisations.

Housewife takes up growing herbs commercially
Ruchika M. Khanna
The painstaking efforts and the huge cost involved notwithstanding, a housewife from Panchkula has decided to go ahead with commercial cultivation of safed musli, commonly known as divya aushadhi, a medicinal herb.

Punjab cries for Bt cotton
K.S. Chawla

BT cotton is not being released in the Punjab circle, comprising Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, while the cotton growers of these states are hankering after it.

These farmers are liable to be cheated if certified BT cotton seed is not made available to them, warn experts at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, and officials in the Punjab Government. The central and southern zones of the country already have this seed available.

Trials conducted by PAU on certain Bt cotton varieties have found them free of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) and it can be released in the Punjab circle.

However, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is insisting on conducting trials for another year. Bt cotton hybrids were released in central and southern zones after two-year trials. The Punjab Government has urged the Central government that the same method should be adopted for this circle, failing which farmers could end up buying fake seed from unscrupulous traders.

The cotton breeders at PAU are of the view that Punjab is well on its way to restore the lost glory of the “white gold” as the cotton production this year has been very good.

There has been an increase of 30 or 50 per cent in certain cases. The total production in Punjab is expected to be more than 14 lakh bales as against 8 lakh last year. The quality has also been very good. The cost of production, too, was low because of good weather and pest management.

Dr G.S. Chahal, in charge of the cotton programme, and Dr Joginder Singh, head of the Department of Entomolgy, PAU, explain that eight Bt hybrids — RCH 134, RCH 138, RCH 317, Ankur 651, Ankur 222, Ankur 2534, MRC 6301 and RCH 6034 — have been tested at Faridkot and Ludhiana this year and found fit for cultivation. They claim the trials were conducted according to the schedule of the ICAR.

Dr B.C. Gupta, Financial Commissioner (Development), Punjab, in a letter to the Central government has emphasised that the state is serious about reviving cotton in Punjab, citing this year’s good crop. Making a demand for Bt cotton seed, Dr Gupta has warned: “The availability of Bt cotton in India, coupled with the enthusiasm of Punjab farmers, is sure to end up in the exploitation of farmers by unscrupulous traders on a massive scale. It is in this context the ICAR is being approached to support the Punjab Government in its endeavour to save cotton as well as its growers.”

He has mentioned the trial of Bt cotton hybrids conducted during 2002 as per the guidelines of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, at the Faridkot research station of PAU. Two entries of Bt cotton — RCH 314 and RCH 138 — were found to be resistant to CLCV disease. Both gave 103 to 132 per cent higher yield over the control non-Bt hybrids. Bt hybrids were not sprayed for bollworm control, whereas the non-Bt hybrids were given four sprays for bollworm. These two hybrids, along with six other hybrids of Bt cotton, are again being tested in the north zone by the ICAR during the current season.

Under the existing procedure of testing, first by the GEAC and then by the ICAR, at least a few of these BT hybrids are expected to be recommended for cultivation in Punjab.

Opposing any change in the testing procedure, Dr Gupta has pointed out that if the ICAR conducts tests for two years, no Bt cotton would be available in Punjab even for the next crop season, which would be detrimental to the interest of cotton growers.

Dr Chahal and Dr Joginder Singh maintain that the tested Bt hybrids are fit for cultivation and the ICAR should not delay their release.

Cotton production had touched an all-time high of 26 lakh bales in 1991-92, and this could be achieved again if canal water is made available from April 15 and quality seed and insecticides are made available to the growers, they say.

ICAR checks primitive ways
Peeyush Agnihotri

Dr K.M. Bujarbaruah, Director, North-East Hills Research Directorate, ICAR.

Traditional agricultural methods were at one time a compulsion in the North-East (NE) in the absence of proper guidelines on modernisation of agrarian techniques. However, the scenario is slowly, but steadily, changing due to a handful of dedicated organisations.

One of the Central government agencies that is ushering in a sea change in a part of the country that is the first to be smiled upon by the rising sun is the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The North-East Hills (NEH) Research Directorate of the ICAR is playing a pivotal role in guiding the agriculturists through research methodologies and innovative methods.

Established in 1975, it is the first institute of its kind that encompasses all disciplines of agriculture—horticulture, animal science, agricultural engineering, agroforestry and fishery—to cater to the research needs of the tribal areas of the NEH region. The objective of this institute is to generate location-specific technologies for different agroclimatic zones of the region.

The Director of the institute, Dr K.M. Bujarbaruah, who is taking on the problem of shifting cultivation (jhum and bun) in NE India with deft technical expertise, says that deep-rooted traditional agricultural techniques cannot be wished away overnight. They can, however, be spontaneously modified to minimise the ecological ill effects. Jhum is an ancient method of cultivation wherein a patch of forestland is cut and burnt down to be cultivated. Bun is different in the sense that the slashed biomass is not burnt but ploughed in for organic content.

“The state government doesn’t have a definite policy on these methods of cultivation. These methods were relevant when the population pressure was less and the land was re-harnessed after 30 odd years. Today, the population pressure is such that cultivators come back to used land after three or five years. This is not sustainable, and that is why they do not get proper agricultural yield,” he says.

“Our approach in the ICAR has been to minimise soil erosion and land denudation losses. So we evolved a technique of terracing and contour bundhs, with water drains running perpendicular to hill slopes. The ICAR, which acts as a facilitator, also helps develop community hillocks for agricultural purposes through participatory approach. This way farmers till a particular piece of land every year and ultimately get used to settled cultivation,” he says.

The Director points out that earlier farmers were satisfied with producing just one crop (Kharif) a year. “Now, after scientific intervention, they harvest two crops per annum. We have developed 11 varieties of rice for the farmers of the NE. These varieties are suited for valleys as well as the mid-altitude and high-altitude uplands. Megha I and Megha II rice varieties have been crossed with the local Khonorulu variety to derive highly productive crosses. Besides rice, new varieties of turmeric, tomato and mustard have so far been released by the ICAR,” says Dr Bujarbaruah.

The institute, under its programme on sustainable farming, has developed an agri-horti-silvi-pastoral system as one of the best land-use systems with adequate advantage of soil and water conservation. “It has been proved that such a system can reduce soil erosion from 42 tonne/ha to 1.5 tonne/ha, besides providing for rainwater harvesting. This water can be harnessed both for pisciculture as well as irrigation,” he says.

The Director agrees that commercial agriculture and the Green Revolution could not touch the NE. This was mainly due to the region’s inaccessibility. “Keeping this in mind, we refocused our strategy and made it two pronged. One, augment food production through intensive high-input agriculture in the valley land and, two, convert rest of the areas into organic farming zones,” he says.

Dr Bujarbaruah, whose earlier stint was that of a scientist-cum-administrator in Nagaland, has carved out a definite road map and predicts that the ICAR will be able to usher in a vibrant change within the next 15 years. “I expect that within the next decade and a half, the NE will not only be self-sufficient but also food surplus. For this, rainwater needs to be harvested. That may bring in more area under settled cultivation. To usher in a revolutionary change, my advice to all NE agriculturists is, ‘Protect present resources and judiciously utilise the natural ones. This is how we will be able to grow.’”

—This article has been facilitated by a fellowship given by the National Foundation of India under its North-East Media Exchange Programme.

Housewife takes up growing herbs commercially
Ruchika M. Khanna

Ms Beena Sharma on her farm near Zirakpur.

The painstaking efforts and the huge cost involved notwithstanding, a housewife from Panchkula has decided to go ahead with commercial cultivation of safed musli, commonly known as divya aushadhi, a medicinal herb.

Ms Beena Sharma, who had been reading about the benefits of ayurveda — courtesy her son, who is doing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacology — decided to grow safed musli. This plant is considered an endangered species because of its indiscriminate exploitation in the forests. Its tuber is used in most countries of South Asia, Europe, Japan and West Asia as a general health tonic to cure physical weakness, and for diabetes and arthritis as well. It is also used as an aphrodisiac and a brain tonic for children.

After finding out the benefits of this plant and discovering an assured market for it, Ms Sharma decided to begin its cultivation this year. So far, this medicinal plant is cultivated on a commercial scale in central and southern India only. Ms Sharma first visited farms in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, and Hyderabad to receive training for its cultivation, then leased out two acres of farmland in Zirakpur on the Zirakpur-Ambala highway to grow the plant. She is expecting the first yield in February next year.

Officials in the state medicinal plant boards of both Haryana and Punjab say she is one of the first farmers to have taken up commercial cultivation of safed musli. Other than in Malerkotla in Punjab, she is perhaps the only farmer to have taken up its cultivation in a big way, say the officials.

The medicinal plant boards of the two states have been assigned the task of promoting the cultivation of medicinal plants on a commercial scale.

Haryana has already identified 750 acres of land in the south-west (Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rewari) and north-east (Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala) regions for the cultivation of these plants. It has registered 58 farmers for the purpose at a cost of Rs 11.17 crore. Punjab, however, has not made much headway in this regard. The National Medicinal Plant Board will provide a 30 per cent grant to every farmer who take up cultivation of these herbs.

“Safed musli is a precious medicinal plant with expanding demand in the domestic as well as international markets. Its annual production in the world is estimated at 5,000 tonne whereas its annual demand is about 35,000 tonne. Because of this, its commercial value is high. We are expecting a yield of about 50 quintal, after sowing 10 quintal of seed,” says Ms Sharma. Though the expenditure incurred in the first year of its cultivation is high (Rs 3.5 lakh per acre), it reduces in the subsequent years to Rs 1 lakh per acre.

She is getting technical assistance from a farmer in Hyderabad for getting a good yield. “For the cultivation of this plant, only drip irrigation is used. It is sown on beds (3-foot wide) with channels to drain excessive water. The plant-to-plant distance is eight inches, while the line-to-line distance to be kept is six or eight inches,” she advises.