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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE |
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Re-fixing priorities can save agro-economy Ring-pit plantation can double sugarcane yield Farmers plan two paddy crops
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Re-fixing priorities can save agro-economy For the conservation of natural resources, enhancing farmers’ income and employment generation, diversification of agriculture is necessary. It has been assessed that Punjab’s water resources, in the long run, can sustain 16 lakh hectares of paddy as compared to the 25 lakh hectares under cultivation at present. This means that the state has to divert at least 10 lakh hectares from paddy to other crops/enterprise systems. Diversification is being implemented in the state through contract farming. Cotton is a viable alternative. Last year, encouraging yields and market price were observed in this crop. The area under cotton is likely to increase further. Apart from diversification, other areas of importance are value addition, processing and product development. At present, value addition is estimated at a dismal 7 per cent and processing 2 per cent of the production in the country. For agro-processing and value addition, both private and public investment need to be encouraged. Keeping in view the agro-climatic requirement of different crops, export zones have been established in the state. Basmati is a high-value crop with export potential and is less damaging to the ecology as compared to non-basmati varieties. In wheat, durum varieties have good export potential. Vegetables, honey and kinnow are other commodities for export. Development of varieties for quality and suitability for processing is at present being given priority in research at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Two notable successes are the development of “00”, or canola type brassicas (GSCS and Hyola), and durum wheat varieties (PDW 233 and PDW 274) with quality standards suitable for export. Efforts are being made to develop waxy maize with high amylopectin content for industrial use and quality protein maize for human and poultry consumption.
Conservation Crop-management research at PAU aims at increasing the yield of different crops per unit time through the refinement of technologies for sustaining productivity. Resource-conservation technologies like “bed planting” and “zero tillage” have led to savings in water, fertiliser and seeds, besides significantly improving soil health. Eco-friendly technologies for pest and disease management through integrated pest management, determination of economic threshold levels for rational use of pesticides and bio-control strategies have been developed. The technologies developed are made available to the farmers in the form of “package of practices.”
The economic condition of farmers is deteriorating due to the decreased farm sizes and poor returns. Up to 46 per cent of the farmers in Punjab have less than 2 hectares of land. The productivity of the major crops has stagnated and the input costs have increased. Indebtedness has also become a serious problem among farmers. The total debt accrued by Punjab farmers is around Rs 11,000 crore. Farming also suffers from over-investment. The number of tractors has increased from 1.25 lakh in 1980-81 to 4.1 lakh at present, as tractors have become a status symbol. Most of these are, however, grossly underutilised with an annual average use of 264 hours as against the optimal of 1000 hours. Besides, there are 9.1 lakh tubewells installed in the state. An estimated total value of farm machinery in the state is worth Rs 8000 crore. Already, more than 1 lakh tubewells have been replaced and around 3.9 lakh centrifugal pumps will have to be replaced by submersible pumps in the next few years, costing crores of rupees and increasing the energy requirements threefold to pump out the same quantity of water. Groundwater in the south-western districts of Punjab is by and large brackish and not fit for irrigation. In some areas where a thin layer of sweet water is floating over saline water, multiple-skimming well technology will have to be employed.
Ecology Intensive cropping has led not only to depletion of resources but also serious environmental problems. Nearly 50 per cent of the soils are deficient in zinc. Coarse-textured soils are deficient in manganese. Iron deficiency is prevalent in extremely sandy soils with poor organic matter. Due to excessive use of pesticides, the problem of pollution has increased tremendously. Besides elemental toxicity like that from nitrate, selenium, boron, fluoride, etc., pollution due to heavy metals has also increased. The dairy sector has been the saviour of farmers. About one-third of the farm income is contributed by livestock enterprises in Punjab. However, the average milk yield per animal comes to only 3 litres per day, which is very low in comparison to the high cost of feed and fodder, making even dairying uneconomical. The university lays emphasis on farmers’ participation while formulating research programmes so that new technologies serve the needs of the farmers. The feedback received from farmers and field functionaries proves extremely useful for reprioritisation of research. The present crises warrant action to not only sustain productivity but also revive the sagging economy of farmers. Effective transfer of technology is as important as its generation. PAU has revamped its ongoing research programmes and re-fixed priorities to address to the emerging problems. The author is Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. |
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Ring-pit plantation can double sugarcane yield The losses faced by sugar mills mean increasing arrears of payments to sugarcane growers. This is leading to farmers quitting sugarcane, causing concern to mills. The only way out of this seems reduction in the cost of production. A revolutionary method of sugarcane plantation that can make cost-reduction possible was developed in the 1980s by the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, but it did not catch on. People have found it hard to believe that the yield could be increased two or three times by adopting the ring-pit method. In this regard, a meeting was called last year, which was attended by officials from Punjab Agricultural University, the Punjab Government, and other related agencies. It decided to conduct field trials to establish the facts. Although it was late for planting, the experiment was still carried out on several plots in Punjab. The harvesting was done in December so that the results could be analysed in time for spring planting in 2004. The results showed that under the ring-pit method, an average of 474 qt/acre was achieved as against the 250 of the conventional method. One has to keep in mind that the data was only for a nine-month-old crop, which means there is scope for an even higher yield. The method is dependent on mother shoots, i.e., zero tillering, and the total number of millable canes per acre. Under the system, around 2700 pits per acre are made. Thirty mother shoots are allowed to develop into millable canes of 1.25-1.75 kg each. This can give a yield of 800-1100 qt/acre if the recommended package of practices is adopted.
The method Make round pits with a specially designed pit digger in a field with optimum moisture. The number of pits per acre must be around 2700. Apply 3.5-5 kg farmyard manure, 60 gm NPK (12:32:16), 40 gm urea and 5 gm Forate/Furadon per pit. Place 25 two-budded sets (40 or 50 buds) per pit, after soaking in Aglol or Areton. The arrangement of the buds is like the spokes of a wheel. Cover with 2-3 inches of soil taken from the middle of two pits in order to make a channel for irrigation. Up to 60 qt of seed would be required. After the shoots attain a height of 9 inches, 40 gm NPK and 20 gm urea should be applied in each pit and these should be half filled with soil. In the last week of June, apply 40 gm urea and 5 gm Furadon/Forate per pit and fill the remaining pit with soil, making the field plain. From July onwards, soil from all sides should be placed on the clumps making a channel all around the clumps, to be used for irrigation/drainage. De-trash the crop for the control of stalk borer and use the trash as props to avoid lodging. The remaining trash may be left in the field as mulch, which later becomes organic manure. For better ratoons, harvest from as low a level as possible, irrigate and apply 100 gm NPK and 50 gm urea.
Advantages —Lower layer of soil gets light and air. —Organic manure improves soil structure. —Insects are exposed and eaten by birds. —All nutrients are placed in the root, thus better utilised. —Sufficient space between pits for light and air and operations like spraying, dusting and propping. —Root zone is lower, thus always moist. —Lodging is checked. —Higher number of ratoons as roots are deep. |
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Farmers plan two paddy crops KARNAL: More and more farmers in the district have been opting for short-duration “satha” paddy varieties over the past few years to gain extra profit by getting two crops in one season. While the hazards of soil degradation and water exploitation are serious in such a practice, the woes of farmers are equally compelling, which have forced them to adopt the practice. The water level in the district has gone down by 9 feet in the past two decades, forcing farmers to install submersible pumps. Mr Harmesh Singh Cheema, a farmer of Darar village, told The Tribune: “There are flaws in the procurement policies of the government that have compelled the small and marginal farmers to cultivate satha paddy.” He alleged that the government agencies did not purchase even 10 per cent of the paddy produce in his village. Owing to this, farmers had to sell their produce to private rice mills at prices lower than the minimum support price (MSP). Given the situation, an increasing number of farmers are taking to the short-duration varieties to compensate for the loss by getting two crops. Had the farmers been getting the minimum support price, no one would have gone in for short-duration varieties, said Mr Cheema. Another farmer of the village, Mr Balbir Singh, said, “There are 2,500 acres of cultivable land in the village, out of which at least 500 acres was sown with short-duration varieties of paddy last year.” He said this year more than 50 farmers of the village had already planted seedlings of short-duration varieties. At least 100 more were planning to do so after experiencing last year’s drop in the yield of basmati and also the below-MSP remuneration offered to them by private rice mills. “The average price paid for good-quality basmati was between Rs 750 and Rs 900 per quintal,” he said. Mr Cheema said small and marginal farmers could not face such losses by cultivating basmati; therefore the attraction towards a double crop in one season. He said the input costs in agriculture had increased manifold in the past decade, making farming unattractive.
Different power rates There is another peculiar complaint of farmers in this village—huge difference in power tariffs applicable in the various villages of the district. This is due to the new policy of the state government to charge rates in accordance with the water level in the respective areas. In Darar village, the charges are Rs 105 per horsepower while the rates in Nilokheri, Jundla, Indri and other blocks of the district vary from Rs 50 to Rs 80. While the government may have a valid reason for the difference in rates, it seems unable to convince the farmers of this village, a majority of whom are illiterate. They allege there are political reasons for this differential. Another interesting fact that came to light after interacting with the farmers was that the Pusa-44 variety, developed and recommended by the regional centre of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), was the least purchased by the government agencies during the past few years. Says Mr Sewa Singh Arya, state general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, “The descending income graph of farmers due to the flaws in the procurement system and the imposition of uneven power tariffs is what has forced the farmers to get two crops in one season.”
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