Wednesday, 22 August 2012

A Place to Start

What I propose to do in this blog is very simple? I am going to present information/data for everybody (hence the title) and also collect information/data from everybody.

What is the need to do this? I want the newcomer to Agriculture to get a head start rather than spending his/her time looking for information/data. (As I mentioned earlier, I have been looking for information/data for quite a long time and still not able to get the data for analysis in a organized manner.  Hence, I felt the need to do the same.)

As I am from Tamilnadu (India), the information/data presented here is related to TN state and hence people from other states can use the template (I will update later on) and fill the data according to their respective states. (Please give credit to the author)

Anybody who wishes to come into the agriculture fold should be getting a basic knowledge of agriculture before deciding the future course of action.  My suggestion would be as follows:-

Books of Interest
  1. One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
  2. Miracle Apples by Akinori Kimura

Classes in Person

1. Attend classes (mostly free) in Krish Vigyan Kendra in your respective district.  To identify the KVK in your place, use the link http://www.icar.org.in/krishi-vigyan-kendra.htm or http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/kvk/kvkindia.html .


Net Books

1. You can browse the respective areas of interest in the following link http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/agrodok.html and enhance your knowledge.


Net Magazine

1. The one which is freely available to all the agriculturalists is the LEISA network.  You can read in your own local language (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya & Hindi) & of course in English as well by going through the link www.leisaindia.org or http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/india.  The Leisa Magazine is available every Quarter.


Print Magazine

  1. பசுமை விகடன் (Pasumai Vikatan) - Available in stands on 10th & 25th of every month in Tamil
  2. நவீன வேளாண்மை (Naveena Velaanmai) - Tamil Monthly Magazine
  3. உழவர் ஓசை (Uzhavar Osai) - Tamil Monthly Magazine
  4. தமிழக விவசாயி உலகம் (Tamilaga Vivasayee Ulagam) - Tamil Monthly Magazine
  5. வேளாண் வணிக உலகம் (Velaan Vaniga Ulagam) - Tamil Monthly Magazine


Phone Farming

1. Toll Free Number (1-800-180-1551) - The number given is accessible from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM except on Sundays and gazetted holidays and is run by the Govt of India.


TV Shows

Apart from the magazines, you can also watch TV shows which are very useful in my opinion are:-

1. மக்கள் (Makkal) TV (6:30 AM to 7:00 AM & 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM -- Mon to Fri) - Tamil

2. பொதிகை (Podhigai) TV (6:00 AM to 6:30 AM & 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM -- Mon to Fri) - Tamil


As usual, if anybody has more information, you are welcome to let me know.

I think for the beginners, this is "A Place to Start".


I am updating this page for consolidating the entire blog and users of this blog can easily navigate based on their requirements.

Generally, the following are the requirements for doing agricultural activity and they can be classified into different categories based on our assessment.  I have marked few as Level 1 Requirement, Level 2 Requirement etc.

By understanding the requirements, the users or farmers can take the right decisions and enable him to save time and money and focus on the important and immediate requirements.
  1. Methods / Models / Concepts
    1. Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by Subhash Palekar
    2. An Introduction to Baskar Save's The Platform and Trench Method
    3. Swayam Shikshan Prayog - One Acre Model
    4. Farm Design - Design Two (Annapoorna Model)
    5. Cho's Global Natural Farming by Cho Han Kyu (Korean Farming)
  1. Farm Design (Level 1 Requirement)

    1. Farm Design - An Overview
    2. Farm Design - Is it REALLY necessary to have Crops Design?
    3. Farm Design - Is it REALLY necessary to have Roads Design?
    4. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 1.0)
    5. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 2.0)
    6. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 2.1)
    7. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 2.2)
    8. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 3.0)
    9. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 4.0)
    10. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 5.0)
    11. Farm Design - Raised Beds for Vegetable Farming (Simple Model)
    12. Farm Design - Vegetable Farming (Bread Sandwich Method)
    13. Farm Design - Raised Bed Preparation for Vegetable Farming (Hugelkultur Method)
    14. Farm Design - Habitat Management
  • Crops Selection (Level 1 Requirement)

  1. Choosing the Right Crop
  2. Choosing the Right Variety within a Crop
  3. Choosing the Right Number of Crops - Approach One
  4. Choosing the Right Number of Crops - Approach Two
  5. Choosing the Crops based on Water Needs
  6. Choosing the Crops (Groupwise) based on Water Needs
  7. Choosing the Crops (Groupwise) based on Longevity (age)
  8. Choosing the Crops (Groupwise) based on Soil Types - Work In Progress
  9. Choosing the Crops (Groupwise) based on Shelf Life
  10. Choosing the Right Combination of Crops - Single Harvest & Multiple Harvest Crops
  11. Choosing the Right Combination of Crops - Single (Season) Harvest & Multiple (Season) Harvest Crops
  12. Choosing the Right Combination of Crops - Short Term, Medium Term & Long Term Crops
  13. Choosing the Right Combination of Crops - Food Crops v/s Cash Crops
  14. Choosing the Right Combination of Crops - Localized, Naturalized v/s Exotic Crops
  15. InterCrop
    1. Intercrop Details 
  • Water (Level 1 Requirement)

    1. Water Sources
    2. Internal Water Sources - An Analysis
    3. Water Irrigation Methods
    4. Water Harvesting Methods
    5. Water Storage Methods
    6. Single Pond Design for Water Storage
    7. Multiple Ponds Design for Water Storage
    8. Water Conservation in Ponds
  • Water Technologies

    1. Bhungroo (Straw) Water Management by  Biplab Ketan Paul (http://www.naireetaservices.com/)
    2. Four Water Concepts by T.Hanumantha Rao (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHjtcF_0_IA)
  • Soil (Level 2 Requirement)

    1. How to improve the Soil
    2. How to improve - sustain the Soil 
  • Fence (Level 2 Requirement)

    1. What are the different options in FENCEing
    2. Live - Natural Fence - Understanding the Benefits
    3. Live Fence - A Detailed Approach
    4. Live / Natural Fence - Important Considerations
    5. Live Fence / Bio Fence / Natural Fence - A General List of Plants
    6. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 5.0)
  • Manures (Level 2 Requirement)

    1. Manures - Amudha Karaisal
    2. Manures - Arappu More Karaisal
    3. Manures - Attottam
    4. Manures - Biogas Slurry
    5. Manures - Dasagavya (தசகாவ்யா)
    6. Manures - Effective Microorganisms
    7. Manures - Egg Lime Formulation (Muttai Rasam)
    8. Manures - Fermented Buttermilk & Coconut Milk Solution
    9. Manures - Fish Amino Acid (மீன் அமினோ அமிலம்)
    10. Manures - Ghana Jeevamrutha
    11. Manures - Herbal Tea
    12. Manures - Jeevamrutha
    13. Manures - Kaadi Maavu (காடி மாவு)
    14. Manures - Panchakavya
    15. Manures - Panchakavya Plus
    16. Manures - Pazha Karaisal
    17. Manures - Misc
  • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

    1. Integrated Pest Management - Border Crop or Perimeter Crop Details
    2. Integrated Pest Management - Enemy's Enemy is my Friend - Snakes
    3. Integrated Pest Management - Light Traps
    4. Integrated Pest Management - Pheromone Lures - Traps
    5. Integrated Pest Management - Trap Crop Details
    6. Integrated Pest Management - "T" shaped Bird Perches
    7. Integrated Pest Management - Yellow Sticky Pans - Traps
    • Pesticides
  • Machineries (Level 2 Requirement)

    1. Vegetable Harvest Equipment's
      1. Bhindi Cutter
  • Farm Maintenance (Level 2 Requirement)
  • Roads (Level 3 Requirement)

    1. Farm Design - Is it REALLY necessary to have Crops Design?
    2. Farm Design - Design One (Ver 4.0)
  • Marketing (Level 3 Requirement)
  • Pre & Post Harvest (Level 3 Requirement)
  • Labour (Level 3 Requirement)
  • Administration (Level 3 Requirement)
  • Value Added Products & Services (Level 4 Requirement)
  • Seeds

    1. Seed Treatment
      1. Seed Dormancy Treatment
        1. Seed Dormancy Treatment - Vegetables - General
      2. Seed Disease Control Treatment
        1. Seed Disease Control Treatment - Bijamrita
    2. Seed Preservation
  • Database, Knowledge & General Concepts

    1. Allied Activities
    2. Data & Analysis
    3. Exhibition / Meetings / Trainings
    4. Farmer2Farmer
    5. Links
    6. Tips & Tricks
    7. Flowers Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress
    8. Timber Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress
    9. Misc Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress
  • Misc

    1. How to collect Local or Indigenous Earthworms?
    2. List of Nitrogen Fixers
    3. Monoculture v/s Polyculture
    4. Organic Termite Control Method 1
    5. Vegetable Sowing Chart for Tamilnadu
    6. Vegetable Sowing Chart for South India
    7. Improving Productivity with Bees
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