Agriculture for Everybody: 2012

Friday 14 December 2012

Live Fence / Bio Fence / Natural Fence - A General List of Plants

As part of our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see the General List of Plants used in Live / Bio Fence / Natural Fence as well as few Windbreakers.

The following list of plants can be utilized for Live / Bio Fence / Natural Fence and some of the large trees can be used as Windbreakers and it will better if the farmer goes for locally available material so as to reduce the expenses. The below list will be updated as and when there are more data available.

S.No.	Botanical Name	Common Name	Tamil Name	Habit	Condition	Role
1	Acacia caesia (L.) Willd.			Climbing prickly shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
2	Acacia chundra Willd.			Small tree	Dried / Live	Mechanical barrier
2a	Acacia Concinna	Shikakai, Soap-pod		Climbing prickly shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
2aa	Acacia Mellifera	-	-	-	Live	Mechanical barrier
2b	Acacia nilotica subsp. indica	Gum Arabic, Babool	கறுவேளை		Live	Mechanical barrier
2c	Acacia nilotica ssp. Tomentosa	Tomentose Babool	கறுவேளை		Live	Mechanical barrier
3	Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr.			Prickly climbing shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
4	Acacia torta (Roxb.) Craib.			Prickly climbing shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
4a	Acalypha lanceolata	Indian Copperleaf, Indian acalypha	குப்பைமேனி		Live	Mechanical barrier
5	Adhatoda zeylanica Medikus.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on the boundary
6	Agave americana L.	Century Plant	யானைக் கற்றாழை	Stout shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
7	Agave sisalana Perr.ex Engelm.			Stout shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
8	Alangium salvifolium (L.f.) Wangerin ssp. hexapetalum (Lamk.) Wangerin			Large straggling shrub	Dried / Live	Mechanical barrier
8a	Aloe Vera	Aloe Vera	கற்றாழை		Live	Mechanical barrier
8b	Asparagus officinalis	AsparagAsparagus, Garden asparagusus, Garden asparagus			Live	Mechanical barrier
9	Bambusa arundinacea (Retz.) Roxb.			Large thorny bamboo	Dried / Live	Wind breaker
9a	Bambusa bambos	Indian Thorny Bamboo	பெருமூங்கில்	Large thorny bamboo	Dried / Live	Wind breaker
10	Barleria prionites L.			Spinous under shrub	Live	Prevents entry
10a	Berberis aristata	Indian Barberry	கஸ்தூரி மஞ்சள்	Spiny shrub	Live	Prevents entry
11	Bobax ceiba L.			Large tree	Live	Grown on boundaries
12	Borassus flabellifer L.			Tall palm	Dried leaf	Mechanical barrier
13	Bougainvillea x buttiana Holttum & Standey			Spinous climber	Dried/live	Mechanical barrier
14	Bougainvillea glabra Choisy.			Spinous climber	Dried/live	Mechanical barrier
15	Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb.			Scandent prickly shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
16	Caesalpinia mimosoides Lam.			Prickly scandent shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
16a	Caesalpinia pulcherrima	Peacock Flower			Live	Mechanical barrier
16b	Caesalpinia sappan	Sappan Wood		Small thorny tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
17	Canthium coromandelicum (Burm.f.) Alston			Stout spinous shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
18	Canthium rheedii DC.			Scandent spinous shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
19	Carissa carandas L.	Karanda	களா	Large armed shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
20	Carissa congesta Wight.			Large armed shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
21	Caryota urens L.			Tall palm	Dried leaf	Mechanical barrier
22	Casuarina equisetifolia L.			Large tree	Live	Wind breaker
23	Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirveng.			Large armed shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
24	Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.			Large tree	Live	Planted on boundaries
25	Cereus peruvianus (L.) Mill.			Arborescent cactus	Live	Prevents entry
25a	Chrysopogon zizanioides		வெட்டிவேர்	Tall Grass	Live	Soil Erosion
25b	Citrus limon	Lemon, Nimbu	எலுமிச்சை	Thorny Tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
25c	Clerodendrum inerme	Wild Jasmine		Large straggling shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
25d	Commiphora berryi	Indian Balm or Gilead	Mul - கிளுவை		Live	Mechanical barrier
26	Cordia cylindristachya Roemer & Schultes.			Shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
27	Corypha umbraculifera L.			Tall palm	Dried leaf	Mechanical barrier
27a	Cylindropuntia Ramosissima	Diamond Cholla, Branched Pencil Cholla	Suramul	Cactus	Live	Planted on boundary
27b	Datura stramonium	Jimsonweed, Thornapple		Bushy Plant	Live	Prevents entry
27c	Dendrocalamus strictus	Calcutta Bamboo	சிறுமூங்கில்	Small bamboo	Live	Wind breaker
27d	Dodonaea viscosa	Hop Bush, Hopseed		Small shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
28	Duranta erecta L.			Erect or straggling shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
29	Erythrina variegataL. var. orientalis (L.) Merr.			Large armed tree	Live	Planted on boundary
30	Euphorbia antiquorum L.			Fleshy spinous shrub	Live	Prevents entry
31	Euphorbia neriifolia L.			Fleshy spinous shrub	Live	Prevents entry
32	Euphorbia nivulia Buch.-Ham.			Fleshy spinous shrub	Live	Prevents entry
33	Euphorbia tirucalli L.			Fleshy shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
33a	Ficus benjamina	Weeping Fig	வெள்ளால்	Large Tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
34	Furcraea foetida (L.)Haw.			Stout shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
35	Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.)Walp.	Gliricidia, Mexican lilac	சீமை அகத்தி	Small tree	Live	Planted on boundary
35a	Grevillea robusta	Silver oak		Large tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
36	Hibiscus rosa sinensis L.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
37	Hibiscus schizopetalus(Mast.) Hook.f.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
38	Hopea ponga (Dennst.) Mabberly			Large tree	Live	Planted on boundary
39	Jatropha curcas L.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
40	Jatropha gossypifolia L.			Small shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
41	Justicia betonica L.			Scandent shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
42	Justicia gendarussa Burm.f.			Under shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
43	Lantana camara L.	Lantana	உன்னிச்செடி	Rambling shrub	Dried/Live	Mechanical barrier
43a	Lawsonia inermis	Henna, Mehendi	மருதாணி	Small shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
44	Leea indica (Burm.f.) Merr.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
44a	Leucaena leucocephala	Subabul		Small tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
44b	Morinda pubescens	Indian Mulberry		Small shrub	Live	Prevents entry
45	Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.			Twining herb	Live	Prevents entry
46	Naringi crenulata(Roxb.) Nicolson			Spinous tree	Dried	Mechanical barrier
46a	Nerium oleander	Oleander	அரளி (Arali)	Small shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
47	Ochlandra scriptoria (Dennst.) C.Fischer			Shrubby bamboo	Live/Dried	Mechanical barrier
48	Ochlandra travancorica Benth.ex.Gamble			Shrubby bamboo	Live/Dried	Mechanical barrier
49	Opuntia stricta (Haw.)Haw. var. dillenii (Ker-Gawler)L. Benson			Flat shrub	Live	Prevents entry
50	Pandanus fascicularis Lam.			Large shrub	Live	Prevents entry
51	Pandanus kaida Kurz.			Large shrub	Live	Prevents entry
52	Pandanus unipapillatus Denst.			Large shrub	Live	Prevents entry
53	Pedilanthus tithymaloides (L.) Poit.			Succulent herb	Live	Prevents entry
54	Petalidium barlerioides(Roth.) Nees.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
55	Phyllanthus myrtifolius			Under shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
55a	Pithecellobium dulce	Manilla Tamarind	கொடுக்காப்புளி	Large tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
56	Plumeria rubra L.			Small tree	Live	Planted on boundary
56A	Prosopis cineraria	‎Khejri Tree	Parambai	Small tree	Live	Planted on boundary
57	Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii (Munro.) Naithani			Slender bamboo	Live	Planted on boundary
57a	Pterospermum acerifolium	Maple-leaved Bayur tree	வெண்ணங்கு	Large tree	Live	Mechanical barrier
57b	Ricinus communis	Castor bean, Castor oil plant	ஆமணக்கு, விளக்கெண்ணை		Live	Mechanical barrier
57c	Robinia pseudoacacia	White Locust Tree			Live	Mechanical barrier
57d	Rubus niveus	Mysore Raspberry		Small shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
57e	Saraca asoca	Sita Ashok, Sorrowless tree	அசோகம்		Live	Mechanical barrier
58	Scleropyrum pentandrum (Dennst.) Mabberley			Small armed tree	Dried / Live	Mechanical barrier
59	Securinega leucopyrus (Willd.) Muell.-Arg.			Straggling shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
59a	Senna auriculata	Tanner's Cassia		Small shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
59b	Sesbania grandiflora	Agati			Live	Mechanical barrier
59c	Sesbania sesban	Egyptian Pea, Common sesban			Live	Mechanical barrier
60	Terminalia travancorensis Wight &Arn.			Large tree	Live	Planted on boundary
60a	Thevetia peruviana	Mexican oleander, Yellow Oleander		Large shrub	Live	Mechanical barrier
61	Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T.Anders.			Erect shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
61a	Vernonia elaeagnifolia	Curtain creeper, Vernonia creeper			Live	Mechanical barrier
62	Vitex negundo L.			Large shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
63	Vitex trifolia L.			Stout shrub	Live	Planted on boundary
64	Ziziphus glaberrima (Sedgw.) Sant.			Small tree	Dried	Mechanical barrier
65	Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.			Small tree with drooping branches	Dried	Mechanical barrier
66	Ziziphus oenoplia Mill.			Scandent shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier
67	Ziziphus rugosa Lam.			Scrambling shrub	Dried	Mechanical barrier

The following equivalent is not yet found.

S.No.	Common Name	Tamil Name
1	Cactus	Kalli
2	Square cactus	Caturakakalli

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Live / Natural Fence - Important Considerations

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to understand the important considerations of Live / Natural Fence.

Assuming you have opted for Live / Natural Fence, the following need to be kept in mind so as to get the maximum benefit out of Live / Natural Fences.

Bees - We need to have Bees for pollination and hence we need to attract the Bees to our farm. For this, we need to have flowering plants all through the season and if we plant the flowering plants in our fences, it serves both as food for Bees and also look pleasing to the eyes and enhances the aesthetics of the farm.

Birds - We need to have Birds for limiting/removing the worms in our farm and also the excreta dropped by them acts as a good manure and enriches the soil. For this, we need to have Singapore Cherry and other fruit trees in our fences that birds eat and survive. Birds build their nest generally in a multi-branch tree or shrub and hence it is important to have those plants and shrubs in our fences.
The following list of trees can be grown in your fence for attracting birds, bees etc:-

Agasta or Agathi (Sesbania grandiflora)
Alangium or Alangi (Alangium salvifolium)
Bauhinia Tree
Curry leaf tree or Karuvepillai (Murraya Koenigii)
Erythrina Tree (Mul Murungai)
Fig or Athi (Ficus racemosa)
Guava or Goyya (Psidium guajava)
Hibiscus
Indian Coral Tree or Kalyana Murungai (Erythrina indica)
Ixora (Idly Poo)
Mast tree or Nettilingam (Polyalthia longifolia)
Mahua or Iluppai (Madhuca indica)
Mavalingam Tree
Mulberry or Kambli (Morus alba)
Murraya Shrub
Singapore Cherry or Nei Pazhamaram (Prunus salicifolia)
Sapota (Achras zapota)
For a general list of fruit trees, check this link http://ramyanursery.in/tablefruitplants.html

Owls - Owls generaly live in dead trees and hence we should not cut down dead trees. Rather we should allow the Owls to take shelter in them as they are good at limiting the rate menace.

Bats - We need to have plants (to be updated later) in our fences so that the Bats can take shelter in them and their droppings are very good for our soil and also they good at limiting the rat menace.

Others - Rat Snakes, Foxes, Spiders and other animals may take refugee in our fences. We should welcome them rather than being afraid of them. These animals eat rats, insects and hence limit the damage to our crops.

Water - Water is required for all the bees, birds and other animals. We need to have multiple water points near our fences so that they can quench their thirst. This water needs to be made freshly available every couple of days.

Once the fences have grown completely and has become mini-forests, human interference or our own cattle should not go near the fences as it will disturb the wild birds, reptiles etc.

Monday 26 November 2012

Live Fence - A Detailed Approach

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see the detailed approach to Live / Natural Fence.

I am giving below some of the base designs and request the users to tweak the designs to suit their requirements. I also request the users to provide the designs which are not part of the base design.

Model / Design 1

This model/design is a very simple one and it is best suited for traditional crops like Paddy, Sugarcane, Vegetable Farming etc or where the land holding is very small (< 3 acres) and hence cannot allocate more land to the fences.

The boundaries or bunds of this model is generally higher than the main crops in the middle and hence farmers should go for boundary trees which have single pole (stem) and not multi-branched. Examples are Mahogany or any timber trees which have single pole.

Each of the timber trees should be placed at 6 feet apart (or more) and in between bushes need to be planted. The bushes need to grow atleast 6 feet in height and the selection of the bushes should be such that they are not eatable by cattle. The bushes should be atleast 1 - 1.5 feet in breadth. It is preferred to have thorny bushes.

The trees in the north and south can be any timber tree or for that matter anything. The trees in the east and west need to have coppice capability. The simple reason being the crops in the middle need more sunlight and hence we may need to coppice the trees during the crop growing seasons.

Model / Design 2

This model/design is suited for medium size farms (>3 and <10 acres) and can cover both traditional crops like Paddy, Sugarcane etc as well as timber trees, fruit trees, vegetable farms etc.

The difference between 1st model and the 2nd model is the size of the land that is allocated to the fence.

The fence can be allocated 3 - 5 ft of land in all the borders and you can have different layers in that area.

The first layer can be bamboos (either thorny or non-thorny) depending on your future requirements like selling the bamboos after 4-5 years. The bamboos need to be kept at 1 feet apart with more than one sapling covering atleast 1.5 - 2 ft breath. Instead of bamboos, you can go for several small bushes which have flowers etc as well.

The second layer can be thorny bushes like lemon trees or any other bushes. This will or should take up another 1.5 - 2 ft of the breath allocated.

The third layer will be similar to the Model/Design 1 or to the third layer in Model/Design 3.

Model / Design 3

This model/design is suited for large size farms (>10 acres).

The fence can be allocated anywhere between 10 - 12 ft of land in all the borders and you can have layers in that area.

The first and second layer can be similar to the 2nd model but only the size needs to be increased from 1 ft breath to 2.5 ft breath for the first and second layers. We have covered 5 feet breath by this method.

The third layer should have multi-branch trees. The trees that are selected should be placed at 10 ft apart. Any type of bushes or flowering trees that can grow underneath the trees can be placed in between.

Between the third and fifth layer there will be 5 ft gap fourth and this will be taken by the fourth layer.

The fourth layer can be left or filled with multi-purpose shrubs, bushes etc. The natural process of seed droppings from the birds will enable many plants to grow in this area.

The fifth layer should have multi-branch trees. The trees that are selected should be placed at 10 ft apart. Any type of bushes or flowering trees that can grow underneath the trees can be placed in between. The trees need to be placed 5 ft apart (breath wise) from the third layer and also should be placed exactly in the centre of the third layer trees. This will ensure the trees are placed in a V model and will act as a windbreaker.

Note: I am providing an approximate land required for fences as well as the formula to calculate for different sizes of lands, so users can understand how much land is kept aside for fencing and choose the appropriate model.

1 Acre (43560 Sq Ft) = 200 Sq Ft X 217.8 Sq Ft

(Length) 200 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1 (Fence Breadth) + (Breadth) 217.8 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1 (Fence Breadth) = 400 + 435.6 = 835.6 Sq Ft is required for 1 Acre
In percentage terms, we are allocating 1.92% of the land.

(Length) 200 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1.5 (Fence Breadth) + (Breadth) 217.8 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1.5 (Fence Breadth) = 600 + 653.4 = 1253.4 Sq Ft is required for 1 Acre
In percentage terms, we are allocating 2.88% of the land.

3 Acres (130680 Sq Ft) = 200 Sq Ft X 653.4 Sq Ft

(Length) 200 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1 (Fence Breadth) + (Breadth) 217.8 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1 (Fence Breadth) = 400 + 1306.8 = 1706.8 Sq Ft is required for 3 Acres
In percentage terms, we are allocating 1.31% of the land.

(Length) 200 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1.5 (Fence Breadth) + (Breadth) 217.8 X 2 (Both Sides) X 1.5 (Fence Breadth) = 600 + 1960.2 = 2560.2 Sq Ft is required for 1 Acre
In percentage terms, we are allocating 1.96% of the land.

Saturday 17 November 2012

Live / Natural Fence - Understanding the Benefits

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see the understand the benefits of Live / Natural Fence.

We will delve deep into the reason why Live / Natural Fencing is a good option in the long run and will also look into some models / designs that can be applied to your farms in the next blog.

The following are some of the reasons to go for Live / Natural Fencing:-

Minimizes Monetary Loss due to stray cattle and humans
Increases Soil Fertility
Increases Water Retention
Acts as Windbreakers / Shelter Belts
Increases Bio-Diversity
Increases Monetary Benefit in the long run
Minimal Expenses

Minimizes Monetary Loss due to stray cattle and humans

We have already discussed in our previous blog about this at length

Increases Soil Fertility

The different parts of the crops like leaves, branches, fruits, flowers etc fall into the soil automatically due to the various climatic conditions and this increases the soil fertility. We need to ensure that the crops are able to survive in the first few years and thereafter the crops can sustain and grow by itself

Increases Water Retention

Even though it is true that every plant in our farm will help retain the water and improve the water table, the different crops in the Fence will further allow the roots deep into the soil and help the water to reach the bottom rather than leave the farm altogether

Acts as Windbreakers / Shelter Belts

Plant the trees in a V Model to ensure the wind is not allowed to travel very fast in the same direction and hence scatter the wind and reduce the speed of the wind as well
By planting different crops, we can ensure that different birds, bees, reptiles etc can take shelter in these areas

Increases Bio-Diversity

Bio-Diversity here means both in terms of crops as well as animals, birds etc. This will help us to maintain the pests at a reasonable level and as well reduce the need to go for pesticides
My suggestion would be to keep only those crops in the fence areas which are not part of your core crops meaning from which you derive your sustenance
Assuming we have snakes in the farm, this will help to maintain/reduce the rat population to a considerable extent
Assuming birds build their home in this area, this will help to reduce the worms to a greater extent. Also, birds bring seeds of different crops and this will further increase the bio-diversity in the farm. (It is our choice to remove the unwanted crops in the main area and only retain those in the fence area)
Assuming bees build their colonies in trees, this will help increase the pollination and help us to get better production and increased monetary benefits
Assuming Night Owls build their nests, this will help to keep the rats, small animals in control
Assuming Bats have their home, this will again help to keep the small animals in control

Increases Monetary Benefit in the long run

While we are having the fence for a different reason, it can also be used for different crops and also can benefit out of them
By doing this, we can get rarely used food as a by-product and also monetize them
Without our extra effort, our soil improves and this greatly benefits our main crops

Minimal Expenses

Generally, the other fencing options need more money when compared to Live/Natural fence.
By only going for seeds, cuttings, saplings etc we can greatly reduce the expenses incurred for this activity
We have to be clear about the fact that the Live/Natural fence will take atleast 3 years to be able to provide the kind of stability we are expecting

Monday 12 November 2012

What are the different options in FENCEing?

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see the different options in Fences.

Before getting into the details of Fences, we need to consider and assess whether we need Fences at all. While you travel in the rural areas, you can notice many of the Paddy fields, Sugarcane fields etc are not fenced at all. So, only if there is a need for Fencing should we consider the below options.

The need for fencing is to keep the stray cattle and poultry as well as human beings from tresspassing into your farm and damaging the crops and thereby minimizing the monetary loss.

Let us take a look at the different Fencing Options generally used and their specific uses as well.

Wooden Fencing
Wire Fencing
Electric / Solar Fencing
Live Fencing

Wooden Fencing

A wooden pole is used every few feet and in between wooden planks are attached to the poles. This has been used previously and this is used mainly for keeping big animals (like cows, horses) out.

The wooden pole and the wooden slabs gets worn out due to sun, rain and climatic conditions and hence needs to be replaced after few years.

Wire Fencing

A granite stone / cement / iron pole is used every few feet and a wire is used to secure the boundaries of the fence. In this type of fence, the initial cost is heavy but it lasts long.

Within Wire Fencing, there are many varieties and some of them are as follows:-

Smooth Wire Fencing
Barbed Wire Fencing
Diamond / Chain Link Wire Fencing
Square Wire Fencing

The most preferred fencing in the Wire Fencing is the Chain Link Fencing as it deters both big and small animals.

Electric / Solar Fencing

The Electric / Solar Fencing will have wires and through which small electric current gets passed and when the stray animals touches the fences, a mild shock is received and hence it avoid crossing into the farm. This is generally used around the farms which is nearby forests so as to deter wild animals from entering the farm.

Live / Natural Fence

Live Fence does not mean electric fence but refers to the liveable growing plants and trees. This fence will take atleast 3 years to be able to protect the crops but the least expensive of all the fences.

In terms of longevity, it is also the best and also provides useful monetary benefit in the long run to the farmers.

Wednesday 31 October 2012

How to improve / sustain the Soil

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see how to improve/sustain the soil.

Continuing with where we left in the last blog, we will discuss more ways to improve as well as sustain the soil.

As a rule of thumb, please remember "The Soil need not be exposed to direct sunlight and the sunlight is required only for the plants and that too by the leaves of the plants"

Don't expose the soil to direct sunlight

Most of the land is occupied by Trees, Crops etc and only the minimal area is not occupied by any crop. In this situation, we can go for Live (or) Green Mulch, Dead Mulch.
In case of traditional crops like Paddy, Sugarcane etc, the unwanted roots or branches should not be burnt and left as is to decompose in the very soil.
Live Mulch can be even weeds as well as any legume crops or grasses as well.
Dead Mulch can be plantains, dead leaves, twigs, broken branches etc. The Dead Mulch need to be spread in those areas where the soil is exposed to the sunlight and this will reduce the soil getting hot and also will reduce the evaporation in the process.

The Soil can be improved further if we allow the earthworms to live there. The earthworms cannot tolerate direct sunlight and hence will not be coming to the top of the soil if there is direct sunlight. As we all know, the more the earthworms, it is better for the soil as well as for the farmer. The earthworms improve the air passage, water seepage and provide nutrients to the roots of the crops.

We can also improve the soil by making the dead mulch decompose faster by sprinkling (cow dung + cow urine) mixture whenever there is heavy dead mulch available.

Traditionally, the goats / sheeps are allowed to stay overnight in the land so that the excreta that falls from them will improve the soil and this method is employed even today.

Soil carried by Wind

We need to implement Wind Breakers to control this and this has to be done in a V shape model.
The plants selected should have many branches and it should be thick (like Glyricidia) and should not have only one stem like coconut.
During the summer, we can go for short term crops to ensure that the top soil is covered and hence cannot be carried by wind.

Soil carried by Water

Water should not flow very fast and this is also one of the reasons for losing the top soil and the nutrients along with it.
Where water flows very fast, it should be made to walk. Create trenches along the gradient of the slope or every 25 or 50 feet to ensure that the speed of the water is reduced considerably.
Where water walks, it should be made to crawl. If the land is occupied by grasses or other crops, it will make the water slow down to a considerable extent.
Where water crawls, it should be made to stop. This can be a storage pit or tank or pond.

Compactness or Hardness

The Compactness or Hardness of the soil is done by humans by walking, heavy cattle grazing, heavy machinery, long term non-usage of the land etc.
Heavy machinery should never be used when the land is very wet. By Heavy Machinery, I mean tractors, harvesting machines etc.

The above are some of the ways we can sustain or improve the soil.

Friday 26 October 2012

How to improve the Soil

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see the ways to improve the soil.

As we all know, the Soil is the base for any agricultural activity. In this blog, we will discuss ways and means to improve the soil.

The details given below are for both "unused barren land" and "land in use" as well as for land which needs to be moved from chemical farming to organic farming.

Land Improvement - Method 1

The following 5 types of Seeds are required and their quantities are mentioned as well for 1 Acre. Overall, you require 4+4+4+4.25+1.75 = 22 Kgs of seeds per acre.

Pasunthaal (Green Manure Seeds) - 4 Kgs

Sanappu (Sunhemp) - 1Kg
Thakkaipoondu (Daincha) - 1 Kg
Avuri (Indigo) - 1 Kg
Sesbania (Sesbania) - 1 Kg

Siruthaaniam (Millet Seeds) - 4 Kgs

Cholam (Cholam) - 1 Kg
Cumbu (Spiked Millet) - 1 Kg
Kelvaragu (Ragi) - 1 Kg
Samai (Samai) - 1 Kg

Payaru (Cereal Seeds) - 4 Kgs

Ulundu (Blackgram) - 1 Kg
Pacchapayaru (Greengram) - 1 Kg
Karamani (Cowpea) - 1 Kg
Thuvarai (Redgram) - 1 Kg

Ennai (Oil Seeds) - 4.25 Kgs

Verkkadalai (Groundnut) - 2 Kg
Ell (Gingely) - 0.25 Kg
Amanakku (Castor) - 1 Kg
Soya Mochai (Soya Beans) - 1 Kg

Vaasanai (Perfume Seeds) - 1.75 Kgs

Thaniya (Coriander) - 1 Kg
Kadukku (Mustard) - 0.25 Kg
Venthayam (Fenugreek) - 0.25 Kg
Sombhu (Jeera) - 0.25 Kg

The land has to be tilled for 1 or 2 times before the seeds are broadcasted.
The above 20 seeds mentioned need to be mixed thoroughly and broadcasted by hand.
Just before flowering of the crops(in 3 months time), the crops need to be dealt in two different ways.
If the land is slushy, the entire crops need to be tilled again so that the crops as well as the soil are mixed throughly and allowed to decompose.
If the land is not slusy, the entire crops need to be cut at the base and allowed to decompose in the soil.
Mostly these needs to be done before the main crop is grown or if you are not growing any main crop and just for soil improvement, it is better to do this during the rainy season.

Land Improvement - Method 2

Normally, most of the villages will have temples / mosques and along with them they will have ponds, tanks etc which stores water and which is used for the temple as well as for the common use. Even if there are not any temples around, definitely there will be ponds, tanks or other sources of water storage. This is an excellent source of nutrient rich soil as most of the water that arrives in this place carry with them the top soil from many places and depoit them here.
With the permission from the temple or local body, collected not more than 15-30 cms of top soil from the pond, tank etc. By doing this, you will allow the water storage structure to retain more water.
Spread the top soil collected from the ponds, tanks etc in your farm to improve your soil.
The top soil need to be taken out only after sufficient amount of top soil has been collected in the ponds, tanks etc.

Land Improvement - Method 3

Spread 4 inches of dry leaves or dead mulch on the soil. This will decompose and improve the soil.
A little bit of cow dung with urine can be sprayed on top of this to improve faster decomposition.

Land Improvement - Method 4

Beans can be grown all over the place with little effort and they produce huge amounts of leaves which can be "chopped & dropped" and this improve the soil as well.
A little bit of cow dung with urine can be sprayed on top of this to improve faster decomposition.

Land Improvement - Method 5 (Green Manures List)

The following Green Manures can be applied to the soil to improve the soil.

Agathi - Sesbania grandiflora
Avuri - Indofera tinctoria
Adhatoda - Adhatoda zeylanica Medicus
Avaram - Cassia auriculate
Otiyan - Lannea coromandelica
Erukku - Calotropis gigantean
Kattukottai - Jatropha curcase
Kattukolunchi - Tephrosia purpurea
Sanaappu - Crotalaria juncea
Seemai Agathi - Cassia alata
Toyya-k-kirai - Digera muricata
Cen-kitai or Malai Murungai - Sesbania bispinosa
Thumbai - Leucas aspera
Nalvelai - Cleome gynandra
Naivelai - Cleome viscosa
Nattu Cavundal - Leucaena leucocephala
Nochi - Vitex negundo
Nuna - Morinda coreia
Pannaipoo - Celosia argentea
Peyavirai - Cassia occidentalis
Pungam - Pongamia pinnata
Poovarasu - Thespesia populnea
Nilavirai - Cassia senna
Malai Vembu - Melia azedarach
Murungai - Moringa oleifera
Rail Poondu - Croton bonplandianus Baillon
Vaagai - Alibizia lebbeck
Vadanarayanan - Delonix elata
Vembu - Azadirachta indica

Chemical Farming to Organic Farming

The method mentioned above is also applicable for moving from Chemical Farming to Organic Farming.
The catch here is that this needs to be done atleast for a continuous period of three years to notice the soil improvement.
Once you plan to move from Chemical Farming to Organic Farming, it is advisable to stop using Chemical Farming altogether from the first year.
The farmer may notice dip in their production during the transition period. In case this is an issue, plan the transition in a phased manner like transitioning only 25% of the land every year.

Friday 12 October 2012

Monoculture v/s Polyculture

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we will understand the difference between Monoculture and Polyculture and what they mean and what benefits each entails.

Monoculture - A single species of plants (I am using the word plants generically and it will also refer to animals as well)

A classical example is Paddy cultivation
Another example is Coconut Groove
One more example is Mango Orchard

In Monoculture, there are some advantages as well as disadvantages. But mostly, the disadvantages overweigh the advantages.

Advantages

Any person involved in Monoculture will have to gain knowledge only for that particular plants
Marketing will be easy

Disadvantages

May result in complete crop failure due to homogenous plants and hence pests may have a field day
Results in over production (Over Production can be from your own field or because of similar farms)
Results in profit hit (Those who are in the know how will know how much is the cost per coconut)

Polyculture - At least more than One species of plants

An example would be Coconut Groove with Cocoa Plants
Paddy Cultivation with fish integration
Paddy cultivation + Vegetables on the bunds + Fish Integration + Duck Farming

In Polyculture, normally the advantages overweigh the disadvantages and hence polyculture is recommended.

Advantages

Risk spead is there (Even if one crop is failing, the other crops will sustain you)
Market risk is minimized (Since you are having multiple crops, even if there is crash in the profit of one crop, the other crops will average it out)
Diseases can be managed as the pests will not be able to attack every single plants. (While this is true, we need to consider different families of plants rather than the same family of plants)

Disadvantages

You may have to gain knowledge on multiple plants
Marketing will be a little bit difficult but you can use it to your advantage

My definition of Polyculture is one which does not have the same family of plants next to each other. While this is very difficult to achieve, we can try our best and compromise very little.

Friday 28 September 2012

Choosing the Right Variety within a Crop

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see how to choose the Right Variety within a Crop.

Once we have decided on the Crop, the next step will be to decide on a variety in that particular crop.

The following are some of the factors to decide on the variety:-

End Usage
Diversity in Varieties
Time Diversity

End Usage - The meaning of End Usage is different for different crops. I am giving an example of 2 crops here.

Coconut Tree

Coconuts are directly consumed which we call as Tender Coconut
Coconuts are used in Cooking for Chutney Paste etc
Coconuts are used as Oil for Cooking as well as for Hair

Mango Tree

Mangoes are used in Cooking
Mangoes can be directly consumed (Table Top)
Mangoes are made as Juice (Pulp) and sold by big companies

So, the ideas is to decide which segment are we focusing. Do we want to focus on a single segment or do we want to focus on multiple segments?

Diversity in Varieties - The fact of the matter is different people like different mangoes based on their taste buds. I may like Malgoa from Salem, others may like Alphonso (export market potential) etc. Keeping in view this factor, it will be necessary for a cultivator to go for multiple varieties in the same crop. This also will ensure there no particular variety is over produced and hence no wastage.

Time Diversity - Please note the word Diversity here. I will be referring to this many more times in different contexts.

Again, I want to give examples here so that it is easy for a layman to understand what I mean.

Lets take the case of Mangoes as an example. While choosing Mangoes, we have already seen whether it will be used mainly as Table Top or Pulp. Assuming we have considered this factor already, the next question to address is, should our production be available at a single point of time or made available in different times?

There are Mango varieties that bear fruits during early, midseason & late seasons. If our entire Mango crop comes to production during the same season, there will be over production and there are possibilities of wastages as well as profit hit. If we plan our production in different seasons, the production will be balanced and we can market the produce in a timely manner.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Choosing the Right Crop

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see how to choose the Right Crop.

The following are some of the important parameters to consider for identifying or narrowing down to the right crop. It does not mean these factors alone will be be sufficient but can give you a headstart in finalzing the crop.

Please note that the mention of crops includes everything (Plants, Animals etc).

The basic parameters are:-

Land Bank
Soil Type
Water Availability
Gestation Period
Net Profit

Land Bank means the available land on hand. This is a very important parameter as this will decide the scale of operations.

Soil Type will help to decide the Crops that can be grown in that land.

Water Availability - Helps you to identify the Crops based on the water resources available.

Gestation Period - How much time you will have to wait before you can start your harvest?

Net Profit - When there are multiple choices available considering the first four parameters, this will be the deciding factor.

You may be surprised to note that I have not mentioned Money as an important factor. I feel that Money is NOT the deciding factor but it is necessary to an extent.
_______________________________________________________________________________

I am presenting few ideas here and I hope this will kindle your imagination further.

Do you know that even without owning any Land Bank you can do agriculture related activity?

1. You can do Honey Bee farming from your house (Urban as well as Rural).
2. You can do Fish Farming in your Village Tank, Pond etc (after getting the permissions and paying the necessary fees)

Is there any activity that can be done in small land holding (less than 2400 sq ft)?

1. You can go for Mushroom Farming
2. You can go for Rabbit Farming
3. You can go for Pigeon Farming
4. You can go for Sericulture Farming

If anybody has more ideas, please let me know. I will add to this list.

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

One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
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

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

Methods / Models / Concepts

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by Subhash Palekar
An Introduction to Baskar Save's The Platform and Trench Method
Swayam Shikshan Prayog - One Acre Model
Farm Design - Design Two (Annapoorna Model)
Cho's Global Natural Farming by Cho Han Kyu (Korean Farming)

Farm Design (Level 1 Requirement)

Crops Selection (Level 1 Requirement)

Intercrop Details

Water (Level 1 Requirement)

Water Technologies

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

Soil (Level 2 Requirement)

Fence (Level 2 Requirement)

Manures (Level 2 Requirement)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Pesticides

Disease Management

Disease Management - Leaf Miner Control

Machineries (Level 2 Requirement)

Vegetable Harvest Equipment's

Bhindi Cutter

Farm Maintenance (Level 2 Requirement)

Roads (Level 3 Requirement)

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

Seed Treatment

Seed Dormancy Treatment

Seed Dormancy Treatment - Vegetables - General

Seed Disease Control Treatment

Seed Disease Control Treatment - Bijamrita

Seed Preservation

Database, Knowledge & General Concepts

Allied Activities
Data & Analysis
Exhibition / Meetings / Trainings
Farmer2Farmer
Links

Tips & Tricks
Flowers Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress
Timber Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress
Misc Crops - A Data Oriented Complete Guide - WorkInProgress

Misc

SPNB/ZBNF