Choosing the Crops (Groupwise) based on Water Needs

As part of our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see how to select the Crops (Groupwise) based on Water Needs.


The Data provided below will help the farmers choose the crops based on the water availability.  The data has been grouped together for easy understanding.




Cereals

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
Rice (1100-1250 mm)	Wheat (450-650 mm)

Fibre Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
Jute	Cotton (550-600 mm)	Agave

Flower Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Anthurium
	Carnation
	China Aster
	Chrysanthemum
	Crossandra
	Cut Chrysanthemum
	Cut Rose
	Dendrobium Orchid
	Gerbera
	Gladious
	Golden Rod
	Jathimalli (Pitchi)
	Lilium
	Malligai
	Marigold
	Maruvu
	Mullai
	Nerium
	Rose
	Tuberose

Forage Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
		Cumbu Napier
		Deenanath Grass
		Fodder Cholam
		Fodder Cowpea
		Fodder Cumbu
		Fodder Maize
		Guinea Grass
		Kolukattai Pullu
		Kudirai Masal (800-1600 mm)
		Muyal Masal
		Soundal
		Veli Masal

Fruit Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
Banana (1200-2200 mm)	Acidlime (900-1200 mm)	Amla
Grapes (500-1200 mm)	Apple	Annona
Papaya	Avocado	Apricot
	Bread Fruit	Ber
	Durian	Bilimbi
	Egg Fruit	Carambola
	Fig	Jamun
	Guava (22-30 ltr/plant/day)	Karonda
	Jack	Lemon
	Kiwi	Loquat
	Litchi	Mulberry
	Mandarin Orange	Phalsa
	Mango (30-40 ltr/plant/day)	Pineapple (700-1000 mm)
	Mangosteen	Pomegranate
	Passion Fruit	Rambutan
	Peach	West Indian Cherry
	Pear
	Persimmon
	Plum
	Sapota
	Strawberry
	Sweet Orange

Medicinal Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Aswagandha
	Gloriosa
	Phylanthus
	Senna
	Stevia
	Periwinkle
	Pyrethrum
	Digitalis
	Medicinal Dioscorea
	Medicinal Solanum
	Aloevera
	Medicinal Coleus
	Tippili

Millets

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Maize (500-600 mm)	Cumbu
		Kudiraivali
		Panivaragu
		Ragi (350 mm)
		Samai
		Sorghum (350-500 mm)
		Tenai
		Varagu

Oil Seeds

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Sunflower (600-1000 mm)	Castor (500 mm)
		Gingelly (350-400 mm)
		Groundnut (500-550 mm)
		Niger
		Safflower

Plantation Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
Arecanut	Coffee	Cashewnut
Betelvine	Rubber	Palmyrah
Cocoa	Tea
Coconut (80-100 ltr/plant/day)
Oilpalm

Pulses

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
		Bengalgram (350 mm)
		Blackgram (350 mm)
		Cowpea (350 mm)
		Field lablab (350 mm)
		Garden lablab (350 mm)
		Greengram (350 mm)
		Horsegram (350 mm)
		Redgram (350 mm)
		Soybean (350 mm)
		Swordbean (350 mm)

Spices

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Allspice
	Cardamom
	Cinnamon
	Clove
	Coriander
	Fennel
	Fenugreek
	Garlic
	Ginger
	Mustard
	Nutmeg
	Paprika
	Pepper (600-900 mm)
	Tamarind
	Turmeric
	Vanilla

Sugar Crops

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
Sugarbeet (550-750 mm)
Sugarcane (1800-2200 mm)
Sweet Sorghum

Vegetables

High Water Requiring	Medium Water Requiring	Low Water Requiring
	Amaranth
	Annual Moringa
	Ash Gourd
	Asparagus
	Babycorn
	Basella
	Beetroot
	Bellary Onion (350-550 mm)
	Bhendi
	Bitter Gourd
	Bottle Gourd
	Brinjal
	Broadbeans (300-500 mm)
	Brussels Sprout
	Butter Bean
	Cabbage (380-500 mm)
	Capsicum
	Carrot
	Cauliflower
	Celery
	Ceylon Spinach
	Chakravathi Keerai
	Chekurmanis
	Chickpea
	Chillies (500 mm)
	Chinese Cabbage
	Chinese Potato (500-700 mm)
	Chow chow
	Cluster Beans (300-500 mm)
	Coccinia
	Colocasia
	Cucumber
	Curry Leaf
	Dioscorea
	Elephant Foot Yam
	French Bean
	Gherkin
	Knol-khol
	Lablab
	Lettuce
	Mint
	Musk Melon
	Palak
	Paprika
	Peas (350-500 mm)
	Potato (500-700 mm)
	Pumpkin
	Radish
	Rhubarb
	Ribbed Gourd
	Small Onion (350-550 mm)
	Snake Gourd
	Soybean
	Sweet Potato
	Tapioca
	Tinda
	Tomato (600-800 mm)
	Turnip
	Vegetable Cowpea
	Watermelon
	Winged Bean

Integrated Pest Management - Enemy's Enemy is my Friend - Snakes

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see how the proverb (in action) is useful to a farmer.


The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) uses the proverb in its fullest form.




There are few things that we can do to ensure that our friends (like Snakes, Owls, Bats, Chameleons etc) are able to live in the farm.

1. Conducive Environment - By providing shelter and proper nesting facilities, we can create a conducive environment for them to survive and reproduce.
2. Provide Helpers - Helpers here means providing "T" perches for birds, sticks for Spiders to spin their webs etc enable them to help us better.
3. Do Nothing - When we come across our friends in our farm, if we do not threaten them in any way or kill them and just leave them to mind own their business will help us to prosper and reap rich benefits in the long run.

Snakes help us by controlling the rodents (rats) in the farm.  This act will help us in the initial stages of the crop as well as in the advanced stages of the crop thereby increasing our productivity.

Monkeys are a menace in the farm and they eat coconuts, fruits, vegetables, fruits etc.  If Snakes are in the farm, monkeys get scarred and they do not come down to the ground and over a period of time they will never visit the farm again.

Similarly, Squirrels are also afraid of the snakes and they will not visit our farm once they see the snakes.

Farmer2Farmer

I have been getting many requests for information related to availability of things which a farmer requires from other (core) farmers for developing and furthering their farming activities.


Basically the information is not easily available for a farmer (both new and existing).  In order to address the gap and make the information easily available, this page has been specifically created and will act as a handshake between different types of farmers.


If you are a farmer who are in the business of creating & selling core things like Livestock Breeders, Poultry Breeders, Fingerlings etc then you can register your information for FREE.


Nurseries will not be registered here and will be forwarded to http://www.flowersofindia.net/misc/nurseries.html so as to avoid duplication of work.

Only those from India can register.


All the other information need to be very specific as they are limited in nature and hence can be easily made available.


If you want to register yourselves, please add a comment or drop a mail with the following information.

• Contact Person
• Mobile Number (Mandatory)
• District & State (Mandatory)
• Product (Mandatory)
• Company Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• EMail Address
• Website Address

Note: The author will not be responsible for any damage, loss, fraud etc arising out of the transaction and it will be the sole responsibility of the parties involved to cross check and verify things before committing to a transaction.
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Country Chicken



Company Name: K A Poultry Farm
Company Address: 5/125A, Saamiyaar Thottam, Karadivavi, Near Power House, Palladam, Tiruppur - 641658, Tamil Nadu, India
Mobile: 99655-62933, 98420-62933, 99442-80467
Product: Country & Broiler Chicks
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Fingerlings



Contact Person: P.Settu


Address:  492, Dasiya Venkatarama Chetty Street, Amburpattai, Vaniyambadi, Vellore Dist, Tamil Nadu, India
Mobile: 99441-42297, 78455-18778
Product: Katla, Mrigal, Rohu, Silver Carp, Common Carp, Potla, Pangaz, Murrel, Catfish etc


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Contact Person: CD Prasad


Address:  Kaikalur (Mandal), Krishna (Dist), Andhra Pradesh, India
Mobile: 94944-74199
Product: Katla, Mrigal, Rohu, Common Carp, Grass Carp, etc

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Integrated Pest Management - "T" shaped Bird Perches

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, as part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), we will discuss in this blog the Bird Perches and their need for it.




Which crops need Bird Perches?

1. Generally, high density crops like cereals, millets, pulses, flowers, vegetables etc require Bird Perches

How many Bird Perches are required per acre?

1. On an average, 15-20 "T" shaped Bird Perches are required per acre

What should be the height of the Bird Perches?

1. Generally, it is advised that the height of the Bird Perches to be 10 ft so that the birds get a good view of the pests and its movement
2. The horizontal in the "T" should be of 1 ft

What is the distance between the Bird Perches?

1. Optimally, the Bird Perches should be of equi-distance from one another

What problem is solved by Bird Perches?

1. Generally, the birds eat the larvae and they need a resting place to search for them
2. Owls use these bird perches during night to look for rats

When do artificial Bird Perches are not required?

1. When live bird perches are available then artificial "T" shaped Bird Perches are not required
2. Live Bird Perches are trees that has multiple branches and help the birds in resting and disguising itself
3. You can have Setaria species (foxtail cultivars) which are good live bird perches

Single Pond Design for Water Storage

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we will be dealing with Pond Design related to Water Storage.  This design is mainly for Dug Out Pond otherwise called as Excavated Pond or Sunken Pond.




Picture to be placed here at a later point of time

• Pond Area or Size
• Based on need
• Min : 1% of Total Land Bank
• Max : 10% of Total Land Bank
• Pond Shape
• Round or Square is optimal
• Reason : Round or Square will have the least surface area and hence evaporation is minimal as well as seepage of water into the soil is also minimal
• Pond Length
• Based on need
• Pond Breadth
• Based on need but similar to Pond Length is optimal
• Pond Depth
• Based on need but 6 ft is minimum.  The Pond Depth (Height) is inclusive of the Bund.  A gap of 1 ft is required between the top of the water surface and the top of the Pond
• Reason 1: If you wish to do Fish Farming in future, 5 ft is the maximum required water depth
• Reason 2: If the depth is more, need safety measures like fencing of the pond to avoid humans, cattle etc falling into the pond
• Internal Slope
• Min Ratio is 1:2 but can be more like 1:3, 1.4, 1:5 etc
• The Internal Slope should have provision to enable the water to flow without the soil being washed away by placing rocks or similar objects in the path of the water
• Reason 1: Generally, the Min Ratio is suited for most of the soils, but for loose soils, you can go for bigger ratios to avoid collapsing of the soils.
• Tip 1: While making the slopes, pound them hard so that the air & water is removed from the soil and the soil becomes hard.  This way we can avoid collapsing of the soil to a great extent
• Tip 2: Plant Vettiver on the slopes.  This will ensure the roots of the grass grips the soil and the collapsing of the soil is avoided altogether
• External Slope
• Min Ratio is 1:1 but can be 1:2 or more
• Tip 1: While making the slopes, pound them hard so that the air & water is removed from the soil and the soil becomes hard.  This way we can avoid collapsing of the soil to a great extent
• Tip 2: Plant Vettiver on the slopes.  This will ensure the roots of the grass grips the soil and the collapsing of the soil is avoided altogether
• Bund or Embankment Size
• Breadth - Min of 1.5 Metres at the top (excluding the Internal Slope & External Slope)
• Height - 2 ft Min
• Reason 1: The Bund is mainly used for walking along the pond to see whether everything is intact and any cracks or gaps have occurred and repair them before the monsoons
• Reason 2: The Bund can also be used to grow fodder for cattle as well as vegetables
• Reason 3 : To a certain extent, can protect humans & cattle from falling into the pond
• Inlet Water Path
• Length : Based on Need
• Breadth : 2 ft Min
• Depth : 1 ft
• The Inlet Water Path should be aligned with the top of the bund
• Outlet Water Path
• Length : Should be at least 1 ft beyond the end of the External Slope
• Breadth : 1 ft Min
• Depth : 1 ft
• Generally, it is recommended that the Outlet Water Path should be at the bottom of the pond.  This is possible only when the land is at a higher plane and the water goes out by natural gravitational forces
• For Dugout ponds, the Outlet Water Path should be at the ground level
• Tip 1: To remove the water that is below the ground level, we need to pump out the water by artificial means
• Overflow Water Path
• Length : Should be at least 1 ft beyond the end of the External Slope
• Breadth : 2 ft Min
• Depth : 1 ft
• The Overflow Water Path should be 1 ft below the Inlet Water Path
• There should be an equivalent Outlet Water Path for each Inlet Water Path or at least to the sum of the Inlet Water Paths
• Silt Pit
• Length : 1 Metre Min or more
• Breadth : 1 Metre
• Depth : 0.5 Metre
• This has to be placed across/perpendicular to the Inlet Water Path.  This will filter the sediments if the water is coming from rain water harvesting source or from any other sources
• Tip 1: If we have multiple Inlet Water Path, each should have an equivalent Silt Pit
• Misc
• A Pond Example
• Length : (Bund Breadth X 2) + Need Based Length (for eg., 10 ft)
• Breadth : (Bund Breadth X 2) + Need Based Length (for eg., 10 ft)
• Depth : 6 ft (including the Bund Height)
• Bund :
• Height : 2 ft
• Breadth : 9.2 ft (1.5 Metres=3.2 ft + Internal Slope Breadth + External Slope Breadth)
• Internal Slope
• Breadth : 4 ft (Based on Bund Height)
• Slope 1:2
• External Slope
• Breadth : 2 ft (Based on Bund Height)
• Slope : 1:1 
• Tip 1: Trees which have longer roots need to be avoided near the pond as this may cause cracks or collapse of the bund
• Tip 2: Trees like Coconut Or Palmyra Tree are best suited as they grip the soil very well

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

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

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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 .

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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".

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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

1. Pesticides - Agniastra
2. Pesticides - Bramhastra (பிரம்மாஸ்திரா)
3. Pesticides - Cows Urine + Chilli Solution
4. Pesticides - Cows Urine + Neem Solution (Method 1)
5. Pesticides - Cows Urine + Neem Solution (Method 2)
6. Pesticides - Dasagavya (தசகாவ்யா)
7. Pesticides - Dashparni Ark
8. Pesticides - Fermented Castor Solution
9. Pesticides - Five Leaf Extract
10. Pesticides - Generic Organic Pest Control Method 1
11. Pesticides - Generic Organic Pest Control Method 2
12. Pesticides - Generic Organic Pest Control Method 3
13. Pesticides - Generic Organic Pest Control Method 4
14. Pesticides - Generic Organic Pest Control Method 5
15. Pesticides - Ginger Garlic Extract
16. Pesticides - Neemastra
17. Pesticides - Neem Kernel Extract Solution (5%)
18. Pesticides - Neem Leaves Extract Solution (10%)
19. Pesticides - Neem Leaves Paste or (Pesticides - Organic Bordo Mix Paste)
20. Pesticides - Neem Oil Solution (3%)
21. Pesticides - Organic Bordo Mix Paste or (Pesticides - Neem Leaves Paste)
22. Pesticides - Organic Pest Control for Caterpillars
23. Pesticides - Organic Pest Control for Downy Mildew
24. Pesticides - Organic Pest Control for Mealy Bugs
25. Pesticides - Pungam Seeds Solution
26. Pesticides - Sukku Asthira (சுக்கு அஸ்திரா)
27. Pesticides - Thanjavuran Poondu Karaisal
28. Pesticides - Tobacco Extract Solution (புகையிலை கரைசல்)
29. Pesticides - Vasambu Karaisal
30. Pesticides - Misc
• Disease Management
1. Disease Management - Leaf Miner Control

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