While comparing transplanted or directed seeded puddled rice, owing to lack of wet tillage such as puddling, the present semi dry rice system provides more leaching losses of applied nutrients along with percolation losses of irrigation water.This results in poor nutrient uptake, that reflects on poor grain yield, even by advocating improved technologiesSemi dry rice is usually grown with initial dry tillage and seeds are drilled in lines with a seed drill.The drilled crop provides sufficient row space that facilitates wet inter tillage with suitable implements especially at the time of conversion of dry to wet system, usually 6 to 7 weeks after dry sowing. The adoption of wet inter tillage is able to alter the soil physical environments and thereby minimize percolation losses of irrigation and leaching losses of applied nutrients during wet environment.
Inter-tillage technique for semi-dry rice
by , The Hindu, 26 February, 2009
\"Watermelon is a short term crop (60 days) and if done in large acreage a farmer can earn a good profit,” he says. Unlike the regular (red flesh) watermelon variety, the farmer is also growing yellow (mythila), also called next generation or ice pack variety, and orange (devyani) varieties.
Humic acid increases yield substantially in watermelon
by M.J. Prabu, The Hindu, 12 March, 2009
The banana mulch that remains each time after the harvest has piled on to about a feet above the original soil level. “There is no weeding, no inputs, and no costs as it is a continuous self managed cycle that only requires harvesting,” adds Mr. Arunachalam. Vegetables such as ladies finger, brinjal, chilli, ridge gourd and pumpkin, papaya, green gram and black gram are grown as intercrops in the banana field and have fetched nearly Rs. 10,000. “If I can earn rupees six lakhs from my three acres in 365 days, without spending much on inputs, why not other farmers?” he asks. For more information, readers can contact Mr. V.S. Arunachalam, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Kulavikaradu, P.vellalapalayam,(po), Gobichettipalayam, Erode, Tamil Nadu, Pin:638476, mobile: 9443346323
Sustainable farming: low investment, maximum returns
by M.J. Prabu, The Hindu, 01 January, 2009
Take the case of a farmer named Mr. G. Ranga Prabu at Pudhupatti village in Theni district, Tamil Nadu. With several acres of cardamom plantations and nearly 1,000 local variety coconut trees, Mr. Prabu had nothing to worry about in terms of monetary returns.
A farmer’s quest for a solution ends in pig success
by M J Prabu, The Hindu, 22 January, 2009
Over a thousand agricultural experts from around the world, who had gathered in Delhi last week for the fourth congress on conservation agriculture, deliberated an issue that is vital for sustaining high-growth agriculture without clashing with the environment. Of late, modern agriculture has come in for considerable flak for causing possibly irretrievable damage to the earth\'s natural resources, notably soil and water, and for vitiating the environment through harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Conservation agriculture, involving some novel farm practices, is said to be an antidote for most of the ill-effects of intensive farming. For, it aims to not only reduce the damage to natural resources and the environment but actually reverse it. The resource conservation practices conceived for this include minimum or zero tillage, letting crop residues get back into the soil instead of burning them, immaculate land leveling to ensure the even spread of water, and applying only need-based fertiliser and water to crops.
Now, conservation farming
by , The Business Standard, 09 February, 2009
HYDERABAD: After dodging the issue for several years, the State Government has finally acknowledged that several farm workers have indeed fallen prey to exposure from pesticides and has come out with a slew of measures to check the menace
Government admits to death of ryots from pesticide exposure
by K. Venkateshwarlu, The Hindu, 21 October, 2006
Enabavi, a tiny village of 55 households in this district, could pass off as a speck on the AndhraPradesh map. But the gritty farmers ensured it a place in agrarian history on Wednesday when it became the first to be declared fully organic, free of pesticides, chemical fertilisers and genetically-modified crops.
Enabavi farmers create history
by K. Venkateshwarlu, The Hindu, 12 October, 2006
Food is more than a commodity and agriculture is more than an economic activity but humanity subordinated food to trade, laments Mr John Madeley, author, journalist and broadcaster, specialising in economic and social development issues, while discussing agriculture in the context of globalisation. It appears India too is tracing that path, more so when the discussion turns to the oft-touted Second Green Revolution (SGR); small and marginal farmers may get impacted if we bet on expensive technologies and agri-business. The current mainstream thinking believes in leveraging information and communication technology, bio-technology, expanding rural infrastructure, agri-extension, and inexpensive farm credit to usher in the SGR. It is highlighted that technology, managerial skills and financial strength are required to transform agriculture into a prosperous agri-business.
Second green revolution demands strategic re-think
by Pammi Suryakumar, The Hindu, 07 July, 2006
DRYLANDS across the world are estimated to be home to 38% of the world’s population. In India, it is estimated that 410 million people live in the drylands.1 Many of these people also constitute the ‘poverty geography’ of the country. Other than the arid zones where even rainfed farming is quite difficult, the heart of the drylands is in the semi-arid zones. Drylands in this country constitute more than 70% of the cultivable lands and despite several odds stacked against them, produce about 42% of the country’s food. It is reported that nearly 83% of sorghum, 81% of pulses and 90% of oilseeds grown in the country come from these areas.
Drylands: the way forward
by A. Ravindra, G.V.Ramanjaneyulu and Kavitha Kuruganti, Seminar, 01 August, 2006
As this Budget approaches, there are many worries about the future of ‘the India economic story’. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been severely criticised as a gargantuan guzzler of taxpayers’ money, a scheme that seeks to condescendingly trap India’s agricultural poor in an 18th century mode of production. The stock markets are crashing regularly and there are fears that as the American economy heads into recession, Indian market sentiment and exports will be badly hit. Already growth rates are lower than expected: the Indian economy is now expected to grow at a slower pace of 8.7 per cent rather than the projected 9 per cent. Economists warn of an impending crisis: the coming steep rise in the price of all food, which will affect the poor most of all.
The idiocy of urban thinking
by Sagarika Ghose, Hindustan Times, 15 February, 2008
With impressive macro-economic rates of growth and a booming stock market, India is one of the most exciting economies in the world today. It has reportedly displaced the United States as the second most attractive destination for foreign direct investment after China. This spectacular overall performance, however, hides one dark spot the people of India exposed through Verdict 2004. The benefits of this growth have not been evenly distributed. Large parts do not find a place on the development map of the country. Massive statistical Jata establish that there is a concentration of poverty and distress in the drylands of India as also in its hilly and tribal areas.
A national authority for rainfed India
by Mihir Shah, The Hindu, 19 April, 2006
“Unlike scientific inventions, water cannot be invented. One has to depend on the clouds for it. “Monsoon failures and sudden heavy downpours with flash floods washing away a major portion of the water and fertile top soil into the ocean show how difficult the situation can be,” says Dr. G. Nammalvar, organic scientist. In the name of industrialization and urbanization, trees have been cut. With the absence of trees, rains fail and this has a direct impact on the planet. While others may feel it, farmers experience it acutely, and monsoon failure results in a disaster for farmers, especially dry land cultivators.
A practical solution for turning drylands into productive areas
by M.J. PRABU, The Hindu, 13 November, 2008
Whether, these chemicals have helped the farmers to get profitable yields is questionable going by the number of suicides and those selling their traditional lands with frustration that agriculture has let them down,” says Dr. Kamalasanan Pillai, Head of the R&D, VK- NARDEP, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. According to Mrs. M.Thangam, a lady farmer at Kozhikoottupothai village in Kanyakumari, agriculture is one profession which always gives back twice or thrice more than what is invested in it. Be it paddy, vegetables or fruit crops, if done correctly using minimal inputs, then the harvest will be a reward in terms of size and remuneration.
Low budget fish gunabajalam proves effective for crops
by M.J. Prabu, The Hindu, 18 December, 2008

International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development

Agriculture- The Need for Change

WASHINGTON/LONDON/NAIROBI/DELHI - 15th April 2008. The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. That is the message from the report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, a major new report by over 400 scientists which is launched today.