Scoping Comparable
Yields, Rice-Wheat Cropping System, With and Without Agro-Chemicals, Punjab,
India
An Experiment Protocol
This
experiment is based on the discussion of farmers associated with Kheti Virasat Mission and practicing Organic / Natural Farming in Punjab under the Chairmanship of eminent Agriculture Scientist Dr O P Rupela. It
is focused on yield maximization without agrochemicals and does not have any
control treatment. On an average most chemical farmers harvest above 18 Q per
acre of wheat and 26 Q per acre of rice. If organic farmers achieve yield
levels similar to these, it would be considered a success. Following package of
practices are proposed for this experiment.
Present focus: Wheat crop of 2013-2014 season (part of the Experiment for rice season will
be developed after learning lessons from the on-going rice season)
Wheat will be
sown after the on-going Rice. Seed drill with one foot row to row spacing will
be used. If one foot space is difficult, we can use the drill that has
arrangement for row to row of 7 inches – to get spacing of 14” by closing alternate
hole in the seed drill. Wheat will be
sown along with Chana as intercrop. It is possible to sow Chana along with
wheat by separating the last hole using a wooden ply. This will allow paired
row of Chana, after every 8 (in the case of 9 row drill) or 12 rows of wheat (in
the case of 13 row drill). Also, we need to ensure draining of excess water in
the field by making shallow ridges such that wheat is on top of ridge. This can
be achieved using another ‘tine’ between every two lines of seed-drill. More
details on the suggestions for sowing wheat follow. Note: In case you have question/clarification,
please call Mr Gurpreet Singh Dabrikhana at 9915195062.
Select a
normal field (without the problem of Murk, salinity, flooding etc.) for the
experiment. Select a suitable Seed drill that allows row to row spacing of one
foot. Wheat will be intercropped with Chana which can be sown by the same seed
drill - by separating the last hole (on right or left – whatever convenient)
using a wooden ply. This will allow paired row of Chana, after every 12 rows of
wheat (there will be 6 rows of wheat on starting side of the tractor). Also, we
need to ensure draining of excess water in the field by making shallow ridges
such that wheat is on top of ridges. This can be achieved by using another
‘tine’ between every two lines of seed-drill.
More details
on the different suggestions follow.
Seeds – Selection, Procurement and Treatment – required before sowing:
i)
Obtain seeds of the two wheat varieties chosen by you
– Important: one of the two varieties should be same as in the other fields of the
farm.
ii)
Seed rate: Wheat: 20 kg per acre and Chana – 8kg per
acre. Important – more seeds means dense planting and we do
not need dense population. Ideally we need plant to plant spacing also as one
foot – both for wheat and chana. But suggested seed rate seems fine.
iii) We would need
250 g seed each of Metha (Fenugreek) and Alsi (Linseed) per acre for mixing
with the entire 20kg of Wheat seeds. Mix about 50g seeds of Dhania with entire
Chana seed. This may help in plant protection. Note: Add these seeds in the seed drill, just at
sowing.
iv)
Prime the seeds of the selected Wheat and Chana
varieties. Method of priming is given in Appendix I. It may be noted that
priming should be done about two days in advance of sowing to avoid last-minute
tension.
Most Important: Test germination percent of all the seeds
(particularly the major crops wheat and Chana in this case). See Appendix
II for the method.
Land preparation and sowing:
v)
It is hoped that rice will be harvested by combine by
early November. Cut the stubble at ground level by using Reaper. Note:
We need two trolley loads of Living Compost for one acre area of the
experiment. See Appendix III for the method of preparation.
vi)
Cut the standing stubble by using reaper (to mow it
down at ground level), remove the loose plant biomass and collect it on two
ends of the field by using a ‘Rake’ (a Jugad to be designed by you – it is
essential for the future health of the farm).
vii)
Prepare the field (after irrigation, if needed), when
soil is in Vattar, as normally done for sowing Wheat/Chana.
viii)
Apply two trolleys of ‘Living Compost’ per acre and
about 20kg to 40kg of Ash (per acre) on soil surface, separately. Note: ‘Ash’ being less in
quantity will require more care for uniform application, therefore do not mix
it with Living Compost.
ix)
Sow the field using a seed drill to achieve 12” row to
row distance and a sowing arrangement – 2 rows of Chana after every 12 rows of
wheat. Within a row – ideally about 20 cm or 8” from plant to plant. Do
following modifications at the time of sowing.
a.
Adjust the required pora at 12” (or one foot)
distance.
b.
Please ensure that we do not sow more than 20kg wheat
seed per acre and not more than 8kg seed of Chana per acre.
c.
Make changes in the seed box such that last hole on
one end receives Chana seed.
d.
Attach a heavy duty tine with broad base (about 5”
wide) between every two sowing tines – about 4” below ground level such that it
should result in a light furrow between every two rows.
x)
One would get 6-rows (at start of drill) or 12 rows of
wheat (in general) followed by 2-rows of Chana if we are using a seed-drill
with 6 tines in front and 7 in rear row. Other row arrangements are feasible
and OK, but choice is yours. My choice is 8 rows Wheat and 2 rows Chana. For
example with a seed-drill of 4 tines in front and 5 in rear – we would get this
combination.
xi)
Sow one row each of Sarson on all four sides of the
field. This will serve as ‘Trap Crops’ for some insect-pests.
xii)
Soon after sowing, apply all the loose plant biomass
back to the whole field manually to achieve at least 4” thickness. Note: (a) All these crops stated above have been noted to emerge out of this
thickness of rice straw, (b) Never use broad leaves of trees such as Poplar as
surface mulch because they can obstruct emergence. Broad leaves of any crop or
trees can be used but only after crushing.
Weed management: One manual weeding at
around 30 days, if needed, is recommended. After 30 to 40 days, if weeds are
more, use ‘bioherbicide’ (see Appendix IV) - a need based action. Important: Bioherbicide can only be applied by using a
Chatri sprayer taking care that no drop falls on base of the wheat-Chana etc.
grown in the planted rows.
Water management: We should not
irrigate, if the field is moist at surface. Need of irrigation of wheat can be
judged by its wilting. If it is wilting during sunny hours, say at 2 PM but
recovers at late evening hours – say at 6 PM, it should not be irrigated. But
if it remains wilted at 6 PM, it should be irrigated. It is hoped that, with
surface mulch, wheat will need about 3 to 4 irrigations only. Important:
Apply 20L urine
with every irrigation. It can be slowly poured into water channel as the water
enters the field. Note: Chana
should not be irrigated, as far as possible. Chana rows can be blocked at ends
so that water does not enter in the Chana rows.
Plant protection and nutrition: see Table 1.
Preparing for Rice crop (of
May/June 2014): Broadcast 10kg seed per acre of the “Aurogreen” crops
(see names of seeds/crops and method in Appendix V) just before last
irrigation of wheat, say in March 2014.
Harvesting wheat: When the crop is
almost ready for harvest, identify three representative spots each for Wheat
and Chana. Cut the plants from one meter long three rows of Wheat and one meter
long two rows of Chana, at ground level, using sickle. Sun-dry the bundles for
one week. Thresh the bundles manually/separately to separate grains from rest
of the plant biomass. Add the 2-types of grains in separate strong paper bags
and the other plant parts in separate gunny bags of jute or cloth. Take their
weights separately and record the yield data (both for grains and for biomass)
in the ‘Field Book’ with the farmer. Attention: Mr
Gurpreet Dabrikhana.
Harvest Chana manually
before harvesting wheat by combine (hopefully by mid April). Record the number
of gunny bags of grains of the two crops harvested from the whole of one acre.
Also, take weight of each bag, if possible, and record data in the ‘Field Book’.
Attention: Mr Gurpreet Dabrikhana.
Table 1: Different
types of sprays for enhancing plant nutrition and plant protection
|
S. No.
|
Applicant
|
When to Use (days
after sowing–DAS)
|
Remarks
|
|
1.
|
Gurjal Amrit
|
30, 70 DAS
|
Promotes
roots and shoot growth, see Appendix VI for method of
preparation
|
|
2.
|
Pathi Ka
Pani
|
50, 100, 150
DAS
|
Promotes
plant growth, supports flowers, Appendix VII for method of
preparation
|
|
3.
|
Khatti Lassi
|
40, 74, 110
DAS
|
Against
fungi, Appendix VIII for method of preparation
|
|
4.
|
Fertilizer, as
a pesticide
|
90, 160
|
Against
aphids , Appendix IX for method of preparation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Caution: No spray should be applied during flowering
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
List of Appendices
|
Append. No.
|
Title
|
Page no.
|
|
I
|
Special Aurogreen for Broadcast in
Standing Rice, Guar or Wheat
|
10
|
|
II
|
Method of urine application – a
source of nitrogen
|
10
|
|
III
|
Converting
Farm Yard Manure (FYM) into Living Manure
|
11
|
|
IV
|
Seed Priming
|
12
|
|
V
|
Testing
Germination of Seeds
|
13
|
|
VI
|
Urine and Khaadi Soap Mix as a
Bioherbicide
|
13
|
|
VII
|
Method of Converting Oil-cake to
Living Oil-Cake
|
13
|
|
VIII
|
Method of ‘Paata’ to rice
|
14
|
|
IX
|
Method of Making Gur-Jal-Amrit
|
14
|
|
X
|
Extract of Dry Cowdung
(Paathi-Da-Paani)
|
15
|
|
XI
|
Method of Making Butter Milk as Pest
Manager
|
15
|
|
XII
|
Method of Making Herbal Extract
|
16
|
|
XIII
|
List of
different inputs/activities for year 1
|
17-18
|
|
XIV
|
Application
of ‘Ash’ as source of crop nutrients
|
20
|
Appendix I
Seed Priming*
Materials Needed:
Seeds of
required crop in required quantity, Jeevamrit (without dilution)-sufficient to
soak the seed, one kg powdered and sieved lime (or ‘Chuna’, widely used for
whitewash of houses, do not use any modern/branded white-wash) for every 100kg
seed.
Method:
1.
Take high quality clean seed from which chaff and
broken seeds have been removed.
2.
Put the seed in a suitable size container and add
Jeevamrit such that seed is fully dipped in it.
3.
Soak the seeds of a given crop for the period
suggested in the table below. Note:
Number of hours of soaking is very important and it varies from seed to seed
and is given below for some seeds for which experiments have been done. For
seeds of other crops, farmers are encouraged to develop their own experience.
4.
Drain the excess ‘Jeevamrit’.
5.
Spread the seeds on a gunny sheet. Sprinkle it with
required quantity of powdered/sieved lime. Dry the seeds in shade. They are now
ready for sowing.
|
S. No.
|
Crop
|
Hours of soaking
|
|
1.
|
Rice
|
14
|
|
2
|
Wheat
|
6
|
|
3
|
Chana
|
4
|
|
4
|
Jawar
|
5
|
|
5
|
Bajra
|
5
|
|
6
|
Moong, Urd
|
3
|
|
7
|
|
|
Note: Sowing
be completed soonest possible. The primed seeds should not be stored for more
than two days.
…………………………
Appendix II
Testing Germination of Seeds
1.
Take approximately 1000 seeds.
2.
Soak them in water for about four hours (20 hours in
the case of rice).
3.
Drain the excess water and line-up the seeds on short
side (width) of twin or double sheet of a newspaper. Wrap the seeds in the
newspaper, in the form of a tube.
4.
Fold the newspaper tube and put in a polythene bag.
5.
Add small quantity of water in the bag and drain it
after few minutes so that newpaper gets moist (not dripping wet).
6.
Drain the excess water again after about 30 minutes.
7.
Keep the polythene bag in a room for four days, if it
is summer/rainy days, and for seven days, if it is winter.
8.
Take out and straighten the folded newspaper tube,
unfold the paper so that the seeds are visible.
9.
Count the total number of seeds and record in the
‘Field Book’
10. Count the
germinated seeds and record in the ‘Field Book’. Calculate the percent
germination.
…………..
Appendix III
Method of Preparation of Living Manure
and its Use*
This is a
method of adding value to the farm-yard-manure (FYM). Most of the agricultural
scientists and agricultural research institutions measure value of FYM in terms
of quantity of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potash (K) in it. Cattle dung
and FYM have been noted to contain microorganisms of all the six types of
functional groups of microorganisms – nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilizers,
cellulose degraders, plant-growth promoters, antagonists of disease-causing
fungi and entomopathogens. Therefore the real value of FYM is in the population
and diversity of agriculturally beneficial microorganisms it contains and not
in the concentration of NPK. Its biological value can be further enhanced by
the following method.
In the past about two years, we have
been suggesting farmers in Punjab through a local NGO – Kheti Virasat Mission
(KVM) to enhance the value of manure/FYM by further enriching population of
agriculturally beneficial microorganisms before its actual use.
Note: We are
not talking of ‘compost’ prepared by using some standard procedures. For
example, Nadep compost or Vermicompost.
Materials needed
1. Half trolley soil, preferably of an
organic field.
2. Half trolley farm-yard manure (FYM),
as prepared by most farmers in villages.
3. 100kg oil-seed cake of an edible
oilseed, eg. Mustard, Groundnut, Sunflower, Safflower etc.
4. 30kg Gur (Jaggary) – old batch, so
that its cost is less. Note: molasses, if available, can be used in its
place
5. 5-basket full of soil from under
canopy of a big Banyan tree
6. 100L of Gur-Jal-Amrit (concentrate)
Method of preparation of Living manure
1. Break all clods in the farm-yard
manure (FYM) and soil separately.
2. A day before this activity of making
living manure:
(a)
spread the oilseed cake on a plastic sheet and sprinkle it with 10-times
diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit. Mix the contents once every about one to two hours till
the Gur-Jal-Amrit gets soaked fully and cake becomes friable, (b) Soak Jaggary
(or molasses) in a suitable container having about 100L of 10-times diluted
Gur-Jal-Amrit – it would need mixing with a stick so that it gets suspended
well and fully.
3. Identify a suitable place for
preparation of Living Manure in the field. Ideally, one should select area
under shade of a tree. But any area is okay, so far as we can save the material
from excess of rain and Sun. Spread the manure, say on an area of about 20 feet
long and about 10 feet wide. Break the clods.
4. On its top, uniformly spread about
half trolley load of soil (preferably from a field where we are going to use
the product. Break the clods, if present. After this, spread the moistened and
friable oilseed cake, followed by 5 basket full of soil from under a Banyan
tree.
5. Now uniformly sprinkle about all the
Jaggary water suspension.
6. Using a spade mix all the contents of
all the layers thoroughly. Add diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit, if needed, taking care
that the mixture remains friable. If the mixture is dry and Gur-Jal-Amrit gets finished, normal irrigation water can be
used in its place. Note: It will take at least 2 to 3 rounds of
mixing before the contents get mixed thoroughly.
7. After mixing, set the contents in 3
feet wide and one foot high bed. Length of the bed can be decided by the space
one has. It can be a single length or in several beds, until the contents are
finished.
8. Cover the beds with moist plant
biomass as surface mulch. It can be crop residues, fallen leaves of trees etc.
whatever is handy on a farm.
9. Keep the surface mulch moist by
sprinkling water or diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit (if some still remains unused).
10. At about day 5, remove the surface
mulch and mix the contents. Sow all the beds with Aurogreen (see Appendix ..
for details). Cover the seeds with about one inch layer of the same soil and
cover again with surface mulch.
11. If needed, the product is ready for
use from day 15, but it is recommended keep the unused beds intact as long as
feasible. Note: Growth of root system of the diverse crops would further increase
population of agriculturally beneficial microorganisms of different types. It
is recommended to use the contents fully within 6-8 weeks of preparation.
12. If the material is not used in 6-8
weeks, fill it in empty bags of fertilizers or of cement – whatever is
available. Note: (a) Do not use jute bags because they would also
get manureed and become weak with time, (b)
store the bags in shade, cover them with about 4” layer of foliage or
crop residues, and keep them moist (not wet) by sprinkling water, until use.
Rate and method of using Living manure:
1. Apply two trolley load of the product
in year one, one trolley in year 2 and there is no need to use it after this.
2. This product should not be applied to
dry field eg. at land preparation. Instead it should be sprinkle-applied just
before sowing.
3. For best results the soil-surface
should be covered with about 4” thick surface mulch of crop residues.
Important: Innovation in mechanizing the preparation
process are encouraged.
................
Appendix IV
Urine and Soap Mix as a Bioherbicide*
Materials
1.
Cow urine =
15L [Note: it does not matter. if it is fresh or old]
2.
Soap powder = 10 g per 15L
3.
Gur =
400g per 15L
Method of
Preparation
1. Take about 5L
urine in a bucket and dissolve 15g powdered soap in it.
2. Add 400g Gur
in it and dissolve fully.
3. Add it into a
sprayer after sieving. Fill the sprayer with rest of urine, shake well and
spray
*Mr Inderjeet Singh Soholi
(phone no. 9915702440) of Punjab used 2 eggs per 15L sprayer in place of Gur
and found this recipe useful in killing several different types of weeds. This
recipe is not expected to kill Nutgrass (Murk in Punjabi) and Dub-grass
(Khabbar in Punjabi).
Appendix V
Special Aurogreen for Broadcast in
Standing Crop of Rice (to help following Wheat) or of Wheat (to help following
Rice)
1. Take total of six kg seeds of the
following legume crops – Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum, Gahat in Punjabi), Mungbean, Urd, Cowpea, Moth, Masar.
Note: one can take about 1 kg of each type. Important: We strongly recommend
that if and when needed, purchase these seeds from Grocery shops in the village
and not from seed stores. But test germination and used seeds that have more
than 80% germination.
2. Mix all the seeds and add about 200g
each of Saunf, Ajwain and Dill (Soi Aku in Telugu, Sava in Hindi, Anethum graveolens).
3. Soak all the seeds in water, for about
four hours. Drain excess water and spread the seeds on a gunny sheet in shade
and dry them.
4. Sprinkle 50 to 100 mL of concentrated
cow-urine (see Appendix … for its
preparation) so that all seeds get smeared. Dust these moist seeds with about
500g dry ash (from kitchen) and mix well. The seeds are now ready for
broadcasting.
Important: Sowing/broadcasting
should be done about one month before harvesting rice (to help the following
wheat), or about one month before harvesting wheat (to help the following
rice). Braodcasting can be done just before last irrigation to these crops, --
say in September for Rice and in March for Wheat.
…………….
Appendix VI
Gurjal Amrit
Gurjal Amrit is a tested soil health
enhancer and plant growth promoter by team members of Kheti Virasat Mission
(KVM) in Punjab. It was innovated by Mr
Gupreet Dabrikhana (mobile: 9915195062, e-mail: gurpreet.kvm@gmail.com) of KVM.
Materials:
1.
Fresh
Cow dung 30 kg
2.
Besan
(Chane Ka Aata) 01 kg
3.
Bajra
(Pearl millet) flour * 0.5 kg
4.
Rock
Salt (powdered) 0.5 kg
5.
Mustard
Oil 125 mL
6.
Gur 1.5
kg
7.
Neem
Leaves * 01 kg
8.
Akk
(Calotropis) leaves * 01 kg
9.
Cow
Urine 2.5
Liter
10. Water to
make 100 Liter of total product
Notes:
·
Farmers
in South India may use Raagi in place of Bajra;
·
Preferably
use fresh leaves of Neem and Calotropis but after cutting them into smallest
pieces.
Method of Preparation
- Mix Besan,
Pearl Millet flour, Rock Salt and Mustard oil in to 5 kg Cow dung in a
small container.
- Add this
mixture and the remaining 25 Kg Cow dung in a suitable size big drum (eg.
200 liters). Now put all the remaining things like Gur, Neem and Calotropis
leaves, Cow-urine and water in to
the drum and mix all the thing with the help of a wooden stick. Keep the
drum covered.
- Mix the
contents twice a day for about 10 minutes every time. Continue the mixing
the contents of the drum for 3 days (in summer) to 5 days (in winter) when
the mixture will be ready for use.
Method of Use
- It can be
applied to all crops, vegetables or fruit trees. Apply to soil to improve
soil health. And use as a spray to enhance plant growth.
- For soil
application, it can be added to irrigation channel at the rate of 200L per acre.
- For
enhancing plant growth, spray-apply after sieving through cloth or
strainer. Use at the rate of 2 to 4 liters per spray pump of 15 liters as
a plant growth promoter.
………………..
Appendix VII
Extract of Dry Cowdung
(Paathi-Ka-Paani)*
1.
Take a wide mouth
container – 100 or 200L barrel, open from top.
2.
Add about 50L of water
in the barrel.
3.
Add about
15 kg of one year old cow dung cakes. Let them soaked fully in water for four
days. Note:
It may need some weight on top of the
Dung Cakes, so that they remain submerged in water.
4.
The resultant liquid
when sprayed on crops has been noted to improve crop growth by several farmers
in Punjab.
5. Take about 2L liquid in a 15 L capacity sprayer. Fill it with
water. Mix well and spray.
Note: the dung cakes can be dried and
used as a fuel.
…………….
* The method was told to farmers by Mr Suresh
Desai of Belgaum Karnataka (mobile: 9480448256) during his Punjab travel in
2009.
Appendix VIII
Method of Making Butter Milk as Pest
Manager*
1. Take one L
milk (whole milk and not toned milk), boil and cool to room temperature.
2. Make curd from this milk when
temperature is about 35°C, by adding about 20 g good quality curd. Note: Cover the container with woolen cloth during winter. Otherwise, curd will not set.
3. Make about 10L Lassi from the Curd.
Put the Lassi in a plastic drum. Keep the content for one week.
4. After one week, add about one foot
long copper strip or about one meter long copper wire (after making a spiral).
Keep the content for at least 5-days (can be kept even for 7 days).
5. Lassi will become greenish-blue, and
is ready for use.
6. Dilute the 10L Lassi to about 100L by
adding water. Spray the diluted Lassi on crop in one acre area.
* It is a widely known recipe among organic
farmers and listed on the website www.sristi.org, and they upload such pieces of
traditional knowledge after some validation.
…………….
Appendix IX
Chemical Fertilizers as Pesticide
Fertilizers are widely recommended for
soil application. They have been noted and published to adversely affect soil
health. Limited research suggests their use as foliar sprays. Foliar spry has
been noted to kill some insect-pests (eg. White fly – a sucking pest) by a
group of farmers in Jind district of Haryana guided by Dr Surender Dalal, an
important issue in organic cotton. Following recipe is the innovation of this
group.
Material needed: 2.5kg DAP, 2.5kg urea, 0.5 kg Zinc sulfate
(21%),
Method of Preparation
·
Suspend
each item in 2L water in separate containers (note: DAP may take 2-days to
suspend well).
·
Mix
the well suspended materials after sieving. The resultant about 6L material may
be sufficient for one acre land when crop is young.
·
Take
one L of resultant liquid in a 15 L sprayer, make the volume to 15L and
spray. Note: about 100L liquid may be
needed per acre – depending on the age of the crop.
…………….
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