agriculture tips

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...

In our Agriculture for Everybody  blog series, we will see the different types of Water Harvesting Methods from a farmland point of view.  We will highlight each one of them and anybody wishes to implement them can look for more detailed information elsewhere. Trenches Trenches need to be created against the flow of the water to get maximum benefit Trenches are best suited water harvesting method where plants or trees are the main crops.  For eg, Coconut Tree Plantations, Mango Tree Plantations etc Trenches can be created in between the rows of the Trees Swales = Continuous Contour Trenches Swales need to be created against the flow of the water to get maximum benefit Swales generally are bigger in size (in terms of width, depth & length) compared to trenches Swales are best suited water harvesting method where plants or trees are the main crops.  For eg, Coconut Tree Plantations, Mango Tree Plantations etc Bunds Bunds are created around the b...

We all know Water is a very important requirement for farming activities.  In our Agriculture for Everybody  blog series, we will understand the various sources from where we can get the water for our crops. We can classify the Water Sources into two as below. Internal Water Source External Water Source Internal Water Source Internal Water Sources are those that are available within our farms.  We have some limited control on these water sources. Generally, the Internal Water Sources are created by us and some of them are given below. Borewells Open Wells Ponds I mentioned limited control in the previous paragraph, just to highlight the point, that the water in these sources can become dry if other farms in the area exploit the underground water indiscriminately by using borewells. External Water Source Any water source that is outside of our farm are considered External Water Source.  We have literally no control on these water sources. Some examples of Ex...

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 pla...

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 ...

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...