|
|
Honey bee publish details |
| More
Information |
|
|
| Name |
Documented by: P. Vivekanandan, SEVA & Dr. Vedprakash, Senior Scientist, National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner |
|
|
| Address |
|
|
|
| District |
|
|
|
| State |
|
|
|
| Country |
|
|
|
| Category |
Documented by: P. Vivekanandan, SEVA & Dr. Vedprakash, Senior Scientist, National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner |
|
|
| Title |
Innovative practices |
|
|
| Abstract |
|
|
|
| Details |
"An extremely affordable Incubator for hatching eggs
R. Suresh
Udayaarpalayam- Taluka, Ariyalur-District
Suresh, a resident of Thathanoorkudikadu village of Ariyalur district has made an incubator for hatching eggs. A 90 volt watt bulb and three containers are provided inside the chamber of the incubator to maintain optimum humidity and temperature of 37.5 degree Celcius. The temperature is controlled by filling the containers with water. The containers are fixed in such a manner that some are filled with water and some are empty. In this incubator about eighty percent hatching occurs in 22 days. The incubator is 2 feet long, 1.5 feet broad and
1.5 feet high and the cost is INR 7000. So far, Suresh has sold 90 such incubators.
Herbal healing practices Krishnaswamy
Seepankottai, Theni- district, Tamil Nadu
Krishnawamy, 66 from Kamatchipuram village has received formal school education till only class four. The major source of income for his family is practice of herbal medicine and selling herbal products for healing human and livestock purposes. He dispenses herbal medicines for healing animals as well as human beings. Krishnawamy is popular in and around his village for his knowledge pertaining to herbal medicine such as:
(i) Herbal bolus for cattle:
The herbal bolus for curing indigestion in cattle, fever, bloat, lack of appetite and retention of placenta constitutes Avaram (Cassia auriculata)- 1kg, Nilavahai (Andrographis paniculata) 1kg, Kolunji (Tephrosia purpurea) 1kg, Thumbai (Leucas aspera) 1kg, Kollangovai kilangu (Corallocarpus epigaeus) 1kg, Chotrikatralai (Aloe vera) 1kg, Puliyam pirandai (Oxalis corniculata) 1kg, Perunthumbai (Leuces martinicansis) 1kg, Siruthunbai (Leucas aspera) 1kg, Pirandai (Cissus quadrangularis)1kg, dried ginger (Zingiber officinale) 300g, Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) 200g, Thippili (Piper longum) 200g, Seeragam (Cuminum cyminum) 200g, Neem oil (Azadirachta indica) 1/2 litre, Coconut (Cocos nucifera) 2 nos., Onion (Allium cepa) 1kg, Garlic (Allium sativum) 250g.
The bolus is sarvaroghanivarani - a herbal cure for many diseases including several digestive problems in the animals and should be administered once in six months.
Many of the ingredients are reported for their medicinal efficacy in ruminants (Galav., et al 2013. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol 12(1), p.47-55, accessed at http://nopr.niscair.res.in/ bitstream/123456789/15347/1/IJTK%2012%281%29%2047-55.pdf)
(ii) Medicated oil to cure knee joint pain: Krishnaswamy has developed an oil based formulation for the treatment of knee pain. He uses a mixture of the following ingredients:
Neem oil (Azadirachta indica) 1/2 litre, Iluppai oil (Madhuca oil) 1/2 litre, Pungam oil (Millettia pinnata) 1/2 litre, Coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) 1/2 litre, Castor oil (Ricinus communis) 1/2 litre, Kasthuri manjal (Curcuma aromatica) 200g, Karunjeeragam (Nigella sativa) 200g, Perumjeerakum (big cumin) 200g, Thippili (Piper longum) 200g, Omam (Trathyspermum ammi) 200g, Adhathodai root -300 g, Mudakkathan root (Aristolochia bracteata) 300g, Thirunitru pachilai root (Ocimum basilicum) 300g, Long pepper (Piper longum) 200g.
The above ingredients are mixed and soaked in oil for some time. The mixture is then heated to make a formulation for treating knee/joint pain. Products with 17 Active Ayurvedic herbs and herbal oils such as Clove, Cinnamon, Maha
Visgarbh, Maha Narayan, Dhanwantram, Maha Mash,
Ashwagandha, Shatavari, etc., are available at
https://www.amazon.in/Blue-Nectar-Ayurvedic-Relief- 100ml/dp/B01MQJERWT,
http://www.sanat.co.in/health-care-products/15/jointil-oil
(iii) Hair oil formulation
The herbal formulation is prepared by using the following ingredients:
Aduthinna palai (Aristolochia bracteata) 1/4kg, Aloe vera 1/4kg, Sembaruthi (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) 1/4 kg.
The above herbs are mixed and soaked in half a litre of coconut oil which helps in extracting the active ingredients of the herbs. Later this mixture can be used as hair oil to enhance hair growth and maintain its overall health.
Aloevera and Hibiscus has been widely used in hair oils (Banerjee, P.S., et al., 2009. Preparation, evaluation and hair growth stimulating activity of herbal hair oil. J Chem Pharm Res, 1, pp.261-267).
(iv) Herbal remedy for control of intestinal worms and poisonous bite
The tubers of Kollankovaikilangu (Corallocarpus epigaeus), about 150 g are administered in a powdered form to control intestinal worms (roundworms and tapeworm) in animals. This powder also acts as an antidote to poisonous snake/reptile bites. The extract of the root and rhizome of Corallocarpus epigaeus is endowed with significant anti snake venom activity.
(see Mansoor, N.R. and Sanmugarajah, V., 2018. A Literature Review on Medicinal Plants that are being used in traditional medicine for the management of the snake bites in Sri Lanka. Asian Plant Research Journal, pp.1-18).
How to save fish from predator tortoise?
N. Sri Ram
Kaliyakudi village, Nannilam-Taluk, Thiruvarur- district, Tamil Nadu
Sri Ram (Kaliyakudi village) has several tanks for breeding and rearing fish. The fish are often eaten by tortoises, a menace for fish farming. Sri Ram designed a trap that uses 1-2” spaced iron rods on all four sides. Since the tortoises only move horizontally, the trap allows the fish to move freely while blocking the tortoises. The trapped tortoises can be removed easily.
Sri Ram has also designed a low cost brooder nest for poultry birds to ascertain the productivity of the bird (number of eggs laid in a given period) in a flock. The unproductive birds can be identified easily and culled.
Tortoise traps are already available (https://www.texastastes.com/ p239.htm) and Brooder nests are also available (https://www. strombergschickens.com/category/chicken-brooders)
Transplanting method of fodder slips/cuttings
M. Balusamy
Kandamanur, Theni- district, Tamil Nadu
The two-noded plant cuttings of fodder grass (Co4, Co3 varieties of Napier grass) usually used as planting material are transplanted in such a way that one node will be above the ground and the other below the ground. This method ensures sixty to seventy percent germination.
M. Balusamy of Kandamanur village follows an innovative transplantation method. He uses only single noded slip instead of two and buries them in the pit of 1.51˝ x1.5x1.5 feet feet long, 1˝ feet broad, and 1˝ feet deep. Water is poured in the pit to damp the cuttings. The pit is thereafter covered and made air tight by spreading a gunny bag or cement bag over it. After one week when the gunny bag is removed one can see all the noded slips germinating. Each of the germinated slip is then uprooted and transplanted in the main field after irrigation. This method ensures almost hundred percent germination.
Local breeds of livestock and increasing the farm productivity
G. Ramasamy
Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu.
Ramasamy, a seventy-four year-old livestock rearer started assisting his father in livestock farming from an early age. He belongs to a traditional livestock rearing family in Umblachery village, Tamil Nadu. The family has been involved in the conservation of Umblachery breed of cattle for the past 75 years. His family is solely dependent on cattle farming. Ramaswamy and his family became economically sound by selling male Umblachery calves. The extra income enabled him to construct a pucca house, besides helping him to procure 10 hectares of agricultural land.
His grandfather, Subbiah Pillai procured Attukkarimadu, a subtype of Umbalachery cattle at a price of Rs 80/- from a pastoral woman who migrated from Ramnad district in Tamil Nadu. The salient features of Umblachery breed are a white stripe on the forehead, a typical dark grey body and a distinct white mark on the feet and tail. There are four distinct types of Umblachery cattle based on their morphological features viz. Attukari, Suryakulathu maadu, Ganapthiyan maadu, Vennamadu. At present, several families maintain the genetic purity of this breed of cattle.
According to G. Ramaswamy, a typical Umblachery cow can give milk up to 12 lactations. The cow becomes mature for mating four months after calving when the colour of milk turns yellow. This is when the cow stops lactating. Ramaswamy allows calves to suck the maximum colostrum and then the milk on the consecutive days. The calves fetch a good price when they are two to three years old. Earlier the animals were in high demand when the males were trained as ploughing bullocks for wetland ploughing, transporting agricultural products and drawing bullock carts. Male calves mature within three years (with formation of 4 teeth) and they are maintained for breeding purposes for the next 10-12 years. The female calves get ready for mating after two years. Milk yielded is approximately 1.5 litres to four litres per day.
At present the family is maintaining a herd of 51 cattle (34 cows, 14 calves and 3 bulls). Ramaswamy sells about 5-6 pairs of calves every year. Each calf is priced at around INR 12000 to 15000. Milk obtained from the cattle is not sold and is solely retained for consumption by family. The family has a distinct tradition of gifting lactating cows to their daughters in marriage to take care of the supply of dairy products for the young children.
Green manuring and creative spacing for sugarcane production
Antonisamy
Puliyangudi village, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu
Sugarcane cultivation requires frequent irrigation. Sandy soil is not suitable due to lack of organic matter and moisture. However, the crop can be raised successfully on aerosols (sandy soil formed by weathering of quartz rich rock) and other types of sandy soils by enhancing the soils’ organic matter content. This can be done by ploughing and placing the remnants of green manure crops in the soil through successive mulching.
This practice leads to a row-intercropping system with two different green manure crops for soil improvement during sugarcane production in Tamil Nadu, India. By improving the soil quality, sugarcane can be raised as ratoon crop for several years without much loss in crop yield. It is a water-efficient way of raising sugarcane on sandy soils. Apart from improving the water holding capacity of the soil, the method increases the soil fertility especially when leguminous plants are used as green manure crops. Consequently, the overall productivity of sugarcane increases.
Usually, there is a common practice to raise green manure as intercrop in sugarcane production and placing it during 45–50 days after sowing (DAS). The practice followed by Antonisamy however, involves a modified method by introducing some practices based on close observations in a sugarcane production site in Tamil Nadu:
A single green manure crop is raised in a row-intercropping system together with sugarcane setts. Here, two different crops are arranged in a row (see photo). The practice has been tested with CO – 86032 variety of sugarcane, a recommended variety for organic sugarcane production in India, according to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). Harvests with this method can reach up to 200 tons/ha.
The practice of planting these two green manure crops by row-intercropping is described below:
One row of sugarcane setts is planted at 60 cm (2ft.) interval. A spacing of 2m (6ft.) is provided between individual rows of sugarcane setts.
The farmer raises the first green manure crop, called Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) in this space of 2 mtrs (6 ft.) The field is irrigated using drip lines, arranged in between the rows of Dhaincha and the sugarcane rows. After forty-five to fifty days of sowing (DAS), the Dhaincha plants are uprooted, deposited and mulched into the soil in the space between the rows of sugarcane.
After mulching, the second green manure crop (generally green gram) is sown in the fields. Here, instead of green gram (mung bean) Sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea) could be used. Sunnhemp has several advantages over green gram as the cost per kg of seed is comparatively less. It is resistant to aphid attacks whereas green gram is usually vulnerable. Also, the foliage quantity obtained from sunnhemp is more than green gram, which means, that a larger amount of mulching material and compost is available.
The second green manure crop is also uprooted 45 days after sowing (DAS) and integrated into the soil. Usually, sugarcane setts are planted at the rate of 75,000 setts per hectare, with 2.3m – 3.3m (7 – 10 ft.) space between two sugarcane rows. Applying the current practice, only 9,000 setts per hectare (3,600 per acre) are planted instead, due to the innovative spacing practice described above. The family has opted for organic farming. They use cattle dung as manure at the rate of 30 cart loads per acre, which is three times more as compared to their neighbouring farmers. As result of which, the use of chemical fertilisers have come down by almost 50% (half a bag of potash is mixed with half a bag of urea and applied as basal dose on the 45th day after sowing and during plant’s ear head formation stage). Their average yield of paddy has also increased to almost 1.5 times as compared to the farmers using chemical fertilisers.
Benefits of using improved green manure crops and adapted spacing
This spacing system is beneficial for enhancing and retaining soil fertility. The soil texture of the place where this practice was implemented, improved from coarse sandy to loamy (a soil rich in humus), due to the abundance of organic matter. Also there was reduction in the consumption of irrigation water, because the organic matter in the soil improves the water holding capacity of the soil.
The growth of the sugarcane plants is enhanced as they attain more sunlight and grow with sufficient air space between the rows of sugarcane setts.
The space between the setts allows the farmers to walk freely between rows to monitor intercultural operations without any difficulty. The practice also avoids rodent infestation by allowing more sunlight between rows and thus eliminating hiding places for the rats.
In the conventional system, farmers give space of 0.75m to 0.9 m (2 1/2 ft.) between successive rows of sugarcane. This makes the manual operation of stripping the leaves very difficult. Consequently, rain water accumulates on the leaves, leading to cane lodging and reduced yield.
Per drop more crop
A drip irrigation line in between rows of sugarcane is used for irrigation. The irrigation requirement in the area is once in three days for two hours, throughout the growth period. whereas in the conventional system, sugarcane is irrigated every day for three hours.
Production of 1kg jaggery requires only 500 litres of water in the proposed row intercropping system. In the conventional system, 22,000 litres of water is needed to produce the same amount of jaggery. Sugarcane leaves/ trashes stripped from the cane are incorporated into the soil during the 4th and the 7th month. Leaves stripped during the 9th month are incorporated in the 2m (6 ft.) gap. Soil is applied on the green manure for quick composting.
From the fourth month onwards the trashes from sugarcane can be removed and placed in the soil as mulch. The yield of sugarcane is determined by erect canes which do not lodge. In order to prevent lodging of canes, the soil around the root zone should be periodically dug. It enables better soil aeration. After harvesting, sugarcane ratooning is commonly used for perennial sugarcane production. In other fields where there is no green manuring, the ratoon crop yield declines steadily and reaches below 30 tons per acre (0.4 ha) by the end of third year. The farmer then has to acquire fresh planting material from fourth year onwards. This practice has helped in producing up to 24 ratoons will little decline in yield.
Sharma, A R and Ghosh A. (2000) Effect of green manuring with Sesbania aculeata and nitrogen fertilization in the performance of direct-seeded flood-prone lowland rice. Nutrient Cycling in Agro Ecosystems. Vol 57(2) : 141 - 153.
" |
|
|
| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 29(4) & 30(1) ,29-33, 2019 |
|
|
| Sout |
|
|
|
| Call Number |
|
|
 
|
|
