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Sheesham for Bloat, Bees Do a Lot |
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The Honey Bee Network has been documenting innovative and natural farming, and community medicinal practices since 1988-89, seeking not only to help people in rural areas improve outcomes, but also to give due recognition to those with a passion for experimentation and creativity at the grassroots. Marginalized populations are highly responsive to changing agro-climactic and socioeconomic factors, and seek to improve upon their previous methods. With this belief, we have been reconnecting with knowledge holders who had first shared their practices with us almost two decades ago. In many instances, we have found a demonstration of the varied, complex and unexpected ways in which people utilize and preserve their locally available bioresources. These practices have been compiled by Ms. Alka Rawal of the SRISTI, HBN team. |
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" 34401 ‘Bael’-ed out of Repeat Breeding Syndrome
Subhash Bhai Patel and Ramaben
Shivrajpura, Tk. Meghraj, Dist. Aravalli
Subhashbhai has been an organic farmer for the past five years. He stores seeds in a room with neem leaves to prevent pests and spoilage, and seals fennel seeds in a muslin bag within an airtight container. They are sun-dried before sowing.He routinely deworms his livestock by feeding them the juice of neem leaves. To treat repeat breeding syndrome, he gives them bael fruits (Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa) and fennel to cool them. He administers the pulp of six or seven bael fruits with 100 g of crushed fennel seeds as a drink, or in the feed of his cattle. This treatment takes effect within 12-13 days.
Ramaben treats bloat by feeding cattle lemon juice from three or four lemons in buttermilk. This provides relief within two hours.
(Estragole, an ether found in fennel’s essential oil, has antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects on animals (M.Y. Mahendra et al., 2023). The oil also prevents wilt in tomatoes (Fatma Kalleli et al., 2020). Fennel has been used in traditional medicine to increase lactation, among other benefits (Badgujar, Patel & Bandivdekar, 2014); Eds.)
34402 Induce Appetite with Sheesham
Bhupatbhai Jabucha
Padwa, Tk. Dhodha, Dist. Bhavnagar
Among many home remedies for animals, he and his wife apply a kerosene-soaked cloth to an area infested with parasites like lice, causing them to fall off. They also massage the area with oil for healthier skin. When an animal has a cold with a runny nose and loses its appetite, they burn a scrap piece of leather, neem and Sheesham leaves. They claim that inhaling the smoke two to three times a day cures the animal. For bloat, they apply a paste of rafda clay (termite mound) on its stomach, which releases the gas, providing relief in one to two hours.
(Sheesham is known to have an array of medicinal benefits; burning its roots may help manage bronchitis and headaches (Gul, Saleem & Ahmad, 2016). Sheesham wood smoke may also repel pests: see HB 6(2):9, 1995; Eds.)
34403 Bring the Bees for Vine Veggies
Dahyabhai Jivabhai Degamadi
Tk. Limbdi, Dist. Surendranagar
Dahyabhai cultivates green gram, black gram, pigeon pea, cluster beans, okra, cowpea, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, coriander, spinach, radish, carrot, and gooseberry. He has found that bees have benefitted his vine vegetables. To attract them, he blends 100 g of milk and 500 g jaggery in 15 L of water and sprays this on crops during the flowering stage. He sprays a second time after five days, and then again after 15 days. He also prepares a very fine compost from tea leaves, and jeevamrit at home.
To treat bloat, he feeds his animals buttermilk mixed with soda, or oil mixed with asafoetida. The animals feel relief within two hours.
(Mutualism is seen, with oilseeds and cucurbits greatly dependent on bee pollinators, and cucurbits, including all gourds, pumpkins and melons being rich sources of nectar for bees (Pratap Divekar et al., 2023). Farmers may employ artificial nests and bee hotels, usually made with multiple tubes to attract bees. Studies have shown that bees prefer colourful nests, with bamboo often rating higher than wood or cardboard, and preference in length and diameter of the tubes varying greatly across species. Farmers should beware of invasions by spiders, ants and wasps. (Rahimi, Barghjelveh & Dong, 2021).
34404 A Marvellous Grass for More Milk
Naniben Raghavjibhai Solanki
Padwa, Tk. Ghogha, Dist. Bhavnagar
Naniben administers homemade remedies when her animals suffer from minor illnesses. For bloat, she sets fire to three or four cow dung cakes and two spoonfuls of oil, with a block of Sheesham wood (Dalbergia sissoo L.) and two peacock feathers in a pot. She wafts the smoke near an animal’s mouth. She also recommends applying clay paste on the animal’s back to provide relief within an hour. She repeats the smoking process again in the evening to completely alleviate the bloating.
Naniben feeds cattle a mixture of one teaspoon of black cumin seeds in two spoons of oil for deworming. When an animal has diarrhoea, Naniben suggests changing the fodder grass for a few days to determine whether the grass was unsuitable for the animal. She cultivates jinjva grass, or marvel grass (Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf), which is traditionally collected in the wild and fed to animals to increase milk production. Pregnant animals suffer more in the summer heat, and Naniben finds that feeding them banana leaves cools them down.
(Samudralwar & Garg, 1996 analysed peacock feather ash, traditionally known as Mayurpuchha Bhasma, and found high concentrations of sodium, zinc, manganese, bromine, copper, and iron. While the ash is traditionally used for snake bites and respiratory illness, no literature was found on curative effects of its smoke. Ash of the chanda (eye) of the feather has been used to treat blockages in the urinary tract: see HB 5(2):18, 1994; Eds.)
34405 Tender Coconut for Sweet Wheat
Bipinbhai Jadavbhai Bhandari
Limdhra, Tk. Visavadar, Dist. Junagadh
Bipinbhai is an organic farmer who grows groundnuts, wheat, pigeon peas, and millets, among others. To keep his crops healthy, he uses jeevamrit, biopesticides such as neem astra, brahmastra, and agni astra, cow urine, cow dung, buttermilk, milk and jaggery. To make the soil more fertile, he uses jute as a cover crop and creates compost from the stubble of bajra stalks.
He mixes 100 g of jaggery and 250 g of milk and sprays a pump three to four times during the flowering stage of peanuts to increase the yield for all crops. When fresh wheat buds sprout, he sprays the juice of one tender coconut mixed in 15 L of water to increase the sweetness of the grains.
(Integrating millet glume-derived compost with a NP fertilizer may almost double millet yield by enhancing microbial biomass content, compared to using fertilizer alone. (Issoufa et al., 2019). Farmers in Amaravathy village, Idukki developed their method for composting by adding cow urine diluted 1:1 with water. It increases worms, and reduces the time taken for composting. See HB 14(1):10, 2003; Eds.)
34406 Heeng is King
Mohanbhai Karmashibhai Desai
Vill. and Tk. Liliya, Dist. Amreli
Mohanbhai Desai cultivates groundnuts, wheat, chickpeas, coriander, sesame, and garlic on his farmland. Mohan Bhai mixes 400 g of asafoetida in 15 L of water and sprays it to control worms (“munda” pests).
(Asafoetida, or heeng, has high therapeutic and nutritional value, besides being a safe and effective antihelminth found effective against Steinernema carpocapsae. (Shaik & Mishra, 2023); Eds.)
34407 Bitter is Better
For pest control, farmers use bitter plants like aakda (Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand), arni (Clerodendrum Phlomidis L.), moringa (Moringa oleifera L.), datura (Datura stramonium L.), naffatiya (Ipomoea carnea fistulosa (Mart. ex Choisy) D.F.Austin), thor (Euphorbia royleana Boiss.), puvadia (Cassia tora L.), neem, and custard apple.
Subhashbhai soaks 10 kg of aakda in a large barrel of water for a week, then strains it. He adds five litres of this solution to 10 L of water, and applies it to crops by spraying or drip. It prevents pests in bottle gourd and bitter gourd, and helps wheat grains grow larger and more lustrous.
To stymie termite pests, Naniben soaks cuttings of aakda in irrigation channels. Alternatively, she boils cuttings of aakda and arni, and adds the strained solution to the channels.
Bhupatbhai deploys homemade pest repellents like dashparni and panchparni ark (extract of ten and five bitter leaves, respectively) along with cow urine and sour buttermilk. Dashparni ark is made by boiling two kilograms of each plant’s leaves in five litres of cow urine. He dilutes 500 mL of the solution in 15 L of water, and sprays his rose and tomato crops every week to control whiteflies and caterpillars.
Dahyabhai makes panchparni ark with extracts of moringa, aakda, neem, datura, and naffatiya. He chops, soaks 10 kg of the leaves of each, and boils them in 200 L of water. Once reduced to half, he adds 500 mg to a pump and sprays his fields. The spray should be repeated at an interval of 10-15 days. Adding 500 g of buttermilk with the solution controls pests as well as rejuvenates crops and improves yield.
Mohanbhai finds aphids and bollworms to be a major nuisance. He uses leaves of datura, aakda, thor, puvadia, and custard apple, with chilli and garlic. He grinds 250 g of green chilli and garlic each to a paste, along with five kilograms each of shredded leaves of the other plants. Next, he soaks this mixture in 250 L of water in a large vessel for 20 days. After this period, he strains 500 mL of the concoction in 15 L of water to spray every 15 days. During rainy days, additional drenching is done.
(Puvadia is a larvicidal, which could be explored to control malaria and other vector-borne diseases (Supare & Patil, 2015). It is also used as green compost (HB 4(2&3):5, 1993), and to treat piles (HB14(4)&15(1):12, 2004), wounds (HB 22(1&2):32, 2011), joint pain and eczema (HB 23(3):6-7, 2012); Eds.)
34408 Cownt Me In!
Farmers ensure healthy crops by employing cow-derived inputs like jeevamrit (organic fertilizer), ghanjeevamrit (dry jeevamrit), milk, fermented buttermilk, cow dung, and cow urine.
Subhashbhai mixes 700 g of jaggery and two litres of milk in 15 L of water. Sprinkling this on fennel crops increases flowering and leads to a sweeter, greener and more profitable harvest. It also attracts many bees. Though most farmers use chickpea flour to make jeevamrit, he has had greater success with sour buttermilk instead. He blends it with cow dung, and dries this mixture into ghanjeevamrit. To prevent fungal diseases, he treats seeds with beejamrit, a fermented concoction of cow dung, cow urine, and slaked lime. Seeds are then air dried before sowing.
Bhupatbhai uses about 200 L of jeevamrit per bigha every 15 days while irrigating his fields. To deter earworms in eggplant, he ferments buttermilk in the dark for 45 days. He combines 500 g of this sour buttermilk, 200 mL of cow urine and 15 L of water into a solution of spraying consistency. The smell of sour buttermilk deters earworms, leading to their death after a few days.
Using milk and jaggery has increased the yield of his vegetables, on average from 20 kg to 35 kg. A mix of 500 g of milk and 250 g of jaggery in 15 L water yields good results when sprayed every 15 days, beginning at the flowering stage. It is especially effective for vine vegetables like bottle gourd, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, and tomatoes.
(Aquaculture may benefit from an integrated organic farming approach. Cow-derived crop inputs could increase pond fertility, and provide better feed. (N. Ravisankar & A.K. Prusty, 2024). This requires further-exploration; Eds.)
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 34(4)16-18, 2023 |
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