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Sponge gourd: Save its seeds and roots! |
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SRISTI has been documenting and disseminating organic agricultural practices developed and tested by farmers since 1993. For the past several months, the SRISTI team has been re-contacting farmers in Gujarat who had shared their methods and knowledge many years ago, so that we may learn about their more recent endeavours. Ms. Alka Raval, part of the HBN SRISTI team, is in touch with these innovators and knowledge providers. She has compiled these practices from the field. |
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" 34201 Bael fruit enzyme enriches tomato and groundnut crops
Sureshbhai Bhanabhai Makwana
Bhoyara, Tk. Jasdan, Dist. Rajkot
Sureshbhai is an experienced organic vegetable farmer, and the first in the region to cultivate golden berries (Physalis peruviana L.). He makes dashparni ark by boiling the leaves of ten bitter plants like dhatura (Datura stramonium L.), akda (Calotropis gigantea L.), ber, sahijan (Moringa oleifera Lam.), babul (Vachellia nilotica ssp. indica), etc. After fermenting the slurry for a few days, he mixes the solution in water.
He sprays a mix of buttermilk, jeevamrit, and dashparni ark on crops at the early stages of growth. This is said to reduce pest attacks and ensure good harvest in his lentils, chickpeas, groundnuts, berries, and various vegetables. He has found it inexpensive and profitable to grow golden berries as an intercrop with seven varieties of desi tomatoes. The berries are sought for their anti-diabetic benefits.
SRISTI sarvatra (a fungicide) has helped him control disease in both chilli and cumin.
Bael fruits (Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa) contain an enzyme which is believed to provide ‘potash’ to tomato and groundnut crops. He collects the ripe fruits in April. He mixes ten kg of bael fruit and three kg of jaggery in 30 L of water, and stores it for three months. This solution has to be stirred at a regular interval of ten days. After three months, it is strained. He mixes 100 mL of solution in 15 L of water, and sprays during the flowering stage to increase the yield of tomato and groundnut crops.
(Also see C. Murasing, P. Das, K. Sathish and L.K. Hazarika, 2017, Bio Efficacy of Bael (Aegle marmelos) Correa (Rutaceae) Leaf Extracts against Pulse Beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis L.) in Stored Green Gram Seed (Vigna radiata L.) International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 8 (2017) pp.
2067-2075)
34202 Herbal solution to prevent fruit
flies in mango trees
Ravjibhai Kanjibhai Gorasiya
Mirajapur, Tk. Bhuj, Dist. Kutch
Ravjibhai tends mango orchards, besides growing vegetables and grains. When fruit flies attack his mango trees, he boils one litre of cow urine, 1.5 L of dashparni ark, 50 g of asafoetida, 50 g of green chilli paste, and 50 g of garlic paste in 15 L of water. He boils till it is reduced to half. He sprays it through a 500 mL pump twice or thrice a week to keep away fruit flies.
(Also see HB 30(2); 17, 2019)
34203 Nutmeg to ease gastrointestinal distress in cattle
Kantibhai Nathubhai Hinsu
Ajab, Tk. Kesod, Dist. Junagad
Kantibhai boils jeevamrit, neem oil, neem leaves, and sharifa leaves (Annona squamosa L.) into a solution. He sprays this solution on his crops to nourish them and control pests. He feeds cattle two or three jaifal seeds (nutmeg) with roti to cure them of loose stools within two days.
(Also see HB 27 (1):15, 2016 for a way to kill intestinal worms using nutmeg: Eds.)
34204 A solution for soft and fertile soil
Chandrakantbhai Becharbhai Chaudhari
Makakhad, Tk. Mansa, Dist. Gandhinagar
Chandrakantbhai grows cotton, wheat, groundnuts, tobacco, black mustard, fennel, okra, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, and pointed gourd.
He creates a mix for soft and fertile soil, comprising one kg of fenugreek powder, two kg of ash, five kg of fresh cow dung, and five litres of cow urine in 200 L of water. It is kept in a drum for 48 hours. He then strains it, and adds five litres of water to ten litres of the mix. This can be applied to the crops via drip-irrigation, or sprayed. The fruits and flowers of these crops flourish well. He recommends applying the solution at an interval of four days at first, and then six days apart when the crops have grown a bit. He has been using this method for seven years.
Manishbhai Monabhai Chaudhari from Pratapura village, and Bhikhabhai Otabhai Chaudhari from Bapupura village have tried his method with good results.
34205 Preventing leaf curl and leafhoppers
Shambhubhai P. Bhuva
Shaktinagar, Jasdan city, Dist. Rajkot
Shambubhai sprays buttermilk to control leaf curl in chilli plants. No medication is required. For his groundnut crops, he creates a solution from 15 L of water, 250 L of milk, and 100 g of jaggery. He sprays the solution using a single-nozzle pump. It prevents infestations of leafhoppers, and makes the plants greener.
(Also see HB 31(1-2):12, 2020 for a similar solution to curb leaf curl using milk and lemon; and HB 10(1):10, 1999 for a leafhopper-repellant involving the makabuhay (Tinospora rumphii (L.)) vine: Eds.)
34206 Don’t burn or waste your weeds
Hareshbhai Punabhai Borasaniya
Matirala, Tk and Dist. Amreli
Hareshbhai believes that preparing soil to be healthy and fertile can prevent most diseases and pests. To make an organic fertilizer, he cuts weeds and unwanted grasses before they produce new seeds. He soaks the cuttings in a 200 L drum filled with water for ten to fifteen days. The solution is poured into the soil along with water. It enhances the soil and controls pests. This saves the farmer the trouble and costs involved in separating weeds by burning or picking them. He provides nitrogen supplements through carrot grass (Parthenium hysterophorus L.). He soaks it in water and sprinkles it on the crops. By following such practices
he is able to minimize soil borne diseases and pests, and reduce his cost of farming. (Also see HB 20(4) & 21(1): 2010 where parthenium makes for nourishing banana mulch: Eds.)
34207 Popati leaves for healing wounds
Bhayajibhai Pratapbhai Rathod
Phagwel, Tk. Kathlal, Dist. Kheda
Bhayajibhai knows herbal treatments for animals and humans. When an animal wound is infested with insects, he applies the juice of popati (Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.) leaves. Applying it twice a day for four days helps wounds heal completely. However, Popati grows only during the monsoon. and a similar remedy can be made from the milk of ratanjyot (Jatropha curcas L.).
(Popati has antimicrobial properties, and is also used as a pesticide. Please refer to N.A. Mukungu’s review of the plant at: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/ handle/11295/62745 ; Eds.)
34208 Milk-production booster for livestock
Pratapbhai Oghadbhai Dodiya Santhnidhar, Tk. Kodinar, Dist. Gir Somnath
Pratapbhai collects shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd.) roots from the nearby forest. He dries them, and crushes them into powder. He adds 25 g of the powder to the animal’s daily fodder, especially the milk-giving animals. This helps in increasing milk production, and prevents diseases in the animals.
(Also see HB 27 (1):17; 2016)
34209 Sponge gourd for kidney and skin health
Sindhav Dilipbhai Najabhai
Vadiya, Tk. Maliyahatina, Dist. Junagadh
Dilipbhai soaks crushed turai (sponge gourd, or Luffa aegyptica L.) root in two glasses of water overnight. He believes that consuming this water for two consecutive mornings helps flush small kidney stones through urine. Rambhai Sindhwade has also used this treatment.
Turai seeds can treat eczema. Dilipbhai crushes seeds into a paste, and applies it on the affected skin. Positive results can be seen within five days.
For foot pain, he collects pods of babul (Vachellia nilotica ssp. indica), dries them and turns them into a fine powder. Mixing a spoon of the powder into a glass of water, and consuming two such glasses a day for fifteen days alleviates the pain. His cows sometimes suffer from ‘paraso na mukvo,’ or the inability to produce milk at a regular hour. He feeds them two nutmegs (jaiphal) along with rotis one hour prior to milking. Doing so for three days helps regularize the animal’s daily lactation time. (Various medicinal uses of sponge gourd have been compiled at:
https://www.doc-developpement-durable. org/file/Culture/Culture-plantes- alimentaires/FICHES_PLANTES/ luffa/Luffa%20Cylindrica_An%20 important%20medicinal%20plant.pdf : Eds.)
34210 Neem-buttermilk to control aphids
Maheshbhai H. Patel Keliyavasana, Tk. Dholka, Dist. Ahmedabad
Maheshbhai applies vermicompost in his sugarcane fields, and has developed a method to control molomashi (aphids) in tomato crops. He prepares a solution by mixing 200 g of neem juice with ten litres of buttermilk. The solution is kept in a clay pot for ten days, and then it is strained using a cloth. The strained solution is applied to tomato crops along with irrigation water to reduce the deficiencies of humic acid. Spraying it twice a day for fifteen days has shown positive results.
Jagabhai Odhabhai Jodiya from Sanala village in Bhavnagar also mentioned that he prepares a solution by cooking rice, and then adding more water to it. The diluted rice steep is kept in a clay pot for ten days. After that, it is strained through cloth and applied to the fields along with irrigation water to reduce the deficiency of humic acid. It also acts as a fungicide.
(Also see HB 31(1-2):13, 2020 for more methods to control aphids)
34211 Termite control through milkweeds
Rameshbhai Suthar
Siddhi Natural Farm, Denap, Tk. Visnagar, Dist. Mehsana
Farms in northern Gujarat often face termite problems. Rameshbhai takes about seven to eight kg of the leaves of plants with thick latex, such as akda (Calotropis gigantea L.), kharsandi (Euphorbia tirucallai L.), thor (Euphorbia royleana Boiss.), etc. These leaves are fermented in 200 L of water for a week. He filters the solution, and irrigates his fields with it to repel termites
34212 Rehabilitating a mango orchard
Naranbhai Dahyabhai Bhil
Chowk, Tk. Jesar, Dist. Bhavnagar
Naranbhai had great success using buttermilk and cow urine to revive his mango orchards, which were in decline due to the overuse of pesticides. He mixes 60 L of stale buttermilk and cow urine in a water tank with one kilolitre of water, and lets it be for a few days. He sprays the solution from his tractor across the entire orchard, then the remainder from a smaller spray-pump to gradually cover the entire orchard. The spraying takes place over 15 days before the flowering season. He also uses jeevamrut for healthier soil.
(Also see HB 19(2):9,2008 to learn how to make a herbal fertilizer for mango trees)
34213 Postnatal care for mother cows
Bhurabhai Vasharambhai Boliya
Arnej, Tk. Dholka, Dist. Ahmedabad
If an animal falls sick or becomes weak after delivery, Bhurabhai powders jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) bark. He combines 250 g of powdered bark and 500 g of jaggery in two litres of water, and feeds it to the animal for three or four days. After delivery, he gives his cows 50 g of bitter cumin (Centratherum anthelminticum (L.) Kuntze) and 50 g of asafoetida in their daily feed. This helps increase milk production and allows the animal to produce milk for a longer period.
To help cure mastitis, he feeds animals two camphor tablets in banana pulp for two to three days. Rubbing a paste of multani mitti (Fuller’s earth) on the udders may also help.
(Also see HB 19(2):8, 2008 to know how jamun bark could help treat diarrhoea)
34214 Limboli to control aphids and thrips
Jayantibhai Solanki
Gundi-Koliyak, Tk. and Dist. Bhavnagar
Jayantabhai cultivates vegetables organically. To control pests, he first creates a pulp using limboli (fresh green neem fruits), buttermilk, dashparni ark and akda (Calotropis gigantea L.). He mixes 20 kg of the pulp in a barrel filled with 160 L of water and 20 L of cow urine. Stirring it twice a day and storing it in a warm place helps ferment the mixture within five days. The liquid is filtered and stored for use throughout the year. One litre of the prepared liquid is mixed with 14 litres of water and sprayed every fifteen days to control aphids and thrips.
Dried limboli fruits and dried ingori (Balanites roxburghii L.) could also be used against these pests. Jayantibhai powders them together. When needed, he mixes the powder into five litres of cow urine and 25 L of water. After five days, the liquid is filtered, and sprayed by adding 500 mL to a pump. Aloe vera or soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi L.) extract can also be added.
(Also see HB 31(1-2):12, 2020 for a similar limboli-ingori solution to aphids)
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Honey Bee, 34(2)12-14 , 2023 |
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