Introduction

A simple user's manual published based on the results of our field experiments .

The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS) has been involved in doing a lot of work relating to vrkshayurveda for the past several years. This has included survey and collection of literature on vrkshayurveda, short listing techniques and recipes for specific problems and testing out prescriptions of the vrkshayurveda in practice. Since 1998, our centre has also been involved in an effort for testing methods based on vrkshayurveda for the cultivation of rice crop. This project focuses on use of vrkshayurveda for vegetable cultivation. This project is supported by the Department of Science and Technlogy, Government of India.

Objectives of the project

• To test the efficacy of the methods of Vrkshayurveda on various aspects of cultivation of vegetable crops such as providing resistance against discuses, improvement of yield and management of pests.
• To develop a package for organic cultivation of vegetables using participatory approach with farmers.
• To disseminate organic package of vegetable cultivation through training programmes to farmers.
• To produce a user’s manual in English and Hindi on organic vegetable cultivation.

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Activities implemented and under implementation

SURVEY

• This project was implemented in five villages namely Patharagudi, Allivilagam, Adhamangalam, Alangadu and Agani of Sirkazhi Taluk in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. A survey was conducted initially to identify villages and farmers for implementing this project. Seven farmers were selected and experiments were conducted in their fields based on participatory approach.
• Various farmer’s practices and recipes related to tomato, brinjal, lady’s finger and chilli were compiled and short listed from Vrkshayurveda texts.

EXPERIMENTS

• Experiments were conducted for three consecutive seasons using Andrographis kashayam and aqueous extract in Allivilagam village, based on Randomized Block Design for management of sucking pests such as hoppers and whiteflies which transmits vein clearing disease in lady’s finger.
•  Experiments were conducted to increase the yield using different plant growth promoters such as modified panchagavyam and thriphala kashayam in lady’s finger for three consecutive seasons in Allivilagam village.

Experiment on yield increase in bhendi using plant growth regulators.

 

• Experiments were also conducted to increase the yield using three different panchagavyams (panchagavyam, modified panchagavyam and buffalo panchagavyam) in lady’s finger under field and shade house conditions.
• Experiments were conducted on lady’s finger, brinjal and chilli using different components of organic cultivation such as biopesticides (Ginger, Garlic, Chilli extract and Neem seed kernel extract), use of pheromone traps, yellow sticky traps etc. This was done basically to develop an organic package of practices for cultivation of these vegetables. Based on the observations, flow charts showing the different steps involved in organic cultivation have been prepared.
• An experiment based on simple design was conducted for increasing the yield in brinjal using modified panchagavyam and buffalo panchagavyam in Adhamangalam village.
• An experiment was conducted based on Randomized Block Design to manage fruit borer in tomato using Ginger, garlic, chilli extract at different concentrations in Sukkankollai, Kancheepuram district and Agani, Nagapattinam district.
• Experiments were conducted to manage fruit rot in chilli using sweet flag aqueous extract and arkam (distillate form of sweet flag) in Patharakudi village.
• Experiments based on Randomized Block Design were conducted for management of aphids and mites in Chilli crop through foliar spray of different biopesticides in Allivilagam village.
• Experiments were conducted to fix the dose of sweet flag powder required for seed treatment using a pre-designed fumigator.

Staff involved in Data count in vegetable experimental field at Allivilagam village.

 

TECHNICAL COLLABORATION

• Visits were made to various agricultural research stations and universities such as Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Vegetable Research Station, Palur, Department of Horticulture, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University and Seed testing laboratory, Thanjavur etc. to discuss the technical issues regarding organic package for vegetables.
• The cost of cultivation was documented for brinjal, chilli and lady’s finger based on farmer’s experience in Kancheepuram and Nagapattinam district.

TRAINING AND EXPOSURE VISIT

• Twelve training programmes on organic cultivation practices for the four selected vegetables were conducted for 254 farmers from 23 villages in Sirkazhi taluk during April 2006-November 2007. One training programme was conducted for the NGO staff during June 2007. An exposure visit to organic vegetable field, quiz programme and practical demonstration on preparation of biopesticides was also included in the training programme.
• A user’s manual on organic vegetable cultivation has been prepared in English and Hindi.

FUMIGATION EQUIPMENT

Fumigation using natural products is one of the important techniques that has been practiced traditionally and also found mention in classical texts relating to traditional agriculture. However, in practice when fumigation is under taken the following problems need to be addressed –

• A source of heat such as a bed of hot charcoal needs to be located in the fumigator, along with a perforated plate to hold in place the seeds or material that needs to be fumigated. If the distance between the seeds and the source of heat is too little it affects the germination of the seeds which tend to get burnt / roasted. If the distance between the seeds and the source of heat is too large then the effect is too low or totally absent.
• Hence we need an arrangement by which this distance can be varied or an arrangement by which the fumes are led away from the source of heat to a separate chamber.
• Some of these fumes may be toxic to humans and animals though they are effective for agriculture. (eg.) Acorus calamus - precautions need to be observed so that the users are not affected.

Fumigator - Designed and fabricated by CIKS for the seed treatment of paddy and vegetable seeds

 

Keeping these requirements in mind we have designed and fabricated two fumigators (a big and a small) for the seed treatment of vegetable and paddy seeds. Fumigator which has three independent units namely – a source of heat on which the required natural products can be sprinkled, a source of air blast that can be driven through the charcoal bed and a separate plate for holding in place the seeds whose capacity can be varied.

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