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Indigenous Farming :: Indigenous Technical Knowledge

1. Crop residue as mulch

Mulches controlling effect of the evaporation of soil moisture and hence play an important role in agriculture. Locally available materials like paddy straw, sugarcane dried leaves and coir pith can be very well used as mulch material. Crop yield increase has been noticed in the mulch field due to better water use and reduction of soil loss by runoff. Use of straw mulch minimized evaporation. Sugar dried leaves and paddy straw mulch act as barrier between the incident radiation and soil surface’s

  2. Propping in banana

A plastic rope is tied 2/3 from the bottom of the banana tree to prevent the lodging and bunch damage. While high flow of wind during rainy season.  The end of plastic ropes from 4 banana trees is tied with one feet height wooden plug which is firmly attached with earth.  The cost of this indigenous technique is Rs 4 per tree which includes the labour charges. The duration of this plastic ropes will exists for three year, which is after harvest of banana this plastic ropes can be used in subsequent seasons.

3. Indigenous Turmeric boiling drum

Fingers are separated from mother rhizomes and are usually kept as seed material. Then fresh turmeric is cured before marketing. Curing involves boiling of fresh rhizomes in water and drying in the sun.
In traditional method the cleaned rhizomes are boiled in galvanized iron with water just enough soak them. In certain places cow dung slurry is used boiling medium. Boiling is stopped when comes out and white fumes appear giving out a typical odors. The boiling for 45-60 minutes the rhizomes are soft.  Over cooking spoils the colour of final product while under cooking render the dried product brittle.

4. Drying method in rhizome

The cooked fingers are dried in the sun by spreading 5-7 cm thick layer on drying floor. A thinner layer not desirable the colour of the dried product may be adversely affected. During night time the material should be heaped and covered. it may take 10-15 days for the rhizomes, become completely dry. Yield of the dry product varies from 20-30percent depending up on the variety and the location.

5. Inter cropping Amaranths +Groundnut

Ground nut cum amaranths inter cropping is practiced in erode dt. Amaranths are harvested with in one month. Ground nut harvested at end of three months period .amaranths crops will give additional in come to needy farmers by selling amaranths green leaves daily in the market.
Amaranths Varieties: Co1.Co3 (clipping type) mulai keerai ,Thandukeerai
Seed rate:
Broad cost the seeds evenly on the bed after mixing with 10 parts of sand
Harvest &yield:
25 days after sowing for mulai keerai 4Tonnes/acre
40 days after sowing for Thandukeerai 7Tonnes/acre
Clipping type: 10 clipping at weekly intervals
 Ground nut;
Season: Rain fed: Early adipattam (july-aug) Varieties: TMV2, TMV7, VRI3
Irrigated: Summer (April-July) Varieties: TMV2, TMV7
Durations: 100-105Days
Growth habit: Bunch type: Seed colour: Light rose
Form beds of size 10x20M2 depending up on the availability of water
Seed rate: Use 70kg /acre of kernels for the rainfed crop and 50kg /acre for irrigated crop.
Sowing method:
Dry land: Use seed drill/guru to sow the seed in lines .Sowing during June for higher yield.
Irrigated: Dibbled the seed at 5cm depth along with fertilizer sowing may be taken up in July
Harvest: Drying and falling of older leaves and yellowing of the top leaves indicate maturity. if     the inside of the shell is brownish black and not white.

6. Indigenous turmeric boiling stove

 

The size of this stove is 5feet length and 3 feet breath .The depth is 6feet from the top of the earth. The harvest turmeric leaves are used as the fuel material. The fuel material are inserted in one way (3 Feet breath area) and out let smoke in other side of the breath area. Indigenous boiling drums having the capacity of 90 Kg each, can be kept on the Indigenous turmeric boiling stove for a period of 45minutes.this is the cost effective stove locally made in the field itself. They are using the harvested dried turmeric leaves as the fuel which is having no cost. To set up an Indigenous turmeric boiling stove 2 laborers are needed .and the total cost of this set up is Rs 500 only.

Source: DSIR, Madurai
Updated on Nov, 2014

 

 

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