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ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Ludhiana - 141 004, Punjab

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Ludhiana - 141 004, Punjab

The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

AGRI-INNOVATORSThe Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

Downloaded from http://atari1icar.res.in/Publications/Agri-Innovators- The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

Agri-InnovatorsThe Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

ICAR- Agricultural Technology Application Research InstituteLudhiana - 141 004, Punjab

Rajbir Singh

Rajesh K Rana

V P Chahal

A K Singh


Suggested citation:

Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P, Singh A K (2018) Agri-Innovators: The

Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. ICAR-ATARI-1, Ludhiana,

Punjab: 140p.

Editors:

Compilation Assistance:

Published by:

Disclaimer:

Year of publication:

Copies published:

© Copyright:

Printed at

Rajbir Singh

Rajesh K Rana

V P Chahal

A K Singh

Harinderjeet Singh

Dr. Rajbir Singh

Director

ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-1,

PAU Campus, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab, India

Tel.: 0161-2401018

Fax: 0161-2412719

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Website: http://atari1icar.res.in

The opinions and information published in the book are not necessarily of

ICAR-ATARI, Zone-1, Ludhiana.

2018

500

Director, ICAR-ATARI, Zone-1, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab

Printing Services Company

3801/1, Pritam Nagar, Model Town, Ludhiana-141 001

Ph: 0161-2410896, 09888021624 Email: [email protected]

ISBN: 978-93-5321-999-4

ISBN 978-93-5321-999-4


FOREWORD

TRILOCHAN MOHAPATRA,

Innovations are the key to the development. Level of economic development and

quality of innovations mutually support each other. While developed countries

support the path breaking innovations the incremental innovations are considered to

be the best for developing economies. Even within India the kind of innovations

Punjab was doing two to three decades back are being currently done by the states

like Bihar.

Rapid economic development during previous one and half decade in India has

changed socio economic level of the people tremendously and the new lifestyle

demands much higher family expenditure. Half of the Indian population is

contributed by farming families and rate of growth in Indian agriculture being much

lower than the national income, the farm families are generally under financial

distress. However, some determined people opted to innovate and tried the untested

waters for much remunerative returns.

This book “Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture” is a

compilation of extra ordinary experiences of some enlightened minds working in

agriculture. The documented experiences are not only a source of appreciation and

recognition of the concerted efforts of these farm innovators but it will also act as a

reference book for others who want to emulate these experiences. I congratulate

authors of this book for bringing out a valuable collection of outstanding Agri-

Innovations from the four states of north western India.

(T. MOHAPATRA)

Dated the 24th October, 2018

New Delhi


PREFACE

India is predominantly an agriculture based economy where about half of the

population derives livelihood from farming. However this large proportion of

population employed in agriculture generates less than 14% of National Gross

Domestic Product. This acts as a source of sustaining in the state of being poverish

and resultant financial distress for majority of the farming community. The much

lower rate of growth in agriculture compared to the overall economy further

aggravates the problem.

Indian economy grew at very attractive rates especially during previous one and

half decade resulting in higher standard of living of general people. However farm

families, by and large, were left behind in the course of distribution of benefits of this

rapid economic development in India. In the attempt to match the lifestyle of non

agricultural families the farmers came under serious financial stress and distress.

There are brilliant minds that never give up and always strive hard to create

opportunities in adversities. Such determined persons in agricultural sector with

outstanding abilities to understand innovation for earning exceptionally high farm

incomes over identified from all ATARI Zone-1 states viz. Punjab, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. These outstanding experiences have

been documented in this book Agri-Innovators: Torch Bearers of Brighter

Agriculture”. We hope that our humble effort of publishing such experiences will go

beyond just recognition and appreciation of the selected farm innovators and will act

as a source of inspiration and reference for many more that are likely to follow the

suit.

The intellectual input received from the specialists of different fields contributed

a lot in the process of verification of figures and concepts as the agri-innovations

reported in different chapters of the book covered diverse fields. In this endeavour

the contribution of Drs M S Sidhu (Agricultural Economics; Ludhiana), Yadvinder

Singh (Soil Science; Ludhiana), S R Dhiman (Floriculture; Solan), Devinder Tiwari

(Agricultural Extension; Samrala), Harmeet Singh Saralch (Agro-forestry;

Ludhiana), Gulzar Singh Sanghera (Sugarcane Breeder; Kapurthala), Navprem

Singh (Fruit Science; Ludhiana) and Mahantesh Shirur (Mushroom Science; Solan)

was noteworthy.

Editors


CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Why Agri-Innovations are important? 9

1. Exponential returns through innovative social engineering infood processing 13

2. Restoring human and environmental health through creativenatural farming 18

3. Corroborating 'Bane to Boon' through innovative in-situ of paddy stubbles 25

4. Game-Changer Heat Tolerant apple variety for non-traditional areas 29

5. Doubling Farm Income through innovative crop planning 33

6. Innovative blend of techniques made strawberry cultivation alucrative agri-business 37

7. Innovative technique of collecting vermiwash 41

8. Flourishing through floriculture: innovation worth emulation 45

9. Innovative blend of technologies produced export quality fruitsfrom barren dunes 49

10. Innovative initiative sharing biogas with community at no cost 53

11. Innovative terrace farming on spent mushroom compost bringsadditional income 57

12. Innovative grafting recuperated Collor Rot damage in apple 61

13. Innovative tractor operated sprayer pump 65

14. Scientific goat farming pays dividends 69

15. Portable onion flower thresher cum seed extractor: A farmer innovation 73

16. Doubling income through demand driven intercropping in sugarcane 77

17. Earning two lakhs from one-forth hectare: intercropping under polyhouse 81

18. Innovative natural farming through organic fertigation 85

composting

S.No. Title Page No.


19. Innovative intercropping system: solution for doubling income ofsmall farms 89

20. Innovative cultivation of melons earned name and fame 93

21. Mobile cleaning cum grading machine: value addition at farm gate 97

22. Prosperity through free range poultry in apple orchard 99

23. Making mushroom cultivation sustainable through processing 103

24. Taking apiculture to new horizons through air-conditionedapiary migration truck 107

25. Modified paddy drill eased direct seeding of rice 111

26. Doubling income through single bud planting of sugarcane 115

27. Innovative eco-friendly techniques for dodging termite attack 119

28. Self designed tiller 'Apna Hal' 123

29. Augmenting farm income through late planting of Palam Basmati-1 125

30. Enhancing small farmers' income through tractor operated minigrinder mill 129

31. Mushroom and vegetable production: pathway of doublingfarm income 133

32. Innovative digger made carrot cultivation lucrative 137

33. Rajmash relaying tomato emerges as risk compansating crop inKullu valley 139

S.No. Title Page No.


9Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

WHY AGRI-INNOVATIONS ARE IMPORTANT ?

Innovation process

Principles of frugal innovation

Innovation is integral part of sustainable development. If invention of wheal was a

discovery then putting wheals into various uses is a result of series of innovations. However,

the nature and quality of innovations change with the level of economic development of

needs of the targeted society. The process of innovations is generally different than the usual

corporate development strategies unless there is critical scarcity of any one or more factors

of production. The innovation process, especially for the frugal innovations in developing

economies, flourishes under the environment of scarcity and is strikingly in contrast to the

typical “bigger is better”approach of developed worldcorporates.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a

trough of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction”

--Albert Einstein

The process of frugal innovation, especially in the developing economies, has to

essentially base on one or more of the following six principles:

Harsh constraints of resources create required

environment and provide stimulus for innovations e.g. consequent upon shortage of farm

labour on account of nation wide implementation of rural development initiatives like MG-

NREGA, the Punjab farmers devised a number of farm innovations to sustain their farming.

Hence the attitude of seeking opportunity in adversity is very strong pre-condition for a

society to be innovative.

Scarcity is the mother of innovations, hence the guiding

principle of doing more with less is very important for successful innovations. How to use

existing waste or underused material, equipment and/ or machines has largely been the

guiding force of most of the farm-innovations in India.

Thinking out of

the box or keeping a flexible mindset helps the innovator to raise questions on the status quo

as other options also seem open to him/ her which eventually helps in transformation of

existing product/ service or even the entire enterprise into a much resilience and vibrant

entity.

Creative simplicity is the soul of successful innovation

especially in the developing economies. Hence, innovations don't essentially need highly

1. Seeking opportunity in the adversity:

2. Doing more with less:

3. Following flexibility in the process of thinking and implementation:

4. Keeping things simple:


Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture10

sophisticated, precise and perfect solutions as an output of over-engineering, but on the other

hand a simple solution good enough to get the job done is the essence of successful

innovation.

Particularly for

development agencies and service companies it is imperative to design innovative cost-

effective solutions taking needs of under-privileged and under-served stakeholders in to

consideration is essential.

Innovators generally don't have existing examples to track and

they have to rely on what their heart says especially when they understand their stakeholders'

needs and the products to be offered, very well. There are several experiences where

innovators followed their intuitions, empathy and passion to successfully innovate than

relying on analytical thinking and employing well documented tools and techniques.

The structured innovation approach is highly time and money demanding that is why it

is much popular in developed economies. The frugal innovation approach on the other hand

is inevitable for developing economies as these economies are unable bear the expenses of

structured innovations. However, even in the developed economies the considerable part of

the innovationsdoes take place in the form of frugal innovations. The frugal innovation

approach is so popular in the word that it possesses specific term(s) in many countries

including the developed ones e.g. the French term for frugal innovations is 'Systeme D' while

in Brazil, China and Kenya it is called 'Jeitinho', 'Zizhuchuangxin' and 'Jua kali',

respectively. There are plenty of examples of frugal innovations from countries like

Argentina, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines etc.

Agriculture sector is known to ensure not only the food security for any country but

mitigation of poverty and malnutrition too. Innovations in terms of development and

diffusion of agricultural technologies and services are important at all the stages of economic

development. At early stage of economic development, incremental innovations (frugal

innovations) on the available technologies in other parts of the world or the location specific

solutions, better serve the needs of a country than going for breakthrough innovations. For

emerging economies the role of innovations in information & communication technologies

and value chain management also has high importance.

However, the innovation policy of emerging economies faces very strong challenge to

achieve inclusive growth which generally affects the ability of the system to promote

innovativeness through financial incentives. Agriculture being the best sector for poverty

reduction throughout the world, innovations in this sector ensures the best results for the

overall economic growth. Therefore, existence of supportive policies and IPR framework is

5. Intent of including marginal stakeholders in the mainstream:

6. Following your heart:

Significance of Agri-innovations



imperative in order to realise the intended impact of innovations in general and agri-

innovations in particular.

Creating niche competencies has been a noteworthy innovation strategy of some of the

countries for exploiting international markets through exports. Malaysia has remarkable

innovations in the production of palm oil and its derivative products. Nationalisation of its

three major plantation companies and founding a Commodity Exchange during 1980s was

key strategy of Malaysia for creating this success story. Similarly, Colombia and Ecuador

have made their mark in international flower industry while Uganda (fish exports) and

Argentina & Chile (wine exports) are other examples.

China is replete with the experiences of incremental or frugal innovations in agricultural

sector that suited to their local conditions and economy in the process of mitigating food

insecurity and poverty. The Chinese strategy of understanding farmers' innovations,

improving rural communication for better agricultural extension services, heightened

emphasis on genetic engineering and agro-ecology, rainwater harvesting innovations, use of

technology and market based innovations to improve welfare of agricultural producers and

consumers are the highlights of their innovation strategy.

The evolution of Indian NARS has primarily been guided by the motive to serve very

large number of small holder and resource poor Indian farmers. Innovations had been

integral part of Indian NARS right from the beginning; however, they were not subjected to

their analysis, documentation and commercialization as in the developed world. Taking clue

from the technologically advanced economies, India realized in the beginning of this

Century that management of agri-innovations will be an important source of future agri-

business generation and expansion.

ICAR was prompt in responding to this national need and it prepared guidelines for

Agri-IPRs Management and Commercialization in 2006. Subsequently a countrywide

network of Institute Technology Management Units (ITMUs) was created for the

management of agri-innovations and agri-intellectual properties in all ICAR institutes duly

supported by the Zonal Technology Management & Business Planning and Development

(ZTM&BPD) units at selected five ICAR institutes.

This infrastructure helped in kick starting the mechanism of innovation awareness and

their commercialization. ICAR Rules and Guidelines for Professional Service Functions

were published for smooth functioning of this Indian agri-IPR network in the year 2014.

Eventually many agri-technologies and services from Indian NARS have been successfully

Few global experiences in agri-innovations

Indian Agri-Innovations management system


Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture12

commercialized. This entire process of innovation generation and commercialization has

also resulted in an intangible treasure of experience and knowledge in the system which will

lead to better and more efficient management of agri-innovations in the future.

Innovations play imperative role in economic progress of countries. The nature of

innovations varies with the level of economic development of a country or the region. Indian

economic development has reached a stage where role of innovations in general and agri-

innovations in particular, has become very critical. With this realization the ICAR aptly

conceived the idea of nationwide assessment and documentation of Agri-innovations

through all its eleven Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes during 2018

and the compilation of this edited book is an effort in the same direction.

Epilogue



Rajesh K Rana, Rajbir Singh and Harinderjeet Singh

ICAR-ATARI, Zone-1, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab

Background

Significance

Miss Rekha Sharma is a resident of Ramgarh Sikri, a small

village in Kandi area of Punjab, where people generally

depend upon Agro-forestry and Animal husbandry for

supplementing their meagre livelihood from farming. Overall,

income of the farmer is not sufficient to manage family

expenses comfortably. Mostly people migrate to other areas

and earn livelihood to support their families. However, Miss

Sharma decided to try social innovation for making local

communities financially independent and self-reliant. She

created Women Self Help Group and trained them in

processing of Fruits and Vegetable. For managing the most

difficult task of marketing their processed products, she

created a vibrant marketing network/ infrastructure mainly

through retail outlets present throughout the states.

Inefficient agricultural marketing system is responsible

for realization of low prices for agro-products in India. Large

number of farmers being small and marginal holders, generally become victims of marketing

mal-practices and market

middlemen ruthlessly

exploit these farmers.

Policy-makers and social

workers very commonly

advise such small holders

to make cooperatives and

adopt fruit processing

enterprises to get rid of

such market mal-practices.

Al though very large

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Website:

Ms. Rekha Sharma

30 yrs

Vill. Ramgarh Sikri, Teh. Mukerian, Distt. Hoshiarpur

Post Graduate in Sociology and Diploma in Watershed Management

+91-7087559562

www.ssm.apnikheti.com

Agril-Innovator - 1

EXPONENTIAL RETURNS THROUGH INNOVATIVE SOCIALENGINEERING IN FOOD PROCESSING


Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture

Rana et al.

14

number of farmers don't follow such advises, Miss Sharma showed strength of her character

and determined to follow this path of social and personal welfare. Her innovation of bringing

very large number of women agro processors on a single platform has gained distinguished

heights of business accomplishments

The brilliant youth of this agriculturally disadvantaged area, due to rain-fed and wildlife

infested agriculture, generally decides to migrate to other economically vibrant areas in

order to earn an attracting livelihood. However, Miss Sharma took an extra-ordinary

decision of investing her academic brilliance and hard-working abilities to innovate ways

and means to ensure better employment and livelihood for the proper development of her

area. Instead of chasing higher turnover and profits, she focussed on the health of people by

producing near organic products mostly based on raw material obtained from forest

adjoining to her village. Members of this “Self Help Group” don't use any chemical

pesticides and fertilizers on their crops. Despite being an underdog in All India-level Food

Processing Fair 2012 at “Delhi HAAT”, Miss Sharma was surprised to get first prize for best

quality of products from her processing plant. This event proved to be a turning point in her

life with no looking back. More confident and determined Ms. Rekha Sharma empowered

herself with knowledge and skills from different research and development agencies.

Miss Sharma received trainings from different reputed agencies with the intension of

Uniqueness

Working of this innovation

Exponential Returns through ....... in Food Processing

Food processing facility of the Self Help Group


Name of Product 2007 sales

2017 sales

Annual Trend Growth Rates@

Estimated 2018 sales

Amla Pickle/ Murabba 8000 728000 65.56 1205251

Harar Pickle/ Murabba 8100 250000 49.52 373797 Garlic Paste 7500 315000 55.22 488937 Bael Squash 800 216000 85.67 401048 Mango Pickle

2400

136000

53.52

208785

Bamboo Pickle

3000

337000

68.76

568714

Karela Pickle

2400

80000

43.89

115109

Chilly Pickle

3200

160000

57.99

252780

Amla Candy

3000

240000

65.30

396715

Lemon Pickle

4000

88000

37.46

120967 Total

42400

2550000

4132103 #=Sales are in Indian National Rupees (`);

@=Annual trend growth rates were calculated based on the sale of all years in the range of 2007 and 2017.


Rana et al.Exponential Returns through ....... in Food Processing

upliftment of socio-economic profile of farm women in and around her village after

acquiring the scientific knowhow and skills in the field of food processing. This young

women innovator went door to door for making people aware about significance of food

processing as a mode of economic wellbeing. She earned the confidence of 30 families and

initiated a “Self Help Group” having one member from each of the 30 families. This Self

Product-wise Annual Trend Growth Rates (2007 to 2017) and estimated sales#of year 2018 for top 10 products.

Growth in sales turn-over in top ten products of the group during 2007 and 2017



Rana et al.

16

Help Group having 30 member committee, was named as “Sada Shiv Modern Self Help

Group” and currently they have more than 350 members.

They established state of the art processing plant on a piece of 2 acre land having all

modern facilities needed in food processing. Member as well as non-member suppliers of

raw material for food processing are immediately paid for their produce after weighing it on

the digital machines. The entire process of food processing and the processed material has to

Product share over 2007 to 2017 period (%)


Lab with necessary instruments for quality control



Rana et al.Exponential Returns through ....... in Food Processing

pass rigorous quality control checks and tests. The quality checked material is scientifically

packed and sent to different outlets for ensuring quick sale. They have more than 20 retail

outlets, almost in all districts of Punjab for selling their produce directly to the consumers

which ensures quality to consumes and multiple profits for the member families of this “Self

Help Group.

The main work of Self Help Group is to make and sell almost eighty types of food

products such as Pickle, Sauce, Jam, Marmalade, Bael Candy and Gooseberry Candy etc. by

processing near organic wild fruits and vegetables. Her innovative approach for ensuring

suitable market for products through booking of bulk orders in marriages etc. established her

reputation. Moreover, they are regularly selling their products through their own retail

outlets. The group realised an exponential expansion in the sales of processed products

during 2007 and 2017. Amla Pickle/ Murabba gained the highest net increase in sales during

this period while the sale of Bael Squash (85.67%) followed by Bamboo Pickle (68.76%)

increased at the highest annual compound growth rates. Amla Pickle/ Murabba has been the

most demanded product of this group followed by Garlic Paste, Harar Pickle/ Murabba and

Bamboo Pickle. However Harar Pickle/ Murabba and Lemon Pickle have lost proportionate

share in total sales of the group over the years while Bamboo Pickle and Bael Squash have

gained this share. Based on the annual trend growth rates, the estimated sale of the top ten

products for the year 2018 stands at impressive ̀ 41.3 Lakh.

The group with S. Parkash Singh Badal, Former Chief Minister of Punjab



Rana et al.

18


Awards and recognitions

Scaling up and scaling out the innovation

Miss Sharma has been honoured with a very large number of awards and prizes for her

hard work and talent in this field and some of them are given below.

·First Prize for Better Quality of Processed Products in National Food Processing Fair

2012 at Delhi Haat, New Delhi.

·Parmaan Pattar 2013, Agricultural Summit, Gujrat.

·National Award, 2012 by the Foreign Minister, Govt. of India, New Delhi.

·Chief Minister of Punjab, S. Parkash Singh Badal also visited their processing unit on 26

July, 2012. He appreciated the work done by them and honoured them with incentives

worth ̀ 77 Lakh for their initiative & hard work.

·First Prize, 2014, from Ministery of I&B, Government of India, New Delhi.

·First Prize, Kisan Mela, SKUAST-Jammu, J&K.

The innovative food processing practices demonstrated by Miss Sharma are capable of

increasing farmer's returns several times. Such innovations need to be emulated by other

farmers and women for raising their standard of living. Different development and extension

agencies should popularise and help the new farmers/ women to adopt such practices and

contribute towards doubling farmers' income by 2022. Moreover, in order to scale up her

own business miss Rekha Sharma needs the necessary technical support for creating an FPO

and concerned development agencies may take up this important activity.

Suggested citation for this Agri-Innovation:

Rana R K, Singh R and Singh H (2018) Exponential Returns through Innovative Social Engineering in Food Processing. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 13-18.



RESTORING HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THROUGHCREATIVE NATURAL FARMING PRACTICES

Rajesh K Rana and Rajbir Singh

ICAR-ATARI, Zone-1, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab

Background

Significance

Modern day's agriculture has become highly dependent

upon chemical inputs. Chemicals in the form of fertilizers,

weedicides and pesticides are being abundantly used in

farming. With the result chemical residual levels in different

types of foods are becoming higher and higher with the every

passing day. Simultaneously, the water bodies/ reservoirs, air

and soil are also getting degraded and polluted. Residual effect

of chemicals in farm products including the milk has been

gradually and severely taking its toll on human health. People

are spending a lot on healthy food even then they are unable to

get the desired results and are more frequently exposed to

different kinds of diseases and disorders. In order to curb this

deterioration some compassionate farmers have decided to

stop production of food using chemicals. These farmers have

adopted organic farming or natural farming to provide ideal

health and environmental benefits to themselves, their

families and people around

them. Sh Anirudh Vashisht is

one of such considerate

farmers, who havebeen

doing 100 per cent non-

chemical farming for last

five years.

This learned farmer has

Name:Age: Address:

Qualification: Mobile No. :Email:

Sh. Anirudh Vashisht47 yrs

135, Ward No. 16, Mohalla Bhai Ka, Sunam, Sangrur-148 001, Pb.

BA +91-9814689114

anirudh_vashisht2002 @yahoo.com

Agri-Innovator - 2Downloaded from http://atari1icar.res.in/Publications/Agri-Innovators- The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture


Rana and Singh

20

adopted mix of

several techniques

in the field of

organic/ natural

f a r m i n g a f t e r

u n d e r g o i n g

intensive trainings

f r o m v a r i o u s

a g e n c i e s a n d

o r g a n i z a t i o n s

i n c l u d i n g t h e

K h e t i Vi r a s a t

Mission, Jaitu,

Faridkot. After

initial difficulties

in marketing the

Restoring Human and ....... Natural Farming Practices

Economic comparison of organic versus conventional farming

CropsArea

(Acre)

Yield (q/Acre)

Price (`/q)Cultivation Cost

( /acre)`Gross Income

( /acre)`Net Income ( /Acre)`

Net Farm Income ( )`

Org. Con. Org. Con. Org. Con. Org. Con. Org. Con. Org. Con.

Potato 1

60

150

1000

500

22000

38000

60000

75000

38000

37000

38000

37000

Wheat 14

13.5

20

2250

1735

6000

10000

30375

34700

24375

24700

341250

345800

Linseed 0.5

2

3.5

7500

4200

3000

5000

15000

14700

12000

9700

6000

4850

Chickpea 1

2.5

4

6500

4400

3800

6000

16250

17600

12450

11600

12450

11600

Chickpea white

0.5

2.5

4

7000

4400

3800

6000

17500

17600

13700

11600

6850

5800

Veg. Rabi 1

70

120

1100

700

20000

35000

77000

84000

57000

49000

57000

49000

Sugarcane$

0.5

210

350

Gur

255

11000

15000

210000

89250

180000

74250

90000

37125

Mustard 0.5

3.5

5

5500

4000

4500

7000 19250

20000

14750

13000

7375

6500

Lentil 0.5 1.7 2.5 6000 4400 4000 6000 10200 11000 6200 5000 3100 2500

Barley 0.5 8.5 13 1800 1410 5200 8000 15300 18330 10100 10330 5050 5165

Cotton 1

4.1

6

5400

4020

12000

18000 22140

24120

10140

6120

10140

6120

Paddy 11

14

25

4250

2590

8500

13000

59500

64750

51000

51750

561000

569250

Chillies 1

40

60

2000

1550

24000

38000

80000

93000

56000

55000

56000

55000

Moong 1

4

6

8500

5575

3500

4800

34000

33450

30500

28650

30500

28650

Mash 0.5

3

5

7500

5400

3500

4800

22500

27000

19000

22200

9500

11100

Veg. Kharif 1

70

95

1050

700

18000

28000

73500

66500

55500

38500

55500

38500

Fodder Rabi@

0.5

200

300

-

-

4200

5500

Fodder Kharif @

2

250

300

-

-

4000

5000

Total 38 1289715 1213960

Note: Org.=Organic, Con.=Conventional, Veg.=Vegetables; $=Sold as organic Gur (jaggery), @=used at home for dairy farming


Rana and SinghRestoring Human and ....... Natural Farming Practices

premium product from his farm the

farmer started selling his produce at

premium price at Kudrati Kisan

Haats located at different locations

in Punjab. He is simultaneously

selling his produce to his known

people who have trust on the quality

of his chemical free produce.

Although, the farmer is currently

facing yield depression due to shift

from conventional to natural

farming even then due to premium

prices received for his products and

sizeable cost advantage, he is getting slightly better profits compared to the conventional

agriculture. His successful natural farming experience has also motivated other farmers in

the locality to follow natural farming. Most of these follower farmers are young and are

guided by the force of feeding their families with healthy food.

Sh. Vashisht has been practicing natural farming on his farm of 20 Acres. In order to

make his natural farming feasible he is rearing four lactating cows and five lactating


FYM: Backbone of natural farming



Rana and Singh

22

buffaloes. Farmer is putting a lot of emphasis on the system of root intensification for making

plants more robust and capable of fighting various abiotic and biotic stresses. Although he is

growing rice and wheat on more than half of his land under natural farming yet he is

cultivating a large number of other crops such as potatoes, linseed, chickpeas, vegetables,

sugarcane, lentil, barley, mustard, cotton, fodder and perennial fruit plants. Since his natural

farming is in sixth year of existence, he is facing yield depression in most of the crops and he

is getting 60 to 70 per cent yield levels in various crops compared to the conventional

agriculture. However, a huge saving on cost of cultivation and premium price received for

his premium produce his profitability is slightly better than the crops grown under

conventional agricultural practices. Inversely, productivity of his dairy animals is slightly

better than those reared from the output of conventional farming.

As a result of system of root intensification and robustness due to natural farming the

farmer is not getting major disease or insect attacks on his crops including the cotton crop. As

natural farming needs a lot of human labour, farmer has sufficient number of permanent

labourers with him. These labourers are used for weeding operations that also serve the

purpose of getting nutritious fodder for his animals. He is sometimes resorting to inter-

cultural machine operations for managing weeds on his farm. For managing insect and


Chemical free Gur has strong demand



Rana and SinghRestoring Human and ....... Natural Farming Practices

disease attacks, which are generally mild due to his natural farming practices, he prepares

spray formulations of various ingredients available on his farm itself. For managing soil

fertility he is exclusively depending upon the manure prepared from cattle dung.

Economic feasibility of organic farming vis-a-vis the conventional farming has always

been debatable. Crop wise economics of this 20 Acre farm was examined and results are

satisfactory as the farmer earned net income of `12.90 lakh through organic farming while

under similar management practices in conventional farming he was estimated to earn

`12.14 lakh per annum. The economics is based on yield and prices applicable for crops

harvested in 2017. All cereal crops (rice, wheat and barley) has economic disadvantage

under natural farming as compared to the conventional farming. However, vegetables,

pulses (except Mash), Sugarcane, Cotton, Mustard and Linseed crops had economic

advantage in natural farming over the conventional farming during 2017. We would like to

stress upon that this comparative economics indicative and highly likely to vary on year to

year basis. Selling premium produce of natural farming is a real big challenge and the farmer

under consideration used the platform of Kudrati Kisan Haats for this purpose. Sale of fake

organic or natural farming products by very large number of people is in fact hurting this

novel initiative the most.

Sustaining the natural farming movement through special outlets



Rana and Singh

24


Scaling-out the innovationThe farmer has demonstrated that it is economically feasible to adopt organic/ natural

farming even in one of the most modern agricultural states like Punjab. The farmer managed

his natural farming at its own and has a complaint of not being supported by government

policies and programmes for this cause of social welfare. This year's union budget has been

supportive to natural farming hence such farming will become financially more

remunerative. The natural/ organic farming model adopted by Sh. Vashisht has a lot of

potential of being adopted by other farmers in his locality and in distant places. The

incentivisation of natural/ organic farming on the fields of other farmers will not only serve

as a source of public welfare through safe food and environment but also be an economically

sustainable and attractive proposition.


Rana R K and Singh R (2018) Restoring Human and Environmental Health through Creative Natural Farming Practices. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 19-24.



CORROBORATING 'BANE TO BOON' THROUGH INNOVATIVEIN-SITU COMPOSTING OF PADDY STUBBLES

J S Brar, G S Dhillon, Rajbir Singh, D S Bhatti and J S Mahal

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bathinda-151 001, Punjab

BackgroundRice-wheat is the major cropping

system in Punjab occupying about

29.75 lakh ha. The increasing scarcity

of labour and time has lead to the

adaptation of mechanized farming area

in cropintensive rice-wheat system in

the state. The proportionate area under

combine harvested rice and wheat is

about 91% and 82% respectively.

During past two decades, burning

paddy straw has been the practice method because residue interferes with tillage and seeding

operations for sowing the next wheat crop. Burning of residues has been doing great damage

to the environment. The paddy straw burning is a major contributor towards reduces air

quality (particulates matter and green house gases) and widespread human respiratory

ailments during second half of October and first half of November months. The loss of plant

nutrients (especially N and S) and organic carbon further add to the disadvantage of paddy

stubble burning.

Farmers desperately want an

economical alternative to crop

residue burning. KVK Bathinda

i n v e n t e d a s c i e n t i f i c a n d

environment friendly method of

underground in-situ composting of

p a d d y s t u b b l e s . W h i c h i s

env i ronment f r iend ly a l so .

However short window between

paddy harvesting viz-a-viz wheat

sowing, additional cost of residue

managements and hassle averting

tendencies of farmers keep them

Agri-Innovator - 3

D.C. Diprava Lakra, watching the pit after paddyharvest alongwith PAU ADEE & ADR, & other dignitaries.

IAS,

MGNREGA workers fill the pit with rice residue for compostingin interior village Mehma Sarja



Brar et al.

26

sustaining this evil. However, there are a number of farmers and farmer groups who are

adopting good agricultural practices and managing residual paddy straw in various ways.

Incorporations of residue in the soil through multiple soil operations and removing residue

for different purposes (electricity productions, mulching and animal feed) are the common

practices. Incorporation of residue in soil is quite expensive method while removing of

residue deprives soils from nutrients.

KVK, Bathinda is promoting various machineries available for management of paddy

straw for last five years which are

becoming popular among medium and

large farmers. However, small farmers

and farmers who lease land from others

still cultivate in traditional way i.e.

burning paddy straw and grow wheat as

time availability is very less and adopting

machinery is quite costly which reduces

their income. Further, such farmers do not

find it convenient to collect and stock the

paddy straw at one place as it will further

reduce their already small holdings.

Uniqueness

Corroborating 'Bane To Boon' ....... of Paddy Stubbles

ADC(D) Smt. sheena aggarwal, IAS watching atPit site after wheat harvesting at KVK, Bathinda

Dr. B.S.Dhillon, and Dr. Rajbir Singh, Director, ATARI alongwith otherdiginitaries seeing the crop condition of wheat on Pit.

VC PAU



Brar et al.Corroborating 'Bane To Boon' ....... of Paddy Stubbles

Looking into the scenario, KVK, Bathinda took initiatives to popularize some newer

options for small and marginal farmers to tackle the problem of paddy straw which can

convert this waste into resource. The scientists of KVK Bathinda under leadership of Dr.

Jitender S Brar, Programme Coordinator explored to prepare compost from paddy straw &

allow the sowings of wheat simultaneously without burning the straw. The team started

venturing this In-situ Compost making from Paddy Straw during last year.

A pit of the size 30' long, 15' wide and 6' deep was prepared to accommodate the paddy

stubbles from 1-3 acres. About 1.5 feet deep layer of straw was created at the bottom of the pit

and was then pressed

manually. Urea spray (4%)

was applied on this layer.

Another layer of FYM and

field soil (equal parts) was

created (about 0.5 feet) to

narrow down the C:N ratio

a n d a c c e l e r a t i n g

decomposition of the straw.

The process was repeated

two more times. The upper

most of the pit was made of

one feet layer of soil

collected with the help of

tractor leveler and properly pressed with tractor so that there no depression in the field. After

this, the wheat was sown in the whole field included the area of pit where paddy stubbles

were systematically and scientifically buried. For

the purpose of getting them decomposed all the

wheat operations were done as per the

recommended package of practices.. The yield of

wheat sown over the pit was found slightly higher

than rest of the field. Later on, paddy was

transplanted on the same field in last week of June.

The growth of paddy and final yield was remarkably

higher on area of the pit. After harvesting of paddy,

the pit area was dug opened and the compost so

prepared was incorporated in the field. The

evaluation of compost is under progress. In current

season, scientific On Farm Trail has been laid out to

further refinement the technology.

Working of this innovations

Farmer filling the pit of rice residuefor compodting



Brar et al.

28

Scaling-up and out scaling the innovationsThe technology can be well replicated in other districts of Punjab and Haryana where the

problem of paddy stubble burning is large scale. The compost made through this method will

augment the soil health significantly. Small and marginal farmers and farmers who take land

on lease can also make use of this technology without making any compromises on available

land for making compost on land surface. This technology can further be refined by

enrichment with employing scientific means for higher nutrient content.

Corroborating 'Bane To Boon' ....... of Paddy Stubbles


Brar J S, Dhillon G S, Singh R, Bhatti D S and Mahal J S (2018) Corroborating 'Bane to Boon' through Innovative In-situ Composting of Paddy Stubbles. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 25-28.

Farmer collect the rice residue without burning at village Ghania

Farmers collecting rice residue stublles with harrowFarmer collect the rice residue for mulching inpotato crop at village Ghania


29

GAME-CHANGER HEAT TOLERANT APPLE VARIETY FORNON-TRADITIONAL AREAS


J D Sharma, K S Verma, Ravinder Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Seema Shah

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bilaspur at Berthin-174 029, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Significance

Bilaspur district is situated in subtropical mountain low 0hill zone of Himachal Pradesh. It lies between 31 12' 30'' and

0 0 031 35' 45'' North Latitude and between 76 23' 45'' and 76 55'

40'' East Longitude in outer Himalayas. Its elevation ranges

from 290 m to 1980 m above mean sea level. Net sown area of

the district is 30,000 ha, out of which only 3164 ha is irrigated.

Low altitude areas of the district experience hot summers 0

(maximum temperature up to 44 C) and annual rainfall of

1470 mm, 70 percent of which is received in monsoon season

only. Land holdings are small and marginal with fragmented

and terraced fields. Mango, litchi and pomegranate are the

major fruits grown in the district. Sometimes, there is a

problem of severe frost in some parts of the district.

Apple is traditionally the fruit crop of high hill temperate

zone of Himachal Pradesh due to its special requirement of

chilling period. It has not been possible to grow apple under

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Hariman Sharma

62 yrs

Paniyala, P.O. Kothi, Ghumarwin, Bilaspur-174021, HP.

Under Matric

+91-9817284251 7018520244

[email protected]

Agri-Innovator - 4

Nursery of heat tolerant apple variety HRMN-99


low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh where 0temperature goes as high as 44 C. The variety

evolved by the innovative farmer Mr. Hariman

Sharma, is named after his name as 'HRMN-

99', has very low chilling requirement and is

suitable for cultivation in warmer climate. It is

in great demand throughout the country,

particularly in warmer regions. In view of huge

demand of this variety, production of apple

plants are increasing year after year as the fruits

of this apple variety are harvested early in the

season and are available in the market in mid

June as off-season fruits which fetch very

good price. Development of this new apple

variety, having very low chilling requirement,

has brought “apple revolution” in non-

traditional tropical and sub-tropical regions.

This is a commendable innovation and great

service to the farming community.

Mr. Sharma has distributed thousands of plants to hundreds of farmers throughout the

country. The National Innovative Foundation (NIF) Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat has extended its

support to him for conducting multi-location trials in tropical and subtropical regions. NIF

started trials from 2014-2015 on introduction and evaluation aspects of 'HRMN-99' apple

Uniqueness


Sharma et al. Game-changer Heat Tolerant ....... for non-traditional areas

30

Innovator offering plants of heat tolerant apple to Late Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam



Sharma et al.Game-changer Heat Tolerant ....... for non-traditional areas

variety by planting 7572 saplings in different tropical and sub-tropical parts of the country to

study the establishment of this apple variety in those areas and bearing of fruit. Plants of this

variety are bearing fruits in seven states, viz., Delhi, UP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh and Manipur. The analysis of IARI, New Delhi confirms fruit quality of

'HRMN-99' with good nutritive value. Morphological and SSR DNA finger printing got

conducted by NIF from Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission confirms its diversity and

superiority over other low chilling varieties like 'Anna' and 'Dorsett Golden'. NIF has filed

the application on behalf of Mr Sharma for the registration of 'HRMN-99' variety under PPV

& FR Act.

Mr. Hariman Sharma purchased some apples from local market in the year 1998 and

after consuming them, he disposed the seeds in his backyard. A year later, he noticed some

apple seedlings emerging out there and finally one plant survived. In 2001, he observed some

fruits on that tree. As an innovative farmer, he could sense that this apple tree bearing fruits in

a warm area, like his village situated at 550 m above mean sea level, was unprecedented and

extraordinary. So he preserved this plant and next year he took out some branches and grafted

on a plum tree as no apple tree was available there. The grafting was successful and started

bearing good quality fruits after three years. During 2004-05, he brought crab apple

seedlings from Shimla and grafted his apple on them. He established an apple orchard of his

own variety 'HRMN-99' and is bearing fruits regularly. Now, he obtains crab apple seedlings

every year from Kashmir and raises the grafts on those plants. Usually apple can be grown at

altitudes of 1500-2600 m above mean sea level in the Himalayan range, which experiences

1000-1500 hours of chilling but this heat tolerant variety developed by Hariman can be

grown in low hill/ plain areas which are about 550 m above mean sea level or less.


Sh. Hariman Sharma receiving prize from Former President Sh. Pranab Mukherjee



Sharma et al. Game-changer Heat Tolerant ....... for non-traditional areas

32

Awards and recognitions

Scaling-out the innovation

Mr. Sharma has been widely recognized

for his innovation and national and state level

by varied organizations. Out of about two

dozen major awards and recognitions,

Innovative Farm Award by the Union Minister

for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

(21.03.2016), National Award by the Hon'ble

President of India (04.03.2017); Proud of

Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh

Award by Hon'ble Governor of HP

(04.09.2017) are the few prominent ones.

Mr. Sharma sold 1,90,000 apple plants to 6000 farmers in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra,

Una, Mandi and Solan districts of Himachal Pradesh where it has not been possible to grow

apple earlier. Besides, he has supplied 6000 plants to research stations and Department of

Horticulture and 5000 number to NGOs in HP. With the help of NIF, he has supplied 10790

plants in 29 states of the country during 2014 to 2017. Till date 2.25 lakh plants have been

distributed all over the country. As of now,

8000 farmers and scientists of the country

have visited his farm and appreciated the work

as recorded in the visitor's book at his farm.

Presently 'HRMN-99' variety is in fruiting at

Rastrapati Bhawan (New Delhi); Navada

(Bihar); Karnal, Hisar, Gurgaon and Sirsa

(Haryana); Banguluru and Belgaon

(Karnataka); Hoshiarpur (Punjab); Pilibhit

(UP); Haldwani and Kotbag (UK); Scihoor

and Hawalpur (MP); Manipur (Chhattisgarh);

Kerala; Maharashtra; Rajasthan; Dadar Nagar Haweli; Ahmedabad and Navsari (Gujarat)

and six districts of Jammu region (J&K). However, the process of scaling-out of this

innovation is still ongoing.


Sharma J D, Verma K S, Singh R, Kumar S and Shah S (2018) Game-Changer Heat Tolerant Apple Variety for Non-Traditional Areas. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 29-32.



DOUBLING FARM INCOME THROUGH INNOVATIVECROP PLANNING

Gurdarshan Singh, Jagdish Grover and Rakesh Kumar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Faridkot-151 203, Punjab

Background

Uniqueness

Working of this

innovation

Crop diversification has been regularly suggested as an

important policy recommendation in conventional rice-wheat

areas of north western India. However, inability of farmers to

manage risk and marketing challenges has restricted them

from doing so. This unique and innovative experience of

doubling farm income has been identified for documentation

in this publication with the intent of benefiting other farmers in

the state as well as in rest of the country.

The farmer adopted innovative mix of high value

horticultural crops to double his farm income. In order to

mitigate his production and price risks, the farmer has very

well diversified the cultivation of different crops/ plants in

such a way that he regularly

gets farm income in all the

months of the year.

The farmer has designed

his crop plan in such a way

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Amarjeet S. Dhillon

42 yrs

Bargari, Faridkot-151208, Pb.

B. Tech (Mechanical Engineering)

+91-9814322390

Email: [email protected]



Singh et al. Doubling Farm Income through Innovative Crop Planning

34

that during each month of the year he harvests at least one of the crops, so that there is regular

inflow of money. The harvesting schedule from his farm is as follows:

January : Kinnow, GuavaFebruary : Summer Squash, Kinnow, GuavaMarch : Capsicum, Summer SquashApril : Bottle Gourd, Tomato, Summer Squash, Capsicum, Ash GourdMay : Ash Gourd, Bottle Gourd, Tomato,June : Grapes (Perlette and Flame Seedless)July : Bottle Gourd (rainy season), Grape (Flame Seedless)August : Guava, Bottle Gourd,September : Bottle Gourd, GuavaOctober : Bottle Gourd,November : Bottle Gourd, GuavaDecember : Guava, Kinnow

Sowing and harvesting schedule of different crops

Brief economic analysis of different crops on per ha basis (`)

Sr. No.

Fruit/vegetables

Sowing/Transplanting time

Crop over by

Area (ha)

1 Guava

Perrenial crop

Not applicable

0.8

2 Grapes

Perrenial crop

Not applicable

0.6

3 Kinnow

Perrenial crop

Not applicable

1.8

4 Bottle Gourd under Bower

Rainy season crop : last week of May to first week of June

Second

week of November 1.2

5 Bottle Gourd Summer : last week of November Second fortnight of May 0.8

6 Capsicum

Second fortnight of November

Last week of May

0.2

7 Tomato

First week of December

Last week of May

0.2

8 Summer Squash

Last week of November

First week of April

0.8

9 Ash Gourd Last week of November Second fortnight of May 0.2

Sr.No.

Crop(s) Gross income

Net income B:C Ratio Farm net returns

1 Guava

462000

366500

4.84:1

293200

2 Grapes

338800

220800

2.87:1

132480

3 Kinnow

444000

330250

3.90:1

594450

4 Capsicum under low tunnel 380000 270000 3.46:1 54000

5 Summer Squash under low tunnel 370000 288750 4.55:1 2310 00 6 Rainy season Bottle Gourd on bower 360000 269250 3.97:1 323100 7 Summer season Bottle Gourd under

low tunnel

312000

247000

4.80:1

197600

8 Ash Gourd under low tunnel

197500

149250

4.09:1

29850

9 Tomato under low tunnel

300000

226250

4.07:1

45250



Singh et al.Doubling Farm Income through Innovative Crop Planning

Net returns per ha from prevalent paddy –wheat rotation are

` 1,30,260/-. He has already doubled his returns by following

diversification through horticultural crops. In order to bridge the

gap between potential and realized yield, the farmer has employed

innovative mix of modern technologies like development and use

of automatic spray pump for orchards, self designed Guava picker

and tractor mounted weedicide sprayer for orchards, low cost poly

house for nursery raising of vegetable crops, bower system for

rainy season cucurbits and modified venturi in drip irrigation

system. Further, he has resorted to self marketing of his farm

produce and he never deviated from the scientific package of

practices recommended by the PAU, Ludhiana and the ICAR. The

farmer is a recipient of very large number of national and state

level awards and recognitions.

This unique and innovative experience of doubling farm income and spreading income


Mechanized spray operation in the orchard



Singh et al. Doubling Farm Income through Innovative Crop Planning

36

throughout all months of the year

with meticulous crop planning is

worth emulating by other

farmers in the state and other

parts of the country. Hence

scaling-out this innovation will

help all of us to realize the

ambitious goal of our honorable

Prime Minister, Sh. Narinder

Modi Ji's for Doubling Farmers'

Income by 2022.


Singh G, Grover J and Kumar R (2018) Doubling Farm Income through Innovative Crop Planning. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 33-36.



Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Ahuja and V K Rampal

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ropar-140 001, Punjab

Background

Significance

Cultivation of paddy and wheat over many decades has led

to a serious depletion of natural resources, especially the

ground water and soil fertility. Crop diversification is the need

of the hour, not only to maintain ecological balance, but also to

raise the economic status of the farmers. With the fast

increasing household expenditure during recent past has

equally been experienced by farm families. With the result the

higher income expectations of farm families have also been

realized. This factor contributed towards farmers' tendencies

to try new ideas and skills even on the high value crops such as

strawberry. A noteworthy such experience was found worth

documenting for the benefit of other farmers. This farmer

having 15 acres of agricultural land employed innovative

ways to increase his returns through yield enhancement and

reduction of the cost of strawberry cultivation.

Our nutrition is becoming compromised by every passing day

due to higher intake of processed food. Including strawberries

in diet can provide important nutrients to our

body. Strawberries are a rich source of

antioxidants, polyphenols, and many other

nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin K, folic

acid, potassium, manganese, dietary fibre

and magnesium. Strawberry has certain

health benefits which include boosting

immunity, curing arthritis and gout, weight

management, prevention of cancer, heart

diseases and high blood pressure etc. Due to

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Parduman Singh

45 yrs

Rukali Mai Mangarh, Chamkaur Sahib, Roopnagar-140 001, Pb.

Matric

+91-9872719986

Agri-Innovator - 6

INNOVATIVE BLEND OF TECHNIQUES MADE STRAWBERRYCULTIVATION A LUCRATIVE AGRI-BUSINESS



Kumar et al. Innovative Blend of Techniques ....... a Lucrative Agri-Business

38

its multi-nutritional benefits, this high value crop has a huge demand in the market.

This innovative way of growing strawberries can be explained in following three points.

1. The farmer produces the strawberry plants by planting runners of the plant in plastic tea

glasses during the month of September. By this practice the early nursery of strawberry

is raised with lower mortality rate leading to early produce that fetches premium price in

the market. From half an acre of the runners planted in the plastic tea glasses, strawberry

plants for three to three and a half acres can be planted after a month. Usually, the

strawberry growers purchase plants every growing season. This innovation thus reduces

the cost of production as the farmer produces his own planting material and does not

need to purchase the strawberry plants every season.

2. The farmer follows three different planting methods for strawberry cultivation. He

grows strawberry in two rows with density of 20000-25000 plants, three rows with

25000-30000 plants and four rows with 30000-35000 plants per acre at 75 cm wide beds

per bed system. Thus, he earns ` 2,59,500 from two row system, 2,93,000 from three

row system and ̀ 2,13,000 from four row system. Among all three, the 3 row system was

found best in terms of net returns and fruit quality followed by the two row system.

Working of this Innovation

`

Rigorous monitoring of crop health is imperative



Kumar et al.Innovative Blend of Techniques ....... a Lucrative Agri-Business

Based on his own experience over years, he is following 3 row system in 10 acres of land

at present.

3. He cultivates strawberry in 10 acres under drip irrigation system, in which he uses

fertigation method to precisely application of fertilizer.

The innovative practices followed by the farmer are environment friendly and

economically beneficial. The reduced and judicious use of water in 3 row planting of

strawberry plants and use of drip irrigation is an important aspect of the farmer's practice. He

has got the soil tested for his land and applies fertilizers on the basis of the soil test results. To

maintain soil fertility, Praduman uses farm yard manure (FYM) during alternate years

especially before sowing the Kharif crops. By adopting this innovative method, the farmer

gets an average yield of 80 q per acre. The strawberries are sold at a price of ̀ 100 per kg in

the market. The net returns from the strawberry cultivation comes out to be ̀ 2,93,000 from

one acre of land. Self marketing of the strawberry is done by the farmer in mandis of

Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Delhi and Calcutta depending upon the favourable market

price.

Impact of the innovation

Attributes Rows per bed

2 3 4

Planting material cost 85000 100000 115000

Fertilizer cost 4000 5000 6000

Plant protection cost 3500 4000 4500

Irrigation cost including electricity 3000 3000 3000

Human labour cost 95000 120000 136000

Packing material 175000 200000 212500

Marketing cost including transport 50000 50000 50000

Miscellaneous cost 25000 25000 25000

Total variable cost 440500 507000 552000

Total yield (q) 70 80 85

Gross returns 700000 800000 765000*

Net returns 259500 293000 213000

B-C ratio 1.59 1.58 1.39

Comparative economic analysis of strawberry cultivation under three

different methods (` per acre)



Kumar et al. Innovative Blend of Techniques ....... a Lucrative Agri-Business

40

Scaling-up and scaling-out the innovationsStrawberry cultivation being highly economical can be scaled out at other farms in

Punjab or other parts of India. The innovative blend techniques followed by the farmer has

helped him to establish a successful strawberry cultivation business that has inspired many

young farmers of Ropar as well as nearby districts. Even the existing farmer might explore

the possibility of scaling up of this innovation subject to his marketing ability vis-a-vis the

demand scenario. In future, he is planning to have value addition unit at his farm to handle his

produce during peak availability.


Kumar A, Ahuja S and Rampal V K (2018) Innovative Blend of Techniques Made Strawberry Cultivation a Lucrative Agri-Business. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 37-40.



Agri-Innovator - 7

Sanjay Kumar Sharma, B K Sharma, B N Sinha and Yogita Sharma

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Una-174 303, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Vermiwash

Conventional practice

Vermicomposting is quite popular among small and

marginal farmers of Himachal Pardesh converted waste into

value Growers in term of vermicompost which has many

advantages in horticultural and seasonal crops. Government is

also popularising this technology so that farmers can develop

their own fartilizer units. Some farmers have gone one step

ahead to develop other organic products from these units

which has vast scope in their vegetable and food production.

Vermiwashis a liquid that is collected after water is

allowed to pass through a column consisting of multiple layers

of varying thickness of materials such as broken bricks, pieces

of stones, sand, partially decomposed cow dung, soil plus

plenty of earthworms. This liquid contains excretory products

and mucus secretions of the earthworms. It is very useful as

foliar sprays and as soil amendments because of its pest

repellent and nutritional properties. The vermiwash may be

diluted with water in 1:1 ratio or it may be diluted with 10 per

cent cow's urine to enhance its pesticide efficacy. It can be prepared and stored for later use in

the farm.

It consists of a plasticbucket or iron

barrell of about 200 litre capacity. One stop

cork is set up on the lower part of the bucket

and a layer of broken bricks, pieces of stones

having thickness of 10-15cm is placed in the

bucket. Then, another layer of sand having

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Ram Kumar

64 yrs

VPO Lower Dehlan, Una-174306, HP

Graduation

+91-9418124980

INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUE OF COLLECTING VERMIWASH



Sharma et al. Innovative Technique of Collecting Vermiwash

42

thickness of 10-15cm is laid over it.

Afterwards, a 30-45cm thicklayer of

partially decomposed cow dung is put

over it. It is followed by another layer of

soil having 2-3cm thicknesses.

Subsequently, 150-200 earthworms are

placed in the bucket which are then

coverd by about 6cm thicklayer of paddy

straw.

After setting up a unit in this manner,

the stop cork is opened and water is

regularly sprayed for a period of 7-8

days. For this purpose, a pot with a

bottom hole is hung over the bucket in

such a way that water trickles drop by

drop. Everyday 4-5 litters of water is to

be poured in the hanging pot. After 10-15

days, the liquid vermiwash is produced

in the bucket. The falling water passes

through unit and is collected a

vermiwash in the container kept

underneath. Sh. Ram Kumar a small farmer from Lower Dehlan, Una is a progressive farmer.

In order to meet nutritional requirement of a diversified farm having polyhouse (1ooom2) for

flower cultivation, seasonal vegetables and horticultural plants like papaya, amla and

different species of citrus. Shri Ram Kumar has constructed a four compartment

vermicompost unit (10x3 x 1m). An above ground cemented tank (12 x 5.5 x 2m) for

harvesting rain water as well as other

sources of usable water has also been built

to ensure timely irrigation of crops.

However, this established procedure

to set up a vermiwash unit appeared a bit

cumbersome to Ram Kumar. In his

opinion, the production capacity of such

vermiwash units is sufficient to meet small

farm requirements only. Therefore, instead

of installing such separate vermiwash

Innovation

Typical vermiwash unit



Sharma et al.Innovative Technique of Collecting Vermiwash

units, he searched for some simpler ways to

achieve higher vermiwash production. After

thoroughly understanding the intricacies of

the vermiwash units in vogue, he thought of

utilizing his existing vermicompost unit in

some way for vermiwash production. After

much contemplation, he hit upon a simple

plan to modify his existing vermicompost unit

that could yield sufficient quantity of

vermiwash to meet his farm requirements.

Shri Ram Kumar converted his entire vermicompost unit into an integrated

vermicompost-cum-vermiwash unit where he produces vermiwash with no additional cost.




Sharma et al. Innovative Technique of Collecting Vermiwash

44

He simply made small holes along

the f loo r i n a l l t he fou r

compartments of his vermicompost

unit and constructed a narrow drain

with a gentle slope on the exterior

of the compartments through the

entire length of the vermicompost

unit. He fixed small pipes at the end

of this drain so that the vermiwash

dropped into the plastic container

kept for its collection. The regular

w a t e r i n g t o m o i s t e n t h e

vermicompost unit is mandatory to

keep it functional. However, in this vermicompost-cum-vermiwash unit, a little extra

watering is done. This controlled extra watering does no harm to the earthworms. The excess

water simply passes through the vermicompost bed after rinsing the earthworms and drains

through the small holes to ultimately get collected in the container kept outside. The

vermicompost unit being just a little above the soil surface, he dug a hole in the ground to

house the collection container. Since, with this simple minor modification the entire

vermicompost unit has been utilized for vermiwash production, the capacity got increased

manifold. Many times, the vermiwash is used fresh. However, it is also stored in containers

and used as per requirement later on.

Many state governments are putting extra emphasis to popularize and propagate the

vermicomposting technology by providing heavy subsidy on installing vermicompost units.

In Himachal Pradesh, efforts are afoot to provide every farmer with a vermicompost unit.

Already, the state Department of Agriculture have installed vermicompost units on the

farmers' fields in many villages. Increasing number of farmers are coming forward to have

vermicompost units of their own. However, minor modification in the design of brick based

or plastic sheet vermicompost units, presently provided on subsidized rates, might enable

farmers to produce vermiwash as well. Use of vermicompost and vermiwash on large scale

can potentially enhance nutrient status of the soil, improve soil structure and promote

multiplication of depleted beneficial soil microflora.

Scaling out the innovation


Sharma S K, Sharma B K Sinha B N and Sharma Y (2018) Innovative Technique of Collecting Vermiwash. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 41-44.



FLOURISHING THROUGH FLORICULTUREINNOVATION WORTH EMULATION

Background

Uniqueness

Shri KP Saini was cultivating rice, wheat, sugarcane etc

with traditional practices on his 2.5 ha farm before he realized

the imperativeness of diversifying his farming with flowers.

Haridwar being world known religious city, has high demand

of flowers for pilgrimage. Shri. Saini diversified the rice-

wheat, rice-wheat-sugarcane cropping system with autumn

planted Sugarcane with intercropping of marigold in autumn

and Green Gram and Black Gram in the spring of 2015-16. He

also diversified with other floricultural crops like Gerbera in

polyhouse and Gladiolus and Brassica (Japani flower) in open

fields.

Farmers in the locality are generally risk averse in nature

and settle with low risk low return strategy. However, Shri

Saini went big way in creating modern agricultural

infrastructure at his farm

and adopted cultivation

of high value crops. This

move not only helped

him realize several fold

higher farm income but

it also demonstrated and

acted as a source of

inspiration for his follow

farmers.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No.

Sh. Kunwar Pal Saini

57 yrs

Vill. Premrajpur, Block Bhagwanpur, Roorkee, Uttarakhand

Graduate

: +91-9837705638

Agri-Innovator - 8

Sucheta Singh, Purushottam Kumar, Ujala Singh, Vinod Kumar

and Yogendra Pal

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, DhanauriHaridwar at -249 404, Uttarakhand

Gerbera growing is the key to prosperity for this farmer



Singh et al.

46


He built up two polyhouses in the area of

one acre duly equipped with facilities like drip

irrigation system, double door protection from

insects and pests, fogger, micro sprinkler etc.

for which he spent around ` 35,27,920. The

beds were prepared by mixing 50 tonne

compost, rice husk and neem compost which

resulted him in an additional expenditure of

around ` 1,70,000. This onetime investment

was likely to generate income in several years to come.

The fast increasing family expenses during recent past stimulated Shri Saini to go for

flower production in polyhouses as well as in the open fields. After establishment of the

necessary infrastructure for protected cultivation, he started cultivating Gerbera crop with

the purchase of tissue cultured 29,000 plants from KF Biotech, Pune. The common diseases/

pests of flowers viz. blight, leaf minor, mite, thrips, etc were timely controlled using standard

recommended package and practices. The beds were prepared at a width of 75 cm with two

rows of Gerbera and two rows of drip irrigation at the 30 cm plant to plant distance. The crop

matures in three and half months and fetches a price in the range of ` 2 to 7 per cut flower

depending upon festivals and marriage season (see the Table). The plants once established

provide flowers for subsequent three years resulting in reduction of cost of cultivation and

rise in net return over the time.

Flourishing Through ....... Innovation Worth Emulation

Comparison of B:C ratio in differentflowers under polyhouse and open field

B:C

Ra

tio

Flower crop

Gerbera(Polyhouse)

Gladious Brassica (japaniflower)

0

1

2

3

4



Singh et al.Flourishing Through ....... Innovation Worth Emulation

He has also sown Gladiolus and Brassica in the open fields nearby his polyhouses. These

flowers also have a very good market demand in the marriages, hotels, festivals and

institutions etc. Gladiolus is sown in the month of October at 75 cm row to row and 7 to 8 cm

plants to plants distance. The crop matures in three and half months. The market price of

Table: Economic analysis of flowers vis-a-vis other traditional crops in

open fields (2017)

Crop Yield(Q/ha)

SEY

(Q/ha)

CoC(`/ha)

GR(`/ha)

NR

(`/ha)

B:C ratio

Gerbera*#

1600000

--

1243000

4800000

3557000

3.9

Gladiolus*

200000

--

580000

1250000

670000

2.2

Brassica*

60000

--

625000

1200000

575000

1.9

Rice+Wheat 46+45

601.00

70000

189315

119315

2.7

Sug (conventional)

700 700.00 118000 220500 105500 1.8

Sug+Marigold

650+80

1411.90 133000 444749 311749 3.3

Sug+Green gram

660+10

812.38 126000 255900 119900 1.9

Sug+Black gram

670+11

834.13

126000

262751

126751

1.9

* Yield is in number of cut flowers / ha; # crop was grown in polyhouse (2016-17)

Note: CoC= Cost of Cultivations; GR= Gross Returns; Sug= Sugarcane; SEY= Sugarcane Equivalent Yield;NR= Net Returns



Singh et al.

48

Gladiolus varies from ̀ 5 to ̀ 6.50 per cut flower as per the market conditions. The bulbs are

harvested in March, graded and sorted for next season. There is very low attack of pests and

diseases in this crop. During its cultivation the farmer gets fallow land for seven months to be

utilized for other crop combinations.

Brassica (Japani flower) is a very attractive flower which looks like cabbage and has

different colours. Shri Saini, has white, pink, red and multicoloured Brassica on his field. It's

nursery is prepared in the month of October, which is transplanted in open fields in

November. The flowers mature in the month of February and on an average it gets a price of

`20 per cut flower. Although the flowers are disease resistant yet the crop need to be

protected from the aphids in nearby fields of mustard. The Table shows that it is always

economically better to diversify the agriculture from traditional practices to the innovative

crops and practices.

The innovative farming practices demonstrated by Shri Saini are capable of increasing

famers' returns several times (see the Table). Such innovations need to be emulated by other

farmers for raising their standard of living. Different development/ extension agencies

should popularise and help the new farmers to adopt such practices and contribute towards

doubling farmers income by 2022.

Scaling out the Innovation

Flourishing Through ....... Innovation Worth Emulation


Singh S, Kumar P, Singh U Kumar V and Pal Y (2018) Flourishing through Floriculture: Innovation Worth Emulation. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 45-48.

Japani flower (Brassica) cultivation is innovative step of the farmer



Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal, Chetak Bishnoi and Karamjit Sharma

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sri Muktsar Sahib-152 026, Punjab

Background

Uniqueness

In Sri Muktsar Sahib district a lot of undulated high dunes

are present where surface irrigation is not possible and

underground water is not suitable for irrigation in this part of

Punjab. S. Balwinder Singh Tikka established Kinnow

orchard in four acre land during 1981 then further increased

the area up to 8 acre under surface canal water irrigation. In

1994 he started purchasing low cost undulated land and

planted orchard under fully drip irrigation system and got

quality produce along with better returns as compared to his

already established orchard under canal water. Then he

decided to purchase more cheaper undulated land in the

vicinity and developed five different orchards in 150 arce of

land. Being science graduate he was the first farmer of this

region who adopted orchard farming on fellow undulated

dunes.

Muktsar district came

under water logging due to rise

of underground water and large

area under fruit plantation was

affected. Majority of orchards

except on higher elevation

w e r e u p r o o t e d d u e t o

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Balwinder Singh Tikka

50 yrs

Abul Khurana Muktsar, Malout, Sri Muktsar Sahib-152114, Pb.

B.Sc., B.Ed.

+91-9815478653

Agri-Innovator - 9

INNOVATIVE BLEND OF TECHNOLOGIES PRODUCED EXPORT QUALITY FRUITS FROM BARREN DUNES

Healthy Kinnow orchard of Mr. Tikka



Dhaliwal et al. Innovative Blend of Technologies ....... from Barren Dunes

50

Phytophthora disease that occurs in waterlogged soils. The orchard of Balwinder Singh

Tikka was not affected by water logging in the same season. He started planting orchard on

undulated lands by minimum disturbance to the soil. He attained good economic returns near

about ? 1 Lakh per acre annually as compared to only ? 40000 per acre from cotton-wheat

and paddy-wheat cropping system received by other farmers of the area. He used lesser

Established kinnow orchard on barren dunes

Sand dunes converted into oasis of fruits



Dhaliwal et al.Innovative Blend of Technologies ....... from Barren Dunes

quantity of canal water and produced higher returns from per unit area land. He self marketed

whole produce in various markets of India and also exported his Kinnows to Russia and

Dubai.

The ground water of Muktsar district is not fit for irrigation in many parts. To get higher

yield of fruits, quality water is prerequisite. Inspired by the Israeli agriculture, he purchased

undulated cheap sand dunes and without much disturbing the land he planted an orchard of

citrus plants viz. Mandrin, Sweet Orange, Grape fruit and Lemon. He established ponds for

collecting canal water and irrigated his all orchard through drip irrigation. He provided

macro nutrients through fertigation and micro nutrients through foliar application. He

mulched all his fields with Sarson and Paddy straw which is easily available and is quite

cheap. By mulching he conserves the soil moisture and reduces evaporation losses. He

collects dung of his own farm and from different sources for preparing farm yard manure

with recommended technology. He collected clay soil from other areas and applied to sandy

ponds to reduce the seepage of water during early years of orchard establishment and now his

all ponds are brick lined. Farmers of other villages Kothe Dashmesh Nagar and Gandar have

also adopted this method of orchard plantation on high undulated dunes with drip irrigation

system successfully.

Valuing his innovative hard work and scientific mindset he was honoured in 2007 by


Awards and recognition

Canal water storage tank



Dhaliwal et al. Innovative Blend of Technologies ....... from Barren Dunes

52

NRI award at Kissan Mela of PAU and national level award from IARI in 2008. He was

awarded prestigious Chief Minister's awards for progressive farmers in March, 2009 at PAU

Kissan Mela. Further he was awarded with Chief Minister's Award by State Government in

2010.

The much appreciated innovation of Mr. Tikka is not only good for economic upliftment

of farmers but it is good for the natural ecosystem too. Although this innovative mix of

technologies and ideas has been replicated on the farmers of adjoining location yet this

experience needs to the emulated at much wider locations.


Suggested citation for this Agri-Innovation

Dhaliwal N S, Bishnoi C and Sharma K (2018) Innovative Blend of Technologies Produced Export Quality Fruits from Barren Dunes. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 49-52.

Management of undulating lands



Aparna, Ashok Kumar and V K Rampal


Background

Significance

Sh Dilbar Singh of village Bahadurpur of District Roopnagar,

Punjab is a progressive dairy farmer owning a herd of about

150 cross-bred cattle and a producer of around 1200 litre of

milk daily. He is running the enterprise under the name of R S

Farm. He has adopted a mix of recommended technologies in

dairy farming like regular prophylactic vaccination, silage,

total mixed ration (TMR), teat dipping, machine milking and

well ventilated shed for his dairy cattle. The issue of dung

disposal led him to installation of biogas plant at his farm.

Surplus production of biogas persuaded him to idea that the

biogas can be supplied to other households too, as a source of

cooking fuel. Practicing this idea proved to be an immediate

success and now the whole village is getting the free supply

and is proud of this dairy farmer and his initiatives.

The biogas plant of Sh Dilbar Singh is a source of cooking

fuel not only for his own

house, but the biogas is also

being supplied free of cost to

all the households in the

village, Villagers report that

e a r l i e r t h e i r a n n u a l

consumption of LPG gas

was twelve cylinders and

due to the selfless initiative

of Sh. Dilbar Singh, it has

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Email:

S. Dilbar Singh

57 yrs

RS Farm, Bhadurpur, Ropar-140 001, Pb.

Higher Secondary

+91-9888301375

[email protected]

Agri-Innovator - 10

INNOVATIVE SHARING BIOGAS WITH COMMUNITYAT NO COST

INITIATIVE:



Aparna et al. Innovative Initiative: Sharing ....... at Free of Cost

54

reduced to mere four cylinders. Not only this, Biogas is a kind of bio-fuel generated through

biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen and is a renewable and

considered as a clean source of energy. Gas generated through bio-digestion is non-polluting

and leading to the deceleration of global warming process. Cattle dung used in the

production of biogas makes it a sustainable and cost effective option too.

This is one of the rarest social

i n n o v a t i o n s e x h i b i t i n g t h e

generosity, social responsibility and

compassion of an agri/ dairy

entrepreneur in an era of highly

competitive and materialistic world.

Usually biogas plant usage is

restricted to owner’s household but

here in this case the output of this

plant has been shared among the

community of entire village. In

addition, two tankers of slurry (500

Uniqueness

Overview of the farm of S. Dhilbar Singh

Stoves burning on the biogas



Aparna et al.Innovative Initiative: Sharing ....... at Free of Cost

litre) produced daily by this

plant are also shared free of

cost among the fellow farmers

of the village for its use as

fertilizer. Consequently, the

problem of disposal of excess

c a t t l e d u n g h a s b e e n

significantly solved and

emission of greenhouse gases

in the process of cattle dung

decomposition has also been

eliminated. Hence, this

innovation has proved to be

conducive to the social and

environmental health.

The innovation is more of

a will to enhance social

c o h e s i v e n e s s t h r o u g h

e n v i r o n m e n t f r i e n d l y

integrated approach to make

use of output of one enterprise

as input in the other enterprise.

With this guiding principle,

t h i s d a i r y f a r m e r h a s

established a pipeline network

through-out the village and

biogas is being supplied

through a pipeline for two

hours in the morning and two

hours in the evening. The slurry produced in the process of making biogas is also supplied

free of cost to other farmers in the village.

Biogas can also be converted into electricity and the farmer also plans to run generators

on biogas so that the village may become self reliant in electricity and cooking fuel. Apart

from farmer’s plan, the technology can be further upgraded because just like natural gas,



Gas distributions system

Regulating supply of biogas



Aparna et al. Innovative Initiative: Sharing ....... at Free of Cost

56

Suggested citation for this Agri-Innovation;

Aparna, Kumar A and Rampal V K (2018) Innovative Initiative: Sharing Biogas with Community at No Cost. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 53-56.

biogas can be easily compressed and used to power automobiles. Better still, biogas can be

purified and upgraded to the natural gas standards when it’s converted to bio-fuel known as

bio-methane. For out-scaling this innovation, more dairy farmers may be motivated towards

this aspect in Punjab and other states so that the dependence on fossil fuel energy is reduced

to a greater extent. The process of anaerobic digestion leaves behind a nutrient-rich matter

called digestate, which is commonly utilized as fertilizer. Other agri or dairy entrepreneurs

can augment their farm income by locally selling bio-gas and slurry.


INNOVATIVE TERRACE FARMING ON SPENT MUSHROOMCOMPOST BRINGS ADDITIONAL INCOME

Pankaj Sood, D S Yadav and L K Sharma

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mandi at Sundernagar-175 019, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Significance

Sh. Parama Ram Chaudhary is a source of inspiration for

the farming community as he is an innovative farmer

practicing new technologies in crop husbandry, animal

husbandry and nonfarm enterprises for maximum returns

from his 2.5 acre land. Sh. Chaudhary has set an example for

other small and marginal farmers on efficient and effective use

of limited resources to earn handsome sustainable returns. He

has been practicing sericulture and mushroom cultivation in

an old house of 400 sq m on his farm. He was using spent

mushroom compost in his fields near the mushroom house

which was inviting flies and other pathogens. Hence he tried

these compost bags on terrace of his house for vegetable

cultivation which gave encouraging results. He adopted this

innovative and sustainable method for enhanced returns and

has developed a model of sustainable farming system which is

worth replicating by all mushroom growers with small/

marginal land holdings. Moreover, byproduct or waste from

one component is a potential raw material for other

enterprises.

Sh. Chaudhary has set an

example for other small and

marginal farmers on efficient

and effective use of limited

resources to earn handsome

sustainable returns.He was

earning about 41000 rupees

from small mushroom unit of

400 bags; but afterwards the

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Parma Ram Choudhary

65 yrs

Chhattar, P.O. Jugahan, Sundernagar,

Mandi-175002, HP

Matric

+91-9805756261




Sood et al. Innovative Terrace Farming ....... Additional Income

58

spent compost was simply mixed in the field inviting pathogens and insects which were

posing threat to ensuing mushroom crops. Using these bags for terrace cultivation not only

was the best effective way to utilize the nutrient rich compost but earned an additional

income of about ̀ 28000. Moreover, the process ensured maintaining hygienic conditions in

the mushroom cultivation house avoiding infections.

The spent mushroom compost after harvest of mushroom is generally used as compost in

agricultural or vegetable fields. Sh. Parma Ram Chaudhary earned additional income of `

28000 from 400 bags of spent mushroom compost i.e. about ̀ 70 per bag of spent mushroom

compost which is almost equal to the purchase value of the mushroom bag.

Sh. Chaudhary has become a source of inspiration for the farming community in the

region. He has demonstrated the low cost innovations and models for marginal farmlands

through efficient and effective use of limited resources by following sustainable Farming

System Model for livelihood security. He has been instrumental in transfer of farm

technology in the region. He is always keen to assist and guide fellow farmers for adoption of

new technologies. White button mushroom cultivation is now being adopted by many

farmers in the district.

Uniqueness

Roof top farming on spent mushroom



Sood et al.Innovative Terrace Farming ....... Additional Income


Awards and recognition

The farmer had a room in his old house measuring about 400 square meters. The farmer

conceptualized the unique and innovative idea of using spent mushroom compost bags as

such for terrace cultivation of vegetable crops like Okra from April to June, Brinjal and

Coriander July to September, Spinach and Coriander October to December and green peas

January to March for harnessing the full potential of nutrient rich spent compost. This not

only ensured higher returns with lesser risk, but also the nutrient rich spent mushroom

compost was utilized in the best way. The KVK provided him with all possible support to

continue with his experiment with terrace cultivation. KVK Scientists not only provided him

with technical backstopping but also constantly boosted his moral by providing platforms to

showcase his innovative ideas at the state and national level, which helped him sustaining the

innovation at his farm.

He has been recognized at various platforms at the national and state levels. Amongst all,

ICAR's Jagjivan Ram Abhinav Kisan Puruskar from Zone-I for the year 2013 has been the

major recognition as an innovative farmer.

Innovative roof top farming is a source of curiosity for many



Sood et al. Innovative Terrace Farming ....... Additional Income

60

Scaling-up and scaling-out the innovationThis noble innovation could prove a boon among other small & marginal farmers

especially mushroom growers in the region for getting the additional income as well as

getting rid of the problems of disposing off the spent mushroom. Officials from development

department arrange regular visits of other farmers to his farm for further dissemination of the

innovation.Sh. Chaudhary kept in constant touch with other KVK and many farmers groups

are interacting and learning from his experiences for adopting the innovations at their places

for enhanced returns.


Sood P, Yadav D S and Sharma L K (2018) Innovative Terrace Farming on Spent Mushroom Compost Brings Additional Income. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 57-60.

Thorough understanding of the experience for better replication



Agri-Innovator - 12

Neelam Kumari, N S Kaith, Bandana, Ashok K Thakur and Tanuja Banshtu

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Shimla at Rohru-171 207, Himachal Pradesh

BackgroundCollar Rot caused by Phytophthora cactorum is a very

serious problem in apple orchards of Shimla district. The

disease causes severe losses to apple growers resulting in

decreased productivity with poor quality of fruits. Affected

apple trees show sparse foliage, slow growth, bronzing and

yellowing of leaves with browning of bark at collar region.

The incidence of the disease is sometimes up to 50 per cent in

many of the orchards especially, where the orchards are

planted in heavy soils with low pH.

h Mohan Lal Sharma, a progressive and innovative

farmer of Jubbal area is having apple plantation infected with

Collar Rot disease inflicting heavy losses to him. He used all

the recommended practices to protect his orchard from the

Collar Rot disease, but could not get the desired results. At last

he used the innovative approach grafting technique to give

additional food to the plants.

For this, he first scratched the

dead/ diseased bark up to

healthy portion from the

affected collar portion and

applied Chaubatia paste, then

he gave approach grafting of 5-

6 seedlings of apple in each

SName:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Mohan Lal Sharma

62 yrs

Shari, PO Jubbal,Shimla

Graduation

+91-9418059113

INNOVATIVE GRAFTING RECUPERATED COLLOR ROTDAMAGE IN APPLE

Apple tree infected with Collar Rot



Kumari et al. Innovative Grafting Recuperatd ....... Damage in Apple

62

affected plant besides drenching with Ridomil MZ (0.4%) 10-15 L per plant in the month of

March and July.

The Collar Rot is the major disease problems in apple orchards, mainly in orchards

having heavy soils and where wrong inter-cropping and wrong cultural practices have been

practiced. However, adoption of proper cultural practices and integrated disease

management for Collar Rot along with approach grafting technology has improved the

productivity and quality of apple that improved farmers' income within two to three years of

treatment.

After the use of approach grafting technology by this innovative farmer, the other

farmers also adopted this technology in their orchards in Jubbal block as well as in other parts

of the district Shimla resulting in similar benefits on their orchards too.

The recommended Apple Collar Rot management practices check the spread of diseases

but the plant still remains weak due to the want of adequate nutrition on account of rotten

plant skin and peripheral stem portion near ground level. With the help of Approach Grafting

Significance

Uniqueness

Grafted plants acting as multiple stems



Kumari et al.Innovative Grafting Recuperatd ....... Damage in Apple

Technique, diseased plant gets additional nutrition through the healthy system of grafted

plants which serve as root stocks.

Majority of the apple

orchards in the Shimla

district are based on

plants developed through

seedling root stocks.

These seedling root-

stocks have deep and well

spread root system,

which helps in the

absorpt ion of more

nutrient elements and

other solutes from much

wider and deeper soil

l a y e r s . A p p r o a c h

Grafting technique is based on the principle of supplying additional nutrients to the plants

from wider and deeper soil layers when the original collar portion of the plants gets damaged

due to the Collar Rot disease. Under such conditions the original root system of the plant is

unable to supply sufficient nutrient elements and other solutes to the plants. It results in the

inhibition of plant growth and the above-ground portion of the affected plant gets infected

with various diseases due to the plant weakness.

In the Approach Grafting technique, 5-6 seedlings cheaper options are planted all around

in the tree basin during the winter season and after one year of their establishment these

seedlings are grafted directly above the diseased portion of the plants in the tree trunk, tied

with the grafting paper and when they are well connected with the tree trunk the grafting

paper is removed. These seedlings act as supplier of additional nutrients to the plants and

within 2- 3 years the plants become as healthy as other normal plants in the orchard and the

plant life is increased for a period of over twenty years.

Mr. Sharma refined the approach grafting technology under the guidance of scientists.

He used this technology in his orchard and validated this technology perfectly. Application

of this technology impressed his fellow farmers who are surprised to see his regenerated

orchard. Now Mr. Mohan Lal Sharma has become expert in this technology and many

farmers come to his orchard to learn the details of the technology so that they can also treat

their orchards affected by the dreaded collar rot disease.




Kumari N, Kaith N S, Bandana, Thakur A K and Banshtu T (2018). Innovative Grafting Recuperated Collar Rot Damage in Apple. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 61-64.


Kumari et al. Innovative Grafting Recuperatd ....... Damage in Apple

64

Scaling-out the innovationThis is a good innovative technology and after perfecting it the farmer is now abundantly

using it to save his Collar Rot infected plants of apple. His innovation has been emulated by

several other farmers having the problem of Collar Rot in their respective orchards.

However, concerted efforts to disseminate this technology will prove to be beneficial to a

large number of orchardists having their apple plants infested with the dreaded Collar Rot

disease.

Completely rehabilitated apple plant



Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal and Balkaran Singh Sandhu


Background

Significance

Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) based farming is predominant

method of paddy cultivation in Muktsar district of Punjab. In

fact this district accounts for about 25% of total DSR area in

Punjab and this is the number one district in terms of area

under DSR. However the problem of weed infestation in DSR

is enormous as compared to the transplanted crop. The major

contributing factor for popularization of DSR in South-

Western Punjab is extreme shortage of farm labour in addition

to the high uncertainly of labour availability. Mr. Gursewak

Singh provided solutions to this problem by modifying the

existing non-functional cotton sprayer (large number of cotton

farmers have shifted to rice cultivation in South-Western

Punjab due to sustained falling profitability in cotton crop)

through use of some nozzles and other attachments. This

modified sprayer is a multipurpose device for its applicability

in orchard crops in addition to the field crops.

The modified tractor

operated sprayer ensures

un i fo rm app l i ca t ion o f

weedicieds/ pesticides with

tremendous reduction of the

dependence on labour. This

sprayer has enabled the farmer

to achieve higher scale of

operations as the average land

holding in this locality is higher

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Gursewak Singh

44 yrs

Kothe Dasmesh Nagar, Gidderbaha, Sri Mkatsar Sahib-152 031, Pb.

Higher Secondary

+91-9814172305

Agri-Innovator - 13

INNOVATIVE TRACTOR OPERATED SPRAYER PUMP



Dhaliwal and Sandhu Innovative Tractor Operated ....... Crops and Orchards

66

than the state average. This

device is multipurpose one

with which farmers are also

applying faster spray of

nutrients solutions. Further,

this sprayer has also been used

fo r ca r ry ing ou t sp ray

operations in orchards. Overall

the sprayer is very convenient

for the farmers and as it has

been based on modification of

existing cotton sprayer it is

highly cost effective. Due to all

these advantages these sprayers have been used by a large number of other farmers in the

locality.

Mr. Gursewak Singh Sekhon has used different nozzels and other attachments to make

this device as multipurpose one. This modified tractor operated sprayer is in fact a

multipurpose device that takes care of weedicide/ pesticide application in field crop as well

horticultural crops in addition to folliar applications of nutrients. This device being tractor

operated facilitates use of adequate quantity of water during spray operations which

otherwise is kept sub-optimal by the farmer. The uniqueness of this device stems from the

Uniqueness

Multipurpose pump spraying the orchard



Dhaliwal and SandhuInnovative Tractor Operated ....... Crops and Orchards

fact that is extremely cost effective (with an expenditure of 5 to 10 thousand rupees) as

compared to the comparable branded sprayer without any compromise on quality and

quantity of the output.

Weed infestation is a major bottleneck in DSR crop and it is extremely difficult to control

weeds in this crop with the help of ordinary manual sprayer. For effective weed control

uniform application of herbicides is needed and it requires a lot of skilled labour. However,

availability of farm labour is highly scarce and uncertain in the district under reference. To

overcome this problem the innovator decided to develop/ modify his existing tractor

operated spray drum which he had been using earlier in cotton crop.

He modified his cotton spray pump by adjustable steel pipes. These pipes can be

adjusted in horizontal as well as in vehicle direction with the help of nuts and bolts according

to its use in the field or on horticultural crops. For every 45 cm distance removable nozzles

are attached, which may be changed according to the kind of spray (for herbicide application

flood jet nozzle is used and for insecticide application cone type nozzle is fixed). This

sprayer is operated by the power take off (PTO) shaft of the tractor. So, water used for

applying spray may also be adjusted by adjusting speed of the tractor through gear changing.

Generally we use 150 to 300 liters/ acre water for spray (300 litre/ acre for herbicide

application operating 45 st

HP tractor in 1 low gear

and 150 litre/ acre for

insecticide/ nutrient

application operating 45 nd

HP tractor in 2 low

gear).

For this innovation,

Gursewak Singh was

awarded 'Udami Kisan

Award' in Progressive

Punjab Summit 2014 at

Mohali by the Chief

Minister of Punjab. He

is now acting as a key

communicator for other

farmers for adopting

DSR in the nearby

localities.




Dhaliwal and Sandhu Innovative Tractor Operated ....... Crops and Orchards

68

Scaling-out the innovationThe modified tractor operated sprayer has multipurpose applicability which ranges from

application of weedicide/ pesticide to the foliar application of nutrient solution in field as

well as orchard crops. In fact spray operation in orchards is a really difficult task which has

been very well taken care by this device. All these positives about this sprayer have

contributed towards its popularity among other paddy farmers in this location who were

earlier cultivating cotton crop. However, this innovation needs to be popularized and scaled-

out at the farmers of such farmers for saving their Lakhs of rupees on account of purchasing

comparable branded sprayer.


Dhaliwal N S, Sandhu B S (2018) Innovative Tractor Operated Sprayer Pump for Field Crops and Orchards. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 65-68.

S. Gursewak Singh being honoured for his innovation



Agri-Innovator - 14

Sanjay Kumar Sharma, B K Sharma, Yogita Sharma and B N Sinha

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Una-174 303, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Significance

Shri Vijay Kumar Thakur was encuraged by his cousin to

initiate goat farming for milk production. However, his family

and friends opposed this idea because he had no practical

experience of goat farming. The major challenge appeared not

of rearing goats but the poor acceptability of milk because of a

typical unpleasant odour. In order to understand the cause of

the problem, he discussed the matter with the experts and came

to the conclusion that the unhygienic conditions practiced in

traditional goat farming and keeping lactating goats in

association with the male goats (rams) are the real source of

that typical odour. At present, Shri Thakur's goat farm has

twenty eight female goats of different breeds viz. Sirohi (12),

Beetal (8), Amritsari (2), Boer (1) and mixed breed of Sirohi x

Beetal (5). He also maintains a male goat of Amritsari breed.

Besides, he also has 17 goat kids that will add to his herd size in

near future.

Goat farming is a profitable business and requires

comparatively lesser investment. It can

yield a wide range of products like milk,

meat, wool, manure, leather etc. Goats

have been considered as poor man's cow

because of their immense contribution to

rural economy. Goat milk has rich

medicinal properties and many

medicines based on traditional Indian

health care system are prescribed with

goat milk. Goat products are not only

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Vijay Kumar Thakur

61 yrs

Sainsowal,Una-177 220, HP

Graduation

+91-9310987335Email: [email protected]

SCIENTIFIC PAYS DIVIDENDSGOAT FARMING



Sharma et al. Scientific Goat Farming Pays Dividends

70

nutritious and easily digestible; they are also a

source of regular income for the poor, landless

and marginal farmers. In Himachal Pradesh,

goat farming is practiced in many parts of the

state, but it is particularly popular in lower

belts including Una district.

Milk of goats reared traditionally in rural

areas possesses a distinctly unpleasant

odour. That is why goat's milk, despite its

medicinal properties, does not find favour

for regular usage by public at large. But this

myth has been proven wrong by Shri Thakur

who runs a successful goat farm and the milk

produced in his farm has a normal aroma. He

made it possible by following an entirely

scientific technique of goat farming.

After having understood the real cause of

the problem, Shri Thakur thought of goat

farming on an elevated enclosure with

perforated floor for pellets and urine to drop

down instantly. He got fabricated a

scientifically designed elevated enclosure

(50'x15') at a height of five feet above ground.

The whole structure rests on the iron pillars

securely grouted in the ground. A slanted

corrugated sheet affixed between the elevated

floor and the ground serves as the only entry/

exit point for the goats.

The side walls made of wire mesh are 10

feet high to ensure safety of the goats from

wild predators. The side walls have also been

equipped with rolling curtains with a

Uniqueness


Overview of the structure

Segregation is imperative



Sharma et al.Scientific Goat Farming Pays Dividends

mechanism for effortless expansion or rolling up to provide protection against vagaries of

wind and rain. The elevated floor consists of a plastic mesh. The mesh size is just sufficient

enough to allow the pellets to drop down easily.

The gentle flexibility of the plastic floor

quicken the process of pellet drop down by

tapping due to mobility of goats inside the

enclosure. The main larger enclosure has been

partitioned into five smaller sub-enclosures of

varying dimensions. It includes one enclosure

to house male goat (6'x5'), three for female

goats (17'x6', 20'x6', 20'x15') and one for kids

(10'x6') separately. This space is sufficient to

rear thirty four goats.

The partitioning has been done so as to keep a three feet wide central path for the care

taker to look after the goats. In each enclosure, a long feeding pot is kept hanging at a height

with the side wall which is lowered at the time of feeding concentrate. The goats are also

grazed in the open twice a day. Also, a blocked wash basin is affixed in a corner of each

enclosure to provide fresh drinking water.

The tap point of the wash basin has a

floating valve to prevent spilling of water. All

the tap points are connected to a water tank

(500 litter capacity) placed at a height on one

side of the structure. Whenever, the water

level in the wash basin comes down, it gets

replenished immediately. The two adjacent

enclosures are separated by corrugated sheets.

The door of each enclosure is three feet wide

and opens into the central path. This

mechanism allow entry or exit of goats from

one enclosure at a time. The height of the dividing wall is just sufficient to prevent goats from

crossing over to other side. Underneath the elevated floor, slanting corrugated sheets ending

in a drain have been meticulously affixed allowing the dropped pellets to get collected in the

pot kept at the end of drain.

The collected pellets are sun dried and then stored in bags. The empty space below the

slanted sheets serves as temporary store for the collected pellets. These pellets are either sold

or used in own fields. The milk obtained from these goats is absolutely normal with no foul

odour at all. Such milk fetches a premium price to the Shri Thakur as compared to other dairy

farmers because of its medicinal properties. He easily sells the goat milk @ ` 50 per litre

Separation of excreta

Ensuring cleanliness



Sharma et al. Scientific Goat Farming Pays Dividends

72

when the prevailing price of cow and buffalo milk is around ̀ 25 to 30 per litre, respectively

at the producer's place.

This innovative technique of goat farming on scientifically designed elevated

enclosures can easily be out-scaled with government intervention. Though big entrepreneurs

having necessary wherewithal can erect such structures, but small and marginal farmers

would require initial financial support in the form of subsidy on the pattern of poly-houses

and solar fencing. It might open new avenues for generating self employment opportunities

in rural areas through this enterprise



Sharma S K, Sharma B K, Sharma Y and Sinha B N (2018) Scientific Goat Farming Pays Dividends. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 69-72.

Scientific practices ensure healthy stock



PORTABLE ONION FLOWER THRESHER CUM SEEDEXTRACTOR: A FARMER INNOVATION

Karun Sharma, Devinder Tiwari, Harshneet Singh and S C Sharma

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ludhiana at Samrala-141 114, Punjab

Background

Significance

Seed production of Rabi onion in Punjab can give farmers

remunerative returns. In the recent past, the demand for PAU

recommended varieties of Rabi onion (Punjab Naroya and

PRO 6) has increased manifolds as these varieties are better

yielding and have higher shelf life. In order to cater to the

larger demand for the quality seed of onion, some farmers

came forward for production of onion seed in Ludhiana

District. Mr. Sukhjeet Singh of Diwala village was also among

such farmers who showed keen interest in the production of

Rabi onion seed. In the first year, he started onion seed

production on small area (i.e. 1 Kanal) which yielded him

good returns of around `50000. Encouraged from the

results,he planned to expand the area under seed production to

one acre in next year. The major constraints encountered

during the seed production was that all the operations starting

from sowing of the crop till extraction of seed were labour

intensive, time consuming, expensive and laborscarcity

especially during harvesting & threshing of the crop

coinciding with peak sowing time/phase for next kharif crop. It made onion seed production

a much difficult task. There constraints forced Sukhjit to think of other alternatives for onion

seed extraction e.g. mechanization. He started searching for mechanical seed extractors for

onion seed and found that the available seed extractors even of small capacity were very

expensive and unaffordable. All these factors stimulated him to devise his own machine

from the locally available material and skill.

For threshing and extraction of onion seed, this innovation has reduced man hours upto

15-16 per acre as compared to the manual process which required 100-120 man hours per

acre. Previous process of manual extraction was done with help of sticks beating and then

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Sukhjeet Singh Baraich

47 yrs

Diwala, Samrala, Ludhiana

B.A.

+91-8146400936



Sharma et al.

74

rubbing with the hands resulting into some damage to the seeds. On the other hand, with

machine not only quality seed can be obtained but also the process takes a very less time to

complete. Therefore, the innovation proved to be very effective in mechanizing the process

of seed extraction.

The manufacturing of the machine from locally available material and skill makes it unique

in a way that till today no seed extractor is available at such a cheap cost to the farmers. As the

fabrication of the machine takes very less time i.e. 2-3 days so the prototype has great

potential to cater the larger demands in a shorter span.

The proverb “Necessity is the mother of invention” proved true when Mr. Sukhjeet Singh

designed and fabricated a very efficient thresher cum onion seed extractor that too at very

cheap price costing him just ̀ 5000/-. The design of the machine was very simple comprising

of cylinder-concave assembly fitted on two ball bearings inside a cylindrical frame. The

Uniqueness


Portable Onion Flower ....... A Farmer Innovation

Onion bulbs after harvest



Sharma et al. Portable Onion Flower ....... A Farmer Innovation

upper side of the frame fitted with a

hopper for feeding onion seed flowers

(umbels or matured inflorescence) and

lower portion having opening where

different sized meshes can be installed

for obtaining clean seed. For threshing

of onion seed flowers, two rubber

bushes made from worn out conveyer

belts were fitted on rotating cylinder to

get the beating effect. The provision

was also made on the cylinder to adjust

the rubber bushes according to the

beating effect required in order to avoid

any damage to onion seed. A small

sized blower fan was also installed on

the lower portion of the machine below

the mesh opening for separating

Onion seed extractor

During extract operation



Sharma et al.

76

Portable Onion Flower ....... A Farmer Innovation

unwanted material from seed. The machine was initially manually operated but later-on it

was upgraded to motorize the whole process.

This machine has a good potential to be acclaimed as commercial model. With some

modifications and refinements, the machine can be converted into seed extractor cum grader.

The capacity of the machine can be further enhanced for meeting specific needs.

Scaling up the innovation


Sharma K, Tiwari D, Singh H and Sharma S C (2018) Portable Onion Flower Thresher cum Seed Extractor: A Farmer Innovation. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 73-76.



Background

Uniqueness

Shri Gurjeet Singh completed his formal education up to

10th class and joined his parental occupation of farming. He

has 4.0 ha land and is growing sugarcane, rice and wheat by

conventional method for supporting a family of 15 members.

He also has 5 cows (American and Red Sindhi) and 3 buffaloes

(Murraha).

His earnings from farming and the dairy was sufficient to

meet their family needs until the year 2013. In order to cope

with rapidly increasing expenses, the farmer decided to try

something innovative. Consequently, he decided to adopt

innovating sowing method of sugarcane at a row to row

distance of 120 cm with intercropping of Cauliflower,

Vegetable Peas, Spinach, Gram and Berseem with the August

planted sugarcane. He later on started providing technology to

the fellow farmers and helped his community to flourish too.

This practice of planting

single bud sugarcane planting

material is new practice

introduced by this farmer in

his locality. This practice

generates several time higher

farm income with limited

land and other resources.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Gurjeet Singh

35 yrs

Vill. Bhoapur, Block: Bahadarabad, Haridwar, Uttarakhand

High School

+91-7088974981

Agri-Innovator - 16

DOUBLING INCOME THROUGH DEMAND DRIVENINTERCROPPING IN SUGARCANE

Sucheta Singh, Purushottam Kumar, Ujala Singh, Vinod Kumar and Yogendra Pal

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Haridwar at Dhanauri-249 404, Uttarakhand



Singh et al.

78

Wo r k i n g o f t h i s

innovation

The innovative sowing

method of sugarcane 120 cm

apart along with intercropping

of Cauliflower, Vegetable

Peas, Spinach, Gram and

Berseem with the August

planted sugarcane is a

promising experience for the

farmer. He planted sugarcane

varieties of Co 0118, Co 0238,

Co 5011, with trench 120 cm

apart. He used single bud

sugarcane pieces @ 16500-17000 pieces (1-2 tonne) per hectare as planting material. It

resulted in 95% germination and proper plant stand. The benefit of sowing in August is that

whole sugarcane could be used for sowing. He used basal dose of NPK 180 kg/ha and 20 kg

zink sulphate at the time of sowing. He used chlorpyriphos 20 EC 1.5 litre + 300 gm

Carbendazim + Mancozeb 750 gm for seed treatment and chlorantraniliprole is used as a

remedial measure for top borer. He also sprayed soluble fertilizer @ 5 kg/ha. Three lines of

each Vegetable Peas, Cauliflower, Spinach and Gram were adjusted in between two line of

Doubling Income through ....... Intercropping in Sugarcane



Singh et al.Doubling Income through ....... Intercropping in Sugarcane

Economic analysis of sugarcane (conventional method) and sugarcane (120 cm

apart) with intercropping of different crops.

Crop S/Ptime

P.G.

Yield (q/ha)

SEY

(q/ha) GR

(`/ha) COC

(`/ha) NR

(`/ha)

B C

Ratio

Sug (Conventional) March

800

-

252000

120000

132000

2.1

Sug+Veg. Peas Aug-Nov 1:3 1800+80 2308 727001 142400 584601 5.1

Sug +Spinach Aug-Oct 1:3 1700+100

2335 735500 135400 600100 5.4

Sug+Cauliflower Aug-Oct 1:3 1600+150.0 2552 804000 137400 666600 5.8

Sugarcane +Gram Aug-Oct 1:3 1800+35 2078 653783 132400 52138

3

4.9

Note: S/P= Sowing/Planting; P.G.=Planting Geometry; SEY=Sugacane Equivalent Yield; GR= Gross returns;COC=Cost of Cultivations; NR=Net Returns; Sug=Sugarcane

Sugarcane. Seed/ seedlings of intercrop were treated with trichoderma 5 gram/kg or 5 gram/

lt. The financial or economic benefits raised manifolds as the benefit cost ratio raised from 1:

2.1 to 1: 5.8.

Ensuring higher income through intercropping



Singh et al.

80

Doubling Income through ....... Intercropping in Sugarcane


Singh S, Kumar P, Singh U, Kumar V and Pal Y (2018) Doubling Income through Demand Driven Intercropping in Sugarcane. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 77-80.

In the due course of producing

vegetables viz. Vegetable Peas, Spinach,

Cauliflower and Gram with Sugarcane and

earned net return of `584601 in Vegetable

Peas, `600100 in Spinach, `666600 in

Cauliflower and ̀ 521382 in Gram. He sold

the vegetable produce and the Sugarcane at

the prevailing market rate in the region. The

Table shows that with the benefit cost ratio

rose from 1: 2.1 to 1: 5.8 due to this

innovative practice.

Sh. Gurjeet Singh has become a source of inspiration for the farming community in the

region at a young age. He has demonstrated the sugarcane planting method at a very low seed

rate and intercropping of

sugarcane with high

yielding vegetables. His

model of sugarcane

sowing is very efficient

and effective in using

limited resources viz.

seed, labour, fertilizers,

insecticides, pesticides

e t c . H e h a s b e e n

instrumental in transfer

of farm technology in the

region and other districts

also. This innovative

practice has resulted in tremendous enhancement of farm income (Figure). There is lot of

potential of scaling-out this innovation among the farmers in the locality and even at distant

places.




EARNING TWO LAKHS FROM ONE-FORTH HECTAREINTERCROPPING UNDER POLYHOUSE

Tasneem Mubarak

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kulgam-192 233, Jammu and Kashmir

Background

Significance

Aeijaz Ahmad Kutai is a resident of a remote village about 20 km away from the district head quarter (Kulgam). The only source of income for his family is agriculture. Though the land holding is extremely small (0.25 ha), his innovative idea of diversification and intensive cultivation has helped him to earn a good livelihood for his family.

The innovator was desperate to have additional income from the small piece of land so that his family members are able not only to live a comfortable life but also to impart good education to his children. Aeijaz came to know about the government scheme in which incentives in terms of infrastructure are provided for floriculture. He approached the department of floriculture and succeeded in getting 2 subsidized poly-houses sanctioned. Though the purpose of this scheme was cultivation of cut flowers (Lillium) but he could think of every opportunity to get the maximum out of the limited area. He kept on

thinking of different possibilities of crop intensification based on the demand in the market. Ultimately he succeeded in doing so by designing an innovative mix of high value crops u n d e r p r o t e c t e d c u l t i v a t i o n t o improve his farm income substantially.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Aeijaz Ahmad Kutai

46 yrs

Vill Kawdran, Yaripora, Kulgam-192 232, J&K

Graduate

+91-9622886488



Mubarak Earning Two Lakhs from ....... Intercropping Under Polyhouse

82

Working of this innovationrThe crop cycle starts in the month of December with the planting of Lillium bulbs.

Around 6 thousand bulbs are planted in 2 poly-houses each of the dimensions of 20X80 feet. The cost incurred on the purchase of seed, land preparation, fertilizers, fungicides and

harvesting was `79720. Since the bulbs sprout and emerge during February end and early March, he thought of utilizing this period for cultivation of other crops. He looked for different options and decided to go for Spinach or Kale as per the demand and crop season.

rdSpinach/ Kale become ready for market by the 3 week of February and is completely harvested and sold in the market before the Lillium crop start competing for the space. The average yield of 740 kg of these leafy vegetables is obtained by the farmer, which is sold @ `20/kg in the wholesale market. The cost involved in cultivation of Spinach/ Kale, including seed cost, sowing, irrigation and harvesting, was `1170 and the gross income was `14800. After few days of harvesting of Spinach/ Kale the field is again irrigated.

stLillium emerges and bears flowers during May end and 1 week of June. During the growing season of Lillium 2-3 sprays of Carbendazim @ 0.1% are given to protect the crop from diseases. Around 4000 cut-flowers are harvested and sold @ `12/ spike earning ` 48000. The cost incurred on harvesting, packing and transportation is `4400. The field is

Highly demanded leafy vegetables for Srinagar market



MubarakEarning Two Lakhs from ....... Intercropping Under Polyhouse

cleared from crop residues and is slightly worked upon with rakes in the month of September for which the cost involved is ̀ 1170. The Lillium crop becomes ready for sale in the month of November and yield obtained is 900 kg which is sold @ ̀ 17.5/kg earning him ̀ 15750 as gross income.

The Lillium bulbs are uprooted in the last week of December for sale and replanting in the poly-houses. He replants 6000 bulbs and sells surplus 12000 bulbs in the market @ `12/ bulb. This way a gross income of `144000 is earned. Cost involved in uprooting is `680. The use of own farm grown seed results in saving cost on seed. The economics of the two poly-houses is given in the Table below. As evident from the Table he gets additional income of

Lillium flower ready for the market



Mubarak Earning Two Lakhs from ....... Intercropping Under Polyhouse

84

`28210 through sale of leafy vegetables over and above the intended cultivation of Lillium crop resulting earning of ̀ 207410 form a very small area of just 0.25 ha.

This innovation has helped the farmer earning more than `207000 from an area of 0.25 ha. However, there is a scope of further scaling up this innovation by incorporating other high value crops either replacing Spinach/ Kale on along with these exiting intercrops. Farmer has sufficient experience and can think of further enhancing the scale in order to augment his family income. This innovation experience being an eye opener for other farmers in the locality needs to be adequately popularized and replicated at the farms of other farmers


Economics of crop cultivation in 2 poly-houses of 20 x 80 feet dimensions Sr. No Crop Cost of Cultivation ( ` ) Gross income (` ) Net Income (` )1 Lillium 84800 264000 179200 2. Vegetables 2340 30550 28210 Total 1+2 87140 294550 207410


Mubarak T (2018) Earning Two Lakhs from One-Forth Hactare : Intercropping under Polyhouse. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 81-84.



Raminder Kaur Hundal, Parvinder Singh, Bhupinder S Dhillon and Astha

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Amritsar-143 601, Punjab

Background

Bhagat Puran Singh Natural Farm of Pingalwara is

situated at Dheerekot village near Jandiala Guru, on national

highway G.T. Road, 32 km away from Amritsar city (towards

Jalandhar). This farm is a true picture of natural farming,

operational since, 2006. This farm is acting as a demonstration

farm for the farmers; motivating them towards prudent use of

pesticides and along with promoting organic farming.

Pingalwara has started a silent and constructive revolution to

save the environment, to regenerate farmer – friendly micro

organism, to bring back soil productivity, to re-establish

ecological balance by practically doing Natural Farming in its

32 Acre Farm following different crop rotation. In this farm,

cultivation is done without using any type of chemical

fertilizers and pesticides. The soil of this farm has been

regenerated and rejuvenated and yield of any crop is as good as

or even better than the yield achieved with the help of

chemical fertilizers. The belief on the famous verses from holy

Sikh scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib 'Pavan Guru Pani Pita,

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Rajbir Singh

65 yrs

B-204, New Amritsar-143 601, Pb.

Graduate

+91-9781401141

[email protected]

Agri-Innovator - 18

INNOVATIVE NATURAL FARMING THROUGHORGANIC FERTIGATION



Hundal et al.

86

Mata Dharat Maht' (air is guru, water is

father and the earth is mother) can be seen in

practical shape at Bhagat Puran Singh

Natural Farm of Pingalwara. This

cultivation has proved to be more healthier

for the soil, more eco-friendly, less expensive

i.e. (almost zero budget) and most of all less

toxic to the ground water, resulting in saving

of the humanity from the dreadful

consequences.

At this farm, a new innovation was observed,

in which use of cow urine alongwith cow

dung as bio fertilizer on crops like

sugarcane, wheat, gobhi sarson, paddy,

basmati and seasonal vegetables on an area of

32 acres. They are using this mixture

alongwith irrigation water in the ratio 1:400.

This farm is implementing this technology

from last eight years and they do not use any

chemical fertilizer. Following changes have

been observed on this farm.

- The texture of soil in this farm is sandy loam with high organic matter.

- The crop sown in this farm does not show any micro nutrients deficiency symptoms.

Impact

Innovative Natural Farming through Organic Fertigation



Hundal et al.Innovative Natural Farming through Organic Fertigation

- Basmati crop was healthier than the conventionally grown basmati fields (chemical

fertilizers used).

- Enhances the soil micro flora and fauna especially earthworms population.

- Even low fertile area was ameliorated with the use of these organic fertilizers and

soil texture also improved over the period of time.

- Incidence of insect-pest and diseases also reduced.

- This practice resulted in good returns in terms of yield and income.

- Cost of cultivation was cut down is almost all crop rotation cycles.

This practice is different from indigenous practice of applying farm yard manure (FYM)

to the crops in tonnes. They apply the fermented waste product along with irrigation water,

which has immediate response for its application. FYM is required in large quantity and it

applied seasonally, while this bio fertilizer is applied regularly with irrigation. Therefore this

method is efficiently utilizing the farm waste through the process of fermentation and direct

application of nutrients in the root zone. Irrigation sources for this farm are canal along with

four tube wells.

The dairy farm on Bhagat Puran Singh

Natural Farm of Pingalwara has 40 cattle

(Sahiwal cows). They collect the urine, dung,

waste water after doing different dairy

operations through the small channels in a big

tank located outside the dairy farm, where all

wastes are allowed to ferment for few days.

This tank having three different chambers

and sieving meshes separating them. The

solid leftover is separately collected for

further use. For better results regular stirring

is done in the tank. A small electric motor

(1HP) is installed on this tank for pumping

Uniqueness




Hundal et al. Innovative Natural Farming through Organic Fertigation

88

out the fermented mixture. After 5-7 days,

when the fermentation is complete, it is

sucked from the tank with a pipe (8 inches

diameter) and supplied to the main irrigation

tank (8 X 10 feet depth) through a pipe of 3

inch diameter having approx length of 900

feet. In the main irrigation tank, irrigation

water of four submersible motors is

collected. When there is need of irrigation,

the bio-fertilizer are mixed with irrigation

water and supplied to the fields. This

irrigation water is judicially used for bed planted wheat and oilseed crops, turmeric crop

sown under popular plantation and vegetable crops like, spinach, broccoli, cabbage,

cauliflower and pea crop. In kharif season this water is used for basmati, soybean and pulses.

Sugarcane crop is sown in twin rows twelve feet apart in north- south direction, and the area

in between rows is used for sowing vegetable crops.

This innovation can be used or applied on

larger scale by testing the composition of the

effluents of fermentation tank. Business

potential of this innovation can be tapped by

selling the fermented manures to other

farmers. This easy technique can be easily

used by all the organized dairy farmers for the

organic farming. It will also protect the long

term fertility of soils by maintaining organic

matter levels, encouraging soil biological

activity. Above all replication of this

innovative method of growing safe food at

more and more farms has tremendous health benefits for Indian population.

Scaling-out of innovationInnovative Natural Farming Through Organic Fertigation


Hundal R K, Singh P, Dhillon B S and Astha (2018) Innovative Natural Farming through Organic Fertigation. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 85-88.



Sanjeev Ahuja, Ankurdeep Preety and V K Rampal


Background

Significance

More than three-fourth of Indian farmers being small and

marginal in size of holding represent majority of the Indian

farming community. Providing adequate livelihood to these

farmers is the real challenge for the policy makers and public

representatives. However, Mr. Singh having just 2 acres of

operational holding has exhibited the innovative mix of

intercropping solutions for raising his farm income to the

respectable levels. His experience needs to be documented for

the benefit of very large number of small and marginal farmers

who can replicate it on their respective farms for similar results.

The intercropping of different crops along with vegetable

crops gives higher returns per unit area and time. This also

leads to proper utilization of the soil moisture, which is taken

up by the intercrops resulting in reduced growth of weeds. The

combination of intercropping is done in a smart way that the

crops are easy to manage and harvest. There is an overall

increase in farm income from these intercropping solutions. In

addition, the farmer is also using an

indigenous sprayer which gains power

from the movement of the bi-cycle wheel in

order to save time as well as money. The

farmer has also kept 60 honey bee colonies

to enhance pollination in vegetable crops

hence increasing the yield. These colonies

yield approximately three quintal honey

each year, which is an another smart way to

generate additional income.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Jinder Singh

53 yrs

Sandhuan, Shri

Chamkaur Sahib, Roopnagar-

140 112, Pb

Higher Secondary

+91-9914736803

Agri-Innovator - 19

INNOVATIVE INTERCROPPING SYSTEM: SOLUTION FORDOUBLING INCOME OF SMALL FARMS

Bicycle sprayer in intercropping


Uniqueness


Out of a land parcel of just 2 acres, Jinder Singh designed combination of different crops

in an innovative way thus shooting his net income to the tune of ` 433950/- which is worth

emulation by other marginal farmers. In addition, he produced fodder for his own animals

and income from that component has not been accounted for. Similarly supplementary

income from his apiculture enterprise has also not been included. Overall, Jinder has

designed an innovative (additive and supplementary combination) and unique mix of inter-

cultural operations (synergistic) along with supplementary enterprises to raise his farming

income beyond limits in this pack of land.

Sh. Jinder Singh has followed a series of inter-cropping practices for raising his farming 2

income to a level which is really incredible. On one piece of 2 Kanal (1 Kanal= 500 m ) land,

the farmer followed Chili and Coriander intercropping for eight months (thus managing each

inch of land) and earned net income of ` 60,750. On the same piece of land, he cultivated

Cauliflower to earn ` 21,250 just in three months time. Similarly, he cultivated Capsicum

and Onion inter-crop for four and half months and earned ̀ 34,000 net income from 2 Kanal

land followed by Cucumber and Coriander inter-cropping (` 21000 net income) and Tomato

- Palak (Spinach) inter-crop (` 68750; 5 month) of another piece of 1.5 Kanal the farmer


Ahuja et al. Innovative Intercropping System: ....... of Small Farms

90

Year round vegetable based intercropping system



Ahuja et al.Innovative Intercropping System: ....... of Small Farms

cultivated Capsicum followed by Cucumber ( 68400; 6 months) under net house. This

sequence was followed by Cucumber for 4.5 months to earn ̀ 45000. On a piece of 3 Kanal

land, the farmer raised nursery of Chili, Onion, Tomato, Brinjal and Capsicum and sold

plantlets under the name Chamkaur Sahib Paniri Farm, Sandhuan and earned ` 85000 in a

span of 5.5 months by

growing Turmeric. On a

patch of half Kanal land,

the farmer earned ̀ 8500 in

a time period of 6.5 months.

Wheat (` 8500; 6 months)

followed by Basmati rice (`

7500 in 5 months) was

grown on 3.5 Kanal of land.

Among cereals Maize was

another crop gown on one

Kanal in a time span of 4

`

Earning more from less land through intercropping



Ahuja et al. Innovative Intercropping System: ....... of Small Farms

92

months for earning net income of 4800. Overall earning 433950/- from a land parcel of 2

acres in addition to dairy income supported by the fodder grown within these two acres and

income from 60 honey bee colonies is the result of his innovative mix of intercropping

solutions.

Sh. Jinder Singh has standardized a working model of generating high net returns from a

2 acre farm. As we have about 67 per cent marginal farm families in India hence, Mr. Singh is

a real role model for them. Scaling-out this innovative mix of intercropping practices on

farms of other marginal farmers has tremendous potential towards their welfare and

improving income and livelihood. His model of intercropping system can be a valid pathway

of doubling farm income for small and marginal farmers if it is replicated at different agro-

ecosystems which has the evidences of supporting various components of farming system.

` `



Ahuja S, Preety A and Rampal V K (2018) Innovative Intercropping System: Solution for Doubling Income of Small Farms. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 89-92.



INNOVATIVE EARNEDNAME AND FAME

CULTIVATION OF MELONS

Navjot Kaur Dhillon and Harinder Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Fatehgarh-140 406, Punjab

Background

Significance

Sh. Harpreet Singh Gill was engaged in traditional

farming, cultivating paddy and wheat crops on his land.

Although he had reasonable income from cereal farming but

he knew that it is not enough to meet rising income

expectations of farm families and has to try innovative ideas of

enhancing his farm income. Exotic melon cultivation for early

market by Mr. Gill is one of these innovative ideas. The farmer

has adjusted his sowing time in such a way that his farm will

produce market ready melons in February month for filling the

supply void of at this time. This innovative planning has

helped the farmer getting very high prices for his produce.

With the use of drip irrigation application of water is done

directly to the root zone of the plant, resulting in less water lost

to evaporation in the sun and wind. By use of drip irrigation,

water is applied only where it is needed, with less runoff and

evaporation, also drip irrigation directly water the roots

thereby inhibits germination of weeds because the area

between plants is not wet there by

Conserving Earth's Resources.

Innovator used biodegradable polymer

plastic sheets for mulching his

muskmelon crop that get degraded by

the naturally occurring microbial

community in an environmental

system. They offer a more sustainable

alternative to conventionally used

plastics for mulch films. Providing the

same benefits as of conventional

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Email:

S. Harpreet Singh Gill

51 yrs

Haripur, Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib-147 203, Punjab

MA, MJMC

+91-9872327764

[email protected]



Dhillon and Singh Innovative Cultivation ....... Name and Fame

94

plastics, which are likely to accumulate in soil and the disposal of these conventional plastic

mulch sheets lead to the problem of plastic accumulation in soils which is solved by use of

Biodegradable mulching sheets.

Low tunnels used by innovator are mini green houses and don't have shading effect on

nearby cropping area. As the low tunnels are temporary arrangements, thus they can be

shifted from one place to other. Thus, the soil do not get infested by nematodes which is

persistent problem in permanent green houses.

·Raising soil and ambient temperature in Punjab to suit this warm season crop is a

real challenge. The use of low tunnels and electric bulbs to create congenial

conditions is the core of this innovation.

·The muskmelon is sown mid February for best results. However, the innovator

raises crop by providing a suitable cover during winter so that premium of early market

is realized. He gets almost double price for his produce than the main season crop.

Besides adoption of high yielding variety, better quality product, good marketing

conditions make demand situation highly favourable to the farmer for raising his overall

profitability.

UniquenessShowing his off-season melons



Dhillon and SinghInnovative Cultivation ....... Name and Fame

Working of this innovationThe innovator did not follow the routine practice

of installation of polyhouse or net house but work

successfully with the use of drip irrigation system,

mulch sheets spreading with use of machine

specially made to spread the mulching sheets. This

mulching technique helped reduce wastage and

control of weeds. Also to get early crop, low tunnel

technology has been constructive for this innovator.

With application of precision farming technology,

innovator is able to get his crop ready about 40 days

early than the conventionally grown Muskmelon and

it helps him to fetch premium price for his produce.

Due to heavy and prolonged rains, Muskmelon

crop gets damaged and yield is reduced by 40% in

such case, which also prompted this farmer to try

exotic Muskmelon which has negligible effect of

heavy rains. For marketing of these exotic

muskmelons, the innovator hired a team of salesmen

in Patiala which went door to door and conducted

organoleptic tests for his produce. Consequent upon

the unexpected success of these tests the demand of

Variety Type Area (acres)

YieldAcre (q)

/

Crop duration

Cost of cultivation/ acre (`)

Price received `/ kg

Cost of Seed/ acre (`)

Gross profit

(`)

Net profit

(`)

Bobby (you seed)

Known

Exotic

35

130

5 months

80,000

25

13,000

3,25,000

2,45,000

InthanonRZF1 (Rukzwaan)

-

Exotic

3

140

5 months

1,00,000

35

30,000

4,90,000

3,90 000

Sunny(Namdhari)

Exotic 3 120 4 months

70,000 15 5,000 1,80,000 1,75,000

Madhurima (BAYER)

Exotic

4

120

4 months

70,000

15

5,000

1,80,000

1,75,000

Harra (PAU)

Madhu Indian

5

90

3 months

20,000

8

700

72,000

65,000

Note: Crop duration includes nursery time.

Exotic Melons



Dhillon and Singh Innovative Cultivation ....... Name and Fame

96

this Muskmelon is such that the innovator finds it difficult to meet it. Retailers too earn ̀ 25

to 30 per kg for these melons as compared to ` 8 to 10 for the regular melons. Innovator

supplies these Muskmelons under the brand of Jauhars Fresh in the prominent markets of

Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Patiala, Kurukshetra and

Dehradun.

Currently, majority of

Muskmelon demand of

Punjab state is being

catered by other states.

Therefore, promotion of

Muskmelon cultivation

in Punjab is the need of

the hour. Adequate

awareness generation on

market potential of this

c rop wi l l mot iva te

f a r m e r s t o a d o p t

profitable cultivation of

Muskmelon in mixed

farming with potato,

t u r m e r i c a n d o t h e r

vegetable crops rather than practising the stereo type Wheat-Rice crop rotation. Overall

there is a huge potential of scaling-out this innovation on the farm of other farmers in Punjab.

For similar reasons the Muskmelon area on the farm of Mr. Gill has the potential of

expansion leading to scaling-up of this innovation under the existing management.

Scaling-out and scaling-up the innovation


Dhillon N K and Singh H (2018) Innovative Cultivation of Melons Earned Name and Fame. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 93-96.

Melons ready for the market



Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal and Chetak Bishnoi


Background

Significance

Muktsar district of Punjab is emerging as hub for good

quality Kinnows as area under kinnow is increasing day by

day (more than 2200 ha). For getting remunerative prices of

their Kinnow produce, farmers of this area are getting their

produce graded after transporting it to the grading centres. In

this process, there is a lot of time consumption and additional

transport expenses. During the process, the fruits used to loose

their freshness which resulted in lower price for the produce in

the market. In order to solve this problem, Mr. Sirbeender

Singh designed and fabricated own Mobile Kinnow cleaning

cum Grading Machine. This mobile machine is taken to

orchards for carrying out cleaning and grading operation in the

field itself for making entire process cost and time effective.

After harvesting of fruits, cleaning and grading are major

steps to ensure better price in the market. This district has four

grading cum waxing plants and all are situated in Lambi block

with the result, farmers of other blocks have to travel to Lambi

(sometime from far away places) for

getting their produce graded. For this,

farmers have to bear expenses on

transportation of kinnow to these plants.

Due to limited capacity of these plants,

farmers queue up long to get their

produce graded. The machine is solely

designed by Sirbeender has made

Kinnow post harvest operations much

more systematic, cost effective, time

saving and labour efficient. Now a days,

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Sirbeender Singh Sidhu

57 yrs

Muktsar, Sri Muktsar Sahib-152 026, Pb.

Post Gradute

+91-9876500051

Agri-Innovator - 21

MOBILE CLEANING CUM GRADING MACHINE: ADDITION AT FARM GATE

VALUE

Mobile Cleaning cum Grading machine



Dhaliwal and Bishnoi Mobile Cleaning ....... Addition at Farm Gate

98


Dhaliwal N S and Bishnoi C (2018) Mobile Cleaning cum Grading Machine: Value Addition at Farm Gate. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 97-98.

most of the kinnow growers used this machine

for cleaning and sorting of Kinnow fruits in the

district.

In the Muktsar district, all the four grading

plants are available in single block and farmers

use to take their produce to these plants from

distant places for cleaning and grading which not

only increases the cost due to transportation but it is time consuming also. This machine is

tractor operated and can easily be taken at the door step of farm. Hence this innovation saves

farmer's cost, time and hassle. Above all, farmer's produce fetches better price in the market

due to uniform in size and freshness.

This tractor operated machine is 30 feet long and 20 feet wide and capacity is 1-1.5

tonne/ hour. This machine is operated with power take-off shaft of tractor. Machine sorts

kinnows in 6 grades for efficiently serving different sections of consumers. Cost incurred on

this machine is approximately ̀ 3 Lakh. Machine being able to handle high volumes of fruits

per unit time, ensures quicker supply of kinnows in the market. Fresh supply of properly

graded kinnow fetches higher price in the market. During peak harvesting time earlier

Sirbeender used to employ 5-6 labourers per day each for cleaning and grading of 150 crates

(of 20 Kg capacity each) of kinnows. This machine helped him in cutting cost of above

operations by ̀ 500 per tonne of kinnows.

This farmer innovation being cost effective, time saving, highly convenient and

ensuring fresher fruit supply in the market for getting higher prices has been adopted by large

number of local farmers. However, this innovation needs to be emulated by other

entrepreneurs in order to earn profit and provide valuable service to the orchardists on

custom hiring basis besides improving his own income. The innovation of Sirbeender has

made him popular in the region for providing mobile grading unit at doorstep. With little

modification the same machine can be utilized for other fruits (vegetable) as well. The

concept is well taken among farmers of his region.

Uniqueness





Background

Mr. Tehseen Ahmed has currently about 200 layer birds

(poultry) and is getting about 160 to 170 eggs per day during

summer months and about 130 to 140 eggs per day during

winter months, as the production goes down because of short

length of day light and harsh conditions in winters. He sells his

farm eggs (free range poultry), in the town and adjoining area

@`10 per egg. In addition, he is selling non-productive birds

in the meat market for earning additional income. His income

from this enterprise is on an average `30000-35000 per

month. This innovation is still in its early stage and to upscale

it he purchased 500 more layer birds this year. The droppings

of these birds act as a good source of manures for increasing

soil fertility of his apple orchard where these poultry birds

roam about. Seeing his success, two more farmers from the

same village got motivated and are planning to start this

enterprise in their orchards.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Tahseen Ahmed Mir

26 yrs

Bugroo Arigam

Khansahib, Budgam

10th

+91-9086791151

Farmer Innovator - 22

PROSPERITY THROUGH FREE RANGE POULTRYIN APPLE ORCHARD

Nazir Ahmed, Nasir Ahmed Dar, Lyaqat Ali and Iram Farooq

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Budgam at Hamchipora-190 007, Jammu and Kashmir



Ahmed et al.

100

Uniqueness

How this innovation works?

In modern days, poultry

birds are kept in cages without

adequa te exe rc i se , food

diversity and exposure to

sunlight, which result in poor

quality of eggs and meat.

However, this farmer rears

poultry birds under free range

conditions and also produces

chicks by hatching eggs in

traditional way. These birds feed

upon green grass, insects, earth

worm, apple waste etc. and produce premium quality eggs. Above all, the financial aspects

by this practice ensures best animal welfare practices.

Mr. Tehseen Ahmed started a free range poultry farm of 200 birds on his 15 kanals apple

orchard. He also constructed a simple, low cost shed, made of bricks and mud, at the corner

Prosperity through Free Range Poultry in Apple Orchard



Ahmed et al.Prosperity through Free Range Poultry in Apple Orchard

of his orchard for night shelter of the

poultry birds. The aim of this innovative

farming practice is to produce high

quality nearly organic eggs as the birds

are raised in natural environment on

natural and diversified feed. To save the

expenditure on feed which alone

contributes about 70 per cent of total cost

of poultry enterprise, he utilizes half

kanal of land for feeding his birds for a

period of 10 days. He uses green net to

restrict the movement of these birds

beyond the earmarked half kanal of land

and gradually shifts the feeding area to

another half kanal of land for another 10

days. Likewise he moves his birds in his

orchard round the year except winter months (January and February) due to sever winter and

zero outside temperature. During this period, he uses kitchen waste, maize, soybean etc. as

poultry feed. He also keeps water channel in his orchard for providing ample fresh water to

these birds. He provides nesting space to birds in the shed and collects eggs on daily basis and

sells them every day. He is very particular about the health issues of the birds and their

management.



Ahmed et al. Prosperity through Free Range Poultry in Apple Orchard

102

Scaling-up and scaling-out the innovation

Mr. Tehseen Ahmed Mir needs to upscale his innovative enterprise through more

scientific management practices such as latest packaging of eggs, adoption of better yielding

breeds and further increasing the number of birds. Installation of white light bulbs to increase

lights hours during winter months will further help him to get more number of eggs. Kashmir

being a cold place, people eat a lot of eggs and chicken meat. This region of Jammu and

Kashmir is having huge land under horticulture so this model of poultry farming is best

suited for other unemployed youths of the region.


Ahmed N, Dar N A, Ali L and Farooq I (2018) Prosperity through Free Range Poultry in Apple Orchard. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 99-102.



Agril-Innovator - 23

MAKING MUSHROOM CULTIVATION SUSTAINABLETHROUGH PROCESSING

Ravinder Singh, K S Verma, Sanjay Kumar, J D Sharma and Seema Shah

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bilaspur at Berthin- 174 029, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Indian agriculture will continue to be the backbone of

Indian economy. With variety of agricultural crops grown year

around, we have ensured all time highest food supply by

producing over 278 million tonnes of food grains (2017-18).

We have significant achievements in milk, vegetable and fruit

production but more is required to achieve nutritional security.

Increasing population, depleting agricultural land, climate

change, water shortage and quality food products at

competitive rates are going to be important issues in future. To

meet these challenges and provide food and nutritional

security to our people, it is important to diversify agricultural

activities in such a way that food also gets diversified beyond

cereals and pulses diet. Mushrooms are one such component

that not only diversify agriculture but also help in addressing

the problems of quality food, health and environment related

issues. Moreover this agri-enterprise is not dependant on

availability of productive land.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Jagdish Chand Verma

49 yrs

Parhu, P.O. Balghar,Jhandutta, Bilaspur -174 031, HP.

Higher Secondary

+91-9817072485 9816974520



Singh et al. Making Mushroom Cultivation ...... through Processing

104

Significance

Uniqueness

Indian diet is primarily based on cereals,

which is deficient in protein. Supplementation

of mushroom recipe will definitely bridge

protein gap and improve general health

conditions. It is considered to be a nutritious

food and suitable for all age groups.

Mushrooms are generally consumed in

different forms like soup, powder, biscuit,

nuggets, ketch-up, candy, murabba (preserve),

pickle and chips in additions to their use as

vegetables. They are rich in protein,

dietary fiber, vitamins (especially B and

C) and minerals (K, Na, P, Cu, Zn and

Mg). Being edible fungi, it promotes

immune function, boosts health, lowers

the risk of cancer, inhibits tumour growth,

helps in balancing blood sugar, wards-off

viruses, bacteria and fungi, reduces

inflammation and supports the body's

detoxification mechanisms. Presently,

Europe, America and East Asia contribute

about 96 per cent of the world mushroom

production. In India, mushroom production is 1,20,000 tonnes per annum, whereas, it is as

high as 21 million tonnes in China. In our country, button mushroom is cultivated

predominantly in Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra

Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In Himachal Pradesh, its cultivation is taken up on

large scale by some of the innovative farmers. Sh. Jagdish Chand Verma of district Bilaspur,

HP is one of such farmers.

Mushroom cultivation has been started in the past by very large number of new

entrepreneur. However, there has always been very high rate of attritions due to various

reasons. The strongest reason out of several such reasons is small size of enterprise and very

small proportion of family income being derived out of mushroom cultivation. Mr. Verma,

however, had aspired for taking mushroom cultivation to economically viable levels of scale

and became the only large scale and serious mushroom grower in his district.



Singh et al.Making Mushroom Cultivation ...... through Processing


In September 2008, he got seven days mushroom cultivation training at ICAR-

Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chambaghat, Solan, Himachal Pradesh and started

button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) cultivation with 10 bags in 2009. He slowly raised his

mushroom unit upto 200 bags during 2015. In February 2016, with the technical guidance

and assistance of Department of Horticulture, ATMA and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, he got a

loan from Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Jhandutta for ̀ 14 Lakh. Further, he got

a subsidy of ` 8 Lakh from Department of Horticulture, Bilaspur in order to establish his

entire project worth ̀ 22 Lakh.

He constructed three rooms each of 25 x 15 feet with controlled atmospheric system,

with one packing-cum-office room of 25 x 9 feet. He has kept ACs (1.5 tonnes, 3.0 tonnes) o

and heaters for maintaining temperature between 14-18 C and relative humidity of 80-85

Mushroom is a wonderful employment generation enterprises

Processed mushroom products for the market



Singh et al. Making Mushroom Cultivation ...... through Processing

106

per cent. At present, he has kept 1350 mushroom compost bags (each of 10 Kg capacity) @ st

450 bags per room at 20 days interval staring from 1 September, 2017. He had purchased

these mushroom compost bags from Khan Mushroom Centre Pvt Ltd, Una. According to

him, under optimum temperature and relative humidity, mushroom picking started after 30-

35 days. This farm generated ̀ 3.59 Lakh gross income and ̀ 1.84 Lakh as net income during

five months period in this year.

According to Sh Jagdish Chand, besides selling button mushroom in local market, he has

prepared mushroom pickle for off-season use and sold 35 kg pickle @ ̀ 200 per kg in nearby

locality. Till date, he had not faced any problem in successful cultivation of mushroom. He

has not only self-employed his family members, but also provided employment to 3-4 rural

youths. He is having one of the biggest mushroom units in the district and is acting as an

ambassador for the farming community. His experiences need to be replicated in other areas

for proceeding towards doubling farmers' income and achieving rural development goals of

the government.



Singh R, Verma K S, Kumar S, Sharma J D and Shah S (2018) Making Mushroom Cultivation Sustainable through Processing. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 103-106.

Being awarded by Union Cabinet minister Sh. J P Nadda



TAKING APICULTURE TO NEW HORIZONS THROUGHAIR-CONDITIONED APIARY MIGRATION TRUCK

Reet Verma, Harinder Singh and P K Chhuneja

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Fatehgarh Sahib-140 406, Punjab

Background

Significance

Migration of honey bee colonies is very important for

enhancing production of honey and other bee products. In

Punjab, beekeepers conduct long distance migrations

depending upon the availability of flora in other states. This

process is not only stressful for the honeybees but it is also

fatal for long distances. About 10 to 20 per cent honey bees are

generally reported dead during such migrations due to heat,

suffocation and other reasons related to damage to the

honeybee colonies. The air conditioned (AC) and

scientifically designed Apiary Migration Unit takes care of all

this stress and has the potential in enhancement of apiculture

profitability of the entrepreneurs tremendously.

The scientific beekeeping for obtaining higher production

of quality honey (honey

e x t r a c t e d f r o m s u p e r

chambers), this innovation is

likely to change the scenario

of migratory beekeeping as

with the help of this unit

colonies with super chambers

can be migrated with human

ease and honeybees' comfort.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Gurdas S. Kaler

47 yrs

#17, Lane 3, Blossoms enclave, Nabha Road, Patiala-147 001, Pb

Diploma in Automobile Engg., Diploma in Mechanical Engineering

+91-9888110265



Varma et al.

108

In India more than 98 per cent of migratory beekeeping is going on with single chamber as

beekeepers show reluctance in handling supers during migrations. When there will be

improvement in the production of honey and increase in quality of honey it will increase

income of the beekeeper tremendously. As the global market demands quality of honey, this

innovation will lead honey exports to new heights in India.

The expected outcome of this innovation will be realized in terms of increased number of

effective migrations leading to nearly doubling the production of quality honey, pollens,

pollination process, propolis, royal jelly, bees wax etc. Secondly, the mortality rate of bees

will be reduced to negligible levels from about 10 to 20%. Thirdly, there will be ease in

loading and unloading of honeybee colonies due to presence of rails on the platform of the

trolley. The overall impact of these outcomes has been assessed from the increased quantity

and quality of honey per colony and reduction in required labour and time in apiculture

operations.

The innovation differs from conventional practice on the following counts:

·In AC Apiary Migration Unit, loading and unloading of bee hives is easier as there are

Uniqueness

Taking Apiculture to ....... Apiary Migration Truck

AC apiary migration unit



Varma et al.Taking Apiculture to ....... Apiary Migration Truck

rails on the platform of the trolley. The bee boxes are loaded in sequence very easily

with less manpower requirement. In this system there is no danger of destruction of

honey bee colonies due to jerks

as special suspension system is

provided so that no jerks or

shaking adversely affect these

colonies.

·Under usual practice the over-

crowded bee colonies result in

death of bees in large number

due to reduced and inefficient

ventilation enroute. Further,

nectar/unripe honey drains out

of combs and smear upon the

bees during migration of colonies due to unsuitable suspension system in load carrying

trucks. However, in this system of migration special air, water and artificial feed

arrangements for the bee colonies are provided during long distance journeys for several

days and in case of any traffic jams. The bee hives are also modified so that the main

entrance will remain open. The complete alighting board is covered with a wire mesh so

that the bee colony is completely cross ventilated through the mesh.

·Moreover, being independent the bee keeper can move according to his requirements.

By using this specific approach bee keeper can migrate his apiary multiple number of

times in a year and double the production with enhanced labour efficiency.

·During the stay at the migrated place, this trolley provides the space for extracting the

honey at the migration sites and for storage of the beekeeping equipments.

The dimensions of this

AC Apiary Migration unit are

3 8 ' x 8 . 6 ' x 1 3 ' . T h e A C

container body is puff

insulated to maintain the

temperature. The generator

set of 15 K.V.A is provided to

run the AC compressor of AC

unit which maintains the

Wo r k i n g o f t h i s

innovation



Varma et al.

110

otemperature between 15 to 22 C. During night,

the AC is cut off and the windows are opened to

supply the natural air.

The loading and unloading of the heavy

colonies that are of double or triple chambers is

very easy with the help of railing and electric lift

arrangement provided in this unit. The generator

set supplies the electricity to the electric motor of

the lift. A front cabin is provided for the storage,

processing and packaging of honey. The top roof

can be utilised for keeping empty bee boxes and

other equipment. The height of roof can be

adjusted using a handle, rope and pulley

arrangement. We can use roof for loading of

single colonies.

During day time, there is provision of water

showering system on each colony with the help

of plastic pipes, having small holes at equal

distances, which are fitted on roof. One electric

jet pump is provided which sucks the water from water tank and supplies to roof pipes. This

electric jet water pump is also used during extreme summer for water showering on the hives

in the apiary. The front cabin has the capacity for storage of honey upto 5 tonnes.


This air conditioned apiary migration system has not only exhibited the honey bee

welfare attributes by mitigating transportation stress to honeybees well within desirable

limits but has produced better quality and higher quantity. Better handling of entire value

chain of apiculture through this innovation has improved overall profitability is enterprise

tremendously. Hence, scaling-out of this innovation to other entrepreneur will lead to better

quality honeybee production and significantly enhanced profitability.

Taking Apiculture to ....... Apiary Migration Truck


Verma R, Singh H and Chhuneja P K (2018) Taking Apiculture to New Horizons Through Air-Conditioned Apiary Migration Truck. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 107-110.



MODIFIED PADDY DRILL EASED DIRECT SEEDING OF RICE

Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal, Balkaran Singh Sandhu and Karamjit Sharma


Background

Significance

South-Western Punjab in general and Muktsar district in

particular had cotton as main cash crop before productivity

and profitability started falling in the first decade of this

century. Farmers of this region started shifting towards paddy

planting especially the Basmati. However this crop enterprise

being labour intensive and their being severe shortage of

labour in this part of Punjab where land hordings are generally

larger than the state average, the paddy planting was seriously

constrained. In order to overcome this bottleneck the Mr.

Ravinder Singh Brar came out with an innovative seed drill for

DSR. This innovation was so pertinent and useful that very

large number of other farmers of the region started using this

technology.

Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) got popularized mainly due to

labour shortage. Generally, the labour charges account for `

2500/ acre for transplantation operation while the hiring

charges of DSR drill are just ̀ 500/

acre. In addition to the cost

saving on labour charges the

DSR drill also ensures faster rice

planting as the drill is capable to

planting up to 8 acres per day. On

the other hand labour scarcity

g e n e r a l l y c o n s t r a i n t s

transplanting up to 1 to 1.5 acres

per day along with the potential

risk of delay in planting beyond

recommended dates of sowing.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Ravinder Singh

40 yrs

Kauni, Gidderbaha, Sri Mukatsar Sahib- 152 031, Pb.

Higher Secondary

+91-9872800916



Dhaliwal et al. Modified Paddy Drill Eased Direct Seeding of Rice

112

However y ie ld and

quality of rice produced

through both the methods

is at par to each other.

In paddy sowing

adequate depth of seed is

essential for ensuring

germination. By ordinary

DSR sowing drill the

germination was not

uniform. The field where

tractor tyres crossed, the soil becomes compact and low-lying areas are developed as

compared to the adjoining area. Due to this effect crop germination becomes uneven and it

results in loss of yield. To overcome these problems, Mr. Singh modified the ordinary DSR

sowing drill machine by providing a roller before the seed drill (for uniform soil compacting)

that helps to control the depth of the seed sown which in turn increases the rate of

germination. In his field productivity of basmati rice under DSR and transplanted rice has

been similar. He has reported more than 20% water saving under DSR as compared to

transplanting rice. The presence of roller to ensure uniform depth of seed placement is the

uniqueness of this innovation.

One of the significant pre-

requisite for successful DSR is

shallow depth seed placement (2-

3 cm). In ordinary seed drills

farmers had to increase depth of

seed placement in order to

compensate the compactment of

soil under tractor types resulting

in poor germination. The fields

with uneven surface often

r e s u l t e d i n p o o r c r o p

establishment under DSR due to

uneven depth of seed placement

and uneven distribution of

irrigation water. Hence, the laser

Uniqueness


Paddy crop sown using direct seeded drill



Dhaliwal et al.Modified Paddy Drill Eased Direct Seeding of Rice

land leveling is recommended at least a month

before sowing. DSR machine has been

modified by Mr. Ravinder Singh by providing

a roller before the seed drill that helps to

control the depth of the seed sown which in

turn increases the rate of germination. This

roller pressed the field to ensure uniform seed

placement. This technique further ensures

uniform irrigation, uniform crop stand and

higher yield in rice crop. Muktsar district

holds highest area in Punjab under DSR

technique.

Mr. Ravinder's innovation has been

recognized with several awards from

different organization. Some of these awards

include Krishak Samrat Sanman 2012- A

Mahindra Samridhi India Agri Award (North

Zone) for diversified farming. Innovative

farmer award 2012 from Indian council of

Agricultural Research Award, new Delhi,

Progressive Farmer Award 2013 for quality

seed production at Vibrant Gujrat Agri

Summit, Progressive Farmer Award 2014 at

Progressive Punjab Summit, Mohali, Chief

Minister Award 2015 from PAU, Ludhiana,

State Award in Agriculture 2015 from Govt. of th

Punjab at 68 Independence Day.

This modified DSR drill has ensured

tremendous labour saving, water saving and

time saving without making any compromise

with yield and quality parameters compared to

the transplanted crop. All these economic

benefits along with the added ecological

advantage made farmers of nearly locations

Awards


Awarded by former Agricultural Minister

Awarded by former Chief Minister S. P S Badal



Dhaliwal et al. Modified Paddy Drill Eased Direct Seeding of Rice

114

follow this innovation on their respective farms. However, this innovation needs to the

popularized among the farmers of other localities too and hence wider scaling-out of the

innovation is likely to benefit other farmers and the nation itself.


Dhaliwal N S, Sandhu B S and Sharma K (2018) Modified Paddy Drill Eased Direct Seeding of Rice. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 111-114.



O S Sandhu, Aparna and V K Rampal


Background

Significance

Uniqueness

Sugarcane crop requires large quantity of seed (35 q/ acre)

which accounts for about 40-45% variable cost of cultivation.

However, the innovation of Sh. Singh in terms of planting

single seed bud of sugarcane at wider space (1.25x1 m) has

dual advantage of saving cost of seed as well as higher yield

(more than 65%). In his view, single bud method of sugarcane

cultivation helps in developing stronger root system leading to

less incidence of crop lodging. Wider row space facilities for

intercropping of other suitable crops like oilseeds and pulses

for further supplementation of farm income.

Sugarcane being relatively more resistant to various biotic

stresses has been a preferred crop for very large number of

farmers in India. This crop attains higher attention of farmers

who cannot afford intensive farm management efforts vis-a-

vis other low volume high value crops. This innovative

practise of Mr. Surmukh Singh obtaining higher yield at lower

cost compared to the conventional

sugarcane cultivation. His case study

is worth documenting so that other

sugarcane farmers in this part of

Punjab as well as other parts of the

country can also get benefitted.

The single bed method of vertical

seed planting in sugarcane cultivation

is not a prevalent practise in district

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Surmukh Singh

56 yrs

Paprali Morinda, Roopnagar-140 101, Pb.

Senior Secondary

+91-9988812365

Agri-Innovator - 26

DOUBLING INCOME THROUGH SINGLE BUD PLANTINGOF SUGARCANE



Sandhu et al. Doubling Income through Single Bud Planting of Sugarcane

116

Roopnagar of Punjab. The farmer standardized spacing of sugarcane rows at 1.25 m so that it

leaves sufficient space for intercrops like pulses or oilseeds without affecting yield of the

main crop i.e. sugarcane. With this method the farmer obtained better root growth, plant

height and vigour at much lower cost of cultivation.

Sh. Singh has been the centre of attraction among the farmers of adjoining villages and

even in the far-flung villages due to his innovative single bud technique coupled with wider

spacing to facilitate intercropping. He grows sugarcane in 15 acres of his land by this

method. He uses very low seed rate of sugarcane by planting on the beds at a spacing of 1.25

x 1 m with seed rate of 3q per acre compared to 30-32 q per acre used in conventional method.

The sugarcane buds are planted on Southern side of the bed while the beds/ rows are aligned

on East-West direction. This helps in better germination because of higher temperature on

Southern side of the beds. He has not only reduced seed rate of sugarcane from by more than

90% but has also increased cane yield considerably (more than 65%). He also saves labour

(5-6 man days/ acre) by growing sugarcane by this method. He grows early varieties of

sugarcane viz. Co J 92 and Co J 8903, in which he intercrops gram, lentil and summer moong

on the northern side of the beds. By growing these intercrops he further earns extra income

(` 17500/ acre).

The innovation is simple, economically viable and can be adopted without any

extraordinary skill and input cost. On an average, farmer harvests 500 q of sugarcane per acre

with this planting method against 300 q/ acre under conventional method. Comparative

economics of sugarcane cultivation under this system and conventional system of

cultivation has been presented in the following Table. The intercropping of pulses in this new

system of sugarcane cultivation further adds to the farm income. The various benefits

observed by the farmer under this system of planting are, less seed requirement (more than


Economic comparison of conventionally sown and single bud sown sugarcane

(`/acre)

Input Conventional sowing Single bud sowing Seed 12000 1300 Fertilizer 5800 4900 Plant protection 6500 6500 Human labour 2500 2000 Total variable costs 26800 14700 Total yield (q/ acre) 300 500 Gross returns @ ` 300 per q 90000 150000

Net returns 63200 135300



Sandhu et al.Doubling Income through Single Bud Planting of Sugarcane

92% reduction); better germination percentage of seed material and less mortality rate of

plants due to less competition between plants; easier and economical transport of planting

material for a longer distance; intercultural operations can be carried out much easily with a

power weeder due to wider spacing; higher exposure of plants to air and sunlight, which

results in stronger root systems and more millable cane; reduction in lodging due to earthing

up and better root growth; increase in length and weight of individual canes; higher number

of millable canes; better land utilization by intercropping and suitable for ensuring better

seed health.

Economic comparison among different spacings used by the farmer for single

bud sowing method in sugarcane (`/ acre)

Input 2.5×1 m 1.25×1 m 1.25×0.6 m Seed 600 1300 2400 Fertilizer 4900 4900 4900 Plant protection 6000 6500 7000 Human labour 2000 2000 2000 Total variable costs 13500 14700 16300 Total yield 420 500 500 Gross returns @` 300 per q 126000 150000 150000

Net returns 112500 135300 133700



Sandhu et al. Doubling Income through Single Bud Planting of Sugarcane

118

Scaling-out the innovationThis farm-based approach gives farmers the options of growing sugarcane with single

bud method and wider spacing of 1.25 x 1 m (the best amongst the tested three) an alternative

to conventional (seed, water and space intensive) sugarcane cultivation. With this method of

sugarcane production the farmers can grow intercrops such as pulses to improve their

income. Sh. Singh has standardized a working model for sugarcane growers and scaling-out

this innovation on farms of other marginal sugarcane growing farmers has tremendous

potential for doubling farmer income.

Suggested citation for this Agri-Innovation;

Sandhu O S, Aparna and Rampal V K (2018) Doubling Income through Single Bud Planting of Sugarcane. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 115-118.



Priyanka Suryavanshi and Yashwant Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali)-140 103, Punjab

BackgroundMr. Tejinder Singh is practicing vertical farming in the

fruit orchard in which 600 plants of mango, Nashpati, peach and papaya are planted according to their canopy height and grown simultaneously for optimum utilization of land and regular fruit yield. He is also growing desi variety of Pakistani wheat, black wheat having anticancer properties, linseed, lentil, chickpea, mustard, haldi and seasonal vegetables having low irrigation requirement in his farm. At the boundary of this diversified farm, he has planted lemon trees to maintain a buffer zone from surrounding fields. Apart from agricultural and horticultural crops, he has planted 20 varieties of herbal

and medicinal plants in his farm. As water table in this area is below 600 m, i r r iga t ing c rops i s a challenge. He is conserving soil moisture by using parali for mulching entire crop, area, growing leguminous crops l ike mung and vegetable crops on raised

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Tejinder Singh

58 yrs

Saidpur, Kharar, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali-140 103.Pb.

Diploma in Civil Engineering

+91-9876766480

Agri-Innovator - 27

INNOVATIVE ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNIQUES FORDODGING TERMITE ATTACK



Suryavanshi and Singh

120

beds. He is able to manage the entire farm through single tube-well by using the techniques of moisture conservation and minimum irrigation. He is also using waste decomposer made by National Center for Organic Farming, Ghaziabad in his farm. However, the innovative method of this farmer to manage termite attack is the most important aspect of the story worth emulation by the others.

Mr. Singh has developed a patch of 5 acres land in an exhibitive form by adopting multiple approaches of latest farming techniques on his farm and proved the adage “where there is a will, there is a way”. In this region, termite attack is major problem in establishment and survival of trees in orchard. At this farm, he used an innovative idea to dig a pit before planting trees, fill it with wooden sticks and left over sugarcane stalks after juice extraction which acted as source of food to attract termites. Instead of damaging roots of fruits trees, they attack the wooden material and decompose it first, so that Orchard is successfully established.

Termites feed on dead organic material such as crop residues, mulches and soil organic matter (humus). However when this type of food is not available they start feeding on live

Significance

Uniqueness

Innovative Eco-Friendly ....... Termite Attack



Suryavanshi and SinghInnovative Eco-Friendly ....... Termite Attack

plant material including crops such as groundnuts, millets and maize. Termites can attack plants at any stage of development i.e. from the seed to the mature plant.

Mr. Singh used the innovative practice of attracting termites in pits and diverted the attack of termites towards wooden material and undecomposed biowaste filled in these pits. As termites were busy in decomposing this dry material, the orchard was successfully established.

Mr. Singh used all possible biological and agronomic measures to control termites. The major idea behind these innovations was that termites prefer to eat dead plant material. Their attacks were controlled by increasing organic matter content of soil. This might be because such soils contain enough food for termites to live and they resort to feeding on living plant material when there is scarcity of dead plant material. Adding compost or well-rotted manure to the soil and growing green manures also helped to increase the organic matter in the soil. Where possible, green manure crops were ploughed into the soil. Moisture plus organic matter attracted the termites and prevented them from attacking the target crop. In field operations, termite colonies are destroyed or exposed to predators such as birds. Planting the

Though many measures have been suggested to control termites,




Suryavanshi and Singh

122

Innovative Eco-Friendly ....... Termite Attack

same crop on the same land year after year reduces soil fertility and damages soil structure. Crops growing under such conditions will be weaker and susceptible to termites so he used crop rotation to reduce termite attack. The farmer opines that if there is any termite built-up due to this innovation then it can be easily managed by the supply of abundantly available rice straw residue. In the process the termites convert this waste (paddy straw) into precious manure.

This innovation can be scaled-out on larger scale on the farms of other small scale farmers having problem of

termites at their farms. This low cost and environment friendly method of termite management has caught attention of several farmers of this area. Mr. Singh is a source of inspiration among farmers of Mohali district.



Suryavanshi P and Singh Y (2018) Innovative Eco-Friendly Techniques for Dodging Termite Attack. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 119-122.



Agri-Innovator - 28

SELF DESIGNED TILLER 'APNA HAL'

K C Sharma, R K Rana and Chanderkanta

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kullu at Bajaura-175 125, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Significance

Uniqueness

Consequent upon shortage of traditional hill draught

power i.e. bullocks, hill farmers have been experiencing great

difficulties in tilling their lands. What to talk about the regular

tractors which are not useful due to very small and irregular

field sizes, even the power tillers are not able work efficiently

due to topography and soil conditions. All these problems

encouraged Sh Kapoor to design his own power tiller with

rotary Hoe suitable to hilly terrain.

This innovation has been rapidly catching attention of

other farmers. Many farmers are taking this machine for

demonstration or testing at their own field conditions. So far

five farmers have already purchased this local made plough

and are using at their field with satisfaction. Local TV

channels are also broadcasting this innovative farm machine

for wider spread. The way this machine “Apna Hal” is gaining

popularity, it is expected that it will revolutionize hill farming.

This entire assembly costs about

` 45000-50000 while other tillers of

comparable specifications are

available at around ` 70000. The

maintenance, spare parts and repair of

this machine is easy and cheap.

Effective digging depth of this plough

is about 7 inches whereas, other

machines plough at a depth of 4-6

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Harish Chander Kapoor

58 yrs

Dwara, P.O. Dobhi,

Kullu-175 125 HP.

8th standard

+91-9459885650

01902-240250



Sharma et al. Self Designed Tiller 'Apna Hal'

124

inches while its fuel efficiency is almost same as with other similar machines i.e. 1.25-1.5 l/ 2 800 m of ploughing. Above all, this machine is very easy in handling. It ploughs about 1200-

2 1600 m land in an hour. It is also suitable for making basins of horticultural plants.

Sh Kapoor used a 5 HP

engine and to control rpm he

used a reducer gear for making

this machine. For making

tractor tines he is using

“Kamani” of three wheelers

while the chains of motorcycle

are also used for rotating parts

of the plough. As far as fuel is

concerned, petrol is required

for starting this machine and

then the tractor runs on

kerosene. This is a multi-

purpose machine which can be used as sprayer and electricity generator with quick and slight

manipulations.

This machine has been designed and developed by the innovative farmer by using

locally available tools and parts at very low cost. This plough is easy to handle and has

narrow rotary hoe which makes it suitable for hilly terrains and narrow fields. The innovator

is constantly trying to scale-up this innovation by improvising upon its continuous

improvement. In fact, this innovation has great potential of being scaled-out on the farms of

other hill farmers. Appropriate promotion of this innovation through policy/ financial

support might help mitigate constraints of hill agriculture on one hand and augment farm

income on the other.


Scaling-out and scaling-up the innovation


Sharma K C, Rana R K and Chanderkanta (2018) Self Designed Tiller 'Apna Hal'. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 123-124.

Apna Hal in action



Agri-Innovator - 29

AUGMENTING FARM INCOME THROUGH LATE PLANTINGOF PALAM BASMATI-1

D S Yadav and Pankaj Sood

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mandi at Sundernagar-175 019, Himachal Pradesh

BackgroundTomato/ paddy-cauliflower/ wheat/ peas is a prominent

cropping pattern practiced by the farmers in Balh valley of

Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. This cropping sequence

is followed in about 2500 ha of area in Balh valley with 200%

cropping intensity. The general transplanting window of

university recommended paddy cultivars does not fit well

after the harvest of summer tomato. Hence, the fields remain

fallow for about three months (July to September) after

harvest of tomato crop. Non availability of suitable public

sector cultivars of paddy especially after the harvest of

summer tomato was a major concern in the region. The

farmers had been looking for or trying short duration paddy

cultivars at their own to find out the suitable cultivars which fit

well in the tomato- paddy- wheat/ peas cropping sequence; not

only to increase the cropping intensity and per unit

profitability but also for avoiding concurrent occurrence of

soil borne pathogens in tomato. Some short duration private

sector hybrids fit well as far as duration is concerned, however

all these are highly susceptible to diseases resulting in failures

in the past. Sh. Narpat Ram, an innovative young farmer of the

area delayed the transplanting th

time (20 July) of newly released

paddy cultivar HPR 2612

(Palam Basmati-1) after the

harvest of tomato crop and got

optimum yield. This variety

matured in about 100 to 110 days

and performed better compared

to the other cultivars in terms of

yield and disease resistance.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Narpat Ram

37 yrs

Chawari, P.O. Rajgarh,

Balh, Mandi-175 027 HP.

Matric

+91-8350981545



Yadav and Sood Augmenting Farm Income ....... Palam Basmati-1

126

Significance

Uniqueness

This innovation not only lead to an additional crop during the fallow period but also

provided profitable cropping sequence with less disease incidence in the new crop rotation

involving paddy and vegetable crops. This sequence of growing Tomato (March to

July)–Paddy (July to Oct.) -Cauliflower/ Peas (Nov. to March) was found the most profitable

cropping sequence with net returns of ̀ 755000/ ha. This innovation is likely to expand areas

under tomato-paddy-cauliflower/ peas cropping sequence in Balh valley in the near future.

Tomato is an important cash crop grown by the farmers under irrigated conditions in

Balh valley of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. This crop is generally planted during the th

month of March and harvested upto 20 July forcing farmers to keep the fields fallow for

about three months (July to September) after harvest of summer tomato crop. The paddy is th th th th

generally transplanted during 15 to 30 June (scented cultivars) and 15 June to 7 July

(other cultivars/ hybrids). Hence, modification in transplanting time of Paddy Cv. HPR 2612

provided opportunity to tomato growers to grow additional paddy crop during the fallow

Off-season tomato crop as cash crop



Yadav and SoodAugmenting Farm Income ....... Palam Basmati-1

period. The paddy followed by tomato resulted in lowering the pathogen inoculums in the

fields in addition to enhancing cropping intensity and profitability.

HPR 2612 provides highest yield and mature relatively earlier than other cultivars. Sh.

Narpat Ram conceptualized the idea of late transplanting of HPR-2612 after the harvest of th

tomato crop. During, 2014 he transplanted the crop on 20 July after the harvest of summer

tomato crop. This crop matured in about 100 days and provided grain yield of 47.5q/ ha

which was 35.7% higher than the check variety. This not only lead to an additional crop

during the fallow period but also resulted in a profitable cropping sequence with less disease

occurrence in the new crop rotation involving paddy and vegetable crops. During Kharif

2015, farmers of the surrounding area purchased the seed of this variety from him and

cultivated this variety in about 10 ha after the harvest of tomato crop. At present, this

innovation has been practiced in about 200 ha of area in Balh valley of Mandi district.

This innovation offers great potential both in monetary terms as well as to break the

dominance of intensive vegetable based cropping sequence specially to avoid build-up of



Paddy following tomato for higher farm income



Yadav and Sood Augmenting Farm Income ....... Palam Basmati-1

128

soil pathogens which could cause problem for future sustainability of cash crops. It can

provide a suitable crop rotation in vegetable based [Tomato (March to July) –Cauliflower

(Aug-Sept. to Dec.) –Cauliflower (Dec. to March)] cropping sequence. The concerned

departments are expected to play role in motivating the farmers through training

programmes about this innovation and must ensure the timely seed supply for its large scale

adoption particularly after the harvest of summer tomato.


Yadav D S and Sood P (2018) Augmenting Farm Income Through Late Planting of Palam Basmati-1. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 125-128.



Background

Significance

Sh. Jodha Singh of Village Raipur Arayiyan, Distt.

Jalandhar is a progressive dairy farmer owning a herd of about

40 animals and a daily producer of 200 ltr of milk. He has also

installed one bio gas plant near his dairy shed. The progressive

farmer is continuously working on mechanizing various

operations like feed and silage making for his dairy business.

He has also mechanized his other dairy shed operations and he

has the provision of supplying water spary to animals. He has

made the Mini Grinding and Filling Mill with a mechanism

that enables it to be operated on Tractor PTO. This helps in

making the operation independent of electricity cuts and saves

additional cost of electric motor. This innovation can help

many farmers to increase the working hours and functioning

of their tractor as well as saving on labour cost. The Mini Mill

can be used for grinding and filling of various grain crops like

maize, wheat, pulses, bajra, barley and turmeric etc.

This agri-innovation is

of special importance for

small farmers involved in

p roces s ing and da i ry

business. This mini grinder

mill uses tractor as a source

of power. Mostly farmers

use tractor during crop

sowing and harvesting

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Jodha Singh

41 yrs

Raipur Arayiyan, Nakodar, P.O. Mehatpur, Jalandhar-144 041 Pb.

Higher Secondary

+91-9463705722

Agri-Innovator - 30

ENHANCING SMALL FARMERS' INCOME THROUGH TRACTOROPERATED MINI GRINDER MILL

Kuldeep Singh, Rupinder Chandel, Rohit Gupta and Arpan Boparai

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jalandhar at Nurmahal-144 039, Punjab

Tractor operated mini grinder mill



Singh et al.

130

Enhancing Small Farmers' Income ....... Mini Grinder Mill

seasons. The tractors are involved mostly in field preparation, seed sowing/ planting

operations and for transport of produce to markets and inputs from the market etc. All this

does not exhaust minimum working hours of tractor per annum (i.e. 1000 hours/year). This

innovation helps in increasing applicability and working hours of tractor thereby reducing

fixed cost effect of tractor and thus gives economic benefits to the farmer. Electric motor

operated Mini Grinding Mills have a constraint of working only during electric power

availability so this innovation also helps in overcoming this constraint with the help of

tractor power. It is worth mentioning that extent of power cut is very large in rural areas. This

innovation also helps in reducing initial purchase/ installation cost of Mini Grinder Mill as

there is no need of electric motor unit. This machine can be operated on different grains for

coarse and fine grinding and ground grains can also be fed directly to animals. Another

aspect of this innovation is that the conveying unit is attached to grinding mill for final filling

of ground material in bags leading to significant saving of scare labour. This machine creates

new entrepreneurship opportunities for rural youth and farmers.

Jodha Singh has made this machine by using scrap material. Various adjustments were

made to make it operational by tractor PTO. The belt and pulley transmission system were

precisely designed to drive through tractor PTO to grinding unit. The blower mechanism was

Uniqueness

Assembly for tractor PTO



Singh et al.

provided to pass ground material (coarse/fine/flour) through conveying unit to the filling

bags. A hole is provided in cyclone duct where blast of air passes and ground material is filled

into bags. The traditional mills are electric motor operated which are subjected to availability

of power supply and in case of carelessness of labour i.e. overfeeding of material, can lead to

failure of motor and hence affects the work. This innovation is different from usual practices

in a way that the power source is a tractor equipped with diesel engine which ensures

streamline work even in case of variation of electric load and unavailability of electricity.

The tractor operated Mini Grinded Machine is operated by tractor PTO by a universal

coupling mechanism which allows power transmission at angle from tractor to grinding unit.

The one end of shaft is engaged with tractor and other end of shaft is attached with mini

grinding mill which drives a bigger pulley. The power from tractor PTO is firstly transmitted

to this pulley. Then power is transmitted to smaller pulley which is mounted on common

shaft having another bigger pulley. Finally the power is transmitted from this bigger pulley to

a smaller pulley (to increase rpm) mounted on a shaft coupled with grinding unit. The PTO

speed and hence the grinding unit rpm can be adjusted as per requirement by changing the

engine rpm. The tractor was operated at rated rpm and corresponding to PTO rpm of 540 the

speed increase was affected by belt pulley mechanism in such a way that the ground unit was



Working of mini grinder mill



Singh et al.

132


operated at around 1000 rpm (speed ratio 2:1). The size of ground material can be changed

by changing the size of sieve. The material is fed into the grinding unit through an attached

hopper and duct is opened for gradual movement of material into grinder. The tractor PTO

rpm are adjusted by changing engine rpm. The ground material is sent through a conveyor by

blower action and filled into the packing bags. Depending upon the grain type and ground

material requirements its capacity varies between 8-10 q/h and fuel consumption varies

between 3-4 l/h. The labour requirement for this innovation is only at feeding and packing

end. The operator needs to adjust the engine rpm according to material to be ground and a 40

HP tractor is needed for this mill.

The machine is in trial phase and after modifications and additional trials it can be

commercialized. The approximate cost of this machine is ̀ 30,000/unit. In order to increase

its capacity for commercial use its feeding unit should be of bigger size. Conveyor unit and

packing unit size also needs to be increased accordingly. This mill can also be operated on

custom hiring basis. Overall this innovation can be helpful for small and marginal farmers as

the enterprise can be established with very low investment.

Scaling-up and scaling-out the innovation


Singh K, Chandel R, Gupta R and Boparai A (2018) Enhancing Small Farmers' Income Through Tractor Operated Mini Grinder Mill. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 129-132.



MUSHROOM AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTION: PATHWAYOF DOUBLING FARM INCOME

Gurdarshan Singh, Jagdish Grover and Rakesh Kumar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Faridkot-151 203, Punjab

Background

Uniqueness

Sh. Anil Chhabra is an innovative farmer who has diverted

14 acres from wheat cultivation to Vegetables and Mushroom

cultivation. He raises parthenocarpic cucumber on 0.5 acre in

polyhouse. Besides, he has cultivated Colored Capsicum

varieties Orobelle and Bombi (non-green) along with green

Capsicum variety Indra on 0.25 acre. He has also started

raising the nursery of Onion, Tomato, Cauliflower and

Cabbage under polyhouse on 0.13 acre. He raised Tomato and

Peas on 3 acres each under open conditions. He now raises two

crops of Cauliflower comprising of main and late season

varieties viz. Jyoti-2 and Automn Queen on 6 acres. Besides,

he has 7 low cost outdoor units with the dimensions of 80' X

35' X 10' and has produced 196 quintals of Button Mushroom

from compost made of 700 quintals of wheat straw. He has

established 10 units of fruit ripening chambers by availing

subsidy from National Horticulture Mission. On an average,

10 tonne of Papaya and 70 tonne of Banana get ripened in his

ripening chambers daily.

As the water table rises to the depth of 3-4

feet in rainy season in this area, it becomes

almost impossible to grow Kharif vegetables

instead of paddy by the farmers. However

diversifying to Rabi vegetables by a farmer

of this economically backward area was

really unusual. Further Mushroom

cultivation being highly technical and

Name:

Age: 5

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Anil Chhabra

3 yrs

Basti Himmatpura, Ariyanwala Kalan-151 203, Faridkot, Punjab

Higher Secondary

+91-9216404262



Singh et al. Mushroom and Vegetable ....... Doubling Farm income

134

cumbersome did not create a barrier for him. Raising his family income tremendously is a

unique experience worth emulation by others in the locality.

This achievement is highly significant

considering the fact that he belongs to highly

backward area of district Faridkot and is only

Higher Secondary pass. His village has been

grappling with the problem of fluctuating

water table, wherein, water table rises to 3-4

feet depth, even under moderate rainfall

during the months of July-September. Under

such conditions, he has no options other than

paddy cultivation during Kharif. He was eager

to divert area from wheat cultivation to other

crops to double his income. He took formal

training in the field of vegetable cultivation

under poly-house and open conditions. He

grasped the knowledge about vegetable

cultivation ranging from training and pruning

to seed and seedling treatment with fungicides

to combat damping off, use of sticky traps as

means of IPM in poly-house and micro

irrigation systems from different sources. It

required courage and dedication to shun monoculture and opt for multi-pronged cropping

pattern. He visited DMR (Solan), Department of Microbiology, PAU and commercial

mushroom farms in Solan. He acquired formal training in mushroom cultivation from KVK

Faridkot and established first commercial mushroom farm in the district Faridkot in 2015.

There were some bad years in Vegetable production, mainly due to low market prices of the

output, but he didn't feel depressed and his endeavour of vegetable cultivation has paid him

rich dividends in long term over the conventional crops.


Enterprise Gross income (`/ha) Net income (`/ha) B-C ratio

Tomato 295000 225000 4.21

Peas 123000 76300 2.63

Cauliflower 212500 167500 4.72

Economic output from different crops



Singh et al.Mushroom and Vegetable ....... Doubling Farm income

He always grades the

produce and markets it at his

own to earn higher net income.

He markets his vegetables in big

cities like Amritsar, Ludhiana,

Patiala, Jalandhar and Bathinda.

Since mushrooms have shorter

shelf life, he markets his

mushrooms in nearby places like

Guru Harsahai, Jalalabad,

Fazilka, Abohar, Bathinda and

Malout.

Enterprise Gross

Income

Net

income

B-C

ratio

Economic Impact of technology/intervention

Parthenocarpic

cucumber

345570 246780 3.49 He earned net profit of parthenocarpic cucumber from 0.5 acre underpoly house. His produce was sold at premiumprice and earned him ` 1000 per quintal higherthan the ordinary cucumber.

` 246780 by raising

Capsicumunder polyhouse

301500 155570 2.10 He has earned a profit of

from Capsicum under poly-house. By optingfor early planting in September, he has attained21 % early yield, which fetched him premiumprice in the market.

`155570 in 0.25 acre

Nursery of vegetables

plants

100000

68579

3.18

He has earned net profit of nursery of Tomato, Cauliflower, Cabbage andOnion on 0.13 acre under poly-house. Byraising nursery in plug trays and by followingseed and seedling treatment, disease incidencehas reduced by 17 per cent, which helped himin raising his farm income

`68579 by raising

Button

Mushroom

1575000

695000

1.79

This is a lucrative subsidiary has got additional income of `695000 fromone acre.

occupation. He

Economic output from poly-house and Mushroom farm

* Note: Gross and net income in ` per annum


He earned net profit of ̀ 225000/ ha from Tomato, ̀ 167500/ ha from Cauliflower and ̀

76300/ ha from Peas cultivation. He takes two crops of Cauliflower by raising main season

variety Jyoti-2 and late variety Autumn Queen. He earned net income of ` 246780 from

Parthenocarpic Cucumber (0.5 acre) in his poly-house. He cultivated Colored Capsicum

(non-green) varieties Orobelle and Bombi along with green capsicum variety Indra and

earned a profit of ̀ 155570 (0.25 acre). He has earned net profit of ̀ 68579 by raising nursery

of Tomato, Cauliflower, Cabbage and Onion seedlings (0.13 acre) under poly-house. By

raising nursery in plug trays and by following seed and seedling treatment, disease incidence

was reduced by 17 per cent on his farm, which generated proportionally additional income

for him. Above all, he generated net income of `695000 from his Mushroom cultivation

enterprise.

In spite of his inability to

diversify from conventional paddy

cultivation in Kharif reason due to

very high water table, the farmer

could increase his net income many

folds by undertaking high-tech

vegetable cultivation during Rabi

season. This innovation can prove to

be a lucrative venture for other

farmers in the district. Low tunnel

cultivation of vegetables, being

cheaper can prove to be a boon for

small farmers. For this purpose,

subsidy under NHM should also be provided for 25 micron films as 50 micron poly film

(under subsidy) is quite expensive. Farmers from other geographies can be made aware

about his innovations by arranging exposure visits at his farm which will help them replicate

the same at their respective fields. This innovation needs ample publicity in the interest of

other potential adopters.



Singh et al. Mushroom and Vegetable ....... Doubling Farm income

136


Singh G, Grover J and Kumar R (2018) Mushroom and Vegetable Production: Pathway of Doubling Farm Income. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 133-136.



Chetak Bishnoi and Nirmaljit Singh Dhaliwal


Background

Significance

Carrot is an important crop that contributes significantly

towards ensuring nutritional security of people. In addition,

this crop being a high value crop also ensures livelihood

improvement of farm families. Very large number of magical

farmers in Maan Singh Wala village in Sri Muktsar Sahib

district traditionally grow carrot in Rabi season in over 350

acre of land. These farmers harvest carrot in small quantities at

a time and sell them as retailer to the final consumer for getting

higher price. Hence tractor operated carrot digger can't be used

on their farms. In the process of carrot harvesting using

Khurpa or spade a large proportion of produce gets damaged

resulting in poor market price. Mr. Sulkhan Singh solved this

problem by designing manually operated digger that ensured

damage free harvesting of carrot. Now the entire village is

using this innovation.

The manually operated

low cost (less than ` 1000)

digger has been used by all

carrot growers in Mann Singh

Wala village of Muktsar

district due to its ability to

safely harvest carrots. In

addition to its near zero

damage to the carrot this digger

saves a lot of time as compared

to the Khurpa or spade

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

S. Sulkhan Singh

36 yrs

Maan Singh Wala, Sri Muktsar Sahib-151 203, Pb.

Matric

+91-9464908584

Agri-Innovator - 32

INNOVATIVE DIGGER MADE CARROT CULTIVATIONLUCRATIVE



Bishnoi and Dhaliwal Innovative Digger Made Carrot Cultivation Lucrative

138

harvesting. This digger has been easily used by women without feeling fatigue or drudgery

that they used to experience with the traditional Khurpa or spade harvesting. More over this

digger is much faster than the traditionally used implements to harvest carrots.

This low cost carrot digger has not been used earlier in the Muktsar district. The

innovative design of Mr. Sulkhan Singh has proved to be a boon for magical farmers growing

carrots on very small area (1 to 1.5 acre). Such small farmers are unable to avail the service of

a tractor for digging carrots as farmer harvest very small quantities for retailing themselves

in the market. This device has been used with still higher efficiency in raised bed (1 meter

wide) cultivation of carrot. As the soils of Muktsar district have sandy texture this factor

beings additional advantage to perfect working of this implement.

The low cost manually operated carrot digger is totally local manufactured. This

implement is mainly comprised of a long iron handle (3 feet long) which is attached to a

horizontal bar (1 feet wide) having 5 spikes (each of them one foot long). When we apply

force on handle from top with an angle, the spikes go deep in the moist soil with a very little

effort and the soil becomes loose and roots of carrot very easily come out from the soil

without any damage.

The experience of Maan Singh Wala

village in Muktsar district has proved that this

low cost manual carrot digger ensures time

saving, higher labour efficiency, ideal

produce quality and suits very well to the light

soils present in the district. However, this

digger has been used in limited area and there

exist a lot of potential of its expansion in other

areas too. Hence, use of this innovation in other areas will also help farmers of those areas to

have highly convenient digging operations with a lot of time saving and near zero damage to

the carrots

Uniqueness




Bishnoi C and Dhaliwal N S (2018) Innovative Digger Made Carrot Cultivation Lucrative. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 137-138.



Agri-Innovator - 33

RAJMASH RELAYING TOMATO EMERGES AS RISK COMPANSATING CROP IN KULLU VALLEY

K C Sharma and R K Rana

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kullu at Bajaura-175 125, Himachal Pradesh

Background

Significance

Sowing of trailing crop of Rajmash (indeterminate) or

beans along the Tomato rows either at first earthing up or at the

time of first fruit picking has been found beneficial for the

farmers of Kullu district. If sown early it behaves as inter-crop

but it behaves as relay crop when sown late i.e. at the time of

first fruit picking. The trailing legume crop uses the same

staking provided to tomato crop as indeterminate tomato

varieties are cultivated in the area. With little additional cost (`

26000/ ha), this innovation gives additional production of

about 10q/ ha of Rajmash beans (` 150000/ ha) when sown in

combination with the tomato crops.

Farming in hills, including the Kullu district, is largely un-

irrigated with inherent high risk of crops failure. Consequent

upon fast increasing farming expenses, farmers have adopted

cultivation to cash crops. Due to the same reason, Tomato has

become main contributor to the farm income in these areas of Kullu district in HP. However,

frequent Tomato crop failure led Sh. Nain

Prakash to innovate and use additional crop

of Rajmash (indeterminate type) as trailing

crop on the same staking material provided

to the tomato crop. Even if the Tomato crop

is the normal crop, the trailing Rajmash crop

extends the crop tenure of Kharif crop. This

extension of crop period reduces the gap of

fallow between Kharif and Rabi crops.

Moreover, Rajmash being a leguminous

crop improves soil health to great extent.

Name:

Age:

Address:

Qualification:

Mobile No. :

Sh. Nain Prakash

59 yrs

Bari, P.O. Katrain, Manali, Kullu-175129 HP.

8th standard

+91 9817081382



Sharma and Rana Rajmash Relaying Tomato ....... in Kullu Valley

140



Tomato is the main summer cash crop of the Kullu valley and farmers are getting

attractive returns when the growing

conditions are favorable. Tomato crop is

grown on an area of 700 ha in the district.

Assured irrigation facilities are meager but the

crop is being grown even as rainfed after

initial crop establishment by irrigation

through poted water. However, when

conditions are adverse, like occurrence of

drought or heavy rainfall, frequent tomato

crop failures are happening. Under such

conditions, the crop terminates early after 2-3

pickings resulting in low yield and returns to the farmers. However, this loss is compensated by

Rajmash crop as it grows on the same staking material of Tomato crop and being a legume, with

deep root system, does well in droughts also.

When there are heavy rains during rainy season,

even then the tomato crop gets damaged due to

heavy disease incidence. Under such situation

also the rajmash crop compensates the losses to

some extent.

Hence, this innovative technique

addresses both drought as well as heavy

rainfall problems. Moreover, it helps to

improve soil fertility by fixing atmospheric

nitrogen by the leguminous rajmash crop.

The innovation is simple, eco-friendly, economically viable and can be adopted without

any extra skill and input cost in others areas of the district and other hilly areas having similar

conditions. Until now 200 ha out of total 700 ha under tomato in the district has already come

under this innovative practice.


Sharma K C and Rana R K (2018) Rajmash Relaying Tomato Emerges as Risk Compansating Crop in Kullu Valley. In, Agri-Innovators: The Torch Bearers of Brighter Agriculture. Singh R, Rana Rajesh K, Chahal V P and Singh A K (Eds). ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, India: 139-140.


ISBN 978-93-5321-999-4


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