Uh-oh! Pest Attack!

Several of us have had a problem with our Capsicum crop, as well as the local varieties of chillies that we grow.

The Problem: Leaves of the capsicum plan seem to be shriveling up and are not growing in size.

Shriveled up leaves of Capsicum

The diagnosis: Scientists from the KVK visited the farms where this seemed to be a problem. They suggest that this is a problem of fungal attack as well as that of white flies.

Dr. Prabhu and Dr. Rajnarayan visit affected farms

They also suspect that due to very high moisture levels (because of a low water table) and excessive watering the fungal attack was seen more in low-lying and not so much in upland areas.

Solutions: There were a couple of approaches taken to try and address the issue:

Sprinkle the following

1. wood/burnt cow-dung ash on the plants
2. a solution of burnt cow-dung ash in water (soaked for 24 hrs)
3. a neem-based water solution (though this was found to also contain the chemical epichlorohydrin )

It remains to be seen which of the above has been most effective.

Samiksha sprays her chilly crop with neem-based insecticide

Despite attack, Capsicum seems to be growing well in some pockets

Raising a Vegetable Nursery – in photos

As a follow-up from our Workshop on Growing Exotic Vegetables in Goa (conducted in September this year), ICAR’s Program Coordinator, Dr. Rajnarayan demonstrated the setting up of a vegetable nursery for broccoli, capsicum and Chinese cabbage, on the 30th of November, 2009

Beds are made, approximately 1 meter wide. They can be as long a desired

A clear walking path between two beds is important to access beds on both sides. Vermicompost and well-decomposed cow-dung are mixed into the beds

The compost and dung are worked into the soil and large, hard chunks of soil are either broken down or removed so that the bed is fine and powdery. Using a stick, furrows are made along the with the of the bed, leaving a gap of approximately 5cm or as wide as four-fingers

Seeds are sprinkled in a straight line into the furrows

Farmers giving a hand at sowing seeds into the furrows. Once seeds are sown, the furrows look like in the photo above (right)

After sowing seeds, sprinkle a thin layer of soil and compsot mix on the seeds (traditionally, several women simply take a stick and mix the soil around in a random manner, thereby sending the seeds under a few layers of soil. Namita brings in the hay that will be used to mulch the beds

Straw is then used to cover the beds (mulch) to keep the seeds warm and allow them to germinate. The straw can be removed as soon as the seeds are seen to sprout.

The beds are then watered. Farmers are adept in using their hands to create a light sprinkle (else the seeds will scatter); Sometimes a water can is recommended for a similar effect

Given the stray-cattle menace in Goa, it is advisable to ensure cattle cannot reacht he beds, otherwise the tender shoots will make for tasty meals! Using sticks and branches, a fence is made to secure the beds.

Cyclone Phyan ruins paddy crop!

Cyclone Phyan that struck the western coast of India caught several farmers unawares. November is no time to be expecting thunder storms! But the rains came and stayed for several days after that.

Harvested paddy that awaited threshing got innundated

Harvested paddy that was lying in the field awaiting threshing got caught in the downpour. Low-lying khazan areas were inundated for several hours and this led to rotting of the harvest

Inspecting losses and salvaging what can be salvaged

In some cases it was possible to salvage a part of the crop and let it dry

Sitting in water for several hours, the paddy has resprouted!

In many cases, the dampness and the heat resulted in the paddy sprouting seedlings again! This is of no use to the farmers. It can certainly not be eaten and replanting these is not possible for most, as there is a shortage of water in the later months when water is needed for the rice.

 

 

Growing Exotic Vegetables in Goa: A Workshop

Dr. Rajnarayan discussing importance of growing vegetables

The Club, in conjunction with TERI, organised a half-day workshop on Growing Exotic Vegetables in Goa, on the 14th of Sept. Faculty from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) spoke on the different kinds of non-traditional vegetables that have been successfully grown in Goa and how these can be grown safely, without the use of chemicals.

Dr. Rajnarayan, Program Coordinator at KVK spoke about the nutritional, medicinal and economic importance of growing vegetables.

He focused specially on 4 vegetables, broccoli, chinese cabbage, sweet corn and green capsicum, that he suggested the Club could consider growing on an experimental basis for the coming rabi season.

Chinese Cabbage, Broccoli, Green Capsicum and Sweet Corn have successfully been grown in Goa

This was followed by Dr. Prabhudesai touching on the importance of growing food “safely”. He explained how chemicals used to grow food end up in our body systems and can even be found in cows and mothers’ milk!! He said it was possible to make bio-inputs using EM, Neem and other natural ingredients so as to reduce farmers dependency on chemicals like urea and pesticides.

Five farmers have volunteered a portion of their fields to grow the 4 crops shown above. As part of this exercise KVK will guide the farmers in raising nurseries for these vegetables, land preparation and transplantation, making bio-inputs and timly harvesting. They will also guide farmers to gather data for scientific purposes.

49 days old paddy

The picture below shows the paddy that was transplanted on the 20th of July using the Mechanical Paddy Transplanter.

Paddy, 49 days after mechanical transplantation

It’s been 49 days since transplantation and the paddy is doing well. In the picture on the right, the curved outline of the path taken by the paddy transplanter is visible.

Experiments in the Field

The Farmers Club is conducting various experiments both in growing and in marketing of their produce.

One of the more recent experiments has been the growing of some exotic vegetables, with support from the ICAR.

A few of the women have planted broccoli and capsicum. While the capsicum has not been doing very well, the broccoli has grown into healthy florets.

Broccoli being grown on an experimental basis