Madhu Patial*1,
K.K.Pramanick1 and Anjana Thakur2
1ICAR-IARI, Regional Station, Shimla (H.P)
2KVK, Bara, CSKHPKV, Palampur (H.P)
Agriculture has been the backbone and
major occupation of human since time immemorial. It has also seen much
advancement over the years. In India, with the commencement of the
Green Revolution in 1960s, agricultural production system has achieved
remarkable improvement. This has been possible with the adoption of high-yielding
varieties, chemical inputs and mechanization. However, there are many agricultural areas where still traditional
technologies are being adopted. Modern
agricultural practices like improved seed along-with use of mechanized
equipment for different farm operations like irrigation, tilling and harvesting
has advances a lot and helps in achieving higher gains. There are a
number of components that have been introduced in agriculture in recent years.
Using the latest recommended agricultural practices, tools and techniques, one
can yield huge returns. Adopting underneath
practices farmers can increase their farm yield.
· Seed: Seed
is the cheapest input in crop production which has an important role in the production of agronomic and
horticultural crops. A good quality seed gives high return per unit area
and can contribute about 20-25% increase in yield. Farmers should use certified
seed of a crop with maximum varietal purity.
· Improve Soil: To
increase crop yield, start from the ground up. Testing soil to determine the
cause of declining crop yield is the first step toward finding the source of
the issue—whether it’s disease, lack of nutrients, or unproductive soil. Then
the soil can be treated with the appropriate organic product needed to solve
the problem, without the use of synthetic chemicals which can harm the
environment (and provide only a temporary solution).
· Sowing dates: Sowing dates plays very important role in farming. A suitable environment will lead to proper seed germination. After germinating for the proper growth of the plants they need favorable environment conditions like humidity, temperature, rain, sunshine hours etc. So proper sowing time is very important. Sometimes we can control pest population and disease infestation by just changing in sowing dates, for example, early sowing in sorghum is advisable to reduce the infestation of sorghum shoot fly and early sowing of mustard for the management of aphid. Similarly, rice blast can be managed by changing sowing dates from June/July to September.
· Farm mechanization: Use of different power sources and improved farm tools and equipment to reduce the drudgery of the human and draught animal is known as agricultural mechanization. Farm mechanization enhances the cropping intensity, precision and timelines, reduce wastage of farm produce during harvesting and maintain quality of harvested crop. The effective mechanization contributes to increase production in two major ways: firstly, the timeliness of operation and secondly the good quality of work.
· Conservation agriculture: FAO
has described conservation agriculture as a
concept for “resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to
achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels
while concurrently conserving the environment”. The process like no-till or
minimum tillage practices are the principle of conservation agriculture that
causes minimal mechanical soil disturbance.
· Manures and fertilizers: Due
to unfavorable environmental conditions and intensive cultivation, the soils
lose their nutrients and hence reduce the crop yield. Hence, one can increase
the productivity of the crops by adopting different fertilization techniques. Fertilization is the technique of enriching
the soil with nutrient and making it more beneficial for the crops. Proper use of manure as
a fertilizer minimizes nutrient pollution to water resources and
helps build healthy soils. So, farmer should use recommended dose of
fertilizer. Apart from chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers which are
products of beneficial microorganisms can be used to increase agricultural
production. Biofertilizers can fix atmospheric nitrogen for plant use and can
mobilize unavailable phosphorous which can be used by plants. Living microorganisms are used in the preparation of
Bio-fertilizers.
· Water management: In India, rainfall is uncertain causing floods and droughts
alternately. Therefore, artificial water supply through irrigation and the
removal of excess water through drainage are imperative as both shortage and
excess of water affect the growth and
development of the plants, yields and quality of produce. Irrigation
scheduling is the process by which an irrigator determines the timing and
quantity of water to be applied to the crop. The challenge is to estimate crop
water requirements for different growth stages and climatic conditions. Modern irrigation interventions can help farmers
of small holdings and farms to save water by 30%. With the use of advanced
technologies like drip irrigation up to 60% of water can be saved.
· Weed Management: Weeds, in general, precede crops on farming lands and
are major yield reducing factors. Weeds compete with crops for the same
resources, basically water, nutrients, light and carbon dioxide. Furthermore,
they are alternate hosts for crop pests and pathogens. These are a major
constraint to increased farmers’ productivity, particularly in developing
countries where weed control claims 20 to 50 % of farmers’ time. An integrated
weed management approach combines the use of complementary weed control methods
such as hand weeding, herbicide application, land fallowing, and biological
control is very effective for weed management.
· Crop rotation: Crop rotation refers to the practice of growing different types of
crops in the same area over a sequence of seasons. Crop rotation helps to maintain
soil structure and nutrient levels and prevents soil borne pests. When a single
crop is planted repeatedly in the same soil, insects and diseases that attack that crop are allowed to build
up to unmanageable levels, greatly reducing the farmer’s harvest. The most
basic aspect of crop rotation is that we should never plant the same crop in
the same place twice.
· Insect-pest Management:
There is a periodical explosion of insects and pests that damages the crops in great
quantity. All these are treated as disease transmitters in different parts of
the world and have made agriculture less productive. Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management
that relies on a combination of biological, cultural and chemical practices to control insect pests. It
seeks to use natural predators or parasites to control pests, using selective
pesticides for backup only when pests are unable to be controlled by natural
means. A farmer should reduce crop losses
due to pests through the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
(resistant crop varieties, rational use of pesticides, biocontrol and better
cultural practices) without harmful side effects.
· Food processing:
Food processing industry is of enormous significance for India's development
because of the vital linkages and synergies it promotes between the two pillars
of our economy i.e. industry and agriculture. Food Processing includes
process under which any raw product of agriculture is transformed through a
process in such a way that its original physical properties undergo a change
and the transformed product has commercial value and is suitable for human and
animal consumption. Since the post-harvest losses of selected fruits and
vegetables are about 25 to 30 per cent in our country, so food processing
industry could make crucial contribution in the nation's food security. Food
processing also includes the process of value addition to
produce products through methods such as preservation, addition of food
additives, drying etc. with a view to preserve food substances in an effective
manner and enhance their shelf life and quality.
· Crop insurance: Crop insurance is a
tool that allows farmers to manage their yield and price risks. One of the
most important benefit of buying agriculture insurance is
that farmers get peace of mind and can take risk for improving their crop yield
by adopting different technologies. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Prime
Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme) was launched by Prime Minister
of India Sh.Narendra Modi on 13 February 2016. It envisages a uniform
premium of only 2 per cent to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops,
and 1.5 per cent for Rabi crops.
· Under-utilized crops: The crops, which are neither grown
commercially on large scale nor traded widely are termed as underutilized
crops. These crops are cultivated, traded, and consumed locally and have many
advantages like easier to grow, hardy nature and producing a crop even under
adverse soil and climatic conditions. So, exploitation of underutilized
horticultural crops can become a solution to the social problem of health and
nutrition insecurity, poverty, and unemployment. The consumption of
underutilized fruit crops can provide nutrition to the poor and needy people as
underutilized fruits, nuts, and vegetables are a rich of source of
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, energy, vitamins—A, B1, B2,
B3, B6, B9, B12, C, folic acid, and
minerals—Ca, P, Fe, and dietary fiber.
· Genetic Manipulation: Farmers
have been selecting crop plants as per their requirements and specific
characteristics for thousands of years. But, modern agriculture has adopted several
recent crop breeding and molecular techniques. Among which, development of
hybrid seed has been one of the most significant strategy. With the use of genetic
engineering and molecular techniques, offspring’s from unrelated organisms are crossed
for transfer of special characters. Farmers can use theses crop varieties
depending on their requirements.
· New
advancements in technologies: Robotics, drones and computer vision software have
completely transformed modern agriculture. Some major technologies that are
most commonly utilized by farms include harvest automation, autonomous
tractors, seeding and weeding, and drones. Along
with theses, satellite imaging can help farmers understand the meteorological
events to plan in a better way. Mobile technology also plays
an important role in monitoring and controlling agricultural systems like crop
irrigation systems. With this modern technology, a farmer can control his
irrigation systems from a phone or computer. Farm automation technology addresses major issues like a
rising global population, farm labor shortages and changing consumer
preferences.
· Modern Greenhouses: In recent decades, the Greenhouse industry has been transforming from small-scale facilities used primarily for research and aesthetic purposes to significantly more large-scale facilities that compete directly with land-based conventional food production. The greenhouse provides plant protection, climate control, protection from harsh weather conditions etc.
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