Background:
Mr. Badarudeen C., Chirammel Padeetathil House, Chingoli, Harippad is a young farmer (41 yrs) involved in cultivation of vegetables, fruits, tubers and spices, rearing 3-4 cows, 10-12 ducks, having fish pond etc. in traditional ways. Eventhough there is a good demand for locally produced vegetables, the declining productivity made farming not very attractive to him. The produces from his 0.8 ha area farm has been sold through his own shop and ATMA Eco shop. He was finding it difficult to meet both ends with the meager income obtained.
Interventions:
During the year 2018-19, Badarudeen attended a training programme on “Integrated Crop Management in vegetable cultivation” conducted by KVK – Alappuzha in Chingoli Panchayath in collaboration with Krishi Bhavan. The participants were familiarized with technologies for improving soil health condition, INM practices, foliar nutrition and plant protection aspects. After the training programme, he has done soil testing, used dolomite as liming material, applied recommended dose of FYM as organic manure and fertilizers based on soil testing. He also adopted foliar application of ‘Sampoorna’, a multinutrient mix developed by KAU in Cowpea grown in 2 cents, @5g/l after 30, 45 and 60 days of planting. Frequent contacts with KVK for technical guidance gave him adequate motivation for achieving a good yield.
Output:
He could harvest 183 kg cowpea from 2 cents with ‘sampoorna’ application compared to 149 kg without this application giving a net profit of @ Rs. 2630/cent with a B:C ratio of 1.98.
Earlier he was using fertilizer mixtures without sufficient liming of the plot. But now only recommended doses of nutrients are applied after liming. The adoption of technologies reduced cost of cultivation and increased net income. In the next season, he cultivated 10 cents of cowpea with integrated nutrient management and foliar nutrition of sampoorna. He could attain a yield of 850 kg from 10 cents with a profit of Rs. 27750/- and B:C ratio of 2.01 at an average price of Rs. 65/kg. Now he follows foliar nutrition in other vegetables also. Since the major part of produces is sold through his own shop, he is getting a better price. All his family members are involved in farming activity and most of the works are managed by themselves.
Outcome:
Agricultural department recognized his farm as one of the model farm in the Panchayath and started collecting vegetable seeds and other farm produces for the Eco Shop. He was provided with drip irrigation system for vegetable production from the Krishi Bhavan. His project proposal, for elevating his farm to a model Integrated Farming System unit, by including other components, submitted to the Panchayath is under consideration. Seeing his farm and knowing about the scientific practices he is following, many farmers of his village started adopting these practices with the expectations of achieving higher yield and income.
