FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Organic farming: Traditional rice varieties ideal
By Our Agriculture Correspondent
The traditional variety responded well to organic nutrition and time-tested indigenous farming methods.
TRADITIONAL RICE varieties respond well to organic methods of farming, and to make rice farming sustainable and more rewarding we have revert to the principles of organic farming as practiced by our grandparents according to Mr. N.G. Anbalagan, an eco-agricultural technologist and a strong advocate of organic farming.
He grew GEB 24 variety rice (also called Kichili Samba) successfully in his farm in Thottanaval village near Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, and harvested good yields. "I raised this crop in about 0.2 hectares as a demonstration plot, and it responded well to organic nutrition. I harvested about 800 kg paddy and 1.5 tonnes of high quality straw," explained Mr. Anbalagan.
GEB 24 is a fine-grained variety of 165 days duration. It is ideally suited for sowing in July-August, and the seedlings are planted in the main field after 45 days in the nursery bed. Transplanting is best done in September, and the crop will be ready for harvest in January.
This popular variety was grown extensively before the introduction of the semi-dwarf varieties, which responded to the application of chemical fertilizers. It is now grown in isolated pockets in different parts of the State, and has become a rare variety, according to him.
About 30 kg of seeds were got from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, and the seeds were treated with cow's urine. A five-cents nursery bed was raised, and liberal quantities of green leaf manure (mainly neem, Pongamia pinnata and Glyricidia) were incorporated in the field along with ripe farmyard manure. About one kg each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacterium were added to the nursery as basal dressing.
At the time of transplanting, the roots of the young seedlings were dipped in an aqueous solution of Psuedomonas and planted in the main field. Large quantities of green leaf manure and farmyard manure were incorporated in the main field before transplanting.
Roughly 3 kg each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacterium were added as basal dressing. He followed a strict irrigation schedule to suppress the weeds.
Only one manual weeding was done when the crop was 30 days old in the main field.
The crop grew well, and there was no incidence of any major pests or diseases. Beneficial insects and other natural enemies of rice pests proliferated in the absence of any chemical sprays, and they kept the crop in good stead. Spiders, frogs, dragonflies, damselflies and insect-devouring birds were seen actively engaged in pest-proofing the crop.
The crop grew well to a height of 1.2 metres, and it partly lodged due to heavy winds in November. The crop with heavy panicles was harvested in January.
The cost of cultivation of rice in 0.2 hectares was Rs. 4500. The gross returns from the paddy at the current market price will be Rs. 8000, and the value of the straw will be Rs. 500.
"With a little more fine tuning, and application of vermi-compost, Pancha Kavya and other plant growth promoters and beneficial bio-control agents and bio-fertilizers, the yield of the variety can be increased substantially.
By suitably blending the environmentally benign biological inputs and time honoured farming knowledge of our ancestors, we can re-introduce sustainable agriculture as an economically rewarding enterprise to our farmers," said Mr. Anbalagan.
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