The Adhoc Package of Practices Recommendations for Organic Farming
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THE ADHOC PACKAGE OF PRACTICES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANIC FARMING Editors Dr.D.Alexander Dr.S.Rajan Dr.L.Rajamony Dr.K.Ushakumari Dr.Sajan Kurien DIRECTORATE OF RESEARCH KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY THRISSUR-680656, KERALA, INDIA English THE ADHOC PACKAGE OF PRACTICES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANIC FARMING June, 2009 Copies: Compilation and Editing: General guidelines Dr.K.Ushakumari Dr.V.L.Geethakumari Rice Dr.P.V.Balachandran Dr.S.Leena Kumari Fruits, Vegetables, Ornamental Plants and Tuber Crops Dr.C.S.Jayachandran Nair Dr.L.Rajamony Dr.Abdul Wahab Plantation Crops, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Dr.E.V.Nybe Dr.S.Rajan Dr.N.Mini Raj Plant Protection Dr.T. Nalinakumari Dr. P. Sivaprasad Final compilation: Dr.K.E.Savithri Published by: Director of Extension Kerala Agricultural University Mannuthy 680 651 Thrissur, Kerala Printed at: Kerala Agricultural University Press, Mannuthy – 680 651 Thrissur - Kerala Correct Citation: Kerala Agricultural University 2009 THE ADHOC PACKAGE OF PRACTICES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANIC FARMING Directorate of Research Vellanikkara, KAU Post – 680 656 Thrissur, Kerala, India. KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY K.A.U. P.O. Vellanikkara 680 656 K.R. Viswambaran, IAS Vice Chancellor FOREWORD Agricultural practices, world over, have been undergoing changes over a period of time. The intensive agricultural practices followed during the past four decades in our country resulted in food security and self-sufficiency. This was achieved through development of input responsive varieties coupled with use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection chemi- cals. The Green Revolution in India, undoubtedly, boosted the overall agricultural produc- tion. However, productivity decline is experiencing in many intensively cultivated areas where organic manures were partially or totally excluded. The intensification of land use with increased dependence on agro-chemicals resulted in stagnation of crop yield in many situa- tions, which necessitated a change to a sustainable farming system approach having inbuilt features of equilibrium between farming and nature. This type of farming system, later on, came to be known as organic farming. Various technologies like Biological agriculture, Biodynamic farming, Health food, Green Food have been in vogue in the area of organic farming. But it is well recognized that organic agriculture is a holistic food production management system, which promotes and sustains agro-ecosystem, health, biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. In general, organic farming hinges on extensive use of naturally available resources, prefer- ably on-farm inputs to enhance soil fertility, in contrast to chemical fertilizers. The concept of organic farming is not new to Indian farming community. Several forms of organic farming are being successfully practiced in diverse agro-climatic situations, particu larly in rainfed, tribal and hill areas of the country. Much of the forest produce of economic importance like medicinal plants by default come under this category. In rainfed and semi- arid condition, it has been demonstrated that the productivity with organic farming is compa- rable to conventional agriculture. Today in India over 2.5 million hectares are brought under organic cultivation in contrast to 31 million hectares in the world. In this context, it is worth mentioning the result of the swot analysis on organic farming in India conducted at Modipuram in 2006, which states that a major portion of the cultivable area in India is organic by default. The study also revealed the global interest in natural health foods, availability of vast pool of traditional knowledge, lack of incentives for produc- tion of organic inputs, poor local infrastructure facilities for processing and value addition, lack of satisfactory income, absence of regulation on supply system, non-remunerative and fluctuating prices of organic produce. These tips give enough cue for future line of action. While strongly advocating organic farming in the State, we should be sensitive on the in- creasing requirement of food due to the ever-increasing population growth. Kerala being a consumer State for almost every food item, a small percent of increase in gap between production and supply is bound to have serious repercussions. Hence a strategic approach is needed while switching over to organic farming, which should be in selected crops, in selected locations and in a phased manner. Above all, there is a need for an ideal organic farming policy to be formulated in the State. The Adhoc Package of Practices Recommendations for Organic Farming aims at providing necessary guidelines to the practitioners and potential followers of organic farm- ing. The feed back on this will be of immense use for subsequent refinement. I congratulate all the scientists who have contributed in this venture. I also appreciate the steps and initiatives taken by the Directorate of Research in bringing out this timely publica- tion K.R. Viswambharan PREFACE Green revolution is a milestone in the development of independent India. The boosted food grain production by green revolution was achieved mainly through the use of high yielding varieties of crops. These high yielding varieties are highly fertilizer responsive and to some extent amenable to pests and diseases. This in turn demanded increased use of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals. The unscientific and indiscriminate use of agro- chemicals has affected the soil health adversely and brought down the fertility of soil and productivity of crops. In addition, it has resulted in the over exploitation of soil leading to nutrient imbalance. Moreover, a negative impact of chemical agriculture on environment and human health has been reported and documented. Increased environmental awareness and health conciousness promoted the scientists and planners to think about organic agricul- ture as an alternate way for sustainable agriculture with protection to environment and human health. In Kerala, considering the unique situation both climatologically and topographically, organic farming can be promoted as an alternative farming system in selected areas and in selected crops. The Adhoc Package of Practices Recommendations for Organic Farming is the outcome of research findings of KAU and a series of interactions carried out by scientists of Kerala Agricultural University among themselves and also with scientists of CPCRI, CTCRI, IISR, the extension personnel of the Department of Agriculture and progressive farmers. We sincerly hope that this will be very much useful to the farming community of Kerala especially to those involved /interested in organic farming. We also welcome all suggestions for further refinement of this publication. We whole-heartedly acknowledge the inputs given by the contributors to various sections. Editors LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS General Guidelines Dr.T.Sabeena George Dr.N.K.Parameswaran Dr.K.Ushakumari Dr.C.K.Geetha Dr.V.L.Geethakumari Dr.P.K.Sudha Devi Rice Dr.J.P. Naik Dr.P.V.Balachandran Dr.P.Rajendran Dr.S.Leena Kumari Dr.A.Suma Dr.P.Raji Dr.A.Sobhana Dr. P. K. Ashokan Dr.Lekha Rani Dr. V. George Thomas Dr.Mini.C. Dr. C. T. Abraham Vegetables Dr. P. S. John Dr.M.Abdul Wahab Dr. K. Ushakumari Dr.T.E.George Dr. V. L. Geethakumari Dr.Sallykutty Joseph Dr. K.Anilakumar Dr.V.A.Celine Dr. N. K. Sasidharan Dr.V.L.Geethakumari Dr. P. K. Sushama Dr.Meera Bai Dr.M. Indira Dr. Sally K Mathew Dr.T. Nalinakumari Dr.P.G.Sadan Kumar Dr. K.S.Meenakumari Dr.P.Sukumari Fruits, Vegetables, Ornamental Plants Dr.Devadas.V.S. and Tuber Crops Dr.K.V.Suresh Babu Fruits Dr Baby Lissy Markose Dr. K.P.Prasanna Dr. C.S.Jayachandran Nair Dr. K. Krishnakumari Dr.L.Rajamony Dr.P.B. Usha Dr.P.K.Rajeevan Dr. I. Sreelatha Kumari Dr.P.K.Valsalakumari Dr. C. Narayanankutty Dr.T.Radha Dr.K.P.Kuriakose Tuber Crops Dr.K.C.Aipe Dr.R.Pushpa Kumari Dr.N.K.Sasidharan Dr.N.K.Sasidharan Dr.Jose Mathew Dr.Swadija Dr Maicykutty P Mathew Dr. K.A. Inasi ִ Dr. Annamma George Plantation, Spice, Medicinal and Dr.M.L.Jyothi Aromatic Crops Dr. Sudharmayi Devi Dr.P.C.Balakrishnan (Coconut) Special Group Dr.Jose Mathew (Cashew) Dr.T.NalinaKumari Dr.Jim Thomas Dr.V.K.Mallika (Cocoa) Dr.A.V. Mathew Dr.V.K. Raju (Nutmeg) Dr. Sally K Mathew Dr. N. Mini Raj (Ginger, Turmeric) Dr. Ambika Devi Dr.Baby P. Skaria and Dr.Anil Kumar Dr. P. Sivaprasad (Medicinal &Aromatic Plants) Dr. C. Nanda Kumar Dr.C.Gokulapalan Dr.K.R. Lyla (Biological Control) Dr. M.S. Sheela Dr.P.Sivaprasad (Biological Control) Dr.T.Jiji Dr.Joseph Rajkumar (Cardamom) Dr.N.Anitha Dr. E.V. Nybe (Black Pepper, Vanilla) Dr.Sainamole Kurien Dr.V.B.Padmanabhan Dr.Jim Thomas (Pest Control) *** ִ CONTENTS General Guidelines for Organic Farming Rice Vegetables Amaranth Okra Cucurbitacious Vegetables Solanacious Vegetables Leguminous Vegetables Perennial Vegetable-Drumstick Fruits Banana Pineapple Mango Tuber Crops Amorphophallus Colocasia Dioscorea Sweet Potato Tapioca Coleus Arrowroot Plantation Crops and Spices Coconut Cashew Cocoa Black Pepper Cardamom Ginger Turmeric Vanilla Nutmeg ִ Medicinal Aromatic Plants Chethikoduveli Neela Amari Chengazhinirkizhangu Kasthurimanjal Chittaratha Black Musli Holostemma Long Pepper Kacholam Asoka Strychnine Tree Eucalyptus Lemon Grass Palmarosa Vetiver Ornamental Plants Anthurium Orchids Jasmine Tuberose Marigold Farming on House Terrace Resources for Organic Farming Green manure crops Green leaf manure crops Azolla Soil solarization Composting Biocontrol agents Biofertilisers Botanical pesticides Botanical preparation for pest control Preparation of permitted fungicides Preparation of Panchagavya and Dasagavya Organic Certification APPENDIX-I Average nutrient content of common manures APPENDIX-II Products for use in fertilising and soil conditioning APPENDIX-III Products for pest and disease control Adhoc PoP for Organic Farming 1 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ORGANIC FARMING Organic farming is a crop production method respecting the rules of the nature, targeted to produce nutritive, healthy and pollution free food. It maximizes the use of on - farm resources and minimizes the use of off – farm inputs. It is a farming system that seeks to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.