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Farming guide for 100 crops available on smart phone free of cost
FEM@Mobile, a new mobile application for agriculture provides detailed information on 100 crops right from land preparation till harvesting, all the aspects of farming are covered meticulously. It is free download available at Google play store under the key word FEM@Mobile or KVK Malappuram.
The app has been developed jointly by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Malappuram. Dr Sunil V.G., Assistant Professor (Extension) gives the walk through on the application. Excerpts:
FEM@Mobile, the mobile application has been crafted under the State Planning Board project of Rs. 25 lakh. Under the same project we have developed many other IT driven solutions for farming and made it available in the domain farm extension manager (FEM). FEM@Mobile is one of such solution for farming. It is designed especially for agricultural officers and extension officers providing them with an alternative to the reference book that they carry with them always on the farmers’ field visit. Even farmers and farming enthusiast can download the app.
The first version of the app was launched two years back and the second version two months back. It is a free download available at Google play store or www.farmextensionmanager.com. It is only 1,000 KB in size hence it gets downloaded quickly on the smart phone. Internet is needed only once at the time of download, later for using the app internet is not needed! So far 12,000 people have downloaded the app and are using successfully. FEM@Mobile has average rating of ‘4’. It is designed in a user friendly way. It has simple navigation path that enables easy retrieval of information on every crop. The text is written in easy to understand language.
It gives complete information on 100 crops grown across India such as field crops, cash crops, spices, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants etc. The information on all these 100 crops is categorized under six main heads namely crop cultivation, plant protection, organic inputs, agro chemicals, expert support and contact directory.
The crop production provides details on sub-heads precisely planting, crop varieties, fertilizer, after care, harvest and storage. The planting sub-head includes details on seed material, plant spacing, line spacing, planting time and method etc. Details on 800 plus varieties are provided under the crop variety segment. In the fertilizer sub-head there are 300 fertilizer recommendations given based on the Kerala soil requirements. All the nutrients needed by the crops vary from one another hence the calculation are being done and presented in straight fertilizer format as per one unit plant basis. To know the quantity of fertilizer for any crop per acre the figure needs to be multiplied with 100 while for one hectare multiply with 250. The fertilizer inputs for every plant has been calculated and shared in the app.
Sub-head Aftercare provides details on weeding, irrigation and other intercultural operations. Harvest segment explains on crop duration, maturity indications, harvesting and how the end produce is to be stored.
Next main head - plant protection is further divided into plant diseases, insect pests and deficiency disorders. Plants diseases talks about 700 different kinds of diseases the plant can get infested with, its’ symptoms and control methods. Similarly detailed information is provided on 500 insect pests and 1,100 deficiency disorders. The control aspect gives equal emphasis on organic and inorganic methods.
Another main heads - organic inputs and agro chemicals. Organic Inputs has two sections plant nutrition and plant protection. Plant Nutrition provides details on green manure, cow dung based manure, poultry manure and bio fertilizers etc. Plant Protection talks about different kinds of traps and its usage.
The agro chemical head share information on various inorganic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Here the plant protection chemicals are categorised based on generic name, trade name and label colour. The dosage is given in per litre format. And the sorting of chemicals are done in alphabetical order.
Another main head - Expert Support enables farmers or agricultural officers to take direct assistance or guidance from the experts by sharing the field photos. Internet is required for expert support. Last head of navigation path is contact directory. It has the complete list of the different Kerala based Government departments, institutes, organization and company along with their contact details.
Entire text is in English language however soon we shall be introducing the new version with language option of Malayalam. Looking at smart phones penetration in rural India, FEM@Mobile app is complete talking guide available free of cost for agricultural officers, farmers and masses. It certainly makes it extremely easy to find the right information in the hour of need.
In time to come we shall upgrade the app with the photos in the plant protection segment. It shall enable to diagnose and understand the plant diseases appropriately and take corrective measures.
FEM@Mobile is one of our project at KVK Malappuram, Kerala. We are working on many other expert systems such as fertilizer calculators, credit calculator and so on to make farming precise and hassle free.
Contact details:
Dr Sunil V G, Assistant Professor (Agrl. Extension)
KVK Malappuram, Kerala Agricultural University, KCAET Campus, Tavanur, Malappuram District, Kerala,India, PIN-679573,
Mobile: 9446058252
Email: sunil.vg@kau.in
FEM@Mobile, a new mobile application for agriculture provides detailed information on 100 crops right from land preparation till harvesting, all the aspects of farming are covered meticulously. It is free download available at Google play store under the key word FEM@Mobile or KVK Malappuram.
The app has been developed jointly by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Malappuram. Dr Sunil V.G., Assistant Professor (Extension) gives the walk through on the application. Excerpts:
FEM@Mobile, the mobile application has been crafted under the State Planning Board project of Rs. 25 lakh. Under the same project we have developed many other IT driven solutions for farming and made it available in the domain farm extension manager (FEM). FEM@Mobile is one of such solution for farming. It is designed especially for agricultural officers and extension officers providing them with an alternative to the reference book that they carry with them always on the farmers’ field visit. Even farmers and farming enthusiast can download the app.
The first version of the app was launched two years back and the second version two months back. It is a free download available at Google play store or www.farmextensionmanager.com. It is only 1,000 KB in size hence it gets downloaded quickly on the smart phone. Internet is needed only once at the time of download, later for using the app internet is not needed! So far 12,000 people have downloaded the app and are using successfully. FEM@Mobile has average rating of ‘4’. It is designed in a user friendly way. It has simple navigation path that enables easy retrieval of information on every crop. The text is written in easy to understand language.
It gives complete information on 100 crops grown across India such as field crops, cash crops, spices, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants etc. The information on all these 100 crops is categorized under six main heads namely crop cultivation, plant protection, organic inputs, agro chemicals, expert support and contact directory.
The crop production provides details on sub-heads precisely planting, crop varieties, fertilizer, after care, harvest and storage. The planting sub-head includes details on seed material, plant spacing, line spacing, planting time and method etc. Details on 800 plus varieties are provided under the crop variety segment. In the fertilizer sub-head there are 300 fertilizer recommendations given based on the Kerala soil requirements. All the nutrients needed by the crops vary from one another hence the calculation are being done and presented in straight fertilizer format as per one unit plant basis. To know the quantity of fertilizer for any crop per acre the figure needs to be multiplied with 100 while for one hectare multiply with 250. The fertilizer inputs for every plant has been calculated and shared in the app.
Sub-head Aftercare provides details on weeding, irrigation and other intercultural operations. Harvest segment explains on crop duration, maturity indications, harvesting and how the end produce is to be stored.
Next main head - plant protection is further divided into plant diseases, insect pests and deficiency disorders. Plants diseases talks about 700 different kinds of diseases the plant can get infested with, its’ symptoms and control methods. Similarly detailed information is provided on 500 insect pests and 1,100 deficiency disorders. The control aspect gives equal emphasis on organic and inorganic methods.
Another main heads - organic inputs and agro chemicals. Organic Inputs has two sections plant nutrition and plant protection. Plant Nutrition provides details on green manure, cow dung based manure, poultry manure and bio fertilizers etc. Plant Protection talks about different kinds of traps and its usage.
The agro chemical head share information on various inorganic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Here the plant protection chemicals are categorised based on generic name, trade name and label colour. The dosage is given in per litre format. And the sorting of chemicals are done in alphabetical order.
Another main head - Expert Support enables farmers or agricultural officers to take direct assistance or guidance from the experts by sharing the field photos. Internet is required for expert support. Last head of navigation path is contact directory. It has the complete list of the different Kerala based Government departments, institutes, organization and company along with their contact details.
Entire text is in English language however soon we shall be introducing the new version with language option of Malayalam. Looking at smart phones penetration in rural India, FEM@Mobile app is complete talking guide available free of cost for agricultural officers, farmers and masses. It certainly makes it extremely easy to find the right information in the hour of need.
In time to come we shall upgrade the app with the photos in the plant protection segment. It shall enable to diagnose and understand the plant diseases appropriately and take corrective measures.
FEM@Mobile is one of our project at KVK Malappuram, Kerala. We are working on many other expert systems such as fertilizer calculators, credit calculator and so on to make farming precise and hassle free.
Contact details:
Dr Sunil V G, Assistant Professor (Agrl. Extension)
KVK Malappuram, Kerala Agricultural University, KCAET Campus, Tavanur, Malappuram District, Kerala,India, PIN-679573,
Mobile: 9446058252
Email: sunil.vg@kau.in