Mr. Sivakumaran R, Proprietor, Saaral Agro Products, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, talks about multi cropping of millets and vegetables.
After taking a survey for 6 months, analysing the details, I wanted to create a standardised mechanism which is controllable and to have a system from production to delivery. I understand that agriculture domain is not largely able to get value added products, and supply chain and demand mechanism are not functioning well. So the sellers do not know the price they have to sell and how to brand themselves to push into the market. They do not know about pest management and need somebody to guide them. Hence I wanted to makes sure I maintain the data properly and grow crops.
It is from this inspiration that I drew the idea of multi cropping with millets and vegetables. I wanted to do the end to end process by myself and make sure that my products are marketed. I ensure that the products that I produce are sold at a good price. When I grow groundnut I make sure that I use some for seed farm, some to get oil from it and sell it on a regular basis. I am organic farmer, and most of us who are doing organic farming know the challenges involved in it, especially pest and insect management. After lot of discussions, I decided not to apply any pesticide to the groundnut if it was not needed. Crop management takes care of pest and disease management. Then we should be conscious about the nutrient management. When the vegetables have to reach the end customer, shop or any place, I prefer wholesale and retail shops and individual buyers. I need to have at least 8 to 9 kgs of vegetables, and I should be able to supply on a regular basis. Only then end to end concept will work.
There are four aspects to grow vegetables and millets. First think is I should have a good understanding and target vegetables. With red soil in my field, I chose the vegetables that could be grown there. Tomato, chilli, brinjal, radish, cluster beans, and broad beans were chosen. When I was trying to do any type of mixed cultivation, I understood that I should have knowledge of the variety I would choose that would suit the field, and I go with only the varieties suggested by TNAU. I interact with people who look after plant breeding department to understand the characteristics of the vegetables and the selling point. I had to target pests and disease management. I should have the knowledge that not all varieties perform well during various seasons. So I had to try it out in small scale, understand the information from the academic side. Next, I had to know the list of pests and fungus and how to control them. The main advantage of millets is that they are pest resistant. When we decide to have a companion crop like millet, when there is a pest or disease incident, the spread rate is less.
I also ensure that my field has beds with long strips. The idea behind this is when there is a pest incident at a single point it spreads in all directions. By restricting two sides with companion crop, the pests will not spread much. We should have our own schedule to make the plants pest and disease free. When I grow vegetables, the advantage of it is each vegetable will start yielding at different time, and we have to plan in such a way that the vegetables have higher productivity and marketability. Vegetables cultivation is thus a complex one, and there has to be moderation when we plan the plot for vegetable, especially multi cropping. Water problem is another issue for companion crops. Farming works well when millets are the companion crops. With a distance of 3 to 4 feet, when two people are harvesting from either side, it is easy for them to harvest and faster too. I am trying to use machines for cutting etc, have surrounding space to bring the vehicles to load the produce and reduce the labour. We have to be flexible about mechanisation and automation. Whichever one is beneficial, we should try to make use of it.
The main points to remember when going for multi cropping, are enough knowledge about the varieties we want to grow including the millets which should suit the soil and climatic conditions. Next is the layout plan. I would suggest not to go with traditional type so that when ploughing with tractor, it takes less time if there is 6 to 10 feet gap. After selecting the variety, we have to have a strip kind of field. This can control the pests and diseases. We have to schedule on pest management. When we select crops for the field, each vegetable crop will have different time of production. The immediate harvest is on the crops closer to the bund, and one with longer duration is closer to the centre. This way things can be managed. Next important part is nutrition management, especially in organic farming. I have not been able to address it completely. The nutrition level in the soil starts declining slowly, but when the soil is recharged with nutrition properly, the nutrition level is consistent and yield increases. If we neglect this aspect, there is a decline in the production as time progresses.
My choice of vegetables is that I want to include leguminous plant with other plants so that there is a continuous rejuvenation of nutrition. Some plants can also solve nematode issues. So we have to be innovative, flexible, and work on cutting down the cost parallelly. We have to go slowly initially. In long duration crops, nutrition management is easy, such as fruit crops. It is a challenge when it comes to vegetable drops. Nutrition should be applied not only through soil but through leaves also. After many years, I try to understand the cultivation part and focus on organic inputs. I want to see the increase in yield with the same cultivation practice so that I take it as a positive sigh. I want to cultivate crops in organic method considering a broader span of time, understand the nutrition part that I am using and if it is correct or not. When we have done these 4 parts correctly, we can expect good yield at a nominal production cost which is my target also. I want to sell organic vegetables at 5 to 10% extra cost which itself will fetch me good profit. By following all these things, I should be able to achieve.
What are the key benefits in incorporating millets in multi cropping system with vegetables? Can you provide successful multi cropping practices involving millets and vegetables in our country?
Millet is a maintenance free crop. I did not face any pest issue in my area. When we go with crops like maize, they get insects which affect the vegetable crops also. Millets are becoming popular nowadays as both consumable material and as a bird feed fetching good profit. Marketing is very easy, and we need not worry about the irrigation or maintenance. There is no need to separately water millets. For vegetables, we need different treatment. The main crop and companion crop should have similar irrigation cycle. for millets we need not worry about nutrition aspect also. We just need to focus on vegetables, and millet will give better yield automatically. Millets have 60 to 90 days harvesting time, and it should be parallel with the harvesting time of the vegetables too. This is something I initiated in my field. We can see in Andhra Pradesh jowar being planted on a regular basis. I only observed and improvised on it. They use it as a border crop for the same benefits. My combination ahs worked successfully for me. I am not sure if any other region is working on this method. When we do multicultivation, we can plant tomatoes and brinjal together, or chilly, tomato, cluster beans as vegetables and millets. Whichever variety of millet that is marketable in your area can be cultivated. The main crop should also have the same duration as the companion crop. Bindi gets pests issues which affects tomato also, and radish mostly gets fungal infection, but there will no be any major pest issues. You can choose the vegetable crops according to the pests prevalent in your area.
What are the specific challenges and risks associated with multi cropping millets and vegetables, and how can you overcome them? Any government incentives or support programs for farmers? How can we optimise the use of resources like water and fertiliser when multi cropping millets and vegetables?
Manual harvest and planning the arrangement of crops are the main challenges. Harvesting of one crop should not destroy the other crop. I advise sowing seeds at particular intervals to address the issues. You have to time the irrigation properly as vegetables are sensitive to irrigation, any over watering will lead to fungal infection. So you have to think multidimensionally, preplan, prework, and preunderstanding. You should have good knowledge about the crop that you are choosing. It is better to take guidance. Though initially you will face challenges, eventually it will be helpful and fetch you more money. I have not come across any such schemes in my area. A few FPOs are taking expertise help and going with traditional border cropping. In terms of financial incentives, I don’t think there are many. Multi cropping is an optimising one. I may go traditional way to grow tomatoes in one plot and millets in another and radish in another plot separately. Tomato may need different dosage of fertilisers, and millets may need a different dosage. So if I can integrate all and make it a multi crop, I don’t have to worry about dosage. I can do blanket dosage which is not high like the normal method. There is a hidden synergy between the plants. By making them into multi cropping, I can get good quality and quantity of produce. Though effort is more in this method, I can reduce the cost of fertiliser and nutrition. Rain gun can be used, but it covers a large area. The area exposed to sun will be uniform.
Are there any recommended crop rotation patterns that work well with millets and vegetables to maintain soil health? Any particular millet variety suited for multi cropping with vegetables based on the climate and soil conditions? How can we ensure knowledge sharing and collaboration in farming community to promote adoption of multi cropping practices?
Understanding the diseases is very important, and we should ensure the crop is not affected by the virus. Millet and vegetable combination is to ensure that we break the cycle and nutrition need. We have to rotate the crops in such a way that leguminous plants are used alternatingly to get nitrogen fixing. Soil type is very important as also water drainage. The approach should depend on the decision on crops. for millets we need not worry as it works out in any place, does not need any attention. So it takes care of itself when grown with vegetables. I go with Barnyard millet which has good cluster size and yield. There could be some slight variations due to soil type and climatic conditions. Likeminded people should come together and start sharing their experiences. We have to collaborate with all to share information among ourselves. Form a forum, evolve our practices, and suggest solutions if needed. I show people how my multi cropping system works, and they are impressed and want to follow the process. I should be willing to share my knowledge. Vegetable market is very big, and by collaborating we can achieve better things. It is by our actions and results, we can make others follow us.
How can we effectively manage pests and diseases in multi cropping system without relying on chemicals? What are the market opportunities for multi cropping millet and vegetables?
It depends on the varieties you pick and the combinations you make. You should anticipate the diseases that would affect a particular crop. The tomato variety that does not get affected by fungal infections should be selected. You should not grow plants that get attacked by similar diseases. You should know the variety, diseases and pests that would attack them, and you can create combinations accordingly. I feel panchakavya is a tonic than a pesticide. Unless warranted, you should not use any pesticide. Biopesticides take time to act and need canopy to act better. Multi cropping helps to have the canopy and enough threshold for biopesticides to work. There is no special market for multi cropping produce. Since it is done organically, it gets better price. It can be done by both organic farmers and those using chemical fertiliser or pesticide. I contact all segments of market. You need to anticipate production in a week to approach shops and ensure that my products are in demand in all outlets. Otherwise I can resort to mandis. Patience and consistency are needed. You can slowly elevate the market, get connected to forums, create network, and sell your produce. I sell 50% of my produce to retail segment, meet customers, and the rest is cushion for me to sell when the demand is increasing. You should have a clear idea of what you have to do and do not expect anything readymade.
Mr Sivakumaran R
Email: extremeignitor@gmail.com
Telephone: 8939710859
After taking a survey for 6 months, analysing the details, I wanted to create a standardised mechanism which is controllable and to have a system from production to delivery. I understand that agriculture domain is not largely able to get value added products, and supply chain and demand mechanism are not functioning well. So the sellers do not know the price they have to sell and how to brand themselves to push into the market. They do not know about pest management and need somebody to guide them. Hence I wanted to makes sure I maintain the data properly and grow crops.
It is from this inspiration that I drew the idea of multi cropping with millets and vegetables. I wanted to do the end to end process by myself and make sure that my products are marketed. I ensure that the products that I produce are sold at a good price. When I grow groundnut I make sure that I use some for seed farm, some to get oil from it and sell it on a regular basis. I am organic farmer, and most of us who are doing organic farming know the challenges involved in it, especially pest and insect management. After lot of discussions, I decided not to apply any pesticide to the groundnut if it was not needed. Crop management takes care of pest and disease management. Then we should be conscious about the nutrient management. When the vegetables have to reach the end customer, shop or any place, I prefer wholesale and retail shops and individual buyers. I need to have at least 8 to 9 kgs of vegetables, and I should be able to supply on a regular basis. Only then end to end concept will work.
There are four aspects to grow vegetables and millets. First think is I should have a good understanding and target vegetables. With red soil in my field, I chose the vegetables that could be grown there. Tomato, chilli, brinjal, radish, cluster beans, and broad beans were chosen. When I was trying to do any type of mixed cultivation, I understood that I should have knowledge of the variety I would choose that would suit the field, and I go with only the varieties suggested by TNAU. I interact with people who look after plant breeding department to understand the characteristics of the vegetables and the selling point. I had to target pests and disease management. I should have the knowledge that not all varieties perform well during various seasons. So I had to try it out in small scale, understand the information from the academic side. Next, I had to know the list of pests and fungus and how to control them. The main advantage of millets is that they are pest resistant. When we decide to have a companion crop like millet, when there is a pest or disease incident, the spread rate is less.
I also ensure that my field has beds with long strips. The idea behind this is when there is a pest incident at a single point it spreads in all directions. By restricting two sides with companion crop, the pests will not spread much. We should have our own schedule to make the plants pest and disease free. When I grow vegetables, the advantage of it is each vegetable will start yielding at different time, and we have to plan in such a way that the vegetables have higher productivity and marketability. Vegetables cultivation is thus a complex one, and there has to be moderation when we plan the plot for vegetable, especially multi cropping. Water problem is another issue for companion crops. Farming works well when millets are the companion crops. With a distance of 3 to 4 feet, when two people are harvesting from either side, it is easy for them to harvest and faster too. I am trying to use machines for cutting etc, have surrounding space to bring the vehicles to load the produce and reduce the labour. We have to be flexible about mechanisation and automation. Whichever one is beneficial, we should try to make use of it.
The main points to remember when going for multi cropping, are enough knowledge about the varieties we want to grow including the millets which should suit the soil and climatic conditions. Next is the layout plan. I would suggest not to go with traditional type so that when ploughing with tractor, it takes less time if there is 6 to 10 feet gap. After selecting the variety, we have to have a strip kind of field. This can control the pests and diseases. We have to schedule on pest management. When we select crops for the field, each vegetable crop will have different time of production. The immediate harvest is on the crops closer to the bund, and one with longer duration is closer to the centre. This way things can be managed. Next important part is nutrition management, especially in organic farming. I have not been able to address it completely. The nutrition level in the soil starts declining slowly, but when the soil is recharged with nutrition properly, the nutrition level is consistent and yield increases. If we neglect this aspect, there is a decline in the production as time progresses.
My choice of vegetables is that I want to include leguminous plant with other plants so that there is a continuous rejuvenation of nutrition. Some plants can also solve nematode issues. So we have to be innovative, flexible, and work on cutting down the cost parallelly. We have to go slowly initially. In long duration crops, nutrition management is easy, such as fruit crops. It is a challenge when it comes to vegetable drops. Nutrition should be applied not only through soil but through leaves also. After many years, I try to understand the cultivation part and focus on organic inputs. I want to see the increase in yield with the same cultivation practice so that I take it as a positive sigh. I want to cultivate crops in organic method considering a broader span of time, understand the nutrition part that I am using and if it is correct or not. When we have done these 4 parts correctly, we can expect good yield at a nominal production cost which is my target also. I want to sell organic vegetables at 5 to 10% extra cost which itself will fetch me good profit. By following all these things, I should be able to achieve.
What are the key benefits in incorporating millets in multi cropping system with vegetables? Can you provide successful multi cropping practices involving millets and vegetables in our country?
Millet is a maintenance free crop. I did not face any pest issue in my area. When we go with crops like maize, they get insects which affect the vegetable crops also. Millets are becoming popular nowadays as both consumable material and as a bird feed fetching good profit. Marketing is very easy, and we need not worry about the irrigation or maintenance. There is no need to separately water millets. For vegetables, we need different treatment. The main crop and companion crop should have similar irrigation cycle. for millets we need not worry about nutrition aspect also. We just need to focus on vegetables, and millet will give better yield automatically. Millets have 60 to 90 days harvesting time, and it should be parallel with the harvesting time of the vegetables too. This is something I initiated in my field. We can see in Andhra Pradesh jowar being planted on a regular basis. I only observed and improvised on it. They use it as a border crop for the same benefits. My combination ahs worked successfully for me. I am not sure if any other region is working on this method. When we do multicultivation, we can plant tomatoes and brinjal together, or chilly, tomato, cluster beans as vegetables and millets. Whichever variety of millet that is marketable in your area can be cultivated. The main crop should also have the same duration as the companion crop. Bindi gets pests issues which affects tomato also, and radish mostly gets fungal infection, but there will no be any major pest issues. You can choose the vegetable crops according to the pests prevalent in your area.
What are the specific challenges and risks associated with multi cropping millets and vegetables, and how can you overcome them? Any government incentives or support programs for farmers? How can we optimise the use of resources like water and fertiliser when multi cropping millets and vegetables?
Manual harvest and planning the arrangement of crops are the main challenges. Harvesting of one crop should not destroy the other crop. I advise sowing seeds at particular intervals to address the issues. You have to time the irrigation properly as vegetables are sensitive to irrigation, any over watering will lead to fungal infection. So you have to think multidimensionally, preplan, prework, and preunderstanding. You should have good knowledge about the crop that you are choosing. It is better to take guidance. Though initially you will face challenges, eventually it will be helpful and fetch you more money. I have not come across any such schemes in my area. A few FPOs are taking expertise help and going with traditional border cropping. In terms of financial incentives, I don’t think there are many. Multi cropping is an optimising one. I may go traditional way to grow tomatoes in one plot and millets in another and radish in another plot separately. Tomato may need different dosage of fertilisers, and millets may need a different dosage. So if I can integrate all and make it a multi crop, I don’t have to worry about dosage. I can do blanket dosage which is not high like the normal method. There is a hidden synergy between the plants. By making them into multi cropping, I can get good quality and quantity of produce. Though effort is more in this method, I can reduce the cost of fertiliser and nutrition. Rain gun can be used, but it covers a large area. The area exposed to sun will be uniform.
Are there any recommended crop rotation patterns that work well with millets and vegetables to maintain soil health? Any particular millet variety suited for multi cropping with vegetables based on the climate and soil conditions? How can we ensure knowledge sharing and collaboration in farming community to promote adoption of multi cropping practices?
Understanding the diseases is very important, and we should ensure the crop is not affected by the virus. Millet and vegetable combination is to ensure that we break the cycle and nutrition need. We have to rotate the crops in such a way that leguminous plants are used alternatingly to get nitrogen fixing. Soil type is very important as also water drainage. The approach should depend on the decision on crops. for millets we need not worry as it works out in any place, does not need any attention. So it takes care of itself when grown with vegetables. I go with Barnyard millet which has good cluster size and yield. There could be some slight variations due to soil type and climatic conditions. Likeminded people should come together and start sharing their experiences. We have to collaborate with all to share information among ourselves. Form a forum, evolve our practices, and suggest solutions if needed. I show people how my multi cropping system works, and they are impressed and want to follow the process. I should be willing to share my knowledge. Vegetable market is very big, and by collaborating we can achieve better things. It is by our actions and results, we can make others follow us.
How can we effectively manage pests and diseases in multi cropping system without relying on chemicals? What are the market opportunities for multi cropping millet and vegetables?
It depends on the varieties you pick and the combinations you make. You should anticipate the diseases that would affect a particular crop. The tomato variety that does not get affected by fungal infections should be selected. You should not grow plants that get attacked by similar diseases. You should know the variety, diseases and pests that would attack them, and you can create combinations accordingly. I feel panchakavya is a tonic than a pesticide. Unless warranted, you should not use any pesticide. Biopesticides take time to act and need canopy to act better. Multi cropping helps to have the canopy and enough threshold for biopesticides to work. There is no special market for multi cropping produce. Since it is done organically, it gets better price. It can be done by both organic farmers and those using chemical fertiliser or pesticide. I contact all segments of market. You need to anticipate production in a week to approach shops and ensure that my products are in demand in all outlets. Otherwise I can resort to mandis. Patience and consistency are needed. You can slowly elevate the market, get connected to forums, create network, and sell your produce. I sell 50% of my produce to retail segment, meet customers, and the rest is cushion for me to sell when the demand is increasing. You should have a clear idea of what you have to do and do not expect anything readymade.
Mr Sivakumaran R
Email: extremeignitor@gmail.com
Telephone: 8939710859