Biotech-KISAN: GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

Establishment of Biotech-KISAN Hub at PAU Ludhiana

Funding agency: Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India underMission Programmeon Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network (Biotech-KISAN)

Period of commencement : January, 2019

Principal Investigator : Dr C S Aulakh, Principal Agronomist & Director

Co-PIs :

Hub Institute

Dr SS Walia, Principal Agronomist

Dr Neeraj Rani, Soil Scientist

Dr Tarundeep Kaur, Agronomist

Dr Sudhendu Sharma, Entomologist

Dr Amarjit Singh, Principal Plant Pathologist

Dr Manmohan Dhkal, Plant Pathologist

Patiala cluster

Dr Jaswinder Singh, Assoc Director, KVK

Dr Jashanjot Kaur, Agronomist

Ferozepur cluster

Dr Gurjant Singh Aulakh, Assoc Director, KVK

Sangrur cluster

Mr Surinder Kumar, Block Technology Manager ATMA

Dr Mandeep Singh, Assoc Director, KVK

PARTNER CENTRES:

1. KVK Patiala
2. ATMA Bhawanigarh, Sangrur
3. KVK Ferozepur

OBJECTIVES:

1. To demonstrate production of safe food in Basmati rice - wheat - summer moong cropping system in selected farm clusters.
2. To implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in selected cropping system at farmers’ fields for India GAP certified food production.
3. To disseminate the ‘Safe-food/Good Agricultural Practices’ among the farmers through field days, awareness camps, and printing and digital learning materials.
4. To facilitate marketing of India GAP certified ‘Safe-food’.

METHODOLOGY:

Number of clusters: 3 [Patiala, Sangrur and Ferozepur]

Land area/cluster: 20 ha

Total number of farmers: 72

Number of farmers/cluster:

Patiala: 25
Sangrur: 24
Ferozepur: 23

Cropping system adopted: Summer moong - basmati rice - wheat

Technology component: Safe-food/Good Agricultural Practices

SUCCESS STORY OF GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES (GAP) IN BASMATI RICE

PROJECT INTERVENTIONS:

• Awareness to the farmers about producing pesticide free or pesticide residue free basmati rice
• Trainings and farm schools on different aspects of GAP
• Ensured incorporation of summer moong as green manure
• Supply of quality seed (Pusa Basmati 1121& Pusa Basmati 1509), and consortium biofertilizer
• Supply of biofungicide for seed/seedling treatment and demonstrations on its field use
• Supply of Leaf Colour Chart (LCC) and its demonstrations for nitrogen management
• Supply of bioagents (Tricho-cards) for insect-pest management at weekly interval and their use demonstrations
• Regular visits to farmers’ fields to convince about not to use pesticides below the threshold level.

PROJECT OUTCOME:

Basmati rice in Punjab is grown during kharif season and most of it is exported to Gulf countries. Often there are reports of pesticide residues in export consignments and exporters press upon the farmers to adopt good agricultural practices (GAP) and not to apply un-recommended pesticides. So, School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana demonstrated GAP in basmati rice on 60 ha area under Biotech-KISAN project, ‘Establishment of Biotech-KISAN hub at PAU Ludhiana’. The objective was to demonstrate production of safe food in Basmati rice - wheat - summer moong cropping system.Three clusters, having 20 ha area each, were adopted in districts of Patiala, Sangrur and Ferozepur having 25, 24 and 23 farmers, respectively.The average land holding per farmers in Patiala, Sangrur and Ferozepur were 4.4, 4.8 and 6.8 ha, respectively. The project activities involved trainings, farm schools, exposure visits and supply of critical inputs for eco-friendly production of zero pesticide use or pesticide residue free basmati rice. Summer moong inoculated with consortium biofertilizer was grown on adopted farms by following GAP. The summer moong crop,after picking its pods, was green manured before transplanting of basmati rice.The farmers opted for Pusa Basmati 1509 and Pusa Basmati 1121 varieties of basmati rice under the project. To achieve the objective of zero pesticide use, the farmers were convinced to avoid use of any agrochemical. So, all the farmers’ of three clusters treated the seed of basmati rice with talc formulation of Trichoderma harzianum @ 15 g per kg of seed immediately before sowing to manage foot rot disease.The seed was also inoculated with consortium biofertilizer, a low cost intervention for improving soil health and productivity of crop. At the time of transplanting, the seedling roots were also dipped for 6 hours in solution of Trichoderma harzianum @ 15 g per litre of water. Weeds were controlled with ponding of water for two weeks followed by manual weeding. Generally, basmati does not require any nitrogen application after green manuring but need based urea was applied by using PAU-Leaf Colour Chart (LCC).

The use of herbicide was restricted under GAP and thus the farmers were convinced to not to use any herbicide. Seventy-nine percent of adopted farmers did not use any chemical pesticides and controlled the insect-pests by using biopesticides viz. Achook and Tricho-cards, supplied under the project. One application of Achook (azadirachtin 0.15%) and five applications of Tricho-cards (Trichogrammajaponicum and T. chilonis) were made. Frequent monitoring was done to convince the farmers to not to use pesticides before the threshold level of insect-pests. Agrochemical use decreased drastically as 91% farmers did not use any pesticide in basmati rice.

Grain yield of a crop is the ultimate deciding factor which determines the economic viability and sustainability of a crop. The average grain yields of basmati rice with Good Agricultural Practices in Ferozepur, Patiala and Sangrur clusters were 37.75, 45.75 and 48.75 q/ha which were equivalent to 64.75, 78.5 and 83.5 q/ha of the paddy grain yield and gave gross economic returns of Rs. 1,13,250; 1,37,250 and 1,46,250 per ha, respectively. If ‘zero pesticide use’ basmati rice produced under GAP gets 20% price premium, then the averageper ha gross returnsin the respective clusters would be Rs 1,32,738 (21% higher than conventional rice), 1,64,700 (34% higher than conventional rice) and Rs 1,75,500 (46% higher than conventional rice). The corresponding figures for ‘pesticide residue free’ basmati rice at 10% price premium 1,24,575 (14% higher than conventional rice), 1,50,975/ha (22% higher than conventional rice) and Rs 1,60,875 (34% higher than conventional rice), respectively.

Insecticide use in basmati rice in different clusters

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Basmati rice: A success story of safe food production

Agriculture in Punjab is input intensive and farmers often over step the recommended dose of agrochemicals and sometimes even use unrecommended pesticides at inappropriate stage of crop growth. Over use of agrochemicals often results in environmental problems and pesticide residue issues in agricultural produce in general and Basmati rice in particular. This sometimes results in rejection of export consignments. To overcome these issues, the available alternatives include organic and natural farming. However, these systems often result in lower crop yields and are sustainable only with large premium on sale price which puts restrictions on consumers. Moreover, despite a niche market for organic products; consumers generally want safe food free from any pesticide residues. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) offer a middle path solution to environmental and pesticide residue issues. GAP are the agricultural practices which are aimed at producing safe food for the consumers as well as the conservation of precious natural resources i.e. soil, water and air. GAP certification systems are available as GLOBAL GAP and INDGAP certification as per their respective standards.

Basmati rice is ecologically better suited than rice in Punjab and has a great export potential. In 2020-21, India exported 46.32 lakh metric tonnes of Basmati rice. However, very stringent quality checks particularly of pesticide residues have been put in place by the importing countries. European Union (EU) has reduced the maximum residue limit (MRL) for Tricyclazole, a systemic fungicide, from 1.0 ppm to 0.01 ppm resulting in more than 45% reduction in export to EU. The pre-shipment testing of rice for residue of 22 pesticides has been made mandatory for export. Thus, to sustain or increase the Basmati rice exports, it becomes necessary to adhere to such production practices which ensure zero pesticide use or pesticide residue risk-free produce. There is need to popularize the non-chemical pest management in Basmati rice, and use of pesticides only as a last resort to have safe produce for domestic and international markets. To demonstrate the potential of such practices and inputs (GAP) in basmati rice at farmer’s fields, a project funded by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India under Biotech-KISAN programme was undertaken by School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana in three clusters in Patiala, Sangrur and Ferozepur districts for two years during 2019 and 2020. Each cluster had 23-25 farmers and land area of 50 acres. The majority of the adopted farmers were not aware of GAP before the start of this project. Farmer trainings and farm schools were conducted on different aspects of GAP starting from the soil testing till harvest of the crop. Green manuring was done with summer moong after picking of pods and need based urea was applied by using leaf color chart (LCC). Bioagents and biopesticides were used for insect-pests and disease management. Biofungicide Trichoderma harzianum and biofertilizer Azospirillum were used for seed and seedling treatment, to manage the incidence of foot rot disease and improve soil health, respectively. The seeds were smeared with talc formulation of Trichoderma harzianum @ 15 g per kg of seed immediately before sowing of nursery. At the time of transplanting, the roots of seedlings were dipped for 6 hrs with T. harzianum @ 15g per litre of water and kept under shade for 12 hours. Then just before transplanting, roots of seedlings were dipped for 45 minutes in solution of biofertilizer prepared by dissolving one packet of Azospirillum in water. Ecofriendly non-chemical options (Trichocards and neem based pesticides) were encouraged for the management of insect-pests. Five releases of Trichogramma spp were made at weekly interval by starting at 30 days after transplanting. Each Tricho-card was cut into into 40 small strips, each having approximately 1000 parasitized eggs, and then stapled uniformly on underside of the leaves at 40 spots per acre. One spray of neem Kavach @ 1 litre/acre was done. During 1^st year, The major achievements of the project are as under:

• Thirteen per cent of the farmers did not apply urea to Basmati rice and 51% farmers used less than recommended urea. The use of weedicides is restricted under GAP and thus 91% farmers did not use any weedicide and rest of the farmers used recommended weedicide at recommended dose to control the weeds.
• Seventy-nine per cent farmers used only biopesticides for the management of insect-pests and only 21% farmers did one spray of recommended pesticide along with biopesticide. After seeing good result of biopesticides in the 1^st year, the 100% farmers during 2^nd year avoided the use of chemical pesticides.
• Use of chemical fungicides for disease management was completely avoided by majority of farmers (98 % farmers) during both the years.
• As far as the cost of production under GAP was concerned, green manuring, manual weeding and non-chemical insect-pest management had higher cost compared to conventional grown rice and Basmati rice. But, the seed and seedling treatment with Trichoderma harzianum was cheaper than the chemical seed treatment in conventional paddy and Basmati rice. Thus, growing of Basmati rice under GAP required additional cost of Rs 1,354 and 2,204 per acre over the conventionally grown rice and Basmati rice, respectively. The comparison of GAP has been made with the recommended practices whereas the farmers use higher quantity of fertilizers and pesticides than the recommendations. (Table 1). But, GAP apart from crop management have positive role in improving soil health and ecosystem services and are beneficial for sustainability of agriculture. Growing of Basmati rice in place of parmal rice is also a part of GAP because of conservation of ground water and reduced environmental costs.

• Grain yield of a crop is the ultimate deciding factor determining the economic viability and sustainability of a practice. Average grain yield of Basmati rice grown by farmers with Good Agricultural Practices was 18.9 q/acre which was higher than the yield of Basmati rice grown by conventional practices (18.3q/acre) (Figure 1).
• The majority of farmers had grown rice crop so comparison of Basmati rice grown under GAP was also made with conventional paddy. The overall mean grain yields of paddy under conventional system and Basmati rice under GAP were 28.7 and 18.9 q/acre, respectively. Basmati rice grain yield under GAP after converting into the rice equivalent yields were 31.4 and 34.6 q/acre at normal price (Rs 3000/q) and at 10% price premium respectively (Figure 2). Thus, Basmati rice under GAP, apart from being environmentally safe, produced 9.4% and 20.6% higher economic yields at normal and 10% higher price premium respectively. The net returns over variable costs from Basmati rice grown under GAP were Rs 51,713/acre at normal price and Rs 57,383/acre at 10% price premium whereas the same from conventionally grown paddy were Rs 47,567/acre and from Basmati rice were Rs 52,117/acre.
• Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) apart from safe food production are also environment friendly but need incentivization in terms of non-chemical input supplies and price premium on produce.

Table 1. Variable costs under GAP and conventional system

Figure 1: Grain yield of Basmati rice (q/acre) under GAP and conventional farming

Figure 2: Productivity of rice under conventional farming and basmati rice (q/acre) under GAP

Biotech-KISAN: INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS

Expansion of Activities of Biotech-KISAN Hub in Two Aspirational Districts (Moga and Ferozepur) of Punjab and One Aspirational District (Chamba) of Himachal Pradesh

Funding agency: Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India under Mission Programme on Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network (Biotech-KISAN)

Period of commencement: December, 2019

Principal Investigator: Dr C S Aulakh, Principal Agronomist & Director

Co-PIs:

Hub Institute

Dr S S Walia, Principal Agronomist

Dr A S Sidhu, Agronomist

Dr Jatinder Sachdeva, Senior Agricultural Economist

District Moga

Dr Amandeep Singh Brar, Deputy Director (Trg.)

Dr Prabhjot Kaur Sidhu, Asstt. Professor (Animal Science)

Mr. Jagjeet Singh, Young Professional-II

Mr. Pukhraj Singh, Young Professional-II

District Ferozepur

Dr Gurjant Singh Aulakh, Associate Director (Trg)

Dr Manish Kumar, Asstt. Professor (Animal Science)

Mrs. Gagandeep Kaur, Young Professional-II

Ms. Shaminder Kaur, Young Professional-II

District Chamba

Dr Rajeev Raina, Principal Scientist & Head

Dr Anurag Sharma, Scientist (Entomology)

PARTNER CENTRES:

1. KVK,Moga
2. KVK, Ferozepur
3. KVK,Chamba

OBJECTIVES

· To characterize and identify variability in agricultural practices among farmers through bench mark survey of adopted farm households.

· To demonstrate potential of integrating site-specific ecologically and economically viable enterprises.

· To study the impact assessment of farming system interventions in respect of livelihood security of adopted farm households.

METHODOLOGY

Number of clusters: 3 [Moga, Ferozepur and Chamba]

Total number of farmers: 70

Number of farmers/districts:

Moga 25
Ferozepur: 25

Chamba: 20

Components of Integrated Farming System included

Backyard poultry, Mushroom production, Goatry, Dairy, Fruit trees, Agroforestry, Seed of improved crop varieties,

Technology component:

Integrated Farming System Models, Seed production, marketing interventions

Progress of project activities

Project activities in Moga and Ferozepur districts: In Farming System Approach, diversification through subsidiary occupation is considered very crucial. The occupations like dairy, poultry and goatry are the main inter-related farm land enterprises. The basic input in all these enterprises except dairy which is already popular since age old time is the awareness about technical know-how. To fulfill this key input the selected farmers were motivated to participate in the training programmes to get basic information as well as their future prospects. Two training programmes on “Backyard poultry and mushroom production” were conducted on 15/12/2020 and 21/12/2020 at KVK Moga and KVK, Ferozepur, respectively.Package of practices for Rabi crops and booklets “Poultry rearing” and “Mushroom production” wasprovided to the farmers for their technical guidance and better management of resources.

Twenty-five farmers in each district (Moga and Ferozepur) were adopted for conducting demonstrations and disseminating improved technologies in agriculture and allied enterprises (Table 1 & 2). A total of 8 technology demonstrations and interventions were undertaken in two aspirational districts (Moga and Ferozepur) as detailed in Table 1. Wheat seed of improved variety (HD 3086) was given to farmers to enhance productivity level and to demonstrate the importance of replacing seed. A total of 50 demonstrations (one acre each) are in progress.

Dairy is one of the most important component of integrated farming systems. Green fodder plays crucial role in improving the efficiency of dairy animals. Berseem is most commonly grown green fodder in these districts but farmers are growing local varieties which give less yield of green fodder. So seed of improved berseem variety (BL 42) was given to farmers and demonstrations are in progress. Demonstration were also carried out on use of mineral mixture to dairy animal to improve their milk production.

Demonstrations on vegetable kitchen gardening are in progress to fulfill household requirement of vegetables from it. For this purpose 50 vegetable kits were given to adopted farmers. Forest tree (Burma dek) and fruit plants (Guava, lemon and ber) were distributed among adopted farmers.

To supplement income of farmers, mushroom cultivation was promoted among adopted farmers by giving 20 bags to each farmer. To promote backyard poultry, Poultry birds (Chicks) of improved indigo brown layer were given to farmers to increase their income. Eight birds were provided to each farmer.

The above quoted farmers were selected as per the mandate and during group discussion with the farmers and it was realized to start as per their interest on account the implementation with participatory mode. The farmers’ interest and marketing component were considered at length before making the choice. In addition, there were numerous components of improved technology such as viable cropping systems, agroforestry, low tunnel technology for raising early vegetables, can play a pivotal role in increasing the per unit productivity. Enterprises like mushroom cultivation, bee keeping and goatry, which do not require extra space but prove highly economical, were also encouraged. It is worth to mention here that only critical input and technical assistance was being rendered to the farmers for the rapid adoption by creating curiosity about ‘learning by doing’. These components will help to conserve the natural resources by ensuring their judicious use and will also generate employment avenues throughout the year. The inclusion of such individual components/subsidiary occupations also create to increase the man-days for the rural youth.

Table 1: Details of farmers adopted in district Moga

Details of project activities in Moga and Ferozepur

I. Wheat (HD 3086)

The demonstrations on improved variety of wheat (HD 3086) are under progress at 50 locations in both districts. The crop stand is excellent and farmers are satisfied with performance of this variety till date. The detailed results of these will be shared in next report.

II. Berseem (BL 42)

The main critical input in dairy enterprise is supply of green fodder at the rate of 40 kg/day/animal. The demonstration on berseen variety BL 42, which gives more green fodder yield and remains green up to first week of June are in progress at 50 locations in both districts. Farmers have taken three to four cuttings of till now are they are satisfied with green fodder yield of this variety. Most of the farmers have kept berseem for seed production.

III. Vegetable kitchen gardening

To supplement the nutrient requirement of family members, demonstrations on vegetable kitchen gardening are in progress at 50 locations in both districts. Vegetable kits of winter vegetable seeds were given to farmers to promote the concept of kitchen gardening. Farmers used these vegetable for household purpose and are satisfied.

IV. Mushroom production

Subsidiary enterprises are very important to supplement the income of farmers. To promote mushroom production at house hold level, demonstrations on mushroom cultivation are in progress with 50 farmers in both districts. Training was provided to farmers on detailed aspects of mushroom cultivation at KVK, Moga and Ferozepur. Each farmer was given 20 bags (17 of button and 3 of dhingri mushroom) as start up to facilitate them. Now, farmers have started harvesting mushrooms from these bags. Some farmers are using these for household whereas some are also selling them in the market.

V. Agro-forestry (Burma dek/Poplar)

Demonstration on burmadekare in progress at 50 locations in both districts to get some additional income as well as to promote the concept of agroforestry at field bunds.

VI. Fruit plants (Guava, lemon and ber)

To promote diversification,demonstrations on fruit plants (Guava, lemon and ber) are in progress at 50 locations in both districts. These will fetch additional income apart from fulfilling household demand.

VII. Backyard Poultry

Demonstrations on poultry (egg production) are in progress at 50 locations in both districts. One month old eighty chicks of improved Indigo brown layer were given to each farmer as a critical input. Training programme on poultry production was conducted in both districts to acquaint farmers about all aspects of poultry rearing and egg production. The cost of building poultry shed was born by the farmers. Egg production has started. Farmers are using eggs for home consumption and also selling in the local market. As the egg production will increase, farmers will be facilitated in marketing.

VIII. Mineral mixture

To supplement the nutrition requirement of milch animals, 10 kg mineral mixture was provided to each farmer. This was given one tagged milch animal of each farmer. There was improvement in milk production after inclusion of mineral mixture in feed of milch animals. Milk production/animal/day increased from 21.06 to 22.66 after use of mineral mixture was started by farmers.

IX. Goatry: Goats have been procured and distributed to farmers in Moga and Ferozepur districts. Each adopted farmer has been given two female goats and male goats have been provided on sharing basis.

TRAININGS AND INPUTS DISTRIBUTION
Distribution of mushroom bags and mineral mixtures to adopted farmers of Distt. Moga	Distribution of mushroom bags and mineral mixtures to adopted farmers of Distt. Ferozepur
Training programme on backyard poultry and mushroom production at KVK, Moga	Training programme on backyard poultry and mushroom production at KVK, Ferozepur
Distribution of goats to adopted farmers of Distt. Moga	Distribution of chicks in Distt. Moga
BENCH MARK SURVEY AND FIELD VISITS
Visit for bench mark survey in Distt. Ferozepur	Visit to backyard poultry in Distt. moga
Visit to backyard poultry in Distt. Moga	Visit to goatry unit in Distt. Ferozepur
INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM COMPONENTS AT FARMERS FIELDS
Mushroom production	Backyard poultry
Wheat	Vegetable kitchen garden
MEDIA COVERAGE