Resource recycling in integrated farming system

One of the main objectives in the Integrated Farming System is recycling of

produces/wastes among the components involved. The end product of such recycled materials is
used as organic manures for crop plants. Some of the products are improved in their quality on
recycling and thus it provides double benefit to the farmer. A judicious mix of one or more
enterprises with cropping, complements each enterprise through effective recycling of
waste/residues.
Crop and animal waste utilization
The productivity of livestock mainly depends on the availability of quality feed and
fodders in requisite quantity. It is observed that most of the livestock population in the country is
underfed. The residues of different agricultural crops constitute the major source of fodder for
livestock. In India, till late 1980’s the main source of livestock feed consisted of conventional
agricultural residues like rice straw, wheat, sorghum and maize stalks, sugarcane trash and
remains from pulses. Based on the grain: straw ratio, approximately 321.4 million tonnes of
agricultural crop residues are available in India.
The area under green fodder is not increasing to meet the increased demand. The area
under green fodder in the country is estimated to be approximately 4% of the total cultivated
area. Since the farmers feel that animal power is one of the costliest inputs, they switched over to
mechanical power for most of the operations.
Moreover, the animals meant for milk and meat is replaced by cross- bred and improved
varieties, which need to be supplemented with quality concentrated feeds. Thus, the estimated
total production of crop residues in 2020 AD to the tune of 447.0 million tonnes is to be
effectively utilized otherwise. The details of the crop residues in India as given by FAO (1985)
projected to 2020 AD are furnished in Table.1.
In addition to crop residues, there is a possibility for collecting the following quantities of animal
voids in India (FAO.1985).
Cow dung 750 m.t.
Buffalo dung 250 m.t.
Voids of small ruminants 130 m.t.
Total 1130 m.t.

At present the voids are being utilized for fuel and as FYM/compost. When recycled
through biogas unit, there is good possibility to improve the organic source of nutrients apart
from generation of fuel energy where tapping of fossil fuel is getting depleted. Apart from the
major nutrients there is good amount of enhancement in the availability of secondary and trace
elements. By virtue of adoption of one of the modern agricultural technology viz.,Integrated
Farming System (IFS) in the farm activity, there is a possibility of improving untapped potential
of each and every produce by recycling with dual benefits.

Lowland Farming
In the lowland IFS, cropping, poultry, fishery and mushroom enterprises are involved
with a view to recycle the residue and byproducts of one component over the other. A trial was
conducted for a period of five years (1987- 1992) in an area of 0.4 ha (1.0 acre) considering the
average holding size of marginal and small category farmers. In one acre farm, 90 cents were
assigned for crop activity and the remaining 10 cents allotted to fish pond. Twenty fowls
sheltered over 10 cents of fish pond to feed 400 polyculture fingerlings gave about 700 kg
poultry droppings in a cropping year. This could yield about 33.7, 21.4, 10.1 kg of N, P2O5 and
K2O respectively. In IFS, at the end of one year after the harvest of grown up fish, about 4500 kg
of silt was obtained from the pond with a nutrient content of 3.52, 1.38 and 1.06 per cent N,
P2O5 and K2O respectively. The total nutrient content thus worked out to about 158.4, 62.1 and
47.7 kg of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. This could relieved the burden of applying
equal quantity of inorganic fertilizer to the crop component of the IFS. Even after accounting the
nutrient value of the voids of fowls as manure, additional benefit of 124.7 kg, 40.7 kg and 37.6
kg of NPK respectively, can be achieved by recycling (Table 2).
Integrated Farming System evaluation indicators
Energy efficiency
Energy input and output were worked out for individual components based on the input
and output energies and energy efficiency suggested

Outcome of IFS approach

 Improvement of socio economic and rural committees

 Productivity
 Profitability
 Food and nutritional security
 Environmental safety
 Water harvest and efficient use of water.
 Recycling
 Diversification
 Distribution of income
 Reduction in use of non-renewable energy
Questions:

1. List out the different indices to evaluate the farming system research

2. What are all the goals of the farming system research?

3. Write the objectives of farming system research?

 4. INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM - MODELS FOR WETLAND, IRRIGATED
UPLAND AND DRYLAND ECO-SYSTEM

Wetlad:
Integrated farming systems experiments were conducted at wetlands from 1987-92, 1993-
95 and 1998 - 2001 of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore involving different
components viz., poultry, pigeon, goat, fishery and mushroom. Coimbatore receives the normal
total rainfall of 678.2 mm in 46.4 rainy days. The soil of the experimental is moderately drained
clay loam. Water requirement of the components in the farming systems and irrigation water
requirements of the experimental plots was met from the borewell situated near the experimental
field.
Cropping + poultry + fish culture + mushroom
Integrated farming systems involving poultry, fish culture and mushroom cultivation
were taken from 1987-1992. In wetland, the normal cropping programme followed is Rice - Rice
- Green manure / Pulse. But in the integrated approach, a modification was made in the existing
cropping pattern by including crops like maize, groundnut and gingelly. Cropping was
undertaken in 0.36 ha and 0.04 ha was allotted for fish pond and the poultry shed was placed
above the pond. The polyculture fingerlings are preferred for this system as the growth rate of
fish within a year is found more economical than monoculture. The fingerlings were released in
the pond as per the recommended stocking density of 10000 numbers per hectare of ponded
water. Accordingly, 400 fingerlingss were released in the pond of 0.04 hectare area. No separate
feed was applied to the pond; instead, the poultry droppings from the poultry shed placed well
above the farm pond formed the feeding material. Twenty Bapkok chicks were used in the
proposed programme to meet the feed requirement of fingerlings released in the 10 cent pond.
In this integrated system, the waste products of rice formed 33 % of the poultry feed and
the feed cost could be reduced by 57.5 per cent by substituting rice grain, maize, oil cakes of
crop component and the lucerne grown around the fish pond. In commercial poultry farm, cost
of production per egg will be around 42 paise. By way of reducing the feed cost, the cost of
production per egg under the integrated farming system was reduced to 19 paise only. The
poultry unit of 20 chicks yielded 4531 eggs with 29 kg of culled birds valued Rs. 2520. The
gross income from the integrated farming system was Rs.70619 ha-1 year-1 and that of the
conventional cropping system was Rs.33446 ha -1 year-1 (Table 2 and Model 1 & 2). Of the
income from integrated farming system 59.3 per cent was from cropping, 8.7 per cent from
poultry, 7.4 per cent from fish culture and 24.6 per cent from mushroom. The additional net
income realized from the integrated farming system was Rs.18360 ha-1 year-1 (Rangasamy,
1995).
Table 2. Economics and employment generation in Integrated Farming System

Gross Expenditure Net Employment

System income (Rs./ha) income (man days/
(Rs./ha) (Rs./ha) ha./year)
Crop + Poultry + fish + 70619 34673 35946 1383
mushroom
Crop cultivation alone 33446 15860 17586 930
Additional benefit 37173 18813 18360 453
(Rangasamy, 1995)
Crop + poultry/ pigeon + fish + mushroom
In this system, the component of integrated farming system involved were crop + fish +
mushroom, crop + poultry + fish + mushroom and crop + pigeon + fish + mushroom and was taken
from 1993 - 1995. The efficiency of the component linkages was evaluated predominantly on the basis
of productivity, its income and employment generation with the possibility of utilizing recycled organic
wastes as nutrient to enrich the soil fertility.
Experimental results on enterprise linkage for low land farming systems revealed that rice
- soybean - sunflower and rice - gingelly - maize cropping systems each in 0.18 ha with pigeon
(40 pairs), fish (400 polyculture fingerlings in 0.04 ha of ponded water) and mushroom (2
kg/day) was best in obtaining higher productivity in the system as a whole than the conventional
cropping system being popular with rice-green gram-maize (0.20 ha) and rice - sunnhemp -
maize (0.20 ha) cropping systems (Model 3). Cropping + pigeon + fish + mushroom integration
earned the highest gross and net returns with better per day returns and benefit cost ratio (Plate
1). Integration of cropping with pigeon + fish + mushroom generated the highest employment of
798 man days ha-1 year-1 with 1.16 man days from the allied enterprises linked with equi-
distribution throughout the year. Integration of poultry + fish + mushroom + cropping applied
with recycled poultry manure sustained the productivity of soil through the additions of bio
resource residue with better NPK nutrients supply potential (Model 4).
The growth of fish cultures included was comparable among artificial feeding and the
treatments with poultry and pigeon droppings feeding. Fish production was higher with artificial
feeding than with other two methods (Model 5). However, the net returns and benefit cost ratio
were higher in the fish fed with poultry dropping followed by pigeon dropping (Jayanthi, 1995).
 To enhance and sustain the productivity, economic returns, employment generation for
the family labour round the year and soil fertility with environmental protection, integration of
rice-gingelly-maize and rice- soybean -sunflower cropping each in 0.45 ha with recycled poultry
manure as fish pond silt to rice and 75 per cent of the recommended NPK to each crop in the
system + poultry (50 layers) + fish (1000 polyculture fingerlings in 0.10 ha of ponded water)
comprising catla (20 per cent), silver carp (20 per cent), rohu (20 per cent), mrigal (15 per cent),
common carp (15 per cent) and grass carp (10 per cent) fed with poultry dropping + oyster
mushroom (5kg/day) for the lowland farmers having one hectare farm (Jayanthi,1995).
Cropping + poultry / pigeon / goat + fishery
During 1998-2001, the study involved cropping, poultry, pigeon, goat and fishery
enterprises in all possible combinations, with a view to recycle the residue and by- products of
one component over the other (Plate 2 &3). In one hectare farm, an area of 0.75 ha was assigned
for crop activity, 0.10 ha for growing fodder grass to feed the goat unit (20+1), 0.03 ha allotted to
goat shed and the remaining 0.12 ha allotted to 3 fish ponds. Three integrated farming systems
viz., crop + fish + poultry (20 Bapkok layer birds), crop + fish + pigeon (40 pairs) and crop + fish
+ goat (Tellicherry breed of 20 female and 1 male maintained in 0.03 ha deep litter system) were
tried for three years. Polyculture fingerlings of 400 numbers (catla, rohu, mirgal/ common carp
and grass carp) in the ratio of 40:20:30:10, respectively, reared in 3 ponds of size 0.04 ha (depth
of 1.5 m) each.
Fishes were fed with poultry, pigeon (700 kg poultry/pigeon droppings obtained from 20
Bapkok layers/40 productive pairs of pigeon) sheltered over two fish ponds and goat droppings
(3 animals - 800 kg droppings) to assess the feasibility of rearing fish by using different manures
as feed. Under Integrated Farming System, cropping sequence includes (i) sugarcane (Planted) -
sugarcane (Ratoon) - banana (3 years) (ii) banana - turmeric - rice - banana (3 years) and (iii)
maize - rice - sesame - sunnhemp (annual) each in 0.25 ha and bajra - napier grass + desmanthus
(perennial) in 0.10ha.
Conventional cropping system comprising (i) rice -rice - black gram (ii) maize - rice -
black gram (iii) maize - rice - sunnhemp and (iv) rice - rice - sunnhemp each in 0.25 ha, as
practised by the farmers was taken up for comparison .
To sustain the productivity of soil through integrated nutrient supply, recycled poultry,
pigeon and goat manures and composted crop residue (banana waste and sugarcane trash) as
vermicompost each @ 6.25 t/ha were tested along with 100,80 and 60% of the recommended
fertilizer for the sequences of cropping.
 Integrated farming system provides an opportunity to increase economic yield per unit
area per unit time by virtue of intensification of crop and allied enterprises. Research results on
integrated farming system for three years revealed that integration of crop with fish, poultry,
pigeon and goat resulted in higher productivity than cropping alone under lowland. Crop + fish
+ goat integration recorded higher rice grain equivalent yield of 39610 kg/ha (mean over three
years) than other systems (Table 3). Similarly, as an individual animal component, the goat unit
(20 + 1) gave the highest productivity of 8818 kg (mean over three years). This could also
provide 11.0 t of valuable manure apart from supplementing the feed requirement of 400
numbers of fish. While assessing the feasibility of rearing fish by using poultry, pigeon and goat
droppings as feed, the fish fed with poultry droppings resulted in higher fish yield (825 kg / 0.04
ha ponded water) than the other two sources of feed (Plate 4).
Table 3. Productivity of integrated farming system and its linked components

*Component Productivity (kg) System % increase

Farming productivity over CCS
systems Crop Poultry Pigeon Fish Goat
(kg/ ha)
FS1 12995 - - - - 12995 -
-Cropping
alone
FS2 - Crop + 26352 1205 - 2052 - 29609 128
Fish + (89.0) (4.1) (6.9)
Poultry
FS3 - Crop + 24854 - 2545 1774 - 29173 124
Fish + Pigeon (85.2) (8.7) (6.1)
FS4 - Crop + 25725 - - 1975 9979 37679 190
Fish + Goat (68.3) (5.2) (26.5)
(Jayanthi, 2002)
* Productivity is expressed in rice grain equivalents yields. Figures in the parenthesis indicate
per cent contribution of each component
The highest net return of Rs.131118 and per day return of Rs.511 ha -1 were obtained by
integrating goat + fish + cropping applied with recycled fish pond silt enriched with goat
droppings (Table 4). Higher net return of Rs.3.36 for every rupee invested was obtained by
integration of pigeon + fish + cropping applied with recycled fish pond silt enriched with pigeon
droppings.
The employment opportunity was also increased to 576 man days ha -1 year-1 by
integrating fish + goat in the cropping as against cropping alone (369 man days ha -1 year-1)
(Table 5). Combining cropping with other allied enterprises would increase labour requirement
and thus provide scope to employ family labour round the year.
Integration of crop with fish and poultry resulted in higher fish productivity under lowlands. The
poultry, pigeon and goat droppings were utilized as feed initially and at the end of a year after
the fish harvest, about 4500 kg of settled silt from each pond were collected. The pond silt was
utilized as organic sources to supply sufficient quantity of nutrients to the crops.
Table 5. Employment generation in Integrated Farming Systems

Employment generation (mandays)

Farming systems
Crop Poultry Pigeon Fish Goat
1998-1999
Cropping alone 369 - - - - 369
Crop + Fish + Poultry 415 61 - 34 - 510
Crop + Fish +Pigeon 415 - 61 34 - 510
Crop + Fish + Goat 415 - - 34 122 571
1999- 2000
Cropping alone 369 61 - - - 369
Crop + Fish + Poultry 424 - - 34 - 519
Crop + Fish +Pigeon 424 - 61 34 - 519
Crop + Fish + Goat 424 - - 34 122 580
2000-2001
Cropping alone 369 - - - - 369
Crop + Fish +Poultry 420 61 61 34 - 515
Crop + Fish + Pigeon 420 - - 34 - 515
Crop + Fish +Goat 420 - - 34 122 576
Mean over three years (1998-2001)

Particulars 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 Mean

Cropping alone 369 369 369 369
Crop + Fish +Poultry 510 519 515 515
Crop + Fish + Pigeon 510 519 515 515
Crop + Fish +Goat 571 580 576 576
(Jayanthi, 2002)
Twenty fowls in the poultry unit and 40 productive pairs in the pigeon unit voided 700 kg
of droppings with the nutrient potential of 22.5, 17.5 and 7.4 kg and 12.7, 3.9 and 6.9 kg of N,
P2O5 and K2O, respectively, but when recycled through fish pond, nutrient contents were
enhanced by three folds. Similarly, three goats produced 810 kg of voiding contributing 11.3,
6.9 and 5.7 kg of N, P2O5 and K2O nutrients, which were further enhanced by three folds through
recycling. The additional nutrients gained by recycling were the highest with poultry manure
with 65.7, 28.4 and 25.0 kg N, P2O5, and K2O, respectively than with goat/pigeon manure
(Jayanthi, 2001).
The system as a whole provided an opportunity to make use of produce/waste materials
of one component as input on another at the least cost/no cost at farm level. To enhance the
productivity, sustain the income and employment generation for family labour, integration of
crop with fish + goat/pigeon/poultry could be adopted than cultivating the crop alone under
lowland farms.
Table 6. Nutrient value of recycled poultry/ pigeon/ goat manure

Particulars Poultry Pigeon Goat

Birds /animals used to satisfy the feed

20 layers 40 pairs 3 animals
requirement of 400 fingerlings

Quantum of dropping received in an year 700 kg 700 kg 810 kg

Silt cleared after one year from 0.04 ha pond 4.5 t 4.5 t 4.5 t

Raw poultry dropping Pond manure

Nutrien Kg/ 4500 Additional nutrient gained (kg)
t % kg/ 700kg % k
g
3.22 22.5 1.96 88.2 65.7
N
P2O5 2.50 17.5 1.02 45.9 28.4

K2O 1.05 7.4 0.72 32.4 25.0

Raw Pigeon dropping Pond manure

Nutrien kg/ 4500 Additional nutrient gained (kg)
t % kg/ 700kg % k
g
1.82 12.7 0.84 37.8 25.1
N
P2O5 0.56 3.9 0.30 13.5 9.6

K2O 0.98 6.9 0.56 25.2 18.3

 Raw Goat
Pond manure
dropping Additional nutrient gained (kg)
Nutrien
t % kg/ 810kg % kg/ 4500 kg

0.7
1.40 11.3 31.5 20.2
N 0

P2O5 0.85 6.9 0.6 27.9 21.0

2
0.4
K2O 0.70 5.7 21.6 15.9
8

(Jayanthi, 2001)
Rice + Fish + Azolla + Calotropis Farming
A field study was conducted at low-lying wetlands of Lower Bhavani Project Area,
Agricultural Research Station, Bhavanisagar from 1992 - 1994 with a view to evaluate the
feasibility and economics of rice-fish-azolla farming with calotropis as green leaf manure.
Experiment was conducted with two rice crop seasons (kharif and rabi) planted with rice
varieties ADT 36 and ADT 38 with a total duration of eight months with one fish crop. Azolla
microphylla was applied at the rate of 2.0 t/ha as fish feed cum N fixer, five days after
transplanting. Calotropis was incorporated (12.5 t/ha) as green leaf manure, 10 days before
transplanting. Fertilizer was applied at the recommended level (100:50:50 kg NPK/ha).
Irrigation was scheduled to maintain 5 cm depth of water throughout the crop growth period.
Need based plant protection measures were taken with 5% neem seed kernel extract.
Fingerlings of catla, roghu and mrigal were stocked in equal ratio with a total of 3000
numbers/ha, 15 days after transplanting. Banana pseudostems with cow dung (1:1) mixture and
rice bran were fed at the rate of 5% of the fish body weight. Field trenches were provided with
1.0 m depth and 1.0 m width occupying 10% of the rice area to shelter the fish.
Table 7. Yield and economics of different farming system (Two years mean)

Paddy grain Fish yield Net return Additional

System
yield kg/ha kg/ha Rs./ha income Rs./ha
Rice- Rice 10099 - 15299 -
Rice-Rice-
9870 163 16531 1232
azolla+fish
Rice-Rice-azolla
10125 173 17488 2189
Calotropis+fish
(Balusamy and Shanmugasundaram, 1994)
 The data presented in Table 7 revealed that in lowlying wetlands, the most profitable
farming system was rice - rice - azolla - calotropis + fish farming. There was slight decline in
rice yield under rice-rice-fish farming due to the presence of fish trenches occupying 10% of the
area. However, the yield reduction can be made to normal or even higher when azolla and
calotropis were introduced.
The soil fertility status indicated that in general there was an increase in the available
nutrient after completion of cycle (Table 8). Even after heavy depletion, through crop removal,
the nutrients status could be replenished by the addition of organic residues. This might be due
to degradation of azolla, fish manure and fish feed under these systems (Balusamy and
Shanmugasundaram, 1994).
Table 8. Nitrogen budget in rice-fish-azolla farming system

Crop Net gain

Initial N N added Available
System removal or loss
(kg/ha) (kg//ha) (N kg/ha)
(kg/ha) kg/ha
Rice-Rice 227 100 82 219 -8
Rice-Rice-azolla+ fish 227 129 89 245 +18
Rice-Rice-azolla+
221 190 93 251 +24
Calotropis+ fish
(Balusamy and Shanmugasundaram, 1994)
RICE + FISH + VEGETABLE FARMING
For effective restoration and recycling of organic wastes, an experiment was taken to
integrate rice-vegetable and fish culture in wetlands at Agricultural Research Station,
Bhavanisagar. The objective is to maximize the return per unit area and also efficient recycling
of crop residue along with fish culture.
The experiment consisted of rice alone, rice - rice + fish, rice - rice -vegetable + fish
farming systems. The experiment was continued for two seasons with a total duration of eight
months. The study area was 0.25 ha/system. Field trenches (1 m deep x 1 m wide) were
provided for fish shelter. Catla, rohu and mrigal were stocked 15 days after transplanting at an
equal ratio of 3000 fingerlings/ha. Vegetables crops viz., bitter gourd, ribbed gourd, beans, etc.,
were raised along the raised bund of fish trenches.
The results (Table 9) indicated that the rice - rice - vegetable + fish culture was more
remunerative and it was possible to get two rice crop, one vegetable crop and one fish crop
within eight months in rice field under two season paddy area (Balusamy and
Shanmugasundaram, 1994).
Table 9. Productivity and economic contribution of components in rice-rice-vegetable +
fish culture farming systems

Rice yield Fish yield Vegetable Net income

System kg/ha kg/ha yield kg/ha Rs./ha
I II I II I II I II
Rice - Rice 10108 10285 - - - - 15328 15840
Rice - Rice+ Fish 9834 10040 - - 105 124 16224 17504
Rice- Rice + Fish
9904 10094 450 407 108 132 17888 19496
+Vegetable
I : First year (1992- 93) II : Second year (1993 - 94)
(Balusamy and Shanmugasundaram, 1994)
Upland with supplemental Irrigation
Crop + Dairy +Biogas + Silviculture
Integrated farming system experiments were conducted at irrigated uplands of Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore from 1987-92 and 1999 - 2001. The soil type of the
experimental field was clay loam with low in available N, medium in available P and high in
available K. The major source of water was met from deep bore well. The major cropping
system followed under irrigated uplands are Sorghum - cotton - maize, Ragi - cotton - maize and
Ragi - cotton - sorghum. The various components integrated were dairy, biogas, spawn and
mushroom production, apiary, homestead garden, fish rearing and silviculture.
Integrated farming system involving crop, dairy, biogas and silviculture was taken from 1987-92.
The normal cropping pattern followed in Coimbatore is ragi-cotton-sorghum. In the integrated
approach, the same cropping pattern was slightly modified by inclusion of intercropping such as
greengram in cotton, cowpea in sorghum and sunflower as border crop in ragi (0.75 ha). The
perennial grass fodder (0.15 ha) and legume fodder lucerne (0.05 ha) were also raised in the
holding.
Three jersey cross bred milch cows with 2 calves were included under dairy component.
For effective recycling of farm and animal waste, a bio-gas unit
of 2 m3 capacity was installed for the production of fuel, light and enriched manure (Plate 6).
Sixty kg of cowdung expected out of 5 animals is sufficient enough to produce 2 m 3 of gas
everyday which is equivalent to 1.5 litres kerosene. Two hundred numbers of subabul tress were
planted all along the boundary of the field for fodder and timber production. The results of the
study revealed that the entire system produced a net income of Rs.20702 ha -1 year-1 (Models 9
and 10). This system also facilitated effective recycling of farm and animal waste, improved
farm employment opportunities and continuous flow of income to farm throughout the year.
By this recycling, some of the weed seeds present in the raw cow dung also get killed
during digestion process, thus improving the quality of the slurry over its raw material used viz.,
cow dung. The quality improvement by way of recycling the cow dung through biogas chamber
was studied by analyzing the NPK content of slurry and FYM prepared utilizing the cow dung
from the system.
Recycling of cow dung lead to the production of 730 m 3 of biogas with the possibility of
enhancing the nutrient value of NPK to the tune of 44.5 kg, 65.9 kg and 28 kg respectively, in a
year. Trace elements like Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu are also present in an enhanced level over FYM
(Rangasamy, 2000).
Nutrient enhancement through biogas slurry and FYM

Major element (%) Trace element (ppm)

Particulars
N P K Fe Mn Zn Cu
Biogas slurry 1.43 1.21 1.01 4200 550 150 52
Farm yard manure 0.94 0.56 0.72 4000 490 100 45
Nutrient gain by recycling (kg)

Particulars N P K Fe Mn Zn Cu
Nutrient in biogas
slurry (11.0 t on dry weight 157.3 133.1 144.4 46.2 6.05 1.65 0.57
basis)
Nutrients in FYM
112.8 67.2 86.4 44.0 5.39 1.10 0.49
(11.6 t) in an year
Nutrients gained by way of
44.5 65.9 28.0 2.2 0.66 0.55 0.08
recycling
(Rangasamy, 2000)
Opportunity for 1.28 family members to be employed round the year
Rainfed land
The meteorological data of different agroclimatic regions of Tamil Nadu have clearly indicated
that the seasonal rainfall in rainfed areas is very low and the distribution is also highly erratic. It
is evident that if the required moisture and nutrient at the critical growth phase of the short
duration field crops are not satisfied, the yield of the crop will be affected drastically. Most of
the years, the farmer experiences complete failure of the crop due to non-availability of moisture
at the critical stage. This is the reason why conventional rainfed agriculture is said to be out and
out a gamble.
 To overcome complete failure in the rainfed areas through traditional crop activity being
practiced, integrating different enterprises and utilising the biomass built up have been identified
as a successful venture to give regular income to the rainfed farmers. There is a good scope for
getting required biomass even with the available erratic seasonal rainfall, to the allied enterprises
likely to be integrated viz., goat, buffalo, pigeon, rabbit, etc. The outcome of these enterprises
will be an alternate source for protein, CHO, fat, minerals, vitamins and energy. Drought
tolerant perennial forest wood /timber value trees can also be raised utilising the rainfall received
round the year and can be a good source for valuable fuel wood or timber after some years (Plate
8). Similarly, drought tolerant perennial horticultural fruit crops can also be raised utilising the
rainfall received round the year and thus could help in improving the income of the resource poor
rainfed farmers. The integrated farming system when implemented properly in the rainfed areas
throughout the country, the present contribution from 2/3 net cultivated rainfed land viz., 42 per
cent can be doubled without any difficulty.
The linkage of other enterprises viz., goat, buffalo, pigeon. rabbit etc will also provide
good amount of organic source of nutrients to the soil. As we well aware, rainfed soils are not
only thirsty but also hungry. If we could improve the nutrient status of the existing rainfed soils
through said linkages; it could enhance the yield substantially, with the prevailing conditions of
the rainfed tract. Considering all these factors, Integrated farming system models consisting of
varied enterprises have been developed at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
Crop + goat
An integrated farming system study involving grain crop, fodder crop, fodder trees,
perennial grasses and goat rearing in an area of one hectare of rainfed land was carried out at
Coimbatore from 1987-1992 (Plate 9). Generally, in dryland farmers raise only fodder sorghum
yielding 3 to 10 tonnes of fodder/ha depending upon the rainfall. In the integrated approach, the
cropping pattern was modified by including both sorghum grain crop (0.2 ha) and sorghum
fodder crop (0.2 ha). To meet the fodder requirement of goats, 0.2 ha of land was raised with
subabul and Cenchrus ciliaris, a pasture grass as an intercrop. Trees like Acacia senegal and
Prosopis cineraria were raised in 0.20 ha. The goat unit comprised of Tellichery goats 20 eves
and 1 buck.
The results revealed that through short duration field crops and perennial crops the feed
requirement for one productive unit consisting of 20 eves and one buck for all the 365 days can
be met. After 5 years, the perennial fodder trees could bear the shock and would yield sufficient
quantum of loppings to supplement the feed requirement of 21 adults along with millets, legumes
and perennial grass linked. The Tellicherry goat will be a good breed to build up body weight
for every unit of feed secured through different sources under rainfed condition. It is a dual
purpose animal, where it gives 80 to 100 ml of milk after satisfying the full requirement of
dependent kids on it every day. Twenty productive females could give 45 kids per annum.
Each kid at the time of weaning will weigh around 12 kg. Moreover the unit of 21 animals with
different stages of kids under deep litter system would give 11.2 t of valuable manure. This,
when applied to the soil, will not only an excellent source of primary, secondary and micro
nutrients for the crops but also absorb more moisture, retain in the soil and releases to the crop
appropriately for better yield.
The net income from the farming system was Rs.5671 ha -1 year-1 and that of control Rs.1919
ha-1 year-1. Out of the total income from the integrated farming systems, 59 per cent was from
goat rearing. The additional net income realized from integrated farming system was Rs.3752
ha-1 year-1 as compared to cropping alone. The additional employment gained through integrated
farming system over cropping was 314 man days ha-1 year-1 (Models 11 and 12).

No. of Kidding year-1 : 1.5

No. of Kids Kidding-1 : 1.5
-1 -1
No. of Kids year adult : 2.25
-1
No. of Kids from 20 adults year : 45
Mean weight of dropping day-1 : Adult : 900g Kid : 110g
Mean weight of dropping year-1 : 8600 kg.
Coir waste used for the stall year-1 : 2600 kg
Deep litter waste obtained year-1 : 11200 kg (8600 + 2600)
Nutrient content of deep litter waste (%) : 1.75 N : 0.95 P: 0.82 K
Total nutrient (kg) available from the goat unit year-1 (kg) : 200 N : 106 P : 91K
The organic manures like, litter from the goat unit can readily be used for soil
application, and thus will help in enriching the soil. Goat droppings are found to be a good
energy source, which can also be linked with biogas unit before it is utilised as manure. This
will generate good volume of gas (22 kg of goat dropping will generate one cubic meter of gas as
against 30 kg of cattle dung) as well as enhance nutrient availability. Thus, through recycling of
organic in the Farming Systems approach, the potential of each produce can be exploited to a
greater extent. The data collected on the availability of organic source of nutrient through 20 + 1
goat reared under deep litter system are presented below (Rangasmay, 1995).
Crop + Tree + Goat
 Another integrated farming system model involving crop + tree + goat was taken from
March 1999 to February 2001. Conventional cropping system with sole sorghum was compared with
Ailanthus excelsa + crop + goat, Ceiba pentandra + crop + goat and Emblica officinalis + crop +
goat to identify the suitable component linkage. The cropping systems included were grain
sorghum + cowpea, fodder sorghum + cowpea and Cenchrus glaucus each in 0.33 ha in
integrated farming systems and the remaining 0.01 ha was allotted to the goat component. One unit
of Tellichery goats, consisting five females and one male was included in the system. Three tree
species viz., A. excelsa, C. pentandra and E. officinalis were evaluated for their performance under
dryland situation to evaluate the suitable in situ moisture conservation practices and nitrogen
management on yield of crops in the integrated farming system.
Experimental results on integrated farming system revealed that (i) integration of
sorghum + cowpea (grain), sorghum + cowpea (fodder) and C. glaucus each in 0.33 ha
intercropped in E. officinalis with Tellichery goat component (5+1) in 0.01 ha resulted in higher
productivity, economic returns and provided better employment opportunity and improved soil
fertility than raising sole sorghum alone (Table 19, 20 & 21) (ii) growth of E. officinalis was
better as compared to other trees under vertisol dryland situation, (iii) coir pith mulching and
pitcher irrigation increased the tree seedling growth than the control, (iv) tied ridges conserved
more moisture and improved the productivity of the crops, (v) application of 50 per cent N
through fertilizer and 50 per cent N through goat manure increased the productivity, enhanced
the soil fertility and provided better opportunity for recycling of manure to the crops
(Radhamani, 2001).
Employment generation (man days) of integrated farming system

1999 2000
Farming systems Cro Tree Goat Tota Crop Tre Goat Tota
p l e l
Conventional 37 - - 37 37 - - 37
cropping
A. excelsa + crop + 44 17 23 84 40 17 35 92
goat
C. pentandra + crop 44 17 23 84 40 17 35 92
+ goat
E. officinalis + crop 44 17 23 84 40 17 35 92
+ goat
(Radhamani, 2001)
Questions:
1. What are all the allied enterprises can be included in the wetland ecosystem?
2. Write about allied enterprises in the rainfed ecosystem?
 COST REDUCTION STRATEGIES IN CROP PRODUCTION – CROPPING SYSTEM, INTEGRATED
FARMING SYSTEM AND DRY FARMING NON-MONETARY INPUTS AND LOW COST
TECHNOLOGIES FOR CROP PRODUCTION

Cost reduction in crop production

Improvement in management practices help to realize higher yields but at the same time
most of the production technologies are also input intensive and labour intensive. Costs of labour
and input are higher and are increasing in upward trend at very frequent intervals. Increase in
wages and inputs make farmers to loose their interest for achieving higher yields. Therefore the
motivation of the farmers to aim for higher productivity may be reduced if the profits are going
to remain the same or sometimes less because of higher cost of cultivation. So, it is necessary to
sustain higher yield levels at reasonable cost of cultivation.
In most of the crops, out of total cost of production, about 50-60% goes as labour wages
and about 40 to 50% for inputs. Out of 100% total cost of cultivation in rice, human labour
occupies 40 %. The remaining are bullock pair - 7 %, seeds - 8 %, fertilizers - 26 %, pesticides -
5 % and irrigation - 12 %. Any attempt to reduce the cost should not result in reduced yields.
Cost reduction in crop production can be achieved through

a. Improving the labour efficiency and reducing the cost of labour for various operations.
Eg. 1. Ridge formation for cane (40 men labour) - Rs. 4000
2. Ridge plough (21/2 pairs) - Rs. 1000
Rectification (10 labour) - Rs. 1000
Total - Rs. 2000
b. Reducing the levels of inputs used without affecting the yield
Eg. Neem cake coated urea for rice there by nitrogen use efficiency is increased with
reduction in N requirement
c. Adoption of low – cost technology
Eg. Use of biofertilizer like azospirillum for cereals, millets, cotton, sesame and
rhizobium for pulses
d. Proper management of non-monetary inputs or no cost technology
No cost technology or non monetary inputs
Non monetary inputs are defined as those cultural operations which help to achieve high
yield at no extra cost and whose cost does not change with the level of output. All timely field
operations from sowing to harvest are no cost technologies.
The following are the some of the no cost technologies / non-monetary inputs in the crop
production
i. Selection of suitable varieties according to the region, season, soils etc.
a. Low temperature – MDU 2 rice
b. Saline soil – CO 43 rice
ii. Use of quality seeds without admixtures to avoid gap filling
iii. Timely land leveling and shaping for efficient water and nutrient management in garden
and dry land regions
iv. Optimum time of sowing / planting.
Eg. Sowing of cotton during August 15th and turmeric – end of May
v. Optimum plant population.
Eg. Soybean 3.33 lakhs / ha
vi. Optimal depth of sowing / planting.
Eg. Rice 4-5 cm, ragi 2-3 cm, sorghum 3-4 cm, cotton, maize, groundnut 5-7 cm.
vii. Correct age of seedlings for transplanting (aged seedling should be avoided)
Eg. Ragi / cumbu / sorghum 16-18 days
Paddy short duration varieties – 21 days
Paddy medium / long duration varieties – 30 days
viii. Timeliness in important field operations.
Eg. Weeding during the critical crop weed competition period
Rice 10-40 days after transplanting
Maize 10-35 Days after sowing
Sugarcane 21-90 days after planting
Early weeding reduces the labour cost
ix. Irrigation at proper time and at optimum level to avoid stress at critical periods
x. Time of fertilizer application to coincide with peak nutrient demand period.
Eg. Sugarcane –with 90 days after planting
xi. Timely harvest to avoid harvest losses
xii. Proper drying is a common low non monetary input
xiii. Proper care in post harvest processing and storage to avoid wastages.
Low cost technology
Techniques which involve very little cost but help to achieve higher yields in crop
production. These technologies are locally adaptable techniques which can bring down the cost
of cultivation to a great extent.
Low Cost Technologies in Crop Production
1. Seed / Seedling treatments with plant protection chemicals, biofertilizers, seed hardeners,
etc. for pest and disease control, nutrient saving, better stand establishment and stress
tolerance
2. Crop rotation and integrated farming systems
3. Bio-fertilizers for various crops
4. Seed hardening and seed treatment for convenience in sowing
5. Mulching
6. Use of machineries and implements in labour saving
7. Suitable method of land configuration and methods of irrigation for water saving
8. Fertilizer use in nursery and fertilizer application
9. Correct time and method of fertilizer application
10. Placement of fertilizer like N and also treated materials
11. Application of growth regulators / promoters
12. The use of neem leaves for storage is another low cost technology
13. Paired row cultivation of crops in micro irrigation systems
Measures for reducing labour and inputs
1. Tillage, land shaping, intercultivation
 Minimal tillage, zero tillage, off season tillage
 Use of labour saving implements / machinery
Eg. Ridger, land former,
Ridger reduces the labour requirement by 60%
 With groundnut stripper 300kg / day can be stripped, whereas with women labourers,
60kg / day only can be stripped.
2. Seeds and sowing
 Seed treatment
 Seed drill
 Relay sowing and ratooning
3. Fertilizers management
 Soil test based fertilizer recommendation
 Cropping system approach
 Bio-fertilizers
 Balanced use of fertilizers
  Integrated nutrient management
4. Plant protection
 Seed treatment (Pest and disease management)
 Protection in nursery stage
 Pesticide spray at ET levels of damage
 Biological control based on crop rotation and cropping system
 Summer ploughing
 Integrated pest / disease management
5. Weed management
 Early and timely weeding
 Use of correct tools which will increase the labour efficiency
 Line sowing / planting for intercultivation
 Effective and selective herbicides with little residual effect
6. Harvest and processing
 Timeliness
 Use of machineries for harvesting, threshing, winnowing, etc.
 Non-monetary inputs and low cost technologies for crop production
 LEISA and HEIA- concepts and principles
LEISA - Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture:

LEISA refers to practices such as recycling of plant nutrients (nitrogen and others),
minimizing crop losses due to insects and pests, and securing favourable soil conditions for plant
growth are just the tip of the hat. An integral component of LEISA is in ensuring that this
environmental awareness remains connected to the daily lives, needs and concerns of farmers
who rely on these ecosystems for their livelihoods. With regards to LEISA practices, they
focuses on:

 Maximizing the use of locally available plants and tree species

 Reducing the use of non-renewable fuels and energy sources
 Acknowledging the right of local communities to control, manage and benefit from
natural resources
 Ensuring that agricultural practices help to shape positive landscapes and sustained
‘life support systems’ for small-scale who rely on favourable environmental conditions
for their survival
S. Characteristics of HEIA Characteristics of LEIA
No.
1 The farming pattern depends heavily LEIA relies on the optimal use of natural
on external and chemical inputs. processes. Although yields have increased
substantially, contributing to raising total
production, farmers and the environment have
had to pay the price for keeping up with this
development.
2 The focus of agricultural development The focus is on the sustainability of farming
and research has mainly been on system
maximizing yields coupled with
increasing specialization of production
3 There is a great damage to the Environmentally sound and that have the
environment potential to contribute to the long-term
sustainability of agriculture.
4 The continuing drop in prices of farm Greater emphasis is on the long-term
produce and the rising costs of sustenance and balance between the profit and
agricultural inputs have made farming livelihood.
increasingly unprofitable
5 HEIA depends on the higher Sustainable ecological practices depend largely
production and profit, without on local agro-ecological conditions and on
consideration of the local needs and local socio-economic circumstances, as well as
local market on farmers’ individual needs and aspirations.
6 Primarily one or two commodity One way of LEIA is to diversification of farms;
driven development, lack of diversity with a range of crops and/or animals, farmers
 in the farming practices, as a result,
there is greater risk of failure and price
fluctuation. The number of products
and commodities are very minimum.
Basic concepts of LEISA
will suffer less from price fluctuations or drops
in yield of single crops. Maintaining diversity
will also provide a farm family with a range of
products to eat or sell throughout a large part of
the year.

 LEISA refers to those forms of agriculture that seek to optimize the use of locally available
resources by combining the different components of the farm system i.e., plants, animals, soil
water, climate and people, so that they complement each other and gave the greatest possible
synergistic effects.
 Seeks way of using external inputs only to the extent that they are needed to provide elements
that are in deficient in the eco system and to enhance available biological, physiological,
physical and human resource. In using external inputs, attention is given mainly to maximum
recycling and minimum detrimental impact on the environment.
 LEISA aims at a stable and adequate production level over the long term. LEISA seeks to
maintain, and where, enhance the natural resources and make maximum use of natural
process. Where part of the production is marketed, opportunities are sought to regain the
nutrients brought to the market.
 LEISA requires management not only at farm level but also at district, regional, national and
even international level.
 LEISA incorporates that best components of indigenous farmers knowledge and practices,
ecologically – sound agricultural practices developed elsewhere, commercial science and new
approaches in science (eg., Systems approach, agro-ecology, biotechnology).
 LEISA practices must be developed within each ecological and socio economic systems. The
specific strategies and techniques will vary accordingly and will be in numerable.
Ecological principles
The insights and experience gained thus in agro ecological studies, indigenous agriculture
in the tropics and ecological farming throughout the world point to some basic ecological
principles which can guide the process of developing LESIA systems. The ecological principles
basic to LEISA can be grouped as follows.
1. Securing favourable soil conditions for plant growth particularly by managing organic
matter and enhancing soil life.
2. Optimize nutrient availability and balancing nutrient flow, particularly by means of
nitrogen fixation, pumping, recycling and complementary use of external fertilizers.
 3. Minimizing losses due to solar radiation, air and water by way of microclimate
management, water management and erosion control.
4. Minimizing losses due to plant and animal pests and disease by means of premonitory
and safe treatment.
5. Exploiting complementary and synergy in the use of genetic resources, which involves
combining these integrated farm systems with high degree of functional delivery.
Basic Ecological Principles of LEISA
(i) A living soil:
Soil can be regarded as a non-renewable resource, as soil formation is such a slow process.
The soil provides a medium to anchor plant roots, but is also a very complex ecosystem. A
productive agricultural soil is full of life, with millions of microorganisms which all interact
chemically and physically with their soil environment. These processes regulate the release of
nutrients from minerals and organic matter to feed the plants. A living soil has a better structure
and can absorb and retain more water and air than a sterile soil. Sound ecological production
therefore begins with improving the soil. Good practices, which can help improve the condition
of the soil, are (LEISA, 2006):
 Growing legumes to fix nitrogen from the air and provide it to the following crop,
 Feeding the soil with as much organic matter as possible through green manure, compost,
cover crops, returning of non-toxic organic wastes and agro-forestry
 Keeping the soil covered at all times with mulch or cover crops
 No or reduced tillage which enhances water availability and soil conservation,
 Cultivating a range of crops and animals to reduce risks of disease and pest outbreaks,
maintain a balanced nutrient supply and provide resilience;
 Planting trees on contours or making terraces to prevent soil erosion by wind or water.
(ii) Biological diversity:
The diversity of different species of plants and animals, and the genetic variation within
each species, provides the vital resource of biological diversity, which enables life on earth.
Healthy ecosystems are relatively stable and the diversity they contain enables them to adapt to
changing circumstances.
For many small-scale farmers the available agrobiodiversity is the basis of survival. A mix of
different locally adapted crops and animals and different varieties of the same increases on-farm
diversity, increasing the chances of producing something even under adverse conditions. These
principles of traditional farming can be further developed and used systematically in ecological
farming.
Some examples of such practices are (LEISA, 2006):
 Intercropping in time and space: planting different crops together in different
combinations or formations, or in sequence, can optimize the use of available resources
and reduce the pressure of pests.
 Different plant species can also be used to support the ecological functioning of the
whole farm system: examples are trees or bushes for windbreaks, flowering plants which
provide food and habitat for beneficial insects that help control pests, shade trees for
light-sensitive plants, trees to provide green manure and fuel wood.
 Integration of different crops or weeds with animals to better utilizes resources, for
example fish in rice fields, integrated crop-chicken-fish systems and other combinations
of crops and animals.
(ii) Water:
Growing populations, rapid urbanization and increasing industrial and agricultural
production are all increasing competition for and pressure on water. As agriculture is one of the
major users of water, and one of the major polluters of water resources, it is imperative that
water use in agriculture is as efficient as possible and that leaching of surplus nutrients and in
small scale farming it is important to make the best possible use of the limited amounts of
available water. Infiltration can be improved by keeping the soil covered, through minimum
disturbance of the soil, adding organic matter from cover crops and mulching. When introduced,
water-harvesting systems are generally multi-purpose. Farm ponds, earth dams and sub-surface
tanks will often serve as a source of drinking water and water for livestock during periods of
water scarcity. Water harvesting can open up new livelihood options. Subsistence farmers, who
invest in water harvesting systems with a storage component, often diversify their farming
system to include cash crop production, for the local market during off-season when prices are
high. This diversification increases the resilience of farm households, as they are better equipped
to cope with periods of climatic hazards such as droughts and floods.
(iii) Energy:
Solar energy is captured by plants that are able to transform it into biomass. This is the
basis for all higher life forms, animals as well as humans, and is a process that is unique for
green plants. Biomass contains stored energy as well as nutrients, and agriculture should focus
on maximizing the amount of solar energy, which is captured and transformed into plant growth
and thereby food and fodder resources. But additional energy is required for cooking and heating
and is useful for irrigation, threshing and processing. Fortunately there are many opportunities to
make use of renewable energy, most frequently fuel wood, straw, crop residues and even manure
are used. There are also other possibilities to make use of renewable energy: small scale bio-
digesters which use manure, solar energy devices, small scale hydropower generators, wind-
power and wood lots for fuel wood.
(iv) Exploiting Animal-Plant Interaction:
In nature, nothing functions in isolation; everything depends on the other factors present.
In animal production, to optimize the performance of cattle, it is very important that management
practices should enhance the ecological functioning of the web of living organisms within the
production system - climate, soil and soil life, vegetation and cattle - by influencing their
interactions.
(v) Towards Local Resources-based Integrated Crop- Livestock Systems:
The present livestock production systems in most industrialized countries are in direct
competition with human needs. In the intensive large-scale production systems, increasingly
promoted by corporate agriculture, livestock wastes contaminate soil and water resources, create
less than favourable working conditions for the personnel involved in feeding and cleaning, and
decrease employment opportunities. Close integration of livestock in the farming system, with
recycling of all excreta, will be the basis of agriculture, which can be highly productive and also
sustainable.
Some Promising LEISA Techniques and Practices
(i) Nutrient management:
Nutrient management is managing the amount, source, placement, form, and timing of
the application of nutrients and soil amendments to ensure adequate soil fertility for plant
production and to minimize the potential for environmental degradation, particularly water
quality impairment. Nutrient management has taken on new connotations in recent times. Soil
fertility traditionally dealt with supplying and managing nutrients to meet crop production
requirements, focusing on optimization of agronomic production and economic returns to crop
production (LEISA, 2006). Contemporary nutrient management deals with these same
production concerns, but recognizes that ways of farming must now balance the limits of soil and
crop nutrient use with the demands of intensive animal production.
Farmers in the hill agriculture follow a system of close integration of crop, livestock and
forestry/grassland management. Farmers maintain traditional practices such as terracing, manure
management, legumes inter cropping, and mulching where appropriate. Farm yard manure
quality can be increased by better decomposition and the N-content can be increased by at least 2
to 3 times from about 0.5% N to 1.5% N through proper management of urine and manure.
Liquid manure can be prepared from urine and various plants extracts rich in minerals or
secondary plant compounds. These “manure teas” were shown to be effective liquid fertilizers on
crops such as vegetables and also for organic pest and disease management. Local marketing
systems for such “manure teas” are emerging in some areas. The use of urea fertilizer declined in
several areas due to liquid manure use. In Nepal, some of the LEISA practices are: Bio-pesticide
(cow urine, neem products, tobacco, ash etc), composting (pit), tree plantation, green manuring,
vermicomposting, liquid compost, NADEP compost, seed treatment, seed production.
(ii) Integrated pest management (IPM):
IPM is an ecologically based approach to pest (animal and weed) control that utilizes a
multi-disciplinary knowledge of crop/pest relationships, establishment of acceptable economic
thresholds for pest populations and constant field monitoring for potential problems.
Management may include such practices as (LEISA, 2006):
 Use of resistant varieties;
 Crop rotation;
 Cultural practices;
 Optimal use of biological control organisms;
 Certified seed;
 Protective seed treatments;
 Disease-free transplants or rootstock;
 Timeliness of crop cultivation;
 Improved timing of pesticide applications;
 Removal or 'plow down' of infested plant material.
The term biointensive IPM emphasizes a range of preventive tactics and biological controls
to keep pest population within acceptable limits. Reduced risk pesticides are used if other tactics
have not been adequately effective, as a last resort and with care to minimize risks.
Biological control is, generally, man's use of a specially chosen living organism to control a
particular pest. This chosen organism might be a predator, parasite, or disease, which will attack
the harmful insect. A complete biological control program may range from choosing a pesticide
which will be least harmful to beneficial insects, to raising and releasing one insect to have it
attack another, almost like a 'living insecticide.'"
(iii) Crop Residue Management and Conservation Tillage:
 Conservation tillage is a term that covers a broad range of soil management systems that
leave residue cover on the soil surface, substantially reducing the effects of soil erosion from
wind and water. These practices minimize nutrient loss, decreased water storage capacity, crop
damage, and improve soil quality. The soil is left undisturbed from harvest to planting except for
nutrient amendment. Weed control is accomplished primarily with herbicides, limited
cultivation, and, in more sustainable systems, with cover crops. The National Crop Residue
Management Survey (Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)) specifies that 30
percent or more of crop residue must be left after planting to qualify as a conservation tillage
system. Some specific types of conservation tillage are Minimum Tillage, Zone Tillage, No-till,
Ridge-till, Mulch-till, Reduced-till, Strip-till, Rotational Tillage and Crop Residue Management.
(iv) Converting Farm Wastes into useful Organic Manure under LEISA System:
The ingredients required are green leaves, dry leaves, weeds from adjacent farms, cow
dung and urine, fodder wastes from cattle sheds, gobar gas slurry, coir pith, tank silt, quarry dust
and rock phosphate. These items are put in alternate layers (cow dung in between layers) in a
heap and left for 45 days. The heap is turned once or twice. In 45 days, the items get semi-
decomposed. The partially decomposed material can be used in two ways- for vermin-compost
preparation, which gets converted to vermin-compost in 45 days, and the other way is to add coir
pith, tank silt and quarry dust to semi decomposed material, which turns into good quality
manure in 45 days.
(v) Green Manuring and Cover Crops:
Green manure and cover crop species should fit the agro ecological condition. In general,
these crops should have the characteristics as: easy establishment, vigorous growth under local
conditions, ability to cover weeds quickly, ability to either fix atmospheric nitrogen or
concentrate plenty of phosphorus, should also have multiple uses. The green manure and cover
crops can be grown intercropped with another food for example beans with maize or cassava, or
perennial peanut with coffee. These crops can be grown on wasteland or on fields under fallow.
The species should survive on very poor soils, such as beans, tephrosia, or particularly hardy
trees. Farmers in Vietnam, for example, seed Tephrosia candida into their first year fallow,
thereby reducing the normal five-year fallow to just one or two years. These crops can be grown
during the dry season, planted after the normal crops like the rice bean/ rice system in Vietnam,
or intercropped with the normal crop and then allowed to grow through the dry season such as
the sweet clover/maize system in Mexico. It can also be planted as a relay crop amongst rainy
season crops at the end of the wet season to take advantage of the residual moisture, such as the
cowpea/maize and lablab/maize systems in Thailand. Green manuring adds organic matter to the
soil; green manure crops return to the upper top soil the plant nutrients taken up by the crop from
deeper layers; improves the soil structure and other soil physical properties; leguminous crops
add nitrogen to soil; increases the availability of certain plant nutrients like P, K, Ca, K, Mg and
Fe; facilitates infiltration of water thus decreasing runoff and soil erosion; green manure crops
hold plant nutrients that would otherwise be lost by leaching.
The main problem in adoption of green manuring is that the land on which green manure
crop is raised could have been profitably utilized for growing a crop of economic importance.
Another problem is adequate soil moisture either through rainfall or irrigation is essential for in-
situ decomposition of green manure crop. Under rainfed condition, if sufficient rainfall is not
received proper decomposition may not take place, and the germination of the succeeding crop is
hampered. There is a possibility of incidence of diseases and pests, even nematodes.
(vi) Practices for Land Degradation:
A good plant cover is very important for preventing soil degradation and achieving soil
rehabilitation. A vegetative cover has a number of beneficial effects on soil aeration, soil
moisture and organic matter content, physical characteristics and biological activity in the soil. In
addition, a plant cover protects against soil erosion. Cover crops can be quite aggressive creepers
and may compete with the main crop. On the other hand if leguminous plants are used as cover
crops they add nutrients because they fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available for the crop.
Selection of crops is very important while dealing with degraded soils. Sodic soils in South
Indian region were corrected for their soil pH by including cucumber in the cropping pattern.
Similarly, raising Eucalyptus plantation along the canal bunds helped in solving the drainage
problem in low-lying delta areas. Farmers follow their own traditional practices in maintaining
soil physical structure and health. Practices like application of sand, groundnut shell, sal leaves,
retention of sunflower stalks are a few among those followed by the farmers for mulching in
South Indian condition.
(vii) Intercropping:
Intercropping is defined as growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same
piece of land; crop diversification is in both temporal and spatial dimension; there is intercrop
competition during all or part of the crop growth. There are many types of intercropping viz.,
mixed intercropping, row intercropping, strip intercropping and relay intercropping. The
usefulness of intercropping are:
 greater stability of yield over different seasons,
  intercropping provides biological insurance against failure of one crop due to biotic or
biotic factor,
 better use of growth resources,
 better control of weeds, insect-pest and diseases
 for some cases one crop provides physical support to the other crop (e.g. growing of betel
vine or black pepper vines on the support of mango or coconut and arecanut),
 one crop provides shelter to the other crop e.g. growing of tea under the shade of
Albizzia, (g) erosion control through providing continuous leaf cover over the ground
surface, and
 it is the small farmers of limited means who is most likely to benefit.
There are some problems as well related to adoption by the farmers, as for example
 Yields decreased because of adverse competition effect,
 Allelopathic effect i.e. any direct or indirect harmful effect that one plant has on another
through production of chemical compounds that escape into the environment,
 Creates obstruction in free use of machines for intercultural operations, particularly
where the component crops have different requirements for fertilizer, herbicides,
pesticides etc., and
 Large farmers with adequate resources may likely to get less benefit out of intercropping.
(viii) Organic Manuring:
Organic manures are organic materials derived from animal, human and plant residues
which contain nutrients in complex organic forms. They are the sources of plant nutrients. They
release nutrients after their decomposition. They provide organic acids that help to dissolve soil
nutrients and make them available for the plants. Organic manures can be grouped into bulky
organic manures and concentrated organic manures based on the concentration of the nutrients.
The usefulness of organic manures are several:
 They supply plant nutrients including micronutrients needed for optimum plant growth,
 Continued use of manures builds organic matter in soils and improves soil structure. This
modification of soil structure helps improve water holding capacity, aeration, friability,
and drainage,
 They improve soil condition for better penetration of roots into deeper layers,
 They increase the availability of nutrients through improvement in cation exchange
capacity,
 Carbon dioxide released during decomposition acts as a CO2 fertilizer,
  Improves soil health in terms of soil microbial biomass carbon, rhizosphere environment,
 Plant parasitic nematodes and fungi are controlled to some extent by altering the balance
of microorganisms in the soil.
The problems of organic manures are: nutrient from organic manures are not immediately
available to the plants; they are released slowly and over a longer period of time than from most
commercial fertilizers; if there is an immediate need for nutrients, organic manures cannot
readily supply nutrient to plants. Many organic manures have low nutrient content and therefore
need to be applied in larger quantities. Some organic manure need composting before its
application to the field. Improperly processed organic manures may contain pathogens from
plant or animal that are harmful to human or plants. The composition of fertilizers is almost
constant. For example, urea contains 46% N regardless of which factory makes it anywhere in
the world. Another problem of using manures is the handling and transportation problems
associated with large amounts of manure required to obtain sufficient quantities of nutrients for
crops. The use of fresh manure may introduce new weeds into fields since certain weed seeds
remain alive even after passage through animals. Organic manures can also contaminate produce
or burn plants.
Question

1. LEISA practices focuses on Maximizing the use of locally available plants and tree species
and Reducing the use of non-renewable fuels and energy sources

2. Distinguish between HEIA and LEIA

3. What are all the basic concepts of LEIA

4. How the nutrient can be managed through LEIA?

5. The National Crop Residue Management Survey (Conservation Technology Information

Center (CTIC)) specifies that 30 per cent or more of crop residue must be left after planting
to qualify as a conservation tillage system.