Dryland Horticulture – Custard Apple c.v. Balangar
Most of the area in Buldana district is under drought prone area, the water table is going deeper & deeper and also the rains are not received properly from last 8-10 years. Hence, whatever area is under horticultural orchards i.e. Santra, Kagzi lime are decreasing day by day hence there was a need to increase the area under horticultural crops which can be grown under minimum water conditions. Hence KVK has decided to increase the area under dryland horticultural crops. On the other hand Buldana district is situated in between the Satpuda & Sahyadri ranges which are favourable for dryland horticultural crops like Custard Apple and Aonla. Custard Apple is found in plenty amounts in jungles as well as on the bank of small rivers & nalas which is supposed to be the wild crop therefore cannot fetch the good price in the market.
With considering the need of area & favourable climatic conditions for custard apple and aonla KVK has started to promote the farmers for cultivation of these crops where main emphasis was given to the custard apple. The demand of custard apple from the urban areas and metros are increasing. Also the crop has a potential to survive and give the sufficient production. Therefore KVK is promoting the farmers for cultivation of Balanagar locally selected variety which is bigger in size, attractive in appearance and sweeter in taste due to TSS about 24%.
In this regard KVK has also developed custard apple orchard on KVK horticulture farm. KVK is promoting and creating awareness among the farmers for culstard Apple cultivation in the district from last 8 years through various training programmes in collaboration with State Agril. Dept., Banks, different NGO’s. Also telecasted and broadcasted T.V. shows and Radio talk’s respt. on custard apple cultivation. In this regard KVK organised one State Level Custard Apple Workshop & Exhibition and two District Level Workshops.
Among the various thrust areas of custard apple i.e. genuine planting Materials, improved package of practice, proper method of harvesting, post handling, processing and value addition priority was given to availability of genuine planting material of custard apple. Hence KVK has taken the action towards it and as the host institute has a registered nursery named as Satpuda Nursery which is run under the technical supervision of KVK. And due to this technical support in this nursery 124500 custard apple seedlings are produced and sold to the farmers of this area with the technical knowhow of package of practices. As an impact of various activities and efforts of KVK, State Agriculture Department, NHM area under custard apple is increased from 184 ha in 1999 to 1645 ha in 2020-21 and also the productivity has been increased from 2.5 MT/ha to 5 MT/ha. At present and in future KVK emphasis to provide improved package of practices, proper harvesting, post harvest handling, packing, marketing and processing, value addition so that farmers can get the maximum return and save the farmer from the glut in custard apple market. KVK’s next objectives are to start the packing house, co-operative marketing and processing unit for custard apple. As a result of above efforts no. of farmers are earning plenty of income from custard apple.
Integrated Pest Management in Cotton
Cotton is one of the major commercial crops of Buldana district in kharif season. Area under cotton crop is 2.46 lakh hectares which is 33% of total area. This crop is grown in medium to heavy black cotton soil under rainfed as well as irrigated condition in some pockets. There is a wide variation in productivity & economic returns due to rainfed condition. Cotton productivity is low due to lack of knowledge about improved package of practices, balanced fertilizer application, proper plant protection measures and emergence of new pests in cotton eco-system i.e. heavy incidence of sucking pests. Among these various problems due to pest & diseases, cotton yield is affected upto 30-40% and for controlling the target pest farmers use high grade & indiscriminate use of pesticides which increases the expenditure of plant protection and ultimately increases the cost of production.
To overcome this problem KVK Buldana is continuously working on the theme of Integrated Pest Management in cotton from last 11 years. For popularising IPM in cotton, KVK adopted the technologies/module suggested by Dr. PDKV, Akola. During this period KVK carried out various activities for popularization & dissemination of IPM concept in adopted villages as well as whole district through training programmes, FLD and collaborative programmes with State Agril. Dept.Various extension activities like kisan melawa, field day, kisan goshti, T.V. talk, radio talk and other extension activities viz. publication of various print material and popular articles in news papers & magazines are regularly conducted.
As an impact of various activities carried out by KVK in regards to IPM concept
- Farmers got the knowledge of harmful & beneficial insects.
- Farmers started selection of proper pesticides at right time with proper concentration on target pests.
- Due to IPM plant protection cost is curtailed down by 40-50%.
- Status of beneficial insects is increased due to reduction in pesticides used in IPM villages.
- Yield level increased from 12.61 qt/ha to 17.25 qt/ha in rainfed condition in IPM villages.
Enhancing productivity through use of BBF Planter in Buldana District
Background
Most of the area in Buldana district is under Rainfed Farming Situation, the water table is going deeper & deeper and also the rains are not received properly from last 7-8 years. Every year occurrence of dry spell, heavy rainfall in some specific period destroy crop condition as due to lack of soil and water conservation practices followed by farmers. Soybean, Cotton Redgram, Bengalgram, Green gram, Blackgram crops are mostly sown in the district.
Technology adoption
Dr. PDKV Developed BBF Planter consisting of four rows and driven by Tractor. It has seed metering device which maintains plant population in proper condition. Sowing of seed is done on Broad Bed which enhance seed bed preparation. The Broad Bed is followed by Furrow of V Shape 1 ft at top and 1 ft in depth. The use of furrow to store water in field thus increases water holding capacity of soil also help in draining excess of water. The BBF system is helping crops to withstand better growth in heavy rainfall situation as well as it conserves moisture in furrow which help to increase wilting point by 1-2 week in dry spell.
KVK Efforts
KVK Jalgaon Jamod is promoting BBF from year 2012 though Assessment, Demonstration and Training, Publication in Magazines. It was farmers feedback that yield of Soybean increases up to 20%, in Bengalgram yield was found to be increases up to 14 % and in Groundnut Seed cost is Reduced By Rs. 1200/- per acre and increase in yield was found up to 30 % as compared to local practice.
PKV Mini dal mill for entrepreneurship development
Background
Buldana district having most of area under pulses crop production. KVK Buldana identified the need to solve this problems and identified PKV mini dal mill as a solution for primary processing of pulses for processing at grass root level for value addition of pulses and generation of employment in rural areas.
Technology Adoption
PKV dal mill having less space requirement 15m2 having both option of single and 3-phase electricity supply with 3.0 hp motor. Mini dal mill having capacity of 10 qt per day making dal of all pulse crop like, red gram, green gram, black gram and chickpea. Beside it has a facility for cleaning of grain with attached roller.
PKV mini dal mill has employability to generate income of Rs. 25000 to 50000 pe month on of season of agriculture work most of the rural youths are working on pulse processing by dal milling providing hiring facility to farmers so they can process their own farm produce at low cost enriching their health. Dal mill waste is well utilize as animal feed and fodder.
KVK Efforts
KVK Adopted use of PKV mini dal mill from year 2013-14 and demonstrated its use through Vocation Trainings for rural youth and farm women’s, Book, booklets and popular articles have been published As a result Most of Rural youths and farm women’s from SHG have actively started their units nearly 246 small scale processing centers are running in this district as an impact nearly one dal mill unit is generating Rs15000/- to 25000/- income per month in production time of March-June (four month)
