Farmers participatory approach for maximising the profit of hybrid cucurbit vegetable crops with coriander intercropping through drip fertigation
Back ground
Among the vegetables, cucurbits are high value commercial crops and relatively better adopted by small and marginal farmers as compared to other crops. Generally cucurbits include vine crops like bitter gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, ash gourd, coccinia and others belonging to the family cucurbitaceae. They are grown in the backyards mostly yielding low with poor quality fruits due to the lack of adoption of high yielding hybrids with improved cultivation technologies. Since they are highly cross pollinated, hybrid vigor has been recently exploited in a large manner by adoption of hybrids. The technology of growing hybrids has to be popularized among farmers unlike the cultivation of varieties to attain maximum net return with high cost benefit ratio.
The farmers prefer to extend the crop duration by force when the price of produce is high or want once over harvest when the price is at peak. In many crops like bitter gourd, ridge gourd and snake gourd, the crop duration was extended by normal course under drip and fertigation system for which the scheduling of nutrition has to the followed. Hence to maximize the yield as well as profit from cucurbit vegetable growing the farmers have to be trained in the following techniques like
- Effective cropping sequence of cucurbits
- Continuous cropping for continuous supply
- Exploiting the maximum yield potential through fertigation and training
- Intercropping with leafy vegetables to get additional income
- Integrated pest control technologies for maximizing marketable quality fruits.
The yield level of most of the cucurbit vegetables in Tamil Nadu is low compared to the potential average. The productivity is low mainly because farmers grow open pollinated varieties. Availability of new productive hybrids such as TNAU ash gourd hybrid CO.1, TNAU bottle gourd hybrid CO.1, snake gourd hybrid offers scope for increasing productivity. There is a large gap between realizable potential yield and present productivity in most of the cucurbits like bitter gourd bottle gourd, snake gourd and ridge gourd. Through drip fertigation with single stem training the productivity can be increased to 60-70 t/ha which is well above the national average (35t/ha). With this level of yield the net income realized by the farmers is Rs.2.5 lakh/acre (2 crops per year).
In Tamil Nadu these crops are cultivated in most of the districts. Hence drip irrigation system offers great scope to cultivate cucurbits. In addition to drip fertigation, coriander as intercrop in gourd will give an additional income of Rs.20,000/acre. Hence gourds – coriander inter cropping with drip fertigation as two crops in a year will give a total net income of Rs.2,70,000/acre. So the present project is proposed to popularize gourd cultivation with coriander as intercrop in drip fertigation.
Project Rationale
The cropping system of gourds with sowing on raised beds in bower system with fertigation system gives the maximum potential of the cucurbit hybrids. Also training the vines in to single stem system gives proper partition between vegetative and reproductive phase as the photosynthetic can be maximum used to produce the economic part. When these gourds are raised on bower system the yield potential is very much increased.
Raising the seedlings in portrays also make the continuous cropping without any interval. Intercropping the leafy coriander type in between the spaces of the beds during summer really fetches premium price and increase the net income per unit area. Also effective biological control of fruit fly (traps) helps to yield more marketable fruits.
In Coimbatore and Tirupur districts of Tamil Nadu where the project is proposed to be implemented, small and marginal cucurbit farmers constitute 90 per cent of total farmers. In the above context, it is proposed to popularize bower system of cucurbit cultivation with improved agro techniques like pruning, drip fertigation and inter cropping to maximize the yield and profit through continuous cropping as well as with more quality marketable fruits per unit area.
The farmers harving bower system with drip fertigation system in their will be familiarized to raise hybrid gourds with coriander intercrop during summer and rabi season, thereby the productivity and profitability of gourd and coriander system could be demonstrated effectively.
Project strategy
(a) Selection of farmers
Progressive, interested farmers having bower system with drip irrigation will be selected for raising bitter gourd / ridge gourd / snake gourd / bottle gourd with coriander intercrop through drip fertigation system during June- July and December – January months in consolation with Assistant Director of Horticulture in the respective block.
(b) Training
Training will be conducted at village level. The improved technologies of community nursery production of seedlings, single stem training and pruning, standardized fertigation doses along with coriander as intercrop will be covered in each of the training. Totally ten trainings will be conducted during (2 seasons) the crop period at one training per block in each district.
(c)Crop demonstration
For gourds cultivation under drip fertigation, a total of five demonstrations per district will be carried out by selecting the farmers who is already having the drip fertigation system in their fields. The selection of beneficiary farmers will be done in consultation with Assistant Director of Agriculture / Assistant Director of Horticulture in the respective block.
d) Field Days
Field days will be conducted in the farmers holdings and university orchard. To disseminate the technology of growing gourds under improved agro techniques and coriander as intercrop under drip fertigation totally ten field days are proposed.
Project Goals/ Objectives
- To popularize the gourd cultivation through bower system, drip fertigation, training and improved horticultural techniques to maximize the yield and profit
- To create awareness and demonstrate the hybrids in gourds intercropped with coriander through drip fertigation
- To improve the marketable, quality fruits with extended harvesting period to get maximum price of the produce.
Cucurbits are generally grown in back yards but there demand due to the availability throughout the year, nutritional and medicinal values there is a great demand of growing them in large scale. Unless the farmers are assured of maximum benefit they do not grow these crops in large scale. The cropping sequence with advanced planting, fertigation and training systems make it possible to grow gourds in large scale. There is also a very good demand for there fruits in Kerala throughout the year, Tamil Nadu farmers have a good scope of growing cucurbits in a profitable manner.
Project components
The project is proposed to be implemented in 10 blocks spread in Coimbatore and Tirupur district, since the farmers have a good scope of sending the fruits to Kerala market whose demand for the gourds are high and throughout the year. The proposed blocks are as follows.
Districts |
Blocks |
Coimbatore |
Thondamuthur, Madukkarai, Sultanpet, Kinathukadavu, Karamadai |
Tiruppur |
Palladam, Udumelpet, Tirupur, Kudimangalm, Dharapuram |
(ii)Technical programme
- Awareness campaign will be conducted at village level about the productivity and profitability of gourds and coriander intercropping system with drip fertigation.
- Progressive and interested farmers having drip system will be selected
- Demonstration plot of the gourds will be created in college orchard
- Towards the partial support for cultivation of hybrids gourds and coriander intercrop system input viz., hybrid seed, water soluble fertilizers worth of Rs.15000/ha will be supplied.
- For gourd drip fertigation a total of twenty demonstration at the rate of ten per district will be carried out by selecting the farmers who is already having bower with drip system
- Field day will be conducted to popularize the gourd cultivation with drip fertigation.
Deliverables
- At the end of the project hybrid cucurbit vegetable under drip fertigation with improved agro techniques will be popularized.
- The cucurbit farmers obtain maximum profit per unit area
Beneficiaries
While selecting beneficiaries preference will be given for small and marginal and women farmers of the two proposed district. These populations will be directly involved in training and demonstration. The demonstration plots will be raised in the field of target population as well as in the college orchard at HC&RI, TNAU, Coimbatore. Selection of beneficiary farmers will be done in consultation with ADH/ ADA’s in the respective block.
Expected outcome
Through implementation of this project awareness will be created among the farmers about the productivity and profitability of gourd and coriander intercropping system with drip fertigation.
Gourd - coriander intercrop with drip fertigation in two seasons in a year will give total net income of Rs.2.75 lakhs/acre to the farmers.
Contact:
Horticultural College and Research Institute,
TNAU, Coimbatore-3
Phone: 0422-6611270/6611371
Fax: 0422-6611371
Email : deanhortcbe@tnau.ac.in
