About setting up farm weather stations

Farm Weather stations will be helpful for open field plantations and is one of the best-understood data capture requirements in agriculture. The micro weather data comprises of temperature, humidity, pressure, rain, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation, evaporation, soil moisture, and temperature etc..

Temperature and humidity are common across most of the requirements. The plants require a certain temperature and humidity range to thrive. The fungi and pathogens also thrive in certain environmental conditions. Like, mildew worms in grapes happen in certain leaf wetness, temperature and rain conditions. open field agriculture practitioners may also need evaporation and solar radiation data.

Rain and soil are also critical variables. Soil needs to be monitored at different depths. Water intensive crops need soil moisture sensors to check if the roots are getting water or not. Soil nutrients like NPK need to be monitored to check soil health. Different soil can have different pH and thus suitability for different crops.

 

Temperature and humidity can be done with help of semiconductor sensors. The way to measure rain is via gauges or tipping rain buckets. Wind speed and direction sensors are analog sensors. The rate of evaporation can be monitored using an evaporation PAN. A depth sensor can be used for automatic pan depth measurements. For disease onset and prediction, four sensors, namely, Rain, Leaf wetness, temperature, and humidity are critical. Leaf wetness sensors try to mimic the presence of water on leaves using conductivity or capacitive measurements.

The availability of the hyper local weather data is critical to scope out the farm level conditions. The data captured from satellites are at a much lower resolution and cannot help answer farm level questions. A grid of weather stations capturing micro weather data can be deployed to collect real-time data from the field that can be used to analyzed weather conditions and develop advisories.

Can build Arduino based weather stations on our own. Tutorials available online.

Or we can choose readymade farm weather station available in the markets. One such company is YuktIx technologies. You can contact them for more info.

YuktIx Technologies

www.yuktix.com

+91-9910908382

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Farm update video tour May 2020

We would like to show you our farm plot for food security. Choosen few annuals and perrineals for growing. There are nine rows, where five rows are for perrineals and four rows for annuals. The perrineals includes p Pigeon pea, Brinjal, Kandhari chilly, etc... The annual rows includes cow pea, okra or ladies finger, Local variety chilly, Bottle gourd, Beans (dwarf), Ridge gourd, etc... Included Hibiscus, Jasmine plants at the bunds to attract pests. The curry leaves plants were also planted in the bunds. 

Kandhari chilly, a chilly variety which has self life of two years. At the beginning the fruits looks white, when ripening it turns to red. The spicy-ness of the Kandhari chilly is highest when compared to other varieties.

Pigeon pea has a self life of 2 years. The seeds can be dried and stored for future purpose. 

Brinjal a perrineal native variety which lives for 2 years. A good tasty variety. The variety is not bitter. 

Cow pea, the seeds can be saved. If pods are light green we can use while pod for cooking.

Okra or Ladies finger, starts to yield from 50th day and yield  upto 90 th day.

Bottle gourd, a native variety which tastes good. A good combination for a sambar. Has self life of 6 months. Can harvest for 70 days. The first yield will start from 50th day.

Ridge gourd, same as bottle gourd, it also yields from 50th day. Has self life of 6 months.

Beans, we sown dwarf variety. The beans seeds are purple in colour. Thus they are commonly known as purple beans. Grows upto one to one and half feet height. Beans seeds can be saved for food.

Cucumber a awesome native variety which are mainly cultivated for it's seeds. It is believed that these seeds control ageing. The fruit juice made using this cucumber is awesome. Can't regret.

Watch the YouTube video regarding the post. Share and subscribe our YouTube channel if you are interested in small scale farming for self sufficiency.

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How to grow poona kheera cucumber

Poona kheera cucumbers produce large fruits which are traditionally cut into slices for use in salads and as a garnish. They are a fast growing crop under good growing conditions. The maturity is between 55 to 65 days. Poona kheera cucumber is grown in spring and summer. Usually, cucumber plants can't withstand frost at all. So, plant in hot and warm conditions. 

Cucumbers are native to the tropics and absolutely must have warm soil (70˚ F minimum) for good germination and growth. Consequently they are among the last crops to be planted out in spring. Most varieties fruit better in short days, so they tend to be more productive later in the summer. Cucumbers take 2 weeks to germinate at 60 degrees, but only 3 days at 85 degrees. Cucumbers can be grown in partial shade. I.e it needs atleast 6 hours of full sun light.

The best way to water Cucumbers is with a drip system or soaker hose, as this keeps the leaves dry and so reduces the chance of disease problems. If you must get the leaves wet, water in the morning, or early evening, so they have a chance to dry out quickly. You don't want the leaves to stay wet all night.

Be careful not to overwater germinating seeds or they may rot. It's best to soak the ground or the potting soil heavily when first planting, then avoid watering again if possible until seedlings emerge. Cucumber seeds emerge in 5+ days; very lightly water ground or potting soil around day 3 or 4 to keep soil from crusting so that seeds can emerge more easily.

Poona kheera Cucumbers grow quite well in containers and several varieties have been produced specifically for this. They will be more productive in larger containers (at least 12" in diameter). In order to prevent root rot, it is important that your container has drainage holes. Line the bottom of your container with weed cloth or newspaper and then cover with a handful of small rocks. Fill the remainder with amixture of peat moss, compost and potting soil. Cucumbers need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day. In extremely hot climates, it is best to provide partial shade and keep your container away from direct sunlight. Cucumbers need lots of water, and they prefer moist soil.

Poona kheera cucumbers attracts beneficial insects. The fruit size of the cucumber is 6 inches to 11 inches. The fruits on maturing will turn to brown from green. So, harvest the fruits while it is still green.

https://youtu.be/5BCm6H3I1iQ

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Small millet Food recipes for healthy life

Millets are nutri cereals comprising of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet (major millets) foxtail, little, kodo, proso and barnyard millet (minor millets). These are one of the oldest foods known to humanity. These are one of the several speciesof coarse cereal grasses in the family Poaceae, cultivated for their small edible seeds. They are highly nutritious, non-glutinous and not acid forming foods. Hence they are soothing and easy to digest. 

They contain high amounts of dietary fibre, B-complex vitamins, essential amino and fatty acids and vitamin E. They are particularly high in minerals, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and release lesser percentage of glucose over a longer period of time causing satiety which lowers the risk of diabetes.These grains are high in carbohydrates, with protein content varying from 6 to11 percent and fat varying from 1.5 to 5 percent. Millets are typically annuals and range in height from 30 to 130 cm with the exception of sorghum and pearl millet, which has stalks 1.5 to 3 m tall and about 2.5 cm thick. The inflorescences may be spikes or racemes, in which the flowers are borne on stalks of about equal length along an elongated axis, or panicles with dense clusters of small florets. With the exception of pearl millet, seeds remain enclosed in hulls after threshing. Hulled seeds are usually creamy white.

In India, millets has been a staple diet and a main source of income for farmers especially in the semi-arid regions. They are important food and fodder crop in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) of the world and grows in both kharif and rabi seasons.

You can download the list of small millet recipes from the link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12bEU2Lt39ZhtvINUziK4O_7FTPK6q-s9/view?usp=drivesdk

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How to remove the hard husk from the small millets at home ?

This article is concentrated on how to remove the hard husk from the small Millets at home. The husk of the small Millets like foxtail millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, little millet, porso millet are very hardy when compared to the finger millet and pearl millet. 

After getting the grains from threshing the small millets, the hard husk has to be removed. There are few machineries which are little bit costlier to remove husk from the small Millets. But, there is a way to do it small scale in home. Yes, you can remove the husk of small Millets using mixie at home. Follow the below steps to remove the husk from the small Millets.

* Let's consider foxtail millet for processing. Take 1 kg of foxtail millet to remove husk.

* Moisten the grains with sufficient water and leave it for 15 minutes.

* Then, put the wet foxtail millet to the mixie. With 3 second time interval grind them until you see the husk separated.

* After seeing husk in the grains, put the grains in the winnow.

* By winnowing process the separated husk husk will be removed.

* Further winnowing is recommended to remove any other impurities of husk present in the grains.

* After that you can use the cleaned grains for cooking.

There is a video you can refer to know the process.

https://youtu.be/CtHMj39MoJQ

You can refer to the above video, the same process as been explained by YouTube user. Credits goes to them.

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How to grow and harvest foxtail millet

Here is an article on how to grow foxtail millet. 

Common name: Kakun

Vernacular Names: Foxtail millet (English), Kangni (Hindi), Navane (Kannada), Thinai (Tamil), Kang (Gujarati) and Rala (Marathi).

Family: Gramineae

Introduction: Fox tail is also known as Italian millet, and German millet. It is generally grown as a rainfed crop in India. It has an erect leafy stem that grow 60-75 cm tall and bend quite a bit at maturity due to heavy weight of earhead. Foxtail grain contains 10% to 12% Protein, 4.7% fat, 60.6 % carbohydrates 2.29% to 2.7% Lysine and 0.59 (mg) Thiamin.

Climate and soil: Foxtail can be grown in tropics as well as temperate regions both under low and moderate rainfall. The crop can be grown even at an altitude of 2000 metres and 50-75 centimetre annual rainfall. Foxtail grows well on well-drained loamy soils. They will not tolerate water-logged soils or extreme drought.

Varieties:

Following are the important varieties of the crop:

Pant setaria-4, TNAU-43, HMT-100-1, SIA-326, PS-4, K-2, K-3 and Krishna devaraya.

 

Land Preparation: Kakun does not require much field preparation. Before the onset of monsoon the field should be ploughed once with mould board plough. With onset of monsoon the field should be harrowed or plough with local plough twice in northern India or with blade harrows in south India.

Sowing Time: Kharif- June to July

Rabi- September to October

Seed rate: 8-10 kg/ha (line sowing)

15 kg/ha (broadcasting)

Seed treatment: Seed treated with Ceresan @ 3 g/kg of seed. 

Method of Sowing: Broadcasting and line sowing.

Spacing: Row to row 25-30 cm, plant to plant 8-10 cm and depth 2-3 cm.

Manures and fertilisers: The crop is usually manured with 5 to 10 t/ha FYM about a month before sowing. Generally fertilizer recommendations to get a good crop are 40 kg nitrogen, 20 kg P2O5 and 20 kg K2O per hectare. All the fertilizers should be applied as a basal dose at a time of sowing.

Water management: Kakun sown during Kharif season does not require any irrigation. However, if dry spell prevails for longer period, then first irrigation at 25-30 DAYS and second irrigation at 40-45 DAYS must be given to boost the yields.

Important weeds: Among grassy  weeds, Echinochloa colonum, Enhinochloa crusgulli (sawan), Dactyloctenium aegypticum (makra), Elusine indica (kodo), Setaria glauca (banra), Cynodon dactylon (doob), Phragmites karka (narkul), Cyperus rotundus (motha), Sorghum  halepanse (banchari) are common. The broad-leaved weeds are Celosia argentia (chilimil), Commelina benghalensis (kankoua), Phylanthus niruri (hulhul), Solanum nigrum (makoi) and Amaranthus viridis (chaulai).

Weed Control: Two to three weedings with hand hoe are sufficient to keep the weeds in control.Post-emergence application of 2, 4-D sodium salt (80%) @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha at 20-25 DAS. Isoproturon @ 1.0 kg a.i. /ha as pre-emergence spray is also effective in weeds control.

Diseases:

Downy mildew (Sclerospora graminicola): Diseased plants are dwarfed with excessive development of tillers. Lengthwise yellow- green streaks are seen on the leaves.

Control: Spray of 0.2% solution of Mancozeb 75 WP may help to control the disease and seed treatment is also helps in controlling the disease.

Kernel smut (Ustilago crameri) : The smut affected plants usually are stunted and the affected earheads convert into black masses.

Control: Seed treated with thiram or ceresan @ 2.5 g/kg of seed and soaking seeds in hot water at 55 oC for 7-12 minutes and the crop rotation is also helps in controlling the disease.

Insect-pests management:

Shoot fly: Apply Phorate @15 kg/ha (10% granules) in the soil at the time of field preparation or Carbofuran (Furadan) 3% granules @ 30 kg/ha in furrows or as broadcast before sowing.

Harvesting Time: The crop matures in 80-100 days. The crop is harvested when the earheads are dry, either by cutting the whole plant by sickle or the ears separately. The crop is usually harvested during Kharif season from September to October and Rabi season from January to February.

Yield: Grain-15-18 qtl/ha, Straw-20-40 qtl/ha.

Courtesy: DACFW

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How to grow and harvest barnyard millet

Barnyard millet is a grain crop of lesser importance. It is very drought resistant but is also capable of withstanding water logging conditions. It is generally grown as a rainfed crop. Kudiraivali grains are consumed just like rice. They are also used in making rice pudding (kheer). The digestibility of protein is 40 per cent. The grain is eaten mostly by the poor classes, but sometimes it is brewed the beer. It is also used as feed for cage birds. The straw makes good fodder for cattle. Its green fodder is very much relished by cattle.

Origin and History: There is a mention of barnyard millet in ancient literature of India. It has been cultivated in China for more than 2000 years. Some of the investigators think that barnyard millet probably originated somewhere in central Asia. It spread from central Asia to Europe and America.

Area and Distribution: Barnyard millet is grown in India, China, Japan, Malaysia and East Indies. In China and Japan it is said to be grown as a substitute crop when the rice crop fails. It is also to some extent in Africa and United States of America. In India it is grown in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Bihar.

Botanical Description: It is an herbaceous annual which tillers sparsely. Plant grows up to a height of 60 to 120 centimetre. The roots are fibrous and shallow. Stem is slender. Leaves are flat, glabrous or slightly hairy without ligule. The inflorescence is a panicle with densely crowded unawned spikelets. Spikelets are densely packed in three to five rows. The spikelets are subsided by two glumes within which there are two florets. Colour of the glume varies from white to red. The caryopsis remains enclosed in the lemma and palea. Colour of the grain is generally yellow or white.

CROP MANAGEMENT

Climatic Requirements: Barnyard millet is a drought tolerant crop and hence is grown as a rainfed crop. It can be grown successfully under partially water logged conditions. It is grown from sea level to an altitude of 2000 metres on the Himalayan slopes. Warm and moderately humid climate is good for raising barnyard millet crop. It is a hardy crop and is able to withstand adverse conditions of weather better than other cereals.

Soil: Barnyard millet is generally cultivated in soils of marginal fertility. It can be grown in partially water logged soils such as low lands on the banks of rivers etc. But it thrives best on sandy loam to loam soil having sufficient amount of organic matter. Gravely and stony soils with poor fertility are not suitable for raising barnyard millet crop.

Field Preparation: Since it is cultivated in very light and marginal soils, the land is given only a limited preparatory cultivation. Two ploughings with local plough or harrowing followed by planking are sufficient to prepare the seedbed for barnyard millet.

Seed and Sowing: Barnyard millet can be sown in the first fortnight of July with the onset of monsoon rains. The seed is broadcast or drilled in furrows 3-4 centimetre deep at the rate of 8-10 kg per hectare. Transplanting is also done in some places in Maharashtra. It is always better to sow it in rows 25 centimetre apart. In flood affected areas, it is sown with the first showers of rain by broadcast method and harvested before the flood may come.

Manures and Fertilisers: Farm yard manure of compost at the rate of 5 to 10 tonnes per hectare should be added for boosting the yield. It can be supplemented with 40 kg nitrogen, 30 kg P2O5 and 50 kg K2O per hectare. All the fertilizer should be added in the soil at the time of sowing. If irrigation facilities are available, half of the nitrogen should be top dressed in standing crop after 25-30 days of sowing.

Water Management: Generally barnyard millet does not require any irrigation. However, if dry spell prevails for a long period, then one irrigation must be given at the time of panicle initiation stage. It is always better if excess water of heavy rains is drained out of the field.

Weed Control: The field should be kept weed free up to 25-30 days after sowing. Two weedings are sufficient to control the weeds in barnyard millet field. Weedings may be done with hand hoe or wheel hoe in line sown crop.

DISEASES

Downy Mildew: It is caused by a fungus. Sometimes it may cause severe damage to the crop plants. In the beginning the light yellow bands are seen on the leaves which in due course of time become white. Later on leaves start drying and in case of severe infection earheads become chaffy. Remove the infected plants and destroy them. Use seed from healthy plants only.

Smut: It is also caused by a fungus. The affected panicles are full of black masses instead of grains. This is a seed-borne disease and can be controlled by treating the seed with Agrosan G.N. or Ceresan at the rate of 2.5 g per kg of seed of hot water treatment (soaking seed in hot water at 550C for 7-12 minutes).

Rust: It is caused by a fungus. Black spots are seen in lines on leaves. It causes considerable reduction in grain yield. Spray of Dithane M-45 at the rate of 2 kg in 1000 litres of water per hectare may check the spread of this disease.

Insect Pests: Stem borer can be controlled by applying 15 kg Thimet granules per hectare.

Harvesting and Threshing: The crop should be harvested when it is ripe. It is cut from the ground level with the help of sickles and stacked in the field for about a week before threshing. Threshing is done by trampling under the feet of bullocks.

Yield: The average yield of grain is 400 to 600 kg per hectare and that of fodder or straw around 1200 kg per hectare. With improved package of practices it is possible to harvest 10-12 quintals of grain per hectare.

Courtesy : TNAU

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Where to buy small millet seeds for sowing

In this article let us know where to buy small millet seeds for sowing.

Small millets are an often overlooked staple food for milliions living in the harshest, food- insecure regions of the developing world. Small millets, a group of six crops comprising of finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet are considered as nutri cereals and are a source of food, feed and fodder. However, there has been a drastic decline in production and consumption of small millets mainly due to limited productivity, high drudgery, work load and incomes. 

Small millets in the Indian context include finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet and browntop millet. 

There are few Organizations, Individuals, Farmers who would like to share their small millet seeds for sowing. Farmers can buy from them.

    Dwiji guru

    Basavanagudi, Bangalore

    9900054878

    https://themillet.org

    

    Dhan foundation

    http://dhanfoundation.org

    Deccan development society

    Zaheerabad, AP.

    https://ddsindia.com

    Sahaja samrudha

    Bangalore, Karnataka

    http://sahajasamrudha.org

    Navdanya

    Delhi

    http://navdanya.org

    Vanastree

    http://vanastree.org

    Aranya Agriculture alternatives

    http://permacultureindia.org

    Srinivas Raju (farmer)

    Anantapur, AP

    9739893832

    Krishna reddy ( farmer)

    Telangana, AP

    9100403473

If any other organizations, NGOs, Individuals,  who would share small millet seeds for the Farmers can add your location and contact details in the comment below.

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Millets are drought resilient crop to grow for food security

Millets are small seeded grasses that are hardy aad grow well in dry zones as rainfed crops under marginal conditions of soil fertility. The Millets requires very less water than rice. 

Do you believe that only 3 to 5 times irrigation is enough for minor Millets to grow in summer season. Hence, growing small Millets like foxtail millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, porso millet, browntop millet are a good choice for the climate change. They are possibly the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes. The other grain crops like wheat and Rice that require more amount of water and fertilizer inputs to grow. Whereas the Millets grow well in drought regionsas rainfed crops. The Millets are highly nutritious, non-glutinousand rich in fibre, they are easy to digest. 

They are grown in many states around India like Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Growing millets is a step towards sustainable agriculture that respects biodiversity. 

There are many factors that makes Millets more sustainable when compared to other grain crops. When compared to the water usage, the Millets use less water. The amount of water needed to grow Rice with that of millets is really less. One Rice plant requires 2.5 times of water required by one millet plant. Millets are less maintenance and low investment crops. The Millets are more nutritious than paddy. Millets can grow in areas with annual rainfall less than 300 mm. Hence, Millets are an alternative for other crops like rice and wheat.

In the present agricultural scenario, millet farmers can be considered as followers of sustainable farming practices holding lessons for building climate resilience or the ability to adapt to change, overcome constraints, reduce disruptions and enhance opportunities. With advantages loaded in its favour such as low-maintenance, disease and pest resistance, nutritional benefits, market demand, fodder value and ecological benefits, millet is being considered as a smart crop. Known as C4 crops, millets have higher efficiency in absorbing and utilizing carbon dioxide. Most varieties of millets are well known for their hardiness and have the capacity to withstand prolonged periods of drought, high temperatures and still produce grains and fodder.

In India, millets are grown on about 15 million hectares, with an annual production of 17 million tonnes and contribute 10% to the country's food grain basket. Karnataka is on a millet-popularising drive focused on the nutritive value of the grain and has initiated far-reaching measures to claim the title of being the millet capital of the country. There are many Non governmental organization coming forward to promote sustainable millet farming.

Where you can purchase small millet seeds for sowing. Coming up... stay tuned🙂

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Review on Hand weeder or manual weeder

Would like share Review on Hand weeder or manual weeder which I purchased from Urvi agrotech. 

Nowadays, there are n number of  agricultural mini tools coming into market. One of those is Hand weeder. The hand weeder is one which is used to eliminate weeds by push pull method in gardens. Hand weeder tool is simple to use and versatile. It is used to remove weeds in and around trees, garden lawn edges, vegetable beds etc.

Approximately I purchased the Hand weeder a year back. On first few days it completely worked well. As the land was filled with few rocks here and there, very often I wanted to sharpen the blades. I made some extra five blades, so that I can connect them when needed.

The strength applied for weeding tool is medium if the soil is Sandy. When it comes to Rocky soils, the blades often to be sharpened and strength applied is also more. 

Bolts connected to the weeder sometimes gets connected. Need to observe them often. So, buy some extra bolts and nets. 

The blade is made up of SS metal. Hence, the chances of rusting is low. The extra temporary blades can be made in welding shop. 

I connected weeder equipment to the stick using two nails. There is aluminium handle for the weeder equipment which may cost 750 RS to 1000 RS.

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Growing food in small space - advantages and disadvantages

Growing food in small space is a dream of most of the people. Already many people are growing vegetables in the available small place. Terrace gardening has become trend nowadays. 

Urban people are growing their vegetables in terrace and balconies of their apartments. Most of apartment association provide permission to grow vegetables on balconies. There are pros and cons in this prospect. Would like to share few of them. Sharing this,  it's not mean to discourage terrace gardening but to take precautionary steps.

Advantages of Terrace gardening

* Can grow vegetables needed for kitchen.

* Pests can be handled manually.

* Less amount of water.

* Can get fresh air from planting indoor plants.

* Relaxation space.

Disadvantages of Terrace gardening

* More amount of water leads to drainage problems. Where the Mosquitos arise. So please make sure you use less water. 

* Prepare a plan on how you are going to deal with rain water.

* Contamination of over riped vegetables and spoilage. Take necessary steps to control them.

* Compost - prepare a plan on how you deal with wet compost on rainy season.

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