James T.J., Bobby Issac, Meera Jose
For a long time we have been practicing a lab to land approach for the technology transfer. Even the work of developing societies and voluntary agencies is frequently following this pattern. But this always neglected the feasibility of the technology adaptation at the farmer’s level. Conventional agricultural research and development methods have not led to the creation of durable agricultural systems and have not been able to increase productivity substantially. The need for a new approach to technology development is now widely accepted (Bertus Haverkot).
However, formal institutions of agricultural research and extension are not the sole agents of innovation and dissemination of new technologies. (Bertus Haverkot). At the same time, farmers have developed many technologies by innovation and adaptation to maximise the local resources. Also, they have carried on using traditional farming techniques of great value that we begin to rediscover today.
Core scientists of Peermade Development Society have envisaged an approach termed as land to lab programme for participatory technology development. Documentation of local innovations and traditional technology, technical back up for these innovations, standardisation, popularisation and linking with the research institutions are the programmes envisaged in land to lab approach. The scientists have documented six innovations from the agricultural and allied sector and these are given in the article.
- Preventing quick wilt in pepper
Quick wilt is one of the major diseases in pepper. Quick wilt, which is caused by a fungus, Phytophthora capscici, usually spreads through soil or air. Mr. P.A. Francis (Pappachan) a progressive farmer, has developed a technique to prevent the attack of quick wilt in pepper (now knwon as pappachan technique). Earlier his entire pepper vines were destroyed by quick wilt. Later he found that keeping the collar region of the plant exposed to sunlight and more spacing can prevent the attack of the fungus. He also noticed that the roots coming from the nodes are much stronger than roots induced by hormone. Soon he found that not a single pepper plant of his was effected by quick wilt. He has been practicing this technique for the last 8 years. We have made a detailed documentation of this technique.
In 1992 he had planted pepper in 18 cents by this technique and in 1996 he covered 1.3 acre and recently another 40 cents was also covered by this technique.
| Variety used | Karimunda |
| Spacing adopted’ | 15’x10 |
| Height of plants | 25′ |
| Planting material used | Rooted cuttings |
Special method is followed for the preparation of rooted cuttings. The runner shoots are made into pieces of 8″ length and the cuts are made exactly just below the node so that the new roots will be developing only from the nodal region which in turn will give a healthy root system for the plant (cuttings are prepared in polybags). Trenches of 2′ depth are dug all around the field to prevent the entry of muddy water from the neighbouring fields. The sloping land is made into terraces and the pepper plants are planted on levelled platforms of 1mt width.
Common plants used for supporting are Erythrina, Muringa, Glyricidia and Jackfruit tree. (different species are used to keep the diversity). 75% of the support trees are jackfruit trees and the remaining 25% are contributed by other species. But according to the farmer, jackfruit tree is the best support, as it has good timber value, strength and wind resistance. It offers minimum competition to the pepper. The support trees are planted in the month of May.
Irrigation is not given to the plants so that they become tolerant to the drought. In summer season, the young plants are protected from the hot sun by using arecanut fronds, whitewashing and mulching with dry leaves. Up to one metre height, the plant is made to grow as a single stem. As a result it becomes thick and strong. Fruiting branches are also removed from this portion. The spikes formed at the beginning of the 2nd year (1st bearing) are completely removed, as the bearing will reduce the growth and vigour of plants in the initial years.
In the 2nd year of planting, the soil from the plant base is slightly removed so that the collar region is exposed and the plants are allowed to bear that year onwards and the farmer gets an average of 5 kg dry pepper / plant in the 1st harvest. It is observed that the removal of spikes in the 1st year will result in an average yield increase of 500gm dry pepper / plant compared to the plants under conventional cultivation practices. In the 3rd year, the soil is further removed from the plant base and the roots become exposed (4-5″) and the runner shoots growing from the base are removed timely. By this time the jackfruit trees will attain a good growth and are able to support the pepper plants. Then the Erythrina trees are cut at the base and the upper portion is tied to the jackfruit trees, so that gradually the pepper plant can get attached to the standard.
Strict shade management is done. The height of the plant is limited to 20-25″ to assure maximum sunlight to all the plant parts equally. It should also be noted that the lower 1m stem, roots and soil around the plant base are well exposed to sunlight. The plants are healthy and the nutrient absorbing roots are seen even at a distance of 3-4ms from the base. The mucuna which is well spread in the field add good organic matter to the soil and the soil is found to be very fertile, well drained and containaing a large number of earthworms. It also serves the purpose of soil and water conservation effectively.
Pests and diseases are not observed. No plant is affected by quick wilt disease. Slight yellowing of one plant was noticed. For such symptoms, the spikes are removed and intensive care is given to the plant so that it regains its health naturally. Construction of stone bunds and digging the soil are avoided in the field, as this will cause stagnation of muddy water and the latter, causes breaking of roots, which is the major cause of quick wilt infection.
Every year the two-dose manuring is strictly followed. Because, with the application of the 1st dose, the plant attains better growth and spikess will be formed. If the 2nd dose is not given, the nutrients required for the maturation of berries will be absorbed from the plant parts itself and this will weaken the plant and it may not withstand the next summer or monsoon. No chemical fertilizers are used in the field. As it increases the water content of the plant, it increases the incidence of pest and disease. Since pests are absent, use of chemical pesticides is not needed.
Apart from the manuring done at the time of planting, a second dose of manuring of 100 gm each of bone meal and groundnut cake is given in August-September. Fortnightly, cowdung slurry is applied and heavy mulching is given. From the 3rd year of planting onwards, 500gm of bone meal and 4-5 kg of well rotten cattle manure is given as the 1st dose (May-June) and 500gm of bone meal and 500 gm of groundnut cake give as the 2nd dose (Aug-Sept) and the manure is always applied at a distance of 2m from the plant base. The application of manure is always done on top of the soil and care is taken not to disturb the soil.
The spikes formed after the main bearing are removed completely during the harvest of the main crop. This enables the plants to survive in the hot summer season in a more efficient manner. The ultimate aim of this is to increase the vigour of the plant and to attain complete health, which will increase the yield.
| Yield 1996 planted pepper | 1.30 acres | 6.5 qt obtained in 1999 expecting 10 qt this year |
| 1992 planting | 18 cents | 2q obtained in 1999 from the 1992 planting |
Scientific validation of the new method is to be carried out by research institutes. Relation between the mucuna plants in the pepper plantations and control of quick wilt, application of groundnut cake, disease resistance are the areas to be covered. For further info, please contact the famer: Mr. P.A. Francis, Cheruvalil House, Kayanna P.O., Calicut, Kerala.
- Farmers’ innovation in vermicompost
Farmers of Amaravathy village have started experimenting with innovative techniques in vermicomposting . They reported that the addition of cattle urine diluted with an equal quantity of water proved to be very effective in reducing duration of compost formation by 10 days. They also reported a 20% increase in the number of worms. They started using goat excreta as the lower layer instead of sawdust as the worms showed less affinity to goat excreta.
- Low cost water tank using polyethylene sheet
Another farmer, Mr. Joy Pattettu of Idukki district has developed a water tank using a polyethylene sheet. For a 1000 litre capacity tank, 3 sq.m. square polythene sheet is required. The sheet is spread over a levelled pit (four sides and bottom of the pit) and water can be stored in this tank for a longer period. The theory behind is that pressure point will be adjusted all along the sheet. This will prevent the accumulation of pressure at single point thereby preventing the collapsing of the sheet. This water can be used for domestic purposes. A trial for identifying the most apt geometrical shape that can withstand the pressure is going on in our campus.
- Jamunapuri X local breed of goat
A farmer in Anakkara Idukki district has successfully crossed between two varieties of goats, local variety with the Jamunapuri breed. He has supplied more than 300 kids to the surrounding households. A local NGO had provided a pair of Jamunapuri to him in 1987. He then crossed this breed with the local varieties and raised about 300 offspring. Average weight of this crossbreed is 34 kg. Local varieties weigh around 22 kg. The average milk yield of this cross is higher (2.3 ltrs. per day) than both the parent breeds.
- Local pesticide
Farmers of Pulinkatta suffer a heavy loss due to the bacterial blight and yellowing in vegetable cultivation. Besides this, they reported a heavy loss due to crab infestation, which is plenty in that area. A farmer group has tried out various pesticides and successfully developed a pesticide by fermenting crab, tobacco, bar soap and kerosene. This is found to be very effective against bacterial attack on vegetables.
Conclusion
Based on our experiences, we believe that an informal research and extension network operating independently is more practically oriented than the governmental research programme. The active role of farmers in actually developing technologies has been largely underestimated and underutilized (Bertus Haverkort).
Practical field experiences reveal that impressive results can be achieved when farmers and outsiders join together. We have to create an atmosphere conducive for farmers’ innovation and farmer researcher collaboration and what we want is Land to Lab approach rather than lab to land approach.
References
Farmers’ experiments and Participatory Technology Development (Bertus Harverkort) Pp 3-16. Joining farmers experiments Ed Bertus Harverkort, Johan van der kamp and Ann Water-Bayers. Intermediate Technology Publications 1991.
Rural Development, Putting the Last first, Robert Chambers pp 91, Long man 1983.
Farming for the future, Coen Reijtjes, Bertus Harverkort and Ann Water-Bayers, Pp 20 ILEIA, Macmillan 1992.
