Highlights how an innovative technology helped farmers to be resilient in dealing with water logging conditions and drought situations, while protecting their soils, crops and getting high quality produce.
Eastern Uttar Pradesh and northern Bihar region are particularly prone to recurring flood and water logging for two to three months every year. With periodic dry spells occurring owing to climate change, it is predicted that the intensity of rainfall events in the region may increase in the future. This shall further adversely affect the situation. Specifically, in the last 8 to 10 years, in Ganga plain region, long dry spells of 15-20 days between one rain and another are a common occurrence.
Low tunnel poly house create greenhouse effect
The historic rainfall data analysis at the micro level indicated that extreme rainfall episodes (more than 64.5 mm in 24 hours) increases the amount of rainfall by about 10 to 20 percent. In situ observations indicate flooding in the low lying areas of Gorakhpur and West Champaran takes place often after 100 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. This leads to vast low lying fertile agriculture lands becoming water logged areas owing to gentle topographic slope and poor drainage system.
As a result, particularly, the small and marginal vegetable growers suffer crop losses. Increased inundation negatively affects sowing of summer crops (kharif) and winter crops (Rabi), further impacting the food and income security of the small and marginal farmers. As 75 percent of them are vegetable growers, raising crops in the region in nurseries during summer for transplanting in winter is extremely difficult due to extensive water logging.
Under the Core Support Programme of Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, GEAG took up facilitating Row covered technology with farmers. The feasibility study for introducing technology in the region also revealed that approximately 18 per cent of the total area of the intervention is flooded during summer – with most areas being severely water logged for two to three months every year. The adverse consequences include decreased soil fertility and increased incidence of pest and diseases. Moreover, the nurseries available are not of good quality and not suitable to meet the needs of the farmers.
As a pilot intervention, GEAG guided farmers in using Row Covered Technology with raised beds for growing seedlings and polythene sheet mulching of high priced vegetables.
Technology specification and pilot intervention
The Row Covered Technology involves miniature structures (low tunnel type), creating a similar effect like greenhouses. The low tunnels are made with wire. Plastic sheets are used as roof for covering the tunnel in a semi-circle shape having low height. These tunnels facilitate the entrapment of carbon dioxide, enhancing the photosynthetic activity of the plants resulting in healthy plant growth. Optimum temperature is maintained with enhanced nutrient uptake. These structures are low cost, easy to construct and dismantle while preparing for the next year.
The technical specifications are:
- The low tunnel poly house is constructed on the raised bed of 1 to 1.5 feet, above the normal field surface, so that it does not get affected by water stagnation.
- A mound of six inch is made around the seed bed, with a slopy drain, so that the rain water does not enter the seed bed.
- The poly house is surrounded by a drain which helps to drain the excess amount of water.
The technology can be used during winter and summer season through appropriate water management. These are being used for growing nurseries of high demand vegetables like bottle gourd, bitter gourd, brinjal, cauliflower, tomatoes, and cucumber.
The technology offered many advantages with regards to increase in yield, early harvesting of vegetables, conserving soil temparature through water management, protecting crops from the attacks of birds and pests, winds and rains, frost, cold and hot waves and ultimately increasing the net incomes for the farmers.
Under the core support programme, four model units of row covered technology on raised bed (low tunnel poly house) were constructed at Campierganj, Jangle Kaudia and Nautan. They were constructed in 2019 and the following parameters were observed.
The trials were conducted on Bitter Gourd, Bottle Gourd, Brinjal and Cauli flower) and data was collected for 35 days (during July to August 2019).
In the following table, the data comparison on various parameters (from inside and outside of the poly houses) is mentioned.
Table 1: Observations of field trials
| Pilot initiative | Trial | Crop | No of days taken for germination (in days) | No of seedlings germinated (in %) | Pest and disease affected (in %) | Plant losses due to water logging (in %) | Seedlings matured (in days) |
| Campeirganj | Open land | Bitter gourd | 6 | 75 | 9 | 25 | 32 |
| Within Poly house | Bitter gourd | 4 | 82 | 1 | 2 | 28 | |
| Jangle kaudia | Open land | Bottle gourd | 7 | 60 | 12 | 32 | 31 |
| Within Poly house | Bottle gourd | 6 | 78 | 2 | 5 | 29 | |
| Jangle kaudia | Open land | Brinjal | 11 | 75 | 15 | 50 | 35 |
| Within Poly house | Brinjal Plant | 11 | 86 | 4 | 6 | 28 | |
| Nautan( Westchamparan) | Open land | Cauli Flower | 12 | 62 | 7 | 24 | 30 |
| Within Poly house | Brinjal | 9 | 78 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
The data and observations indicated that Row Covered Technology with raised beds were beneficial in terms of better plant germination, protection from diseases and reduced seedling losses due to water logging, in comparison to those outside polyhouse. For example, testing on bitter gourd, bottle gourd, Brinjal and Cauliflower indicated that more seedlings have grown (7%, 18%, 10%, and 16%), respectively, while incidence of pest and diseases and losses due to water logging is lower. Thus, in a region which is severely prone to water logging and recurring droughts, this technology proved very effective offering immense scope for scaling up in similar contexts.
Beneficial outcomes
Polythene mulching for reducing soil moisture loss.
There is a year round high demand for fresh vegetables in the surrounding domestic market areas. This is owing to proximity of urban areas, increased health awareness, high population growth rate, changing dietary patterns of increasingly affluent middle class. With improved transport systems, flooding of vegetables form remote areas takes place during the season as well as off season. The nearby small and marginal vegetable growers have to compete with outside vendors.
In both the regions, now after the pilot testing, more than 30 farmers are developing early nurseries of Tomato, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Chili, Brinjal and Creeper vegetable like bottle gourd, cucumber, bitter gourd pumpkin etc.. They are in fact saving 20-30 days of waiting time and getting the high quality seedlings quite early. This helps them to get early crop, fetching them a higher price in the market. Farmers are also exchanging and selling the seedlings to the other local farmers.
The vegetable growers of the Jungle Kauria, Campierganj and Nautan block are quite satisfied with this technique of raising the early nursery of vegetables all around the year and harvesting good quality vegetables. They recognize the benefits of increased yields, early harvesting of vegetables, conserving soil warmth through water management, protecting plant from wind and frost and ultimately increasing the net incomes for the farmers.
Ajay Kumar Singh and Archana Srivastava
Archana Srivastava
Project Coordinator
E-mail : archanasri844@gmail.com
Ajay Kumar Singh
Project Coordinator
E-mail : mahewa@geagindia.org
Gorakhpur Environmental Action group
HIG 1 st Phase 1/4
Siddharthpur, Taramanda Road
Gorakhpur – 273017
