crops which need less water

Cultivate crops which need less water, farmers told

COIMBATORE, JAN. 30. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has advised farmers to cultivate crops which need less water, grow medicinal plants and increase the area under pulses, oilseeds, cotton and vegetables, 

In an interview The Hindu, he said the university submitted a report on "Strategies for managing drought in Tamil Nadu," to the Government incorporating these suggestions.

"We have advised farmers to go for crops that can help them reap maximum benefits, by increasing the area under pulses, cotton and maize to meet the requirements of the State.

"During the June to September season, they should stop cultivation of rice and opt for crops such as pulses, sunflower, sesame and maize. In areas affected severely by drought, they should go for pearl millet, minor millet and forage crops. However, in places where there is water stagnation, they can continue to grow rice," he said.

Prof said even a deviation of 19 per cent from the `mean rainfall' was categorised as `normal rainfall.' There were numerical differences in the amount of rainfall received by various regions in the State. The lack of "adequate and timely supply" of water in the Cauvery delta had affected the long duration crops during the flowering and maturity stages.

Owing to scarcity of water, the emphasis was on reducing the cultivated area under water-intensive crops such as rice and sugarcane, and using the quantity thus saved, to grow other crops.

By increasing productivity of rice and sugarcane using techniques already available with the university, farmers could ensure that there was no loss in the total yield despite shrinkage in the cultivated area.

"For example, young rice seedlings can be planted with wider spacing and mechanical weeding methods employed to incorporate weeds into the soil to physically stir it up and improve the physical soil environment during the thalady and samba seasons," 

The Government was taking several steps to disseminate such simple techniques to the farmers during the coming season, because the acceptance of new methods by the farmers was vital for ensuring a bountiful harvest.

Prof said farmers who had established market tie-ups could opt for cultivation of medicinal plants such as `coleus' in places where there was moderate water scarcity, and varieties such as senna, vinca rosea, aloe vera, jatropha and morinda tinctoria, in areas where there was severe drought.

They could grow vegetables such as bhendi, cluster beans, chillies, watermelon, gourds and `cucurbits' under moderate and severe drought conditions. An integrated system that included the rearing of goats, poultry, milch animals, bees, fish and pigs, besides the cultivation of mushrooms, would boost farm income.