Fruit based integrated farming system for sustainable income

MD Singh, N Devachandra Singh & Mutum Dinamani *

Integrated farming means two or more production technologies to function together on parallel basis resulting to increase productivity, increase income, more additional employment, reduction cost of cultivation of the farm, enhance efficiency in resource utilization and decreased investment risk through collaboration of various crops and commodities. When the fruit plants are the major commodity of Integrated Farming, the system is known as fruit based integrated farming.

China is the leading country in adopting the principles of integrated farming in the world. Indian agriculture is dominated by small and marginal farmer. A farmer having an area of 1-2 ha of land is called small farmer and less than 1 ha is marginal farmer. In Manipur due to geographical location, nature of topography of land and many other reasons, most of the farmers are all under marginal farmers. Such small area should be effectively used for generating sustainable farm income by adopting two or more production technologies.

Manipur is located in between latitude 23050/N to 25042/N and longitude 92058/E to 94045/E. The area of Manipur is 22,327 km2. Out of the area, about 9/10 of the total area is in hilly region and 1/10 is in plain. Circumstances compel to grow fruit trees in such larger area of hill region. Therefore, it has tremendous scope for trees and fruit crops, to grow in such hilly undulated area and it also can prevent soil erosion and help in reducing the present problem of climate change conditions.

It may be planned that higher elevation portion of the hills will be allotted trees and the bigger fruit crops, middle portion of the hill will be shared between other dwarf fruit crops and vegetables. In the low foothill areas, other activities like suitable agro-horticultural crops, poultry, piggery, fisheries etc. can be taken up.

The fruit crops of Manipur on priority are Mandarin Orange, Passion fruit, Pineapple, Banana and Lime/Lemon. Papaya also can be considered as mandate crop if it is used as filler plants as well as one line single planting on the dykes of the pond and can generate a regular income to meet daily cash requirement of the small farm families. Some hints for scientific cultivation of such mandatory fruits are given below:

A. Pineapple (Ananuscomosus)

o Variety : Kew, Queen
o Sucker Size : 300 to 400g
o Seed Treatment : Carbendazim 3g l-1 + cloropyriphosh 2 ml 1-1
o Planting Season : March to June
o Mulching : Preferably with black polythene mulch
o Fertilizer : 16:8:16g NPK/plant
o Spacing : 25x50x80 cm
o Intercrops : Rajma, Soyabean (1st year) in spaces between double row
o Planting system : Double row system
o Plant Population : 61,538 suckers ha-1
o Formula for finding out plant population (PP) : PP=2xArea/0.25(0.50+0.80)

B. Banana (Musa sp.)

o Variety : Local Hei and Grand naine
o Sucker tupe : Sword Sucker
o Seed treatment : Carbendazim 3 g 1-1 + cloropyriphosh 2 ml 1-1
o Pit size : 60 x 60 x 60 cm
o Spacing : Tall 2.5 x 3 m, Dwarf 1.5 x 1.5 m
o Plant population : Tall 1333 plants h-1, Dwarf 4444 Plants h-1
o Fertilizers : 100 : 50 : 30 g NPK Plant-1 + 15 kg FYM plant-1
o Mulching : Black polythene mulch
o Intercropping : King chilli& Ginger, Turmeric in the 1st year
o Irrigation : 1-2 times/month during dry period
o Desuckering : To start 45 days after planting; Not to keep more than 2 suckers at a time; to pour 4 ml kerosene is best for de suckering after cutting down the sucker at the ground level.
o Harvesting : To be harvested when the fruit is round in structure; Mattocking at 0.6 m height.

C. Mandarin Orange (Citrus reticulata)

o Variety : Tamenglong, Khasi, Nagpur
o Propagation : Preferably budded plants
o Pit Size : 50 x 50 x 50 cm
o Fertilizer : 20-25 kg FYM+0.5 kg SSP at the time of planting Afterwards 450 : 450 : 900 g NPK/plant.
o Trimming and Pruning :
(i) Up to 50 cm height not allowed to bear any branch.
(ii) To be low headed with dome shaped.
(iii) Removal of water sprouts suckers.
(iv) Allows stem with 4-6 well spacing branch.
(v) Bearing trees require little or no pruning.
(vi) Best time for pruning is after harvest during late winters or during early spring when they are dormant stage.
o Spacing ; 4.5 x 4.5 m
o Plant population : 500 plants h-1
o Intercropping : Shallow rooted preferably leguminous crops like soya bean, blackgram, pea, cowpea etc. & King chilli, ginger, turmeric. In the 1st year papaya can also be used and it is more economic.
o Mulching : Organic and preferably inorganic can be used.
o Irrigation : 1-2 during summer if mulching is practiced.

D. Passion fruit (Passifloraedulis)

o Variety : Purple, Yellow, Kaveri
o Propagation : Preferably by cutting (after rooting in a poly bag)
o Pit size : 50 x 50 x 50 cm
o Trellising : Telephonic/Knifin wire system
o Fertilizers : 100 : 50 : 120 g NPK/plant+10 kg FYM/plant
o Spacing : 1.5 x 4 m
o Plant population : 1667 plants h-1
o Intercropping : Eryngiumfoetidum (Awa phadigom)
o Av. No. of seed/fruit : (i) Purple ; 100 (ii) Yellow : 150 (iii) Kaveri : 225
o Harvesting : Two main periods of harvesting (i) March – May (ii) August – December.

ADVANTAGE OF INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

As integrated farming system has interdependent, interrelated thereby many advantages over other system of farming are found. It has more productivity as the system provides more opportunity to increase productivity per unit area per unit time by intensifying the crops and allied components using the concept of “time and space”. It has more profitability as the system has two components or more are in the same adjoining filed thereby reducing the cost of production.

Integrated Farming System also provides income all the year round to the farmers for selling of fruits, vegetable, eggs, milk, fish, mushrooms, honey etc. The organic waste/cattle dung can be used for production of biogas thereby saving energy and the residue of biogas cab be profitably used as manure for various crops production. This system reduces the use of chemical fertilizer turning to the organic cultivation and reducing environmental pollution. The system can convert degraded land into a productive land.

Drought hardy fruit trees component in a planting system provide insurance during drought year when annual crops fail or their production is highly impaired. Integrated Farming System reduces the risk of farmer as failure of one component will not affect much to thesystem as a whole.

It also increased employment generation by increasing input use efficiency as combination of a number of components would increase the labour requirement significantly and helping in reducing under-employment and makes use of farm labourall the year round. Once these provisions are made at the farm level to generate bio-energy produce fruits, vegetable, mushrooms, eggs, milk, fish, honey etc. It increases the standard of living and social economic status of the farmers.

SCOPE OF INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

Integrated Farming System enterprises includes fruits, vegetable, fish, livestock, poultry, tree crops, spices, plantation crops, beehives etc. Combination of one or more enterprises with cropping when correctly chosen, planned and executed, gives greater earning or bonus than a single enterprise specially for small and margin farmers. In the hilly areas of Manipur diverse climatic conditions are found and in such situation tremendous scope for integration of horticultural crops especially in fruit crops.

Several crop combinations involving cereals, Horticultural crops, forest trees, fodder trees etc. may be practiced in agro-forestry, agro-horti, horti-silvi, agro-silvi-pastoral and horti-silvi pastoral systems. A fruit based Integrated Farming System will also reduce more in Jhuming or shifting cultivation.

IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATED FORMING SYSTEM

Integrated Farming System has a good impact for the development of mankind in general and farmers in particular both in material and social terms. Thus the prospects and importance of Integrated Farming System in India are very bright future. In India, many farmers are not self sufficient. As involvement of many enterprises of commodities in Integrated Farming System there is substantial and continuous generation of knowledge and return.

Thus, it can make the farmers self sufficient, Integrated Farming System has also a great potential in reducing higher levels of income and it adequately addressed to these poor farmer, there is possibility of meeting their aspiration for higher income. Land fragmentation is the problem for farmers. Integrated Farming System will address such problem by giving more opportunity for production activities of different components to these fragmented lands.

Integrated Farming System can improve the welfare of women by contributing more for household securities. It provides better utilization and distribution of labour all the year round by engaging in such components like mushroom cultivation, bee keeping, sericulture etc. which are very suitable for womenfolk thus increasing the household financial security.

A unique opportunity for maintaining and extending bio-diversity is offered by the Integrated Farming System. The emphasis in such system is on optimizing resource utilization rather than maximization of individual elements in the system. Plants and animals of high generic potentials and specialize outputs are required in Integrated Farming System. In this way, they are conserved, protected and utilized.

The Integrated Farming System has a great scope in addressing the large scale environmental pollution because of heavy use of external inputs like pesticides, fertilizers, emission of gases like methane and irregular disposal of agricultural by-products. It maintains the sustainability of the system by reducing dependence of external inputs like agro-chemicals and utilizing the agro-wastes which will otherwise pollute the environment.

CONCLUSION

There are lots of opportunities for the development of Integrated Farming System in either foothills or in any plain areas. The integrated approach of fruit based farming associating with different components like vegetables, spices, plantation crops, paddy, livestock including poultry, piggery, duckry etc. would be more meaningful to utilize all the available farm spaces so as to boost up the livelihood of the farmers.


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CAU, Imphal.
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