CAU Prof pitches for ZBNF for expense free farming
Source: The Sangai Express / Nando Waikhom

Imphal, October 05 2023: In an interesting paradigm shift in the agriculture sector in the State, a Professor of Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba, Imphal has put the wheel to roll out rabi pulses cultivation under Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) .

Professor K Nandini, who works as a Professor in the Department of Agronomy, CAU, Imphal said that the initiative/scheme which is set to begin from this winter aims at minimising expenses on purchasing inputs in farming/crops cultivation besides dislodging/extricating farmers from credit and debts.

Explaining that ZBNF is a holistic agricultural practice that counters commercial expenditure and market dependency of farmers on inputs, Nandini said that nothing has to be purchased in this farming practice as all the requirements for the growth of the plant will be obtained from or relied on the surrounding of the plant's root zone.

CAU Prof pitches for ZBNF for expense free farming

While underscoring the importance of following some principles in practicing ZBNF, the Professor maintained that non-toxic production of crops with the usage of freely available resources in nature, promoting natural catalyst of biological activity in the soil and natural protection of plants from diseases and multiple cropping for minimizing the risk of failure are fundamental.

She also said that mulching, which conserves humidity of the soil and protects microorganisms by regulating soil temperature besides supporting humus formation that maintains the water requirement of crops, is also essential in the said farming method.

While highlighting the technical aspects of ZBNF, Nandini said that site and crop selection is an important task where suitable crops should be selected for the appropriate site.

The Professor added that pulses should be selected for dry areas while oilseeds like rapeseed mustard should be selected for sites having more moisture.

She said that indigenous crop varieties must be selected while practicing this farming system and the seeds should be treated with 'Beejamrut' (fermented microbial solution, with loads of plant-beneficial microbes) as it protects the crop from harmful soil-borne pathogens and is helpful in producing Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) and GA3 (Gibberellic acid) .

Discouraging tillage, she said it enervates the soil moisture content and instead asked to augment earthworms so that the soil will be porous and enriched with their castings.

When asked about the process of sowing seeds, Nandita said that seeds should be shown in lines at a spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm (30 cm row to row and 10 cm plant to plant) for most pulses and rapeseed mustard.

"The optimum time for rabi crops is from the middle of October to the middle of November.

Delay in sowing hinders the crop yield as it will shorten the vegetative period, produce less flowering and grain/fruit set", she added.

The Professor also encouraged seeds treated with 'Beejamrut' and advised to scatter and cover them with straw for proper germination.

She further recommended intercropping in ZBNF, saying it gives additional yield and income per unit area than sole cropping in addition to utilizing resources efficiently, increasing productivity and providing shade and support to other crops.

Claiming that post harvest management is imperative to ZBNF, she stated that some of the harvested seeds should be properly dried in the sun and kept in cloth bags for the next season to reduce input cost.

Nandita further went on to ask farmers to add 'Beejamrut' and 'Jeevamrut' (natural liquid fertilizer made by mixing water, dung and urine from cows with some mud) besides crop residue and stover mulching.

(This article is written under the 3rd Award in the Scientific Journalism Programme of the Public Relations and Media Management Cell, CAU, Imphal) .