Seed Industry

Empowering Farmers Through Affordable Agrochemical Solutions: The Role of SME Companies in India

2026-05-16T05:18:36.546-07:00

India’s agricultural sector is the backbone of our economy, supporting millions of farmers and contributing significantly to national growth. However, rising cultivation costs, unpredictable climate conditions, pest resistance, and fluctuating market prices continue to challenge the profitability of farming.

One of the most important ways to support farmers today is by ensuring access to affordable and effective crop protection solutions. This is where SME agrochemical companies are playing a transformative role.

Small and medium agrochemical enterprises are bridging the gap between innovation and affordability by supplying high-quality generic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and formulation solutions at competitive prices. These companies are helping farmers reduce input costs without compromising crop protection efficiency.

Why Affordable Agrochemical Solutions Matter

For many farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, the cost of branded crop protection products can become a major burden. Affordable generic agrochemical produc
ts provide:

✅ Cost-effective crop protection
✅ Better pest and disease management
✅ Improved crop productivity
✅ Higher profitability per acre
✅ Greater accessibility in rural markets

When farmers spend less on inputs while maintaining healthy crop yields, their net income improves. This directly contributes to stronger rural economies and sustainable agricultural growth.

The Growing Contribution of SME Agrochemical Companies

SME companies bring flexibility, innovation, and regional understanding to the agrochemical industry. Unlike large corporations, SMEs often work closely with distributors, retailers, formulators, and farming communities to provide customized and accessible solutions.

Their contributions include:

🔹 Supplying quality technical materials and generic molecules
🔹 Supporting local formulators and manufacturers
🔹 Creating employment opportunities in manufacturing and distribution
🔹 Increasing product availability across rural and semi-urban markets
🔹 Promoting competitive pricing in the industry

By making generic pesticides widely available, SME companies help ensure that even small farmers can access modern crop protection technologies.

Supporting Farmers Means Supporting the Nation

Agriculture is directly connected to food security, rural employment, and national development. When farmers prosper, the entire economy benefits.

Affordable agrochemical solutions can:
🌾 Increase agricultural productivity
🌾 Reduce crop losses
🌾 Improve farmer incomes
🌾 Strengthen food supply chains
🌾 Enhance national agricultural competitiveness

India has immense potential to become a global agricultural powerhouse, and SME agrochemical companies can become key contributors to this mission.

The Way Forward

The future of Indian agriculture depends on collaboration between manufacturers, formulators, distributors, policymakers, and farmers. SME agrochemical companies must continue focusing on:

✔ Quality assurance
✔ Responsible and sustainable solutions
✔ Farmer education and awareness
✔ Innovation in formulations
✔ Timely and reliable supply chains

At the heart of this effort is a simple goal — making effective crop protection affordable and accessible for every farmer.

Together, we can build a stronger agricultural ecosystem that supports farmers, improves productivity, and contributes to the growth of the nation.

#Agriculture #Agrochemicals #Farmers #SME #CropProtection #GenericPesticides #AgriBusiness #IndiaAgriculture #Farming #AgriculturalGrowth #AgriSolutions #FoodSecurity #FarmerIncome #MakeInIndia

Uses of Generic Molecule new video

2024-08-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

कृषि में सामान्य दवा का महत्व Video

Rabi season

2021-10-23T09:20:00.005-07:00

Hello Readers,
We all know the end of monsoon and winter is going to start nowadays we watch the monsoon shift for 1 month. I saw this thing continuously for the last 3 years.
Rabi season means season of mustard, wheat and gram major and all some vegetables onion, okra and green peas etc.

Wheat is a majorly grown field crop in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab Haryana, Bihar mean North and central India.

Seeds companies are also aggressively working in this segment. Every seed company has their own research varieties that claim higher yields at lower cost. Some companies offer buyback options.

Major seeds companies are

Mahabeej, Ankur seed, Ajeet Seed, Egle seeds, DCM Shriram, etc. Some multinationals are also entering this segment like Syngenta.

Top variety of wheat in India is

HI-8759 (Pusa Tejas)
One of the varieties of wheat having a high level of rust resistance. It is a high yielding durum wheat variety with an average yield of more then 55q/ha and potential yield of 75q/ha, was released for timely sown irrigated conditions of Central Zone by Central Sub- Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops.

HD 1605 (Pusa Ujala)
The variety is famous for its ability of resistance to black and brown rusts and also has good level of resistance to flag smut, Karnal bunt, leaf blight and foot rot diseases.

LOK-1
Suitable for Irrigated, late sown condition, Medium grain, Resistant to rust, blight

GW- 322
Resistant to rust, Yield: 55-60 q/ha, Widely accepted

SUJATA
Tall, bold and shining grain, Resistant to drought, Popular for chapati, Average yield: 16-18 q/ha C 306 and Sujata are sister lines

GW-273
Suitable for late and timely sown condition, Resistant to rust and, Good for chapati, Yield: 55-60 q/ha, Widely accepted

HI-8498
Resistant to rust, bold shining grain, Yield: 50-57 q/ha, Widely accepted
and

GW- 496

HI-2189

HI-8663

HI -1544 etc.

Digital Platform for Agri-Inputs (A Next Generation wholesale e-commerce Agri-Input business )

2021-10-13T08:34:00.007-07:00

Half of the Indian population depends on agriculture as its primary source of income. However, the use of technology in the agricultural industry has been limited in India.

Nowadays we see a rise in the number of agritech startups that are not only making technology more accessible but also helping these farmers to improve their lives. They provide many kinds of services to our farmers, Agri-retailers and also help the government for sustainable agriculture. Investors are also looking forward to these startups. Now big E-commerce giants are also enter in this market segment like Amazon, Flipkart etc.

Is this turnaround of the Agri-Input business ?

So many kind of positive and negative thoughts are there

Positive:-

All agri companies maintain a proper corporate channel

Big portfolio of product and services

Better services to farmers and retailers

Control the price war

Zero credit business

Single point contact between Agritech and Input companies

Very important more jobs

Negative :-

Disturbance in traditional system

No bonding between farmers and e-commerce company

No restriction of market

Transport system fails sometimes so delivery is always not on time.

How to Compete with traditional traders ?

Here is some ag-tech startups

1. Agrostar

2. Plantix Agritech

3. Gramophone

4. Dehaat (Green Agrevolution)

5. Bijak

6. EM3

7. WayCool

8. E- Fasal

9. Bharat agri

10. Krishify etc.

India Pesticide firms seek sops to cut China import

2020-07-02T01:40:00.002-07:00

According to the manufacturers, they need at least two years to become self-sufficient provided the government supports them with a special package.

The industry is dependent on China for 30% intermediates, raw materials and technical grade pesticides that are manufacturing use products. The size of the Indian pesticide industry is over Rs 42,000 crore, out of which Rs 22,000 crore comes from exports. In the northern region, there are around 200 units and 2,800 across the country.

On being asked whether the industry is prepared if the government bans imports from China or imposes high tariffs, Pradip Dave, president, Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India, and chairman, Aimco Pesticides Ltd., said, “Indian and Chinese industry are working together for the past many years and have established a trade channel that facilitates the supply of raw material and technical grade products. If the higher tariffs are imposed, it will increase prices of pesticide formulations used for plant protection and public health.”

The alternative is to locally develop technologies for the production of intermediates and technical grade products to avoid dependency on import.

To become self-sufficient, the Indian pesticide industry has been seeking support from the government as extended to the pharma industry.

Beopar Mandal Punjab president Amit Kapoor said: “If the government supports traders, provides incentives to boost domestic manufacturing and impose heavy taxes on Chinese products in India, then only we will be able to compete with Chinese products”.

मिट्टी का स्वास्थ्य । (SOIL HEALTH) BY NITESH JASANI MICROBIOLOGIST

2020-05-13T01:28:00.001-07:00

मिटटी का स्वास्थ (Soil health) के बारे बताते हुए श्री नितेश जसानी जी microbiologist इंदौर | विडियो के लिए

यहाँ क्लिक करे विडियो

ICAR identifies 8 new hybrid maize

2020-05-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

ICAR identifies 8 new hybrid maize varieties promising for release

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on last Thursday said it has recognised eight new hybrid maize varieties as promising for release in different seasons and agro-ecologies in the country.

These maize varieties have been identified after discussion with farm scientists through a digital workshop of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) attended by 150 participants from across the country.

Addressing the workshop, the country''s premier government research body ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra appreciated the efforts of maize scientists for continuing with the research work amid the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He asked the Ludhiana-based ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR-IIMR) to carry out basic, strategic and applied research for enhancing production, productivity and sustainability of the crop.

AICRP on maize needs to play a leadership role to make maize as the future crop of the country, he said.

"In this workshop, eight new maize hybrids have been identified as promising for the release in different seasons and agro-ecologies of the country," ICAR said in a statement.

The standard operating protocols (SOPs) for conducting various research projects in AICRP on maize were also discussed and finalised during the workshop, it said.

On this occasion, a bilingual mobile app called ''Makka'' was launched for the benefit of farmers, industries and other stakeholders in maize.

This app (English and Hindi) has video, static and dynamic features on the crop varietal selection, pest and fertiliser solution, fertiliser/pesticide calculation, crop cultivation practices, mechanisation, news/updates and advisories to the farmers, ICAR added.

That apart, the workshop recommended zero-tilled maize after rice, sensor-based nitrogen management, post emergence herbicide for weed control -- for increasing the farm profitability, input use efficiency and reducing drudgery in maize production.

The outbreak of pest attack Fall Armyworm (FAW) that had threatened maize crop last year was also discussed in the workshop.

To contain the pest disease, the ICAR said as many as 102 training programmes were conducted in the country, benefiting over 10,000 stakeholders for management of FAW.

The demos were conducted in over 1,500 hectare on improving maize productive practices in various parts of the country.

Maize or corn is a very important crop used as poultry and animal feed and raw material in starch industries besides use as food. The crop also has potential for green fuel (ethanol) production and cultivated in all states of the country.

Specialty maize such as sweet corn, baby corn and popcorn are also gaining much popularity and being developed by the ICAR.

Climate is Favourable in India Rabi Crop in 2020

2020-01-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Favorable climate in India will provide bumper Rabi crop in 2020. Despite Kharif crop damage in the first half of 2019, the farmers are optimistic about good winter crops.

The Projections of Rabi Crop

The data collected by agriculture ministry revealed that the sowing of Rabi crop is 6.4% more than the previous year. The high reservoir water levels and sufficient soil moisture is making a way for bumper Rabi crop this year. Water levels in more than 60 reservoirs controlled by Central Water Commission exceeded 80% of their storage capacity.

Agri-inputs Sales

Evaluation by Antique Stock Broking Ltd showed a 15-20% increase in sales of most agro chemical companies during October and November this year. Vital crop nutrients industry (urea and diammonium phosphate) saw a 20% increase in sales during the same time. Arshad Perwez, vice president, JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd said that favorable climate conditions have expanded the scope for rabi crop this season. Further, he accounted for farmer’s optimism to the high prices of agricultural commodities despite damaged Kharif crop production. Besides, several major agriculture input companies like Dhanuka Agritech Ltd, Rallis India Ltd, UPL Ltd, etc. expect better sales in the next year.

Delay in Sowing

The officials in the agriculture department predict a delay in sowing of rabi crops. The sowing will mainly get affected in North Maharashtra. They stated that the average time of sowing rabi crop will exceed. Due to excessive moisture in the soil, farmers of Nashik, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar and Jalgaon districts will continue to sow 10.80 lakh hectare of area till mid-January 2020.

Crisil Report on Kharif crop

The excessive rainfall in southern western states suffered crop damage whereas delayed monsoon in northern states led to a delay in the sowing of Kharif crops in 2019. Crisil research reported that 4% to 6% less production of Kharif crop will result in high prices. Besides, over 90% of the rabi crop sown area will give a healthy output in the crop year 2019-20.

To conclude, adequate water availability along with MSP hike by the government will increase profitability for farmers. Expect a bumper Rabi Crop in India for 2020 and increase in farmers income in 2020.

India weak monsoon forecast spell hope for guar seeds

2019-04-11T07:31:00.002-07:00

Prices of Guar seed futures is expected to shoot up to as much as Rs 4,600 on NCDEX, supported by projections of a weak monsoon and spike in global crude oil prices, IndiaNivesh said in a research report.

Guar seed is one of the major Kharif commercial crops of Rajasthan. The state contributes around 80% to the total domestic crop. Guar seed and its derivatives - Guar gum is mainly used in oil exploration industries.

Recently, Skymet Weather Services, an Indian private company, predicted that there is a 55% of chance for below average monsoon this year, particularly in during the time (June-September) when Kharif crops are sown.

“Below normal rain during sowing months of June-July could affect sowing of Guar seed this year and lower acreage will support commodity prices,” IndiaNivesh director Manoj Kumar Jain said in the note.

“In our view, lower rainfall and increased demand of Guar gum will support Guar seed prices in coming days. Guar seed could test Rs.4, 600 per quintal levels,” Jain added.

He also noted that production cut by OPEC and allied countries have spiked crude oil prices more than 30% in the first quarter of 2019

“Higher crude oil prices will also support the demand of Guar gum in coming days. As U.S. could ramp-up shell oil production in coming months which will spike demand of Guar gum in coming months,” Jain said.

Guar seed futures at NCDEX corrected from the high of Rs 4,870 in November last year to the low of Rs 4,092 in February this year.

Going forward, IndiaNivesh expects that the commodity will test “the next Fibonacci retracement of 50% and then 61.8% in coming days”.

According to Jain, traders can buy Guar seed futures around Rs 4,390 with the strict stop loss below Rs 4,260 on a closing basis for the upside target of Rs 4,480-4,600.

Weakness is expected in contract only when it closes below 4260 on a daily closing basis and in that case, it could test its support level of 4100 again but chances are very rare, he added.

India as major seed hub in Asia says reports

2019-04-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

India as major seed hub in Asia

Four Indian seed companies feature in top 10

The global and regional seed industry invests heavily in India to support the productivity of smallholder farmers. An evaluation of 24 leading seed companies in the region shows that 21 companies sell seeds in India and 18 have invested in breeding and production activities in the country. As a comparison, only 11 companies invest in breeding activities in Thailand and 8 in Indonesia, the two other major regional seed hubs.

In South and Southeast Asia about 350 million people are undernourished, a number that has barely changed in the past two years, according to a recent United Nations report¹. Around 30% of the children in the region (38% in India) are malnourished. Smallholders provide up to 80% of the food supply, so helping the 170 million smallholder farmers of South and Southeast Asia (100 million in India) to grow more and more nutritious food is key to achieving food and nutrition security.

The Access to Seeds Index published its first ever ranking of seed companies in South and Southeast Asia on their efforts to support smallholder farmer productivity. The list was topped by the Thailand-based East-West Seed. Four Indian seed companies made it to the top 10: Advanta, Acsen HyVeg, Namdhari Seeds and Nuziveedu Seeds. The other five companies were globally active seed companies from outside the region.

‘With many foreign seed companies investing in India and strong-performing companies from India itself, the country shows itself as a real powerhouse for the development and supply of quality seeds for smallholder farmers in the region,’ says Ido Verhagen, executive director of the Access to Seeds Index,’ however the majority of smallholder farmers remain yet to be reached.’.

Namdhari Seeds and Nuziveedu Seeds scored high points due to breeding programs with a strong focus on the preferences and needs of smallholder farmers. Acsen HyVeg sets an example with the broad choice it provides in seed types and package sizes. Advanta stands out with its training programs for farmers that cover more countries in the region than any other company.

In addition, 83% of the companies present in India provide some form of extension service. One of many examples of capacity building in India comes from Nuziveedu Seeds, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to carry out collaborative extension work on rice and maize production with 40,000 farmers in 25 districts. Namdhari Seeds’ business arm, Namdhari Fresh, is a leading example of how a company can connect smallholder farmers to domestic and international export markets. The company formalizes these relationships with contracts for the farmers to grow and sell produce at a fixed price, thereby offering them access to output markets.

The Access to Seeds Index for South and Southeast Asia, published by the World Benchmarking Alliance, is one of the first benchmarks oriented toward measuring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative was launched last September during the UN General Assembly in New York. By measuring and comparing corporate performance on the SDGs, it aims to encourage the private sector to step up their efforts towards achieving the SDG’s goals.

Now India is research first triple disease resistant tomato F1 hybrid Arka Rakshak' good for farmers

2019-04-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Highlights of Success

· First public triple disease resistant tomato F1 hybrid in India

· Yields up to 18 kg/plant

· Successfully withstood against ToLCV, BW & EB in farmers’ fields

· Earned an average net income ranging from Rs 4-5 lakhs/ac depending on seasons.

· Adoption of precision farming practices to harness full yield potential.

Tomato is one of the important vegetable crops grown in India. Among the major contributing states Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra, the average productivity is highest in Karnataka (35 t/ha) mostly due to the favorable environmental conditions and adoption of high yielding hybrids. However, India yet to achieve the yield potential (60-80 t/ha) due to low adoption of hybrids and occurrence of pests, diseases and other abiotic factors. Among biotic factors, diseases like Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (ToLCV), Bacterial wilt (BW) and early blight (EB) cause yield loss up to 70-100 per cent if uncontrolled.

Mr. Chandrappa (Contact No. 0944803878) a farmer of Devasthanada Hosahally village of Chikkaballapura Taluk, Chikkaballapura district, Karnataka, owns 20 acres of irrigated and grown mostly horticultural crops like tomato, potato, capsicum, carrot and grapes. He never used to miss tomato crop in his crop plan in entire farming experience. However, Mr Chandrappa, due to the continued incidences of diseases like BW, ToLCV, EB, etc. permanently discontinued tomato cultivation after 2010 since hybrids of private and public institutions were not found resistance to multiple diseases.

The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore under the leadership of Dr A. T. Sadashiva, Tomato breeder developed first time in India the triple disease resistance tomato hybrid Arka Rakshak, resistant to ToLCV+BW+EB with the initial yield potential of 75-80 t/ha during 2010. Fruits of the hybrid are square round, large (90-100 g), deep red with very firm fruits and suitable for both fresh distance marketing as well as processing.

Arka Rakshak : High yielding F1 hybrid with triple disease resistance to TOLCV+ BW+EB

Mr. Chandrappa took up the cultivation of first crop of Arka Rakshak during summer 2012 cautiously by planting only 1000 plants of Arka Rakshak along with 1000 plants of commercial F1 hybrid Badsha. He was impressed with the performance of the new F1 hybrid Arka Rakshak which had less incidence of bacterial wilt (<5%). The tomato fruits fetched higher price over other commercial F1 hybrids because the fruits of Arka Rakshak had attractive deep red colour and the fruits were very firm with very good keeping quality (15-20 days) suitable for distant market. He could harvest an average 7.3 kg per plant and helped by high summer price earned a net profit of about Rs one lakh from 1000 plants (0.25 ac). A field day was successfully organized during summer 2012 under NICRA project of the institute and more than 150 farmers participated.

Impressed and convinced, Mr. Chandrappa again raised 2000 seedlings in a half an acre plot (2000 sq mts) during August 2012 as second crop with an increased space between plants and rows to enhance fruit size and thereby fruit yield. He reaped an extraordinary yield of 38 t/2000 sqmt (76 t/ac) which works out an average yield of 19 kg/plant. Net profit realized was Rs 2.5 lakhs from his ½-acre plot. Then he further increased his acreage to one acre during third crop of Arka Rakshak during summer 2013 and harvested 60 t/ac and earned a net profit of Rs. 5 lakhs. His fourth crop during kharif 2013 yielded still higher average yield of about >20 kg per plant and realized a net profit of Rs. 2.5 lakhs from 2500 plants.

During summer-2014, he raised fifth consecutive crop of Arka Rakshak in his farm in one acre (3500 plants) and he could harvest 31 t /acre from 12 pickings (110 days after transplanting) till August 16, 2014 and the farmer is expecting to harvest further 30 t/ac from the healthy and pest free field. He cleverly planned his planting keeping in view the high summer price and so far earned a gross income of Rs. 9.75 lakhs.

Dr. S. Ayyappan, Hon’ble Secretary, DARE, Government of India and Director General, ICAR, New Delhi visited tomato field (Arka Rakshak- triple disease resistant F1 hybrid) of Mr Chandrappa at Devasthanada Hosahalli Village, Chikkaballapura District, Karnataka on 16-08-2014. Dr. N.K. Krishna Kumar, Hon’ble Deputy Director General (Hort. Sci.), ICAR, New Delhi and Dr. T. Manjunath Rao, Director (Acting), IIHR, Bangalore accompanied DG during the visit. Mr. Chandrappa highlighted the DG that the plant has good level of resistance to all three diseases viz. bacterial wilt, tomato leaf curl virus and early blight and stated that the fruits are firm, uniform in weight ( 90 g) and shape (oblong) and develops attractive deep red colour on ripening. The farmer added that due to the excellent firmness and longer shelf life (15-20 days), fruits are ideal for long distance transport and preferred in the market.

Hon’ble DDG (Hort. Sci.) explained that, tomato leaf curl virus is the most devastating disease on tomato in all the major tomato-growing areas in the world including India and Arka Rakshak is the first triple disease resistant F1 hybrid bred from a public institution. Dr. A. T. Sadashiva, Principal scientist who developed this hybrid explained to the DG that desirable traits and fruit firmness in Arka Rakshak was incorporated by selection of desirable recombinants in the segregating population during development of the female parent and improved fruit firmness was due to less number of locules (2-3) and thick pericarp (1 cm). He impressed upon the DG that more than 35 kg of F1 seeds of Arka Rakshak was distributed to 22 states in the country so far. The institute is receiving requests from Africa, Pakistan and Vietnam countries for the supply of F1 seeds. He informed that the price is fixed low at less than the half of the market rate keeping in view the farmers affordability (Rs 300 per 10 g against Rs 600-700 fixed by the private companies). Dr. M. Prabhakar, Principal Scientist and Head, and Dr. Shankar Hebbar Principal Scientist Division of Vegetable crops mentioned that yield potential and uniform size and firmness of fruits were accomplished also because of adoption of precision farming practices (Drip + Black polythene mulch + Fertigation + Foliar nutrition), application of vegetable special developed by IIHR and foliar spray of micronutrients. Hon’ble DG and DDG (Hort. Sci) congratulated the whole team of scientists involved in the development of Arka Rakshak and appreciated Mr. Chandrappa and his family members for the scientific way of raising the tomato crop in achieving high yield potential.

Mr. Chandrappa is now cultivating the tomato hybrid Arka Rakashak continuously and in this way he has become a model tomato farmer in adopting and popularizing the triple disease resistant tomato F1 hybrid Arka Rakshak in major tomato growing areas of Southern States. Determined efforts of growing the public institution hybrid by keeping faith in the Scientists earned him not only higher income but also earned him awards and recognitions as listed below.

· ‘Best tomato grower’ award in recognizing the continued demonstration of Arka Rakshak and continuously by IIHR, Bangalore on occasion of Institute Foundation day organized on 5-9-2013.

· Interview by the ‘The Hindu’ and published a report “ New Tomato variety that yields 19 kg a plant” on 11-09-2013.

· A news report in entitleled : A new hybrid tomato variety developed by scientists at IIHR, Bangalore, is found to yield up to 19 kilos of tomatoes per plant in Biospectrum on 16-09-2013

· A news report on entitled “New tomato variety is boon to farmers”in Bangalore Mirror on 18-09-2013

The work of Dr A. T. Sadashiva of IIHR, Bangalore and his team got wide recognition in India and also internationally for their commendable work on developing India’s first triple resistant tomato hybrid by the public research institute under NARS system and some new items/recognition are as follows.

· Acknowledged by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India – In “ICAR Marches Ahead in Development of Farm Technologies” Quoted under horticultural crops, Arka Rakshak – a tomato variety resistant tobacterial wilt, ToLCV and Alternaria (yielding over 90 t /ha) was released - Press Information Bureau, GOI, Ministry of Agriculture dt. 31-12-2013

· Acknowledgement by AVRDC, Taiwan on developing the triple resistant hybrid Arka Rakshak.

· Visit of Secretary DARE and DG, ICAR, DDG (Hort. Sci.) and other key officials of private seed companies to various Arka Rakshak demonstration plots .

· NDTV Telecast of the interview of Dr. A.T. Sadashiva on 20-09-2013 about the successful adoption of Arka Rakshak by farmers

· Publishing the news report on the success of Arka Rakshak as stated above.

· Recognition and request for seeds of Arka Rakshak from farmers and researchers of Pakisthan, Malaysia and Ghana.

The institute is producing large quantity of F1 seeds of Arka Rakshak in order to meet the demand for seeds. So far a total of 30 kg of F1 seeds has been produced and distributed to cover an area of 400 hectares in India. Apart from this many nursery entrepreneur are coming forward to raise the seedling of Arka rashak to meet the demand

2016-07-02T10:23:00.001-07:00

How To Grow Coriander

Growing coriander is just as easy as growing cilantro. No wonder, it's the same plant...

Photo by Christinas Cards

Coriander or Cilantro? What is Coriander?

It's simple: the name cilantro refers to the leaves and the name coriander to the seeds. Some countries call both coriander, so coriander leaf is nothing else but cilantro.

Coriander is a pretty annual herb with feathery leaves and white umbrella type flowers. The small, ball shaped seeds are widely used to spice up Asian curries, soups and stews.

The fresh coriander leaf is also used for salads, soups and curries, and it tastes totally different from the seeds.

On the page about growing cilantro I showed you how to grow coriander leaf. I explained how to start coriander plants from seed and grow them to the leaf stage, the problems you may encounter when growing coriander, and how to harvest fresh coriander leaf.

If you haven't read it yet, go there now: growing cilantro.

On this page I want to continue and talk about the flowers and seeds.

Why coriander flowers are important

When coriander plants get stressed, or in hot weather, or once they reach a certain age, they stop making leaves and instead start developing a tall flower stalk. People who grow coriander mainly for the leaf sometimes cut this stalk out, in the hope of getting more leaves. I suggest you let your coriander grow flowers, even if you are not interested in the seeds.

Photo by Chrisbb

There is a good reason. Coriander flowers belong in the Umbelliferae family.
(Parsely, dill and carrots for example are in the same family).

Coriander flowers are an important food source for beneficial insects, especially little parasitic wasps and predatory flies.
So to attract many beneficial insects you want lots and lots of coriander flowers in your garden.

And you want those coriander plants not only in a neat row in one bed, you want plants sprinkled through your other vegetables and under your fruit trees and in any other place you can fit them.

Coriander is not very greedy or competitive, the feathery leaves don't make too much shade, so there is no reason not to have coriander plants growing all through your garden!

Growing coriander seed

If you want to grow coriander for seeds you don't need to worry so much over your plants bolting to seed prematurely.

However, a coriander plant will of course produce more and better seed if it is big and strong. So it doesn't hurt to still observe all the advice from the previous page to let the coriander grow as big and strong as possible first.

Keep watering and feeding your coriander plants well, and wait for the flower to develop and set seeds. In hot weather this may take as little as 4 - 6 weeks from sowing, during cool weather it can take several months.

Photo by Yoppy

Harvesting coriander seed

Harvesting coriander seed is an easy affair. Just wait till the flower heads are dry.

(The photo only shows a tiny part of a coriander flower head. The whole head can measure a foot or more across.)

Then cut the stalk, stick the whole thing upside down in a big paper bag and leave it in a dry spot for a couple of weeks. (Most people recommend to hang it up. In my place it just lies around somewhere...)

After a couple of weeks you take the bag and shake it and bash it and all the coriander seeds should fall off and you can pull out the bare stalk. Keep your coriander seeds in a cool dry place. (Most people recommend an airtight container. In my place they just stay in that bag...)

Photo by Yoppy

And now you should have enough coriander seed to cook with and still plenty left to throw around your garden next year!

(But also grow a few coriander plants the old fashioned way, by sticking the seed in the ground where you want them, just in case...)

Some Information about seed industry

2015-07-22T03:05:00.000-07:00

Some Important Information about seed industry. Courtesy by : Mr Sharad Deshpande Team connect.

Floriculture In India

2014-03-08T19:08:00.003-08:00

*Floricuture* Government of India has identified floriculture as a sunrise industry and accorded it 100% export oriented status. Owing to steady increase in demand of flower floriculture has become one of the important Commercial trades in Agriculture. Hence commercial floriculture has emerged as hi-tech activity-taking place under controlled climatic conditions inside greenhouse. Floriculture in India, is being viewed as a high growth Industry. Commercial floriculture is becoming important from the export angle. The liberalization of industrial and trade policies paved the way for development of export-oriented production of cut flowers. The new seed policy had already made it feasible to import planting material of international varieties. It has been found that commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and is therefore a lucrative business. Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), is responsible for export promotion and development of floriculture in India.
*Varieties:*
Floriculture products mainly consist of cut flowers, pot plants, cut foilage, seeds bulbs, tubers, rooted cuttings and dried flowers or leaves. The important floricultural crops in the international cut flower trade are rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, gargera, gladiolus, gypsophila, liastris, nerine, orchids, archilea, anthuriu, tulip, and lilies. Floriculture crops like gerberas, carnation, etc. are grown in green houses. The open field crops are chrysanthemum, roses, gaillardia, lily marygold, aster, tuberose etc.
*Areas of Cultivation:*
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh , Haryana, Tamil Nadu , Rajasthan , West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture centers.
India Facts and Figures:
About 253.65 thousand hectares area was under Cultivation in floriculture in 2011-12. Production of flowers are estimated to be 1.652 million tonnes loose flowers and 750.66 million tonnes cut flowers in 2011-12.
Exports:
The country has exported 27,121.88 MT of floriculture products to the world for the worth of Rs. 423.46 crores in 2012-13.
Major Export Destinations (2012-13): USA, Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Japan were major importing countries of Indian floriculture during the same period.

Individual Sub – Products :
	Bulbs, Tubers , Tuberous Roots	Plant For Tissue Culture
	Bulbs Horticultural	Flowering Plants
	Chicory plants	Other Live Plants
	Other Bulb/Tubers	Live Mushrooms Spawn
	Unrooted Cuttings	Cut Flowers For Bouquet’s / Fresh
	Edible Fruit Trees Grafted or Not	Other Cut Flowers For Bouquet’s
	Cactus	Moosses & Lichens For Bouquet Fresh
	Rhododendrons (Grafted Or Not)	Other Foliages / Buds For Bouquet Fresh
	Roses Grafted Or Not	Foliages/ Branch / Buds Not Fresh

2014-01-18T02:13:00.002-08:00

Transform your life with strawberry farming

Year 2013 is here with us and as usual we are making resolutions that will probably remain unfulfilled at the close of the year. From what I have heard, most people are looking for an investment opportunity but they do not know where to start. While we do not claim to possess solutions to your money problems, in this forum, we will give you tips, directions, contacts, trainings and materials that can indeed change your financial status this year.....

We are Entreprenuer Farmers and we wish to demonstrate to you that farming indeed pays. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy! These words are not in vain. Agriculture is indeed the driver of our nations economy, and with witful steps, careful planning and dedication, it can be yours too!

For a start, our main focus is on strawberry farming in Kenya and how it is transforming lives. Strawberry farmers in Kenya are reaping big from their efforts. You may have heard of a lady from Limuru who is minting money out of strawberry farming and related business. Do not doubt it. It is true and you can achieve it too.

We will show you how, where and who else is making it in strawberry farming in kenya. If you wish to engage in strawberry farming too, we will provide you with high quality strawberry seedlings at a cheap price as well as give you the necessary training to ensure that you too become a part of this succestory defining young entrepreneur farmers!!

How to grow coffee ?

2014-01-18T02:11:00.003-08:00

Growing Conditions
Coffee farming is an unforgiving and challenging business. Like wine grapes, coffee crops from the same farm can taste drastically different from year to year. There are a variety of main factors that contribute to a good crop

Altitude & Sunlight 
Most good Arabica coffees grow at altitudes over 2000 feet above sea level. High-elevation coffee trees only have sunlight for part of the day, slowing the development of the coffee cherries. This slower growth increases the flavor oils that give coffee “acidity” (not sour or unpleasant, it is the winey flavor that coffee connoisseurs prize). Generally, the higher the altitude, the brighter the coffee will be. Coffee trees at lower altitudes or on flat terrain are exposed to more direct sunlight, causing the coffee cherries to develop faster, resulting in less acidity and more body.

Soil Conditions
 For coffee to grow properly, it must be planted in nutrient rich soil. Coffee trees need extensive supplies of nitrogen, calcium, and magnesium to stay healthy and robust. The soil should have good drainage while remaining moist at all times—trees grown in sandy soil will produce inferior coffee.

Climate 
Coffee is a tropical tree and is only grown between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. It requires warm temperatures year round and even the slightest frost can kill a whole crop. Sunlight and humidity are very important factors in the flavor development of a crop.

Processing
Coffee is unlike most fruits in that it will not ripen after being picked. For this reason, it can only be harvested when it is ready for processing. The coffee cherry is ready when it turns a bright red color. Often, cherries on the same branch will be different colors, so the picking must be done in stages over the course of several weeks to ensure that all of the only ripe cherries are picked.

After the coffee cherries have been picked, they will go through either a wet or dry process to prepare them for shipping. Wet processing is typically used for higher-quality coffees. During the first stage of this process, the coffee cherries are dumped into large water tanks. Unripe and poorly developed cherries will float, while the fruit that is ready for further processing will sink. During the next stage of processing, the first layer of skin and some pulp is removed by pressing the fruit through a screen.

The remaining layers of pulp are broken down by soaking the coffee in fermentation tanks for several days. The coffee is then washed thoroughly before drying by machine or on under the heat of the sun on raised beds.

Dry processing is a simpler method. The coffee cherries are placed on tables or patios and allowed to dry in the sun for up to 14 days. The cherries are mixed regularly with rakes so all of the cherries are evenly dried. It only takes a few improperly dried cherries to cause ferment in the coffee and ruin a batch. When the skin is dried, it is removed and the coffee moves on to be graded by hand or machine to eliminate any imperfect beans.

After processing, the dried coffee beans are packed in burlap sacks and prepared for ocean freight. Their next stop is our roasting facility, where the Production stage of their development begins.

How to Grow Strawberries

2013-12-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

How to Grow Strawberries

· Soil preparation: Prepare a weed-free site that gets 8 to 10 hours of strong sunlight a day. Well-drained soil with a pH around 6.0 to 6.2 is ideal. To avoid verticillium wilt, don't plant in sites where raspberries, strawberries, or solanaceous plants (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) have grown before.

· Planting: Early spring planting is customary in most areas. For warm winter regions (California, Florida, and the southeast), fall planting is recommended.

· Spacing: Space June bearers on raised beds with 18 to 24 inches between plants, in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Hills 10 to 18 inches apart, planted with single plants, are best for everbearers, day neutrals, and June bearers in hot, humid climates.

· Watering: Provide 1 inch per week at the root zone.

· Fertilizing: Renovate rows after harvest by reducing their width to 12 inches and covering plants with 2 inches of compost. Apply a soluble organic fertilizer, such as a seaweed-fish blend, after renovation. Early spring fertilizer makes berries soft.

· Special hint: Alpine strawberries (F. vesca) are one of the parent species of the garden strawberry. They produce small, aromatic berries from early summer through frost. Alpines are grown from seed or divisions and produce no runners. They are care-free and make good ornamentals.

Pest Watch
Tarnished plant bug is the main fruit-feeding nemesis of strawberries. Strawberry sap beetle can infest overripe fruit. Plant decline can also be caused by root-feeding white grubs (beetle larvae) and nematodes. Viruses, which can be spread by aphids, often affect plants that are weakened by unfavorable growing conditions.

Disease Alert
Gray mold (botrytis) is disease enemy number 1 on strawberry fruit around the country. Anthracnose can devastate plantings in hot, humid areas. Leather rot, which causes an insipid berry taste you won't forget, is a sporadic problem on susceptible varieties when fruit comes in contact with damp soil. Red stele, a soilborne fungus, can be avoided by choosing resistant varieties.

Harvesting
Ripe berries appear about 30 days after bloom. Once the berry is fully red, let your taste buds be your final guide on when to harvest. Pick every two to three days, or daily in very hot weather. Keep green caps attached. To preserve flavor and shelf life, pick into a shallow, paper towel lined container, no more than three or four layers of berries deep. Refrigerate immediately after picking. Hull and wash just before serving .

For more Click DOWNLOAD

Soyabean production process

2013-12-15T00:55:00.000-08:00

The soybean (US) or soya bean (UK) (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible beanwhich has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many prepackaged meals; soy vegetable oil is another product of processing the soybean crop. For example, soybean products such as textured vegetable protein (TVP) are ingredients in many meat and dairy analogues. Soybeans produce significantly more protein per acre than most other uses of land.

Download full book HERE

Top 10 Companies of India

2013-07-08T10:34:00.003-07:00

According to the report, the world's six largest agrochemical manufacturers, who control nearly 75% of the global pesticide market, are also seed industry giants.

It's worth breaking this down by company.

Bayer: the world's biggest agrochemical company is also the world's seventh biggest seed company.

Syngenta: the world's second largest agrochemical company is also the world's third largest seed company.

Monsanto: the world's biggest seed company is the world's fifth largest agrochemical company.

And DuPont: the world's second biggest seed company is also the world's sixth largest agrochemical company.

All these companies are gene giants.

Weed killers (herbicides) account for about one-third of the global pesticide market, and around 80% of GM seeds involve herbicide-resistance.

The worldwide market for agrochemicals grew last year by nearly 10%

Leading producer countries of cotton

2012-05-03T04:42:00.002-07:00

Leading producer countries of cotton

Top ten cotton producers—2011 (480-pound bales)
People's Republic of China	33.0 million bales
India	27.0 million bales
United States	18.0 million bales
Pakistan	10.3 million bales
Brazil	9.3 million bales
Uzbekistan	4.6 million bales
Australia	4.2 million bales
Turkey	2.8 million bales
Turkmenistan	1.6 million bales
Greece	1.4 million bales

The five leading exporters of cotton in 2011 are (1) the United States, (2) India, (3) Brazil, (4) Australia, and (5) Uzbekistan. The largest nonproducing importers are Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Hong Kong and Japan.

In India, the states of Maharashtra (26.63%), Gujarat (17.96%) and Andhra Pradesh (13.75%) and also Madhya Pradesh are the leading cotton producing states, these states have a predominantly tropical wet and dry climate.

In Pakistan, cotton is grown predominantly in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. The leading area of cotton production is the south Punjab, comprising the areas around Bahawalpur, Multan, and Melsi. Faisalabad is a leader in textiles within Pakistan. Punjab has a tropical wet and dry climate throughout the year therefore enhancing the growth of cotton.

In the United States, the state of Texas led in total production as of 2004, while the state of California had the highest yield per acre.

[edit]Fair trade

Cotton is an enormously important commodity throughout the world. However, many farmers in developing countries receive a low price for their produce, or find it difficult to compete with developed countries.

This has led to an international dispute (see United States – Brazil cotton dispute):

On 27 September 2002, Brazil requested consultations with the US regarding prohibited and actionable subsidies provided to US producers, users and/or exporters of upland cotton, as well as legislation, regulations, statutory instruments and amendments thereto providing such subsidies (including export credits), grants, and any other assistance to the US producers, users and exporters of upland cotton. On 8 September 2004, the Panel Report recommended that the United States "withdraw" export credit guarantees and payments to domestic users and exporters, and "take appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or withdraw" the mandatory price-contingent subsidy measures.

In addition to concerns over subsidies, the cotton industries of some countries are criticized for employing child labor and damaging workers' health by exposure to pesticides used in production. TheEnvironmental Justice Foundation has campaigned against the prevalent use of forced child and adult labor in cotton production in Uzbekistan, the world's third largest cotton exporter. The international production and trade situation has led to "fair trade" cotton clothing and footwear, joining a rapidly growing market for organic clothing, fair fashion or "ethical fashion". The fair trade system was initiated in 2005 with producers from Cameroon, Mali and Senegal.

Production of Quality Seedlings Lead to Prestige and Prosperity

2012-04-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Production of Quality Seedlings Lead to Prestige and Prosperity

Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and performance of vegetable crops. Hence, the practice of seedling production is emerging as a profession and commercial activity. During the past, as most of the vegetable varieties were open pollinated, farmers produced the seedlings at a relatively low cost by preparing their own nursery beds. However, due to increase in demand for seeds of hybrid varieties which cost much more than the open pollinated varieties, many progressive farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs have taken –up the production of quality seedlings using seedling trays as a commercial activity.

One of such enterprising farmers, Mr. Prakash was cultivating finger millets, paddy, marigold and vegetables on 2.5 acres of ancestral land. His crops were plagued with diseases and low yield. Then, he approached Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore to find out the solution to his problems and overcome the poverty of his family.

Mr. Prakash set up a low cost protected structure using shade nets and started vegetable seedling production in portrays using sterilized coco-peat as growing media beside his house in 9’ X 30’ area with only Rs 180/- in his account on the advice of scientists of IIHR. Mr. Prakash was briefed that the shade nets would prevent virus causing pests to enter the structure, the portray reduce the root damages in seedlings; decrease excess water retention at base and the media which is light weight would promote excellent germination and growth. As expected, he got quality seedlings which were very much in demand. He slowly started to grow seedlings in the ancestral land and today the full 2 ½ acre is under quality vegetable seedling production.

Realizing the need of upscaling, he started using machineries developed and recommended by IIHR like media siever and handle operated portray dibbler. By using the handle portray dibbler, he could dibble the seeds faster in the process of seedling production.

On the basis of experience earned, Mr. Prakash had also developed his own pot mixture combination which had coco-peat, neemcake and trichorich as its principal ingredients. He opines that the mixture combination provides the better germination of seeds during the process of seedling production. Presently, Mr. Prakash is using the Microbial Consortium recently developed by the scientist of the institute.

Mr Prakash has innovated a method to protect the seedling during rains in the net house which is simple, cheap and easy to use. He has also developed an iron structure for ease and to prevent loss during transportation.

Mr. Prakash grows seedlings of tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, capsicum, chilli, knoll-khol, ridge gourd, cucumber and other vegetable seedlings. He has increased the capacity of the nursery which today produces 40 lakh seedlings per annum. With a monthly profit of over Rs 1,00,000/- .

Mr. Prakash has emerged not only as a commercial seedling producer but also a role model for other traditional farmers He has become an effective techno-agent and not only supplies quality seedling but also technical know-how which he constantly updates with the help of IIHR scientists.

Agriculture in Madhya Pradesh

2011-12-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

Population	6,03,85,118 (Census 2001)
Male	3,14,56,873
Female	2,89,28,245
Scheduled Tribes	96,82,000 (19.94 %)
Scheduled Castes	74,78,000 (15.40 %)
Area (in sq. kms.)	308,000
Revenue Divisions	9
Districts	45
Tehasils	260
Development Blocks	313
Populated villages	51,806
Gram Panchayats	21,999
Literacy	64.11 percent
Male	76.80 percent
Female	50.28 percent
Density of Population	196 per sq. kms.
Male-Female Ratio	1000 : 933

Capital	Bhopal
Area ('000 sq.km )	308
Population('000 in 1991)	66,181
Principal Languages	Hindi
Females per 1000 males (1991)	931
Literacy rate (1991)	44.2
Ratio of urban population (1991)	23.2
Net Domestic Product (Rs. million at current prices in 1992-93)	323,070
Per Capita Income (Rs. at current prices in 1992-93)	4,725
Recorded Forest Area ('000 sq. km)	155.4

Landlocked in the central part of the country, it is bounded by the states of Rajasthan to the northwest, Uttar Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east and Maharashtra to the south, and Gujarat to the west.

Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state and ranks seventh in population. The State is primarily an agriculture State. About 73% population of the state is rural, which is directly or indirectly depends on agriculture. Thus Agriculture Sector is the main Stay of the State economy. The Agriculture and allied services contributes about 44% share in state economy and 78% of its working force is directly engaged in Agriculture. Thus Agriculture sector forms the backbone of MP economy.

Madhya Pradesh is having a geographical area of 30.75 million hectares, which is divided into 45 district of the state and 9 revenue divisions. The state has 313 development blocks which are the units for development activities. The forests occupies in the States 8.49 million hectares which is 27.2 % of the Geographical area of the state where as the cultivated area is about 49 %. The major perennial rivers of the State namely Mahi, Narmada, Tapti, Chambal, Betwa, Sone, Wainganga, Ken., and Pench Originate in Madhya Pradesh and flow to the seven bordering states

Madhya Pradesh has a topography that is crossed from north to south by plains separated by upland areas. The state has three main seasons: winter (November through February), summer (March through May), and the monsoon season (June through September). During the winter average temperatures range from 10° to 27° C (50° to 81° F). Summers are hot, with an average temperature of 29° C (85° F) and a high temperature that at times reaches 48° C (118° F). During the monsoon season temperatures average 19° to 30° C (66° to 86°). Madhya Pradesh receives as average annual rainfall of about 1200 mm (nearly 50 in), of which 90 percent falls during the monsoon season. The capital of the state is Bhopal.

History

The history of Madhya Pradesh goes back to the time of Ashoka, the great Mauryan ruler. Major portion of Central India formed part of the Gupta Empire (300-550 AD). In the first half of the seventh century it was part of domains of famous emperor Harsha. The close of tenth century was a period of confusion. In the early eleventh century the muslims entered central India, First Mahmud of Ghazni & then Mohammad Gori who incorporated certain parts with Sultanate of Delhi. It also formed part of Mughal Empire with the rise of Maratha's. Till the death of Madhoji Scindia in 1794, Marathas ruled supreme in Central India, but after that independent & smaller states came into being. The disintegrated smaller states paved way for British suzerainty. Some great women rulers like Rani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, Gond queen Rani Kamla devi & Rani Durgawati have carved a nick for them in history.

When India became independent in 1947, the British Indian province of Central Provinces and Berar formed Madhya Pradesh. Boundary changes followed; the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.

Society and Culture

Madhya Pradesh has at least four agro-climatic zones, and thus, has the most interesting mix of people and ways of life. It is home to about 40 percent of India's tribal population. There are three distinct tribal groups in the state. The largest chunk is formed by the Gonds, who once ruled a major part of the state and after whom Gondwana, the central portion of the state is known. Western Madhya Pradesh is inhabited by the Bhils, a colourful group of warriors and huntsmen. Eastern Madhya Pradesh is dominated by the Oraons, most of whom have now turned Christians.

Hindi is the most widely spoken language though Marathi is also widespread. Urdu, Oriya, Gujarati and Punjabi are each spoken by sizeable numbers. The Bhils speak Bhili and the Gonds Gondi, the independent in origin of the Indo-European and Dravidian language groups.

The Gonds, Bhils and Banjaras have several vibrant tribal dances like Phag (a sword dance), Lota (dance by women full of water on their heads), and other stilt dances. Textiles are important but Madhya Pradesh also has a strong traditional village handicraft industry. Handloom Chanderi and Maheshwar silks are especially sought after. The tribal population produce attractive handicrafts.

Among the temples known throughout the world for their erotic art are those at Khajuraho in the Chhatarpur district in the north of the state; dating from AD 1000, they were built by the Chandella kings. The temples at Gwalior and in its vicinity should also be mentioned. The palaces and mosque at Mandu (near Dhar), the majestic Bandhogarh fort built in the 14th century, and the Gwalior fort--perhaps the most impressive of the residences of the former princes of Madhya Pradesh--represent other notable architectural achievements.

The state has several well-known annual cultural events, such as Kalidas Samaroh (for performing and fine arts) in Ujjain, Tansen Samaroh (music) in Gwalior, and a dance festival in Khajuraho, where artists from all over India participate. In Bhopal there is a unique multifaceted cultural complex, the Bharat Bhavan, which functions as a meeting ground for artists from various fields. Located along the Bhopal Lake, this sprawling complex houses a museum, a library, an open-air theatre, and a number of conference halls. The state has important yearly religious melas (gatherings) in Mandasor and Ujjain, as well as the religious Dashhara festival in the Bastar region

Economy and Infrastructure

Agriculture is the basis of Madhya Pradesh's economy. Less than half of the land area is cultivable, however, and its distribution is quite uneven because of variations in topography, rainfall, and soils. The main cultivated areas are found in the Chambal valley, the Malwa Plateau, the Rewa Plateau, and the Chhattisgarh Plain. The Narmada valley, covered with river-borne alluvium, is another fertile area.

The most important crops are rice, wheat, sorghum ( jowar), corn (maize), pulses (legumes such as peas, beans, or lentils), and peanuts (groundnuts). Rice is grown principally in the east, where there is more rainfall, while in western Madhya Pradesh wheat and sorghum are more important. The state is the largest soybean producer in India. Other crops include linseed, sesame, sugarcane, and cotton, as well as inferior millets, which are grown in hilly areas. The state is a large producer of opium (in the western district of Mandasor, near Rajasthan) and marijuana (in the southwestern district of Khandwa [East Nimar]).

Madhya Pradesh is rich in minerals, though these resources have not yet been fully exploited. There are large reserves of coal and important deposits of iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite, limestone, dolomite, copper, fireclay, and china clay. Diamond reserves at Panna are of particular interest.

The major industries of the state are electronics, telecommunications, petrochemicals, food processing and automobiles. The state has also taken a lead in the production of cement. The state is also famous for its traditional handicrafts and handlooms manufactured at Chanderi and Maheshwar.

The state is well endowed with potential hydroelectric power. Main hydroelectric projects (jointly developed with other states) are the Babanthadi with Maharashtra, the Ban Sagar with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the Chambal Valley with Rajasthan, the Narmada Sagar with Gujarat and Rajasthan, and the Rajghat and Urmil with Uttar Pradesh. The Hasdeo Bango, Bargi, and Birsinghapur thermal power projects are also within the state. The Narmada Sagar project has been a source of controversy because of its potential for damaging the environment.

In comparison with other Indian states, Madhya Pradesh is well served with transport and communications facilities. The main railroads that pass through the state were originally laid down to connect the ports of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta with their hinterlands. Important railway junctions include Bhopal, Ratlam, Khandwa, Bilaspur, and Katni. Also connecting the state with other parts of India are airports at Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Raipur, Jabalpur, Rewa, Bilaspur, and Khajuraho, as well as several national highways.

Major Produce of Madhya Pradesh

Cereals : Wheat, Rice, Pulses, Jowar.

Oilseeds : Soyabean, Niger, Mustard.

Vegetables : Green Peas, Cauliflower, Okra, Tomato, Potato, Eggplant, Onion, Gourd.

Fruits : Mango, Guava, Orange, Melon, Papaya, Banana.

Spices : Garlic, Coriander, Ginger, Tur

Flower : Tube Rose, Roses, Marigold, Gladiolus

Short Description of Onion seed production in USA

2011-12-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

Description of crop:

Onion seed is a biennial crop produced either as a seed-to-seed crop or as a bulb-to-seed crop. If direct-seeded, the crop is planted in July and harvested in August the next year. If the crop is grown from vernalized bulbs, the bulbs (produced elsewhere) are transplanted in March and harvested in August the same year. Fields are left fallow following harvest. After planning, the fields are cultivated mechanically and hoed. Onion seed is harvested by hand or mechanically means. If cut mechanically, the crop is swathed onto paper and tied down to protect the umbels and seed from being blown away by wind. The crop is dried in the field for two to four weeks and then threshed. When harvested by hand, the crop is cut, placed in burlap sacks and dried via forced air. The dried crop is then fed by hand into a combine. After harvest, the seed is sent to a conditioning plant and cleaned to 99% purity. A majority of onion seed crops are grown in central Washington, with a few crops in western Washington.

Key pests:

Western flower thrips, onion thrips and seed corn maggot are the primary insect pests. These feed on flowers/pollen in the seed crop causing reduced seed set and smaller seeds. Weed pests include barnyardgrass, smartweed, wild buckwheat and nightshade. Umbel blight, scape blight, and neck rot (Botrytis aclada and Botrytis allii) can be severe in onion seed crops, as the pathogens are ubiquitous in the Columbia Basin of central Washington and inoculum of these fungi moves readily between annual bulb crops and biennial seed crops. Stemphylium vesicarium, Alternaria porri and downy mildew can occasionally be problematic. Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) has emerged as a major threat to the onion seed industry in Washington, caused some complete crop failures annually. IYSV is vectored by the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci. Fusarium basal rot and pink root are very occasionally a problem for highly susceptible parent lines.

Key pesticides

A wide array of insecticides is applied five to six times during the biennial production cycle to control thrips. Many products cannot be applied during bloom, however, because they are toxic to bees. Lorsban is used for onion maggot and seed corn maggot control. Bensulide, Dacthal, Prowl, Goal, Fluazifop-butyl, Buctril, MCPA and Banvel will control weeds. Chlorothalonil and mancozeb are used for general disease control. Iprodione, boscalid, and cyprodinil + fludioxonil are sometimes used for control of Botrytis spp. Strobilurin fungicides (e.g., azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin) are occasionally used for Stemphylium vesicarium and Alternaria porri, and mefenoxam or metalaxyl is occasionally applied for control of downy mildew (more problematic in the cooler, wetter conditions of western Washington). Insecticides are used routinely to try and control the thrips and, hence, the virus vectored by onion thrips, IYSV. Overhead irrigation reduces the impact of thrips and, therefore, IYSV in onion seed crops, but promotes fungal pathogens such as Botrytis spp.

Critical pest control issues:

IYSV is a very serious disease facing onion seed growers in central Washington. Some complete crop failures within a month of harvest (after an entire biennial season of expenses have been incurred) have resulted in some growers no longer raising onion seed crops, and some seed companies seeking alternative locations with lower thrips and IYSV pressure, e.g., western Washington. IYSV is very difficult to manage because of the tremendous difficulty in controlling the thrips vector under the hot, dry summer conditions of central Washington when onion seed crops are in full bloom. Efficacious herbicides are critical for onion seed production. Weeds not only compete with the seed crop but act as host for insect pests and diseases. Weed control includes crop rotation and cultivation. Weed seeds that cannot easily be sorted from the harvested onion seed cause the value of the seed crop to drop or be unmarketable.

Precision Agriculture:Application of IT & MICROPROCESSORS

2011-11-07T10:25:00.002-08:00

WEB BASED INFORMATION SYSTEM ON PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES WITH MARKETING STRATEGIES ALONG WITH GENETIC RESOURCE DATABASE WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTIVARS OF VEGETABLE CROPS OF CENTRAL INDIA.

Objective of the Project:

Vegetable being a rich and cheap source of vitamins and minerals, occupy an important place in the food of Indian consumers. The country is producing about 98 million tonnes (MT) of vegetables from an area of around 6.07 million ha. At present there is a lack of sufficient focus and farmers confront a number of problems. If information pertaining to different aspect of vegetable production is provided in user friendly way, it will have a great importance in the present scenario of globalization as it aims to provide appropriate advice in vegetable production to the farmers.

To place comprehensive information of sustainable vegetable production and marketing strategies useful to farmers and agriculturists on the website preferably on www.jnkvv.nic.in.

Vegetable Production Technology:

Diverse soil and climatic conditions prevailing in different parts of the country offer scope for cultivation of a variety of crops in India. The major aspects of crop production of selected vegetables taken in the system are:

Variety/Hybrids
Climate and Soil
Field Preparation
Nursery Management
Intercultural, Weed and Irrigation Management
Nutrient Management
Insect Management
Disease Management
Intercropping
Marketing Information
Harvest and Post Harvest

WEB DEVELOPMENT

Dynamic pages are designed using php, Javascript, AJAX as front end. The back end (database) is created using MySQL.

E-agrotech

E-agrotech software is prepared for disseminating production techniques of various crops by use of information technology. The project is sponsored by Ministry of Information Technology, New Delhi and Govt. of Madhya Pradesh. The Software is bi-lingual and is developed for farmers, scientists, teachers and KVKs. No special training is required know the contents of the software.

The software contains information about almost every aspects of crop production technologies. Some aspects like quantity of chemical fertilisers and time of sowing is based on crop production techniques of MP. For other regions, these aspects can be modified according to their agroclimatic zones. The software package contains different modules like kharif, rabi, diagnosis, cropping system, fruit crop and resources available.

Kharif: In Kharif module, production technologies of paddy, soybean, maize, groundnut, sesamum, pigeon peas, sunflower, moong, urd, kodo, kutki, cotton and sorghum are given.
Rabi: In Rabi module, production technologies of wheat, chickpea, mustard, sunflower, safflower and maize are given.
Fruit crop: In fruit crop, production technologies and management aspects like propagation, orchard plan, after care, nutrition, irrigation, disease and insect control, variety and harvesting are given.
Diagnosis module, questions based on crop growth and establishment, insect, disease and weed problems are given and accordingly necessary recommendations are suggested by the software.

e-IPM

e-IPM is developed in visual basic 6.0 as front end and MS access 2000 as backend. It is multimedia bilingual (English/Hindi) software developed for pest, disease, nematode, weeds, and nutrient disorder management of major oilseed and pulse crops of central India. In the e-ipm, each crop module is separate and includes information pertaining to integrated pest management of the selected crop. The e-ipm incorporates information on natural enemies, resistant varieties, agronomic practices and ipm modules of each crop. e-IPM is a user friendly software and a person having simple basic knowledge of computer can browse the contents of the software. It has multimedia effects like audio, still photos with zooming effects, movies, and life cycle diagrams. It includes a user interactive diagnosis module for pest and disease problem and a search module with different searching options using common name or scientific name for pest management. Apart from all these, it is a resource of information regarding seeds, fertilizers, bio-pesticides centers, storage and technical enquiry.

The software is having mechanism for updating and incorporating new technologies as and when needed. Efforts have been made to cover most of the aspects of integrated pest management of groundnut, cotton, soybean, sunflower, safflower, mustard, sesamum, niger, chickpea, moong, urd and pigeon pea. The information given are reviewed and edited by plant protection experts.

NISAGENET Project (National Information System on Agricultural Education Network in India)

The major activities and the technical programme of the project are as follows:

Collection and compilation of data on Agricultural Education.
Designing, Development and Implementation of NISAGENET software on the Internet.
Publications of annual statistical bulletins on Agricultural Education.
Supply of statistical data to Ministry of HRD as per their requirements

TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED

Multichannel Electronic Choke Indicator System for tractor Driven Seed Drills (Patent Number-232368)

Seed drills are extensively used with tractor for sowing seeds in Agricultural fields. Modern seed drills are famous for its proper sed rate, uniform distribution and correct placement of seeds in soil, while sowing nine channels seed drills are generally manufactured in the country and are being used. Seed pass through the seed tubes of the seed drills before dropping into furrows in fields. Due to excess moisture in soil or some other reason the seed tubes often get choked/blocked while sowing. To detect such choking a labourer is to be employed simply for monitoring the seeding operation. But due to human error often he fails to detect the choking immediately, resulting omission of seeding in certain rows in fields. This causes non uniform distribution and also reduces the yield. The above problem is more serious when sowing is done in night times.

Keeping the above in view, ALFA Centre has developed a Multichannel Electronic Choke Indicator which monitors seed dropping through seed drills and gives audio/visual indications to the tractor driver whenever seed tube(s) get(s) choked and /or seed box becomes empty.

Main features of the developed system : .During normal sowing condition, green LED of the Status Indication Panel glows. While sowing, anyone or more seed tubes of the seed drills, if get choked, corresponding red LED(s) of that channel(s) glow(s) together with audio alarm.The status of the seed box is also monitored by the system. During sowing when seed box becomes empty, the system indicates this status by glowing a yellow LED Channels (expandable) along with audio alarm. The system can be made operational using Power Supply: Through tractor the tractor battery or a separate rechargeable battery or 6V 6 volt battery. Since the status indication panel of the rechargeaole system is small in size, it can be fitted near battery the seat of the tractor driver, so that he can take corrective measures according to the audio-visual indication The developed system will help farmers to carry out sowing in a proper way for obtaining better yield. The system has undergone extensive field trials and found working satisfactorily.

Microcontroller Based Rice Polish Measurement

The operation of removing bran layer from brown rice is known as polishing. This operation is very critical and the milling quality and quantity of rice depends on polishing process. The polishing operation in rice milling is important in terms of obtaining optimum polish percentage, avoiding breakage losses and consumption of energy. By quantitatively measuring the polish level one can enhance the quality of rice during polishing operation.

The rice polish measurement system is microcontroller based and gives the readings directly in terms of polish percentage of rice samples for the calibrated varieties. The principle of operation is by measuring the reflected levels of electromagnetic radiation from rice samples. Reflected radiation has two components, diffuse and specular. In the system, diffuse radiation from the rice sample is measured. A narrow band of monochromatic radiation is directed on the rice sample. The sample absorbs some of the radiation, the rest is reflected. More polish on the rice sample, less the amount of absorbance and more radiation is reflected from the sample. The reflected radiation from the rice sample is the measure of level of polish in the sample.

Fertilizer Testing Kit

Increasing demand of chemical fertilizers with escalating cost is leading to the sell of sub- standard fertilizers in some regions of the country. The quality of fertilizers are of utmost important to obtain optimum yield of any crop. At present, there is no simple instrument and technique for accessing the quality offer fertilizers at village/user level. The fertilizer testing kit developed by the ALFA Centre can be used for determining approximate percentage of adulteration in chemical fertilizers (phosphatic fertilizers and urea).

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The system consists of few chemicals, limited glassware and a photometer The photometer is having optical head unit, sample holder, signal conditioning circuitry and digital display. Photometric method hasbeen used fordetermining the level of adulteration. In the photometer, monochromatic radiation is obtained from blue light emitting diode. This radiation is allowed to pass through the prepared sample resulting in absorption of the radiation in proportion to concentration of the sample.

Soil Moisture Indication system

Generally farmers are not using any soil moisture device for irrigation scheduling. It is mainly due to non availability of suitable soil moisture measurement system for farmers use. Keeping this in view a low cost easily operateable Soil Moisture Indication System is designed and prototype fabricated. The system consists of panel of light emitting diodes i.e. green yellow and red. Gypsum block is used as soil moisture sensing device. For using the system, number of sensors (depending upon the size of a field) have to be implanted at a particular depth i.e. near the root zone of the crop. By connecting sensor terminals to this instrument., status of soil can be found.

Soil Nutrient Estimation system

Soil-testing is a well recognised practice for the determination of factors like plant available N,P,K,S (Nitrogen, PhosphoruS,Potash and Sulphur), certain micro-nutrients, and other parameters. Soil-test values are used for Ule formulation of fertiliser recommendations. The available nutrient contents in the soil is categorized in different bands and these bands are designated as VL, L, M, H and VH (i.e. Very Low, Low, Medium, High and Very High nutrient levels). Each band is a concentration band between two values of the nutrient contents. Band level measurements are being used in soil testing for recommending fertilizer doses to the farmers.

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The system facilitates the determination of organic carbon (indirect nitrogen), available phosphorous and sulphate in soil. Photometric methods are adopted for quantitative analysis. The system has some novel features as:

Differential mode of analysis
Opto-electronic working
Results obtained are directly usable for fertiliser recommendation
Optional attachment, microcontroller based read-out for knowing the available nutrients levels in ppm and kg/ha. Nutrient band level calibrations are also provided for available phosphorous
Two light emitting diodes (Red & Blue) have been used as an excitation sources for obtaining mono-chromatic radiation and photo-transistors are used as detectors. A user can opt quantitative analysis of I Organic Carbon, Phosphorus or Sulphur by pressing N, P and S keys followed by pressing RUN key. After calibration, the readings can be obtained in kg/ha or ppm values as per option selected

Microprocessor Based Grain Moisture Measurement System

The quality of grains is influenced by its moisture content. Moisture content of food grains/seeds is required to be measured due to various reasons, such as to know the status of moisture in grains/seeds before storage, to know optimum stage of harvesting of a crop, to price the agricultural products in mundi and for, R&D purposes.

The system works on the capacitance measurement principle. The grain sample of fixed quantity is to be poured inside the grain chamber for the measurement of grain moisture. Grain acts as a dielectric medium. Temperature sensor (thermistor) embedded inside grain chamber senses grain temperature and incorporates temperature compensation in the measurement. The system is calibrated for wheat, paddy & soybean. However, a user can calibrate the system at his level for other grains also (detailed calibration procedure to be adopted for the purpose will be supplied). The quantity of the sample required for measurement is around 500 gm (varies with commodity).

FERTEC

FERTEC is a fertiliser recommendation package. This is a decision aid package for recommendation of fertilisers based on soil-test values of major nutrients -Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium ( N, P, K) -present in a cultivator's field. The package has been developed at the UNDP-DoE- Microprocessor Application Engineering Programme, JNKVV Jabalpur Centre. It is designed using the empirical relationship, formulated by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Soil-Test Crop Response Correlation of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, based on the field experiments conducted by the project's centre with Dept. of Soil Science & AgricuItural Chemistry , JNKVV, Jabalpur for various crops cultivated in different agroclimatic regions of Madhya Pradesh.

Grain Moisture Meter

Grajn moisture meter is a portable instrument which is handy, light weight, and easy in operation. The moisture meter is designed to provide ease of operation combined with a calibration chart corresponding to the reading of the moisture

meter (presently calibration of wheat comn1odity is completed). The moisture can be read out on 3. digit LCD display. Grain/seed sample of 450-500 gm is filled in the grain cell upto a particular level. Measurement of grain moisture for each sample takes about 30 seconds. It is a non-destructive measurement without affecting the sample. There is no need to weigh the grain sample.

Drought-tolerant traits

2011-10-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

Corn and soybean products that are more efficient in using available water resources will soon be available to producers. Pioneer is set to launch its Drought 1 tolerant corn in the western Corn Belt sometime this year, and other companies have drought-tolerant traits in their development pipelines.
“We have been studying drought tolerance since the 1950s,” says Jeff Schussler, senior research manager at Pioneer. “Our Drought 1 product uses native genes that we have identified that will help provide yield stability in areas with limited water supplies.”
The next round of drought products, according to Schussler, will include a transgenic approach combined with native genes.
In July, Syngenta unveiled water optimization technology called Agrisure Artesian. A limited quantity of hybrids with this technology will be available for 2011 planting through the company’s Garst, Golden Harvest and NK product brands.
“The water optimization technology enables corn plants to use available moisture more efficiently, resulting in higher yields on drought-stressed acres including dryland and limited-irrigation farms in the western Corn Belt,” says Tracy Mader, head of product marketing for Syngenta Seeds. “Growers on rain-fed acres in the central and eastern Corn Belt likewise can use the technology to help stabilize yields in years of inconsistent rainfall or in fields with variable soil types and moisture-holding capacity.”

Syngenta also is developing a water-optimized hybrid using a genetically modified trait and anticipates product launch after 2015, pending regulatory and key import market approval.