Grow Teak with Financial Assistance from NABARD

Teak is the most prized timber tree of India. It can be grown in almost every part of the country except the dry western zone, although the best teak forests develop in well drained deep alluvial soil. Teak timber fetches very high price because of its grain, colour and strength. Hence teak plantations have been raised for industrial purposes since long. Infact in India regular teak plantations were started as early as in the year 1842. Mr. Chatu Menon of Malabar in Kerala is considered to be the father of Indian Teak Plantations. Between the year 1842 - 1862 he had raised more than a million teak trees. The best quality teak growing areas in India are in the central parts of the country, hence the brand name CP Teak was assigned to the top quality teak produced from the present state of Madhya Pradesh. 

In Manipur, Teak is favourable as we have seen this tree is grown abundantly in Myanmar.

Distribution 

The distribution of teak is largely determined by climate, geology and soil. Teak occurs naturally in portions of India, Burma, Laos, Indonesia (mainly Java) and Thailand. Teak has also been introduced in countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ivory coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, West Indies, Honduras and Panama. In India, it is naturally distributed mainly in the peninsular region, but has also been planted in non-traditional areas in northern and north eastern states. It is one of the most important hardwoods of the world and used for furniture, cabinet making, various grades of plywood, paneling, all types of construction, poles, piles, ship building and other purposes.

Agro-climatic requirements 

Teak prefers moist, warm tropical climate. It can withstand extremes of temperature, but maximum & minimum shade temperatures of 39- 44oC and 13 - 17oC respectively are the most favourable for its growth. It grows well in rainfall zone of 1200-2500 mm. It prefers a deep, fertile, well-drained soil. The sandy soil is considered to be the best soil texture for this tree. It fails to grow in the soil with pH below 6.5. 

Planting units 

The number of plants to be planted by each farmer will depend upon extent of area and type of planting e.g. block or bund planting. The optimum spacing for block planting is 2 x 2 m accommodating 2500 plants per ha. On similar basis, the spacing of plants can be kept at 2 m in rows, in bund plantations. The minimum planting area for block plantation should be 0.2 ha or 500 trees per unit. 

Nursery technology

Teak fruit /seed bears a thick, hard and fleshy cover of mesocarp. The mesocarp is responsible for inhibition of seed germination. Teak fruits are therefore, subjected to various treatment methods before being sown in the nursery beds to get high germination percentage. Various methods of pre-treatment have been developed and are traditionally in practice; the simplest one being alternate soaking & drying. In pit method, fruit mesocarp is subjected to decay by burying them in pits with cowdung slurry for three weeks. Acid treatment to burn mesocarp is another method. 

Nowadays a mechanical simple device has been evolved, a prototype-II. It is a simple machine, on the pattern of an ordinary flour-mill, and very easy to handle. The plants are raised by sowing fruits in the nursery beds. Approximately 2000 - 3000 fruits (1 - 4 seeds per fruit) weigh 1 kg. Fruit treatment by alternate soaking and drying in open bed for 3 weeks hastens germination. Optimum sowing time is from April to May. Germination takes place within 30 - 40 days. Germination percentage varies from 60 - 80 . Irrigation 2 - 3 times a day initially is necessary. Seedlings when 12 - 15 month old with collar diameter of about 2.5 to 4.0 cm. are used for preparation of stumps for planting. 

Planting Stocks 

It is advisable to raise nursery seedlings after collecting fruits only from plus trees i.e., phenotypically selected superior trees. In olden days teak fruits used to be collected from any easily available tree, but nowadays with awareness of genetic gain from phenotypic selections, fruits are collected from genetically superior plus trees. Hence fruits should be obtained from Forest Departments / or Forest Development Corporations. For eg., Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) has established seed orchards where genetically improved quality seeds are produced. Fruits obtained from such seed orchards will give better yield. One must be aware that in case of teak plantations any mistake in selection of planting stock may give a negative impact on the plantation which would be known after 10 years or more. So, selection of planting stock is the most important criterion in raising forestry plantations especially teak

Planting Methods

Teak can be planted at 2m x 2m, 2.5m x 2.5m or 3m x 3m espacement. It can also be raised along with agricultural crops at a spacing of 4m x 4m or 5m x 5m.

Plough lands thoroughly and level it off. Mark the areas for pit digging by alignment and staking.

Dig pits of 45 x 45 x 45 cm sizes. Refill the soil after seasoning and mixing with Farm Yard Manure and insecticides. On poor gravely sites, replace the pit soil by good soil.

Use pre sprouted stumps or polypots for planting.

Best planting season is monsoon; preferably after the first shower.

Firm up the soil after planting and apply irrigation wherever necessary.

Apply 100 g of fertiliser in pit at the time of planting and thereafter in split doses or as per the fertility status of soil.

Carry out weeding operations regularly. Weeding may be carried out @ 3 operations in the first year, 2 operations in second year and one operation in the third year.

Carry out soil working periodically for better growth of plants. One working in the Ist year and two workings in 2nd and 3rd year may be adequate.

Debudding in the initial years may be done to improve the quality of timber.

Undertake prophylactic and control measures for protection of plants from insects/pests and diseases to ensure good health of the crop.

Irrigation 

Study has revealed that, irrigation during stress period boosts the growth of the plants. Irrigation should be followed by weeding (3,2,1) and adequate soil working. Two doses of fertiliser (in the month of August & September) @ 50 gm per plant of NPK (15:15:15) may be provided every year upto three years. By increasing the inputs of irrigation and frequent thinning, it is possible to increase the rate of diameter growth. The increase in diameter growth is, however, dependent on increasing the size of the crown i.e. decrease in the number of trees per acre.

In other words, one can have either lesser no. of trees of higher girth or larger number of trees of lower girth. It has been observed that teak trees grown under irrigated condition grew faster but the sapwood content of trees increased, the wood became weak and wind damage became quite serious. A phenomenon of water blisters may also develop in teak trees grown under irrigated conditions. Such trees may appear quite healthy from outside but the inner heartwood may develop rot due to storage of excess water that increases the spread of fungi which may further damage the tree.

Many people claim that, teak grown with fertiliser and irrigation give excellent result. Drip irrigation will induce surface roots and epicormic branching. Nitrogen fertilisers will increase the nitrogen content of leaves. Initially larger leaves will increase photosynthesis and faster growth. By about five years the dreaded defoliators and skeletoniser Hyblaea puera and Eutectona machaeralis would attack these plantations. These will drastically reduce the photosynthesising leaf surface. These insects have about 14 life cycles in a year. The control through insecticides is not, therefore, possible. Once the trees are established they generally donot respond significantly to irrigation and fertilisers.

3.6 Insects, Pests and Diseases

Teak defoliator & skeletoniser (Hyblaea puera and Eutectona machaeralis) cause extensive damage to young plantations. Root rot due to Polyporous zonalis is also common in plantation. Pink disease fungus causes cankers and bark flaking. Powdery mildew caused by Olivea tectonae & Uncinula tectonae leads to premature defoliation. It is thus necessary to undertake prophylactic and control measures to ensure good health of the crops. Fresh leaf extracts of Calotropis procera, Datura metal and Azadirachta indica were found to be most effective against teak skeletonizer. This method is of immense importance in the insect, pest control considering its harmless and pollution free implications on the environment further avoiding the operational and residual hazards that involve in the use of organic and inorganic insecticides.

Harvesting, yield & Returns

The highest growth under plantation condition in India was seen in the Indo-Gangetic belt of Haldwani Division. At 20 years of age the height growth was 23.1m and diameter was 28.7 cm. From the general yield table in the first quality teak at 20 years of age, the average diameter is 27.2 cm and average height is 23.2m. The number of trees per acre is 102. The total yield of stem timber is 28.04 m3; that means on an average a tree on first quality site at 20 years of age under natural conditions of growth will yield around 0.283 m3 of timber on good sites. At the best we may expect a tree to produce a maximum of 0.60 m3 of timber in 20 years under best conditions of intensive management and there could be a maximum of 100 trees per acre. It is said that plantation teak grows slowly after an age of 15 years and besides the strength is not as good as in case of naturally grown teak. It is generally seen that the effect of irrigation and fertiliser application in most tree species is very fast initially and thereafter it slows down.

Therefore, the initial response of fast growth which is being seen in the young plantation will not hold on for a long time. Under natural conditions the best growth has been seen on alluvial sites where the soils are very deep and moist, but not wet (Teak is very sensitive to poor drainage). Normally, an irrigated plantation has been assumed to attain a growth in 20 years which is attained by a rainfed plantation in 25 years. It takes roughly 20-30 years to produce reasonably good quality timber. However, due to large market demand for teak, even the poles and small timber fetch good price. First thinning in 7th / 8th year and second thinning in 13th / 14thyear may provide good number of poles and small timber to pay back the bank loan. In the final harvest by 20th year each tree can produce quality timber ranging from 7-10 cft. The yield and income are based on a conservative estimate.

Marketing of Timber 

Teak is the most important commercial timber tree of India specially for furniture making. The very name of the tree translates into Carpenters Pride and is one of the most sought after timber in Indian market, hence no problem is envisaged in marketing by the farmers. Infact many of the timbers in Indian retail market is sold in the name of teak which are not teak. It is presumed that inspite of large number of plantations raised by the private companies the market for teak timber will remain evergreen. Today most of the teak timber available in the market is only of sapwood, the heart wood is rarely seen. 

YIELD AND ROTATION

NB: 

Fuelwood in the form of lops & tops will be consumed locally by the farmer.

* Assumed Girth - 60 cm and Height - 13 m

** Assumed Girth - 75 cm & Height - 14 m 

Cost of cultivation 

The cost of cultivation will depend upon the extent of the area to be planted. The cost of cultivation for a unit area of one ha. at an espacement of 2m x 2m . i.e. 2500 plants/ ha. has been worked out at  67476/- for 7 years.

Financial Analysis 

The financial analysis with the above parameters of the investment cost and yield has been done. The BCR and IRR works out to 1.46 : 1 and 23.57 % respectively. 

Lending terms and conditions 

Margin Money 

The beneficiaries may contribute towards down payment ranging from 5 to 25% depending upon their category, i.e., small and other farmers in accordance with NABARD's norms. Beneficiary's own labour can also be taken as his contribution towards the margin money requirement. In the current model margin money of 10 % has been considered. 

 Interest Rate 

The rate of interest on refinance from NABARD will be as per the circulars issued by NABARD from time to time. The rate of interest to be charged to the ultimate borrowers would be decided by the financing banks. Interest rate of 12 % per annum has been considered for calculation of financial parameters. 

Repayment of Loan 

The entire loan amount with interest can be repaid at the end of 7  years from planting. However, as there is no income generation during the first six years, the interest have to be deferred for first six years.

Grow Dragon Fruit in Northeast State of India

One fruit which can be successfully grow in Northeast States of India is Dragon fruit.  The climate condition and soil of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam is best suited for the fruit. Dragon fruit – Pithaya, The ‘Wonderous Fruit’ of The 21st Century is Set to Ring in a Revolution in the Indian Horticulture Scenario. It is a Boon to The Farmers And Consumers. Originally From The Central Americas It Is Successfully Grown Commercially In Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh And Now Knocking At Our Door In India.

Cultivation

1) Dragon fruit being a cactus it requires less amount of water.

2) In the first year itself the plants bear fruits.

3) A framework of concrete poles is required to raise the plants.

4) In one acre around 1760 nos of plants can be grown.

5) The yield per acre is 5-6 tonnes.

6) The plants flower generally from mid May to June and bears fruit from August to December.

7) The market rates for dragon fruit is around 200-250 Rs per kg

Dragon fruit Health Benefits

The health benefits of dragon fruit cactus fruit are many and varied. These nutritional benefits include dragon fruit health benefits which help to lower blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes. Its health benefits and the great dragon fruit nutrition benefits make dragon fruit cactus fruit popular all over the world - Dragon fruit is now being discovered in the US and that market is growing as people realize the special health benefits of it and its great nutritional benefits like its high antioxidant amounts and vitamin C levels. 

Dragon fruit (most commonly as the dried dragon fruit cactus fruit) is a great fruit to incorporate into a diabetic diet plan and lots of diabetic recipes can include it. While dragon fruit is not a type 2 diabetes cure, it may offer diabetics a substantial health benefit towards lower blood glucose levels. Dragon fruit vitamin C and dietary fiber are both positive nutritional benefits of Dragon fruit among others. The amount of vitamin C in this fruit is substantial, and you can see up to 10 times the amount of vitamin C in Dragon fruit which has been dried vs. the fresh dragon fruit cactus fruit. Of course the dried Dragon fruit nutrients are much more dense than in the fresh fruit!

How to Grow Dragon fruit

While you may see some dragon fruit cactus plants in your backyard if you are in Hawaii, for many of those in the world the climate is not tropical enough. However, when it is right growing its commercially is big business. Growing Dragon fruit commercially is common in places like Thailand and Vietnam where the climate is right for growing it all the way successfully to fruit. In growing Dragon fruit cactus commercially, there are three most commonly cultivated varieties of dragon fruit, red Dragon fruit with red flesh and red skin, dragon fruit with yellow skin and white flesh, and red dragon fruit with red skin and white flesh. 

All varieties have the flesh or Dragon fruit pulp filled with lots of tiny black seeds which are edible with the fruit. For hobbyists who want to grow it, there are lots more dragon fruit varieties than used by those who grow it commercially. If you want to experiment yourself and try growing it at home, often it is easy growing dragon fruit plants just from the seeds in dragon fruit you eat. Growing it is a fun project for kids, but bear in mind that commercial growing of Dragon fruit is another story.

Start Cotton Farming in India

Cotton is the most important fibre crop not only of India but of the entire world. It provides the basic raw material (cotton fibre) to cotton textile industry.

Its seed (binola) is used in vanaspati industry and can also be used as part of fodder for milch cattle to get better milk.

The modest requirement of water can be met by an average annual rainfall of 50- 100 cm. However, it is successfully grown in areas of lesser rainfall with the help of irrigation. About one-third of the total area under cotton cultivation is irrigated. In the year 1988-89 an area of 24 77 lakh hectares out of a total of 73.43 lakh hectares i.e. 33.73 per cent of the total area under cotton was irrigated.

About 80 per cent of the total irrigated area under cotton is in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Moist weather and heavy rainfall at the time of boll-opening and picking are detrimental to cotton as the plant becomes vulnerable to pests and diseases. High amount of rainfall in beginning and sunny and dry weather at ripening time are very useful for a good crop.

Cotton is a kharif crop which requires 6 to 8 months to mature. Its time of sowing and harvesting differs in different parts of the country depending upon the climatic conditions. In Punjab and Haryana it is sown in April-May and is harvested in December-January that is before the winter frost can damage the crop.

In the peninsular part of India, it is sown upto October and harvested between January and May because there is no danger of winter frost in these areas. In Tamil Nadu, it is grown both as a kharif and as a rabi crop.

Here the rainfall occurs after September and cotton is sown in October. The irrigated crop is sown in January-February. Most of the crop is grown mixed with other kharif crops such as maize, jowar, ragi, sesamum, castor, groundnut and some vegetables.

Cotton cultivation is closely related to deep black soils (regur) of the Deccan and the Malwa Plateaus and those of Gujarat. It also grows well in alluvial soils of the Satluj-Ganga Plain and red and laterite soils of the peninsular regions. Cotton quickly exhausts the fertility of soil. Therefore, regular application of manures and fertilizers to the soils is very necessary.
Picking is a crucial period from the labour point of view. Since picking of cotton is not yet mechanized, a lot of cheap and efficient labour is required at this time. Normally the picking season is spread over a period of about three months.

Types of Cotton:

Three broad types of cotton are generally recognised on the basis of the length, strength and structure of its fibre.

1. Long staple cotton:
It has the longest fibre whose length varies from 24 to 27 mm. The fibre is long, fine and shining. It is used for making fine and superior quality cloth. Obviously, it fetches the best price. There has been rapid progress in the production of long staple cotton since Independence. About half of the total cotton produced in India is a long staple. It is largely grown in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

2. Medium staple cotton:
The length of its fibre is between 20 mm and 24 mm. About 44 per cent of the total cotton production in India is of medium staple. Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are its main producers.

3. Short staple cotton:
This is inferior cotton with fibre less than 20 mm long. It is used for manufacturing inferior cloth and fetches less price. About 6 per cent of the total production is of short staple cotton. U.P., Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab are its main producers.

Production:
India has the largest area under cotton cultivation in the world though she is the world’s third largest producer of cotton after China and the USA. Currently it is grown over 6 per cent of the net sown area. Table 24.14 shows the trends in the production of cotton in India.

A consistent decline in area under cotton cultivation has been noticed from 9.1 million hectares in 2001-02 to 7.6 million hectares in 2003-04. However, there have been four and a half-fold increase in production and three and a half-fold increase in yield between 1950-51 and 2003-04. This clearly depicts the success in efforts to increase production and productivity without any addition to area under cotton cultivation.

This has been made possible due to large scale commercial cultivation of high yielding hybrid varieties in long and extra long staples. In spite of the three fold increase in the yield; our yield of 307 kg/hectare is just half of the world average and far below the yield of 731 kg/hectare in the USA, 756 kg/hectare in Pakistan and 816 kg/hectare in Egypt.

Almost 65 per cent of the area under cotton is rainfed with erratic and poorly distributed rains during the cropping season. It is subjected to severe attack of pests and diseases.
Despite the increase in production, cotton for quite some time is experiencing a plateau in productivity which needs to be broken.

Distribution:
India has the sole distinction of growing all the four cultivated species of cotton and their intra- and inter-specific hybrids. In India, cotton is grown in three distinct agro-ecological zones, viz., Northern (Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan), Central (Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh) and Southern zone (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka).

1. Maharashtra:
Maharashtra is the largest producer and produces 29.78 per cent of the total cotton production of India. Maharashtra is a traditional producer of cotton. The lava soil of deccan plateau is world renowned for cotton production and is popularly known as the black cotton soil. Over 80 per cent of the production comes from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions comprising the districts of Yavatmal, Nanded, Amravati, Parbhani, Wardha, Jalgaon, Akola, Buldhana, Nagpur, Dhule, etc.

2. Gujarat:
Accounting for 19.33 per cent of the total production and 21.33 per cent of the cotton area of the country, Gujarat is the second largest cotton producing state of India. The average yield is 1.8 quintals/hectare which is almost the same as the national average. With ‘black cotton soil’ 1.5 metre deep in some parts and with 80-100 cm annual rainfall Gujarat provides favourable conditions for cotton cultivation.

Two-thirds of the production comes from the Gujarat plains including Bharuch, Surendemagar, Vadodra and Ahmedabad districts. Mahesana, Kheda, Sabarkantha, Surat, Amreli and Panchmahals are other major producers.

3. Andhra Pradesh:
Andhra Pradesh accounts for 12.46 per cent of production and 10.47 per cent of hectarage of India. Two-thirds of the production of Andhra Pradesh comes from two districts, namely Guntur and Prakasam. Adilabad, Kumool and Anantapur contribute the rest.

4. Punjab:
Punjab has slipped from first position in 1990-91 to fourth position in 2002-03 as a producer of cotton in India. This state has the distinction of giving highest yield of 4.1 quintals/hectare (2002-03) which is more than double the national average. This is due to high yields only that Punjab is able to produce 12.42 per cent of total cotton of India from just 5.86 per cent land under cotton.

Punjab has also the distinction of producing some of the best qualities of cotton in India. All this has been made possible due to fertile alluvial soils, a close network of irrigation facilities, heavy dose of fertilizers and pesticides and above all the enterprising spirit of the farmers.

Seeds of ВТ cotton, which were introduced in some parts of the state, are showing good results. This variety of seeds has the advantage over other hybrid seeds as it needs less use of pesticides. It requires just three to five applications while other varieties had to be sprayed around 15-20 times—resulting in savings of around Rs. 2,500-3,000 per acre. Punjab produced 10.83 lakh bales (each bale of 170 kg).

Most of the cotton production comes from the Malwa region of the state. This region contributes nearly 95 per cent of Punjab’s cotton. Cotton is known as “white gold” in this region. Bhatinda, Faridkot, Firozepur and Sangrur are the major producing districts and account for over three fourths of Punjab’s total production of cotton. Ludhiana, Muktsar, Moga, Mansa and Fatehgarh Sahib are other cotton producing districts.

5. Haryana:
Accounting for 11.91 per cent production and 6.77 per cent of hectarage, Haryana is the fifth largest producer of cotton in India. In the year 2002-03, Haryana produced 11.38 lakh bales. The state has the second highest yield of 3.4 quintals/hectare in the country next only to that of the neighbouring Punjab.

About 80 per cent of the production comes from Hissar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts which are contiguous to the major cotton producing districts of Punjab. Like Punjab, most of the production is from the American long staple varieties. Bhiwani, Jind and Rohtak and Ambala are other producing districts.

6. Madhya Pradesh:
This state suffers from low yields (only 1.2 quintals/hectare). More than 80 per cent of the production comes from Malwa where there are vast tracts of lava soil. East Nimar, West Nimar, Ujjain, Shajapur, Dewas, Dhar, Ratlam, Rajgarh, Indore, and Bhopal are the main producers.

7. Karnataka:
This state produces 4.22 per cent cotton of India from 5.13 per cent of India’s area under cotton cultivation. The North Karnataka plateau is the main area of cotton cultivation. Dharwad, Raichur, Bellary and Gulbarga are the main producing districts.

8. Rajasthan:
Rajasthan accounts for about 2.9 per cent of the production and 5 per cent of the area of the country. The state has the lowest yield of only 1.1 quintals/hectare. Ganganagar is the most important cotton producing district of Rajasthan and accounts for over 80 per cent of the state’s production.

This district is contiguous to the cotton producing areas of Punjab and Haryana and enjoys the same advantages. The remaining cotton of Rajasthan comes from Bhilwara, Ajmer, Chittaurgarh, Jhalawar, Pali and Hanumangarh.

9. Tamil Nadu:
Tamil Nadu contributes about 1.55 per cent of the total production with about 1.11 per cent of the total area of the country. Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Ramnathapuram, South Arcot, Vallalur, Chengalpattu and Tirunelveli K. Bomman are the main producing districts. Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Meghalaya and Mizoram also produce cotton in small quantities.

Trade:
India is an exporter as well as importer of cotton. India exports inferior quality cotton mainly to U.K., where it is mixed with superior quality cotton. India has been a big importer of superior quality long staple cotton mainly from the USA, Russia, UAR, Sudan and Kenya.
With the increase in domestic production of superior quality cotton, our imports have come down considerably, resulting in saving of the foreign exchange. India has achieved near self-sufficiency in the production of superior quality cotton. India exported 179.6 thousand tonnes of raw cotton worth Rs. 992 crore while the imports were 8.09 lakh tonnes worth Rs. 1,570 crore in 2003-04.

Considering the major provisions of World Trade Organisation (WTO) vis-a-vis India’s position, the points that emerge to be of immediate concern in enhancing the productivity and quality of Indian cotton and making it competitive globally are: (i) bringing down the cost of cultivation and enhancing its productivity and quality, (ii) rendering our cotton globally attractive, (iii) keeping Indian cotton free of trash content.