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4. Low Cost Management of Acid Soils for Higher Productivity and Water Use Efficiency

Technology description: Soil acidity is one of the limiting factors that affects crop production adversely in many parts of India (nearly 40% soils in India are acidic). It is necessary to ameliorate the acid soils with liming materials along with suitable cropping system and water management practices to enhance the productivity and water use efficiency of crops in acid soil. Liming materials are expensive and not available sometimes. In that respect the low cost liming material like paper mill sludge can be very well used to ameliorate acid soils. This byproduct of paper mill will not only raise agricultural production with low cost but also reduce environmental pollution in the surrounding areas of the factory and it is within the reach of farmers.

Input needed : Low cost liming materials like paper mill sludge, seeds of crops like maize, groundnut, black gram, cowpea and green gram, fertilizers and necessary agro-inputs

Output capacity: Additional income : ` 20,000/- per ha, Water use efficiency increased by 36-60%.

Specific benefits and impact: Paper mill sludge could ameliorate acidic soils and increased the yield of different crops by 34-68%. The Odisha Government adopted the technology and planned to ameliorate 2.4 lakh hectares acidic land in 2008 by supplying Paper Mill Sludge. From the year 2008-09, the Odisha Government started supply of paper mill sludge at subsidized rate (Rs 10/- per 50 kg capacity bag). During rabi 2008-09, the IFFCO, Bhubaneswar adopted the technology of paper mill sludge application in 120 acres areas in Balasore, Odisha for growing groundnut crops by involving 223 farmers.

Unit cost: Rs 12,000 to 15,000/- per ha depending on the soil pH.

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5. Crop Diversification in Drought Prone Areas

Technology description: Crop diversification by adopting maize, groundnut-pigeonpea, sole groundnut and sole pigeon pea under rice based cropping at rainfed upland conditions.

Input needed: Seeds of rice substituted crops (maize, groundnut, black gram, cowpea, green gram), fertilizers and necessary agro-inputs

Output capacity: Higher rice equivalent yield per annum was obtained through maize cob (8125 kg/ ha), groundnut + pigeon pea (5550 kg/ha), sole groundnut (5640 kg/ha), sole pigeon pea (5550 kg/ha).

Specific benefits and impact: Rice equivalent yield of 7.5 t ha-1 with average net return of ` 25,000/- per ha per annum.

Unit cost: Cost of cultivation per unit area is Rs 10,000-14,000/- per ha.

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6. Residual Soil Moisture Utilization in Rainfed Rice Ecology of Coastal Orissa

Technology description: Growing greengram, blackgram, horsegram and sesamum as paira crop after kharif paddy which remains fallow in subsequent seasons.

Input needed: Seeds of greengram, blackgram, horsegram and sesamum and necessary agroinputs

Output capacity: Sowing of greengram, blackgram, horsegram and sesamum under rice fallow could produce 950, 800, 750 and 450 kg/ha, respectively by utilizing residual soil moisture

Specific benefits and impact: Around 11 million ha land remains fallow after Kharif season, by doing paira cropping an additional amount of ` 10000 – 15000/- per ha can be earned

In-situ soil moisture conservation and crop diversification in drought prone areas

* 150 framers (150 acres) in Dhenkanal district and 50 farmers (50 acres) in Mayurbhanj & Balasore districts of Odisha adopted the technology during kharif 2007.
* Technology is suitable in 4.3 mha rainfed upland rice areas of eastern India.

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7. Raised and Sunken Bed View of Sunken and raised bed


Technology description: It is suitable for medium and low land situation. The land is converted into alternate sunken and raised beds (1:1) each of 30 m length and 5 m width. Different vegetable crops of local importance may be grown on the raised beds. Sunken beds are used for growing low land rice or other aquatic crops like Colocasia. Fish spawn can also be raised up to fingerling stage in the sunken beds together with rice.

Input needed: Land area (1 ha), crop input parameters and fish input parameters and 700 man days.

Output capacity: The adoption of the technology increased kharif paddy and pointed guard yield from 4.2 t/ha to 5.2 t/ha and 4.24 t/ha to 4.74 t/ha respectively. In addition, fish yield of 1 t/ha.

Specific benefits and impact: Additional income per ha per year: ` 70000/-.

Unit cost: ` 50000/- per ha.

View of Sunken and raised bed

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8. Integration of Aquaculture with System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
Technology description: To enhance land and water productivity of rainfed medium land, 10% area of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) fields can be converted into small dugout pond (refuge) at downstream to harvest rainwater for utilizing in supplementary irrigation and short-term fish culture, and use its embankment for horticultural crops.

Input needed: Rice field and related agro inputs

Output capacity: Rice yield increased from 2.89 t/ha to 6.16 t/ha with fish yield of 2.6 t/ha. The cost of cultivation ratio indicates that in the integrated SRI system for an investment of ` 1.00/-, one can get a return of ` 2.97/-, but in conventional rice system for an investment of `1.00/-, one can get only ` 1.13/-.

Specific benefits and impact: It has potential to generate net profit of ` 268,600/- per hectare of land in two years

Unit cost: ` 1,36,000/- per ha

View of Integrated SRI field	Lay-out Design of Integrated System of Rice Intensification

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9.Improved Planting Technique for Saving of Irrigation Water in Post-rainy season Crops
Technology description: During post-rainy season, paired-row planting for groundnut at 45 x 15 cm spacing (paired row at 15 cm on raised beds with 45 cm furrow spacing); and paired-row planting of potato at 75 x 20 cm spacing (paired row at 25 cm on raised beds with 75 cm furrow spacing) save irrigation water over flat-bed and normal planting for groundnut and potato, respectively.

Inputs needed: Seeds, fertilizers and necessary agro inputs

Output capacity: For expense of ` 1.0/- the maximum net return is ` 2.10/- for groundnut (45 x 15 cm) and ` 2.15/- for potato (75 x 20 cm) despite substantial saving of irrigation water

Specific benefits and advantages: Paired row planting on raised beds gives pod yield advantage by 13-20% over flat bed planting of groundnut, irrigation water saving to the extent of 27-41% and enhancement of crop WUE by 40-45%. Similarly, the paired row planting technique in potato saves irrigation water by 18-20%, increased irrigation WUE by 15-21% over normal planting. Irrigation water applied through furrows facilitate wetting as well as air entry to the crop root zone. The improved planting technique has the potential advantage of saving irrigation water. This technique would bring more areas under irrigation for post-rainy season crops.

Groundnut crop with paired-row planting	Potato crop with paired-row planting

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10. Sub Surface Water Harvesting Structure (SSWHS)
Application/ use: Coastal waterlogged areas

Description/ features: Fresh water floats above the saline water below ground in coastal water logged areas and could be tapped through subsurface water harvesting structure to meet the rabi crop irrigation demand as well as pisciculture. To extract water from these structures, pump up to 2 hp is suitable to avoid saline water ingression in to fresh water layer. The depth of structure should be restricted with in sandy zone below ground up to 5 meter.

Input needed: For 0.1 ha area with 4 m depth of 4000m³ capacity involving 550 man days.

Output capacity: The average water productivity of SSWHS involving pisciulture and rabi vegetables is ` 36/-m³.

Specific benefits and impact: It results in higher area of irrigation and higher cropping intensity and crop productivity. The average benefit: cost ratio of SSWHS was 1.55 in the first year of construction itself. The participatory approach of implementing SSWHS improves the financial status of the several poor farmers living below poverty line in coastal waterlogged areas and also gives better employment opportunity.

Unit cost: The average unit cost for SSWHS construction is ` 14/- per m³.

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11. Pond Based Farming System for Deep Waterlogged Areas

Technology description: Due to poor drainage, saucer shaped topography and high monsoon rainfall, some parts of east coast of India remain waterlogged (> 1m surface water logging) and unproductive. To stabilize and enhance net income from such waterlogged ecosystem, pond based farming technology (deep water rice in kharif + salt tolerant vegetables like watermelon, ladies finger, spinach, chili in winter + on-dyke vegetables-fruits + fish inside pond) was conceptualized and implemented in representative deep waterlogged areas (1-2.5 m water depth) of coastal Odisha, India.

Input needed : Land (1 ha), required amount of crop and fish inputs

Output capacity: Additional income ` 25,000/- per ha/annum, Water Productivity: ` 7.2/per m³

Specific benefits and impact: Increased cropping intensity – 200%.

Unit cost: ` 60,000/- per ha .

	Micro-water resources through farm pond and shallow tube well were designed and implemented in representative deep waterlogged areas of Puri district. Through pond based farming system water productivity was enhanced from Rs. 1.2/m3 (sole rice) to Rs. 6.3/m3 (rabi crops + fish + on-dyke horticulture).

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12. Water Chestnut Production Technology for Waterlogged Areas

Technology description: Targeted area is waterlogged and marshy areas.

Input needed : Planting materials, fertilizers and necessary agro-inputs Output capacity : Net income : ` 25,344/- per ha.

Specific benefits and impact: Water chestnut cultivation already been adopted in 900 ha area in Odisha covering six districts. Has a further potential for adoption in 1.10 million ha of non-arable waterlogged areas in the country.

Unit cost: Cost of cultivation: ` 18,000/- per ha

Water chestnut cultivation

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13. Integration of Water Chestnut Cultivation and Aquaculture Technology
Technology description: In shallow waterlogged area of 1.5 m depth cultivations of water chestnut together with fish culture can produce up to 10 t/ha water chestnut and 1.60 t cat fish per ha.

Input needed: 4400 bundles of water chestnut seedlings per ha (2 to 3 seedlings per bundle), and fish seed 7000 – 10000 of 15 – 25 gm mean body weight of fish per ha, and necessary agro-inputs.

Specific benefits and impact: The system with a B:C ratio of 3.3 can produce a net profit up to ` 103000/- per ha. The left over water after harvest of fish can be additionally utilized for irrigation of pulses.

Output capacity: ` 103000/- per ha

Unit cost: ` 33000/- per ha

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14. Cat tail (Typha) Production Technology for Waterlogged areas
Technology description: Cat tail locally known as Hogla, plant is an emergent water loving plant grows well in marshy soils and make these areas productive.

Input needed: Planting materials

Specific benefits and impact: The production of cat tail enhances the income of the farmers both from fresh leaves and mats.

Unit cost: Total cost of cultivation including harvest and transport to mat knitter is

` 11,900/- per ha and the income obtained from fresh leaves is around ` 30,000/- per ha

Typha Plants	Typha mats in wholesale market

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15. Wastewater use in farming
Technology description: Soil application and thoroughly mixing of post methanated sugar factory spent wash / distillery effluent is useful for growing crops in acidic red and laterite soil. It improves soil pH, enriched the soil with N, P, K, Ca, Mg, micronutrients and organic matter content.

Input needed: Seeds, fertilizers and related agro inputs

Output capacity: Proper application of post methanated sugar factory spent wash in acidic red and laterite soil could save ` 67.92/- per m3 in sugarcane and ` 12.68/- per m³ in rice per ha despite improving soil pH and soil fertility parameters.

Specific benefits and impacts: Application of post methanated spent wash @ 40 to 50 m³/ha and @ 80 to 120 m³/ha before 10 to 15 days of planting / transplanting of sugarcane and rice, improves the cane yield by 0.50 to 2.47 t cane and 6 to 15 kg grain per m³ addition of the spent wash in sugarcane and rice respectively, growing in acidic red and laterite soil types.

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