Port Blair, Apr 01: Amidst the difficult hour of COVID-19 lock down, it is important to sustain the agriculture and allied sector activities in the Islands for protecting the livelihood and to ensure food and nutritional security. ICAR-CIARI issued this advisory to the Island farmers in support of the effort by the farmers.
Horticultural crops
• Due to prolonged dry spell, the plants started suffering due to moisture stress; lifesaving irrigation should be provided to fruit plants, coconut seedlings, arecanut seedlings, Noni, especially juvenile ones, twice in a week wherever possible.
• Drought management practices such as mulching, shading need to be practiced. Widen the basin of coconut and arecanut palm with a radius of 1.8 mt around coconut and at least 1 m around arecanut palm and mulch the basin with all available farm waste such as coconut/arecanut husk, fallen coconut fronds etc.
• Make catch pit, trench around the palm basin in case of undulating places to conserve excess runoff water during the forthcoming monsoon season
• Prepare the land and keep ready for planting of intercrops such as Elephant foot yam, ginger, turmeric and tree spices in the available interspaces with the onset of monsson
• Keep the palm basin ready for sowing of green manure crops such as sunhemp/ daincha with the onset of monsson.
• Wrap and tie areca leaf sheath around the trunk of arecanut plam to minimize the effect of sun scorching.
• Packaging of harvested produce of black pepper, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon in airtight containers and storage of the same in cool and dry areas is to be followed to avoid any contamination with storage pests/ pathogens.
• Stored Produce should not be kept in the same area where other chemicals and products having strong odour are stored. Area should not have access to entry of pets, rodents and birds to avoid any spoilage and contamination.
• The fallen coconuts can be husked and put for drying under sun for copra making. If they don’t wish to convert it into copra, store the whole nuts without dehusking for certain period. Wherever possible, home-scale Virgin Coconut Oil production can also be taken up. The produced oil could be stored and used for own consumption as well for sales.
• Many farmers have taken up vegetable production wherein, the crop is under maturity/harvesting stage. As the farmers are facing problem in marketing due to restricted transport to local vegetable markets, the collection of the produce may be done in small heaps spaced at 3-4 feets and field level Grading should be assigned to 1-2 persons/heap to avoid crowding. Staggered harvesting and sale at nearby places may be helpful.
• If open pollinated variety is grown in crops like Bhendi, Cowpea, Dolichos etc with good source of seed and proper isolation, the farmers can go for production of seeds as there will be assured market, in this regard they can contact KVK/CIARI.
• For tuberose, the plant may be headed back leaving 10 cm height from the ground level. This may help in delayed flowering with good flower yield after 45 -60 days. When three-year-old crop is headed back, bulb and bulblets development may be vigorous which may be utilized for next year planting
• Mango is in simultaneous flowering and fruiting in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Fruit fly attack is commonly seen. To control this, pheromone traps @ 1 per 5 trees to be kept. The fallen fruits due to fruit fly attack are to be collected and buried in the ground away from the orchard. In Guava also the traps will help to contain the fly damage.
• Harvested produce should be cleaned using chlorinated water or simply warm water before bringing it to the market
• The workers doing harvesting/ picking, can accomplish the operation in 4-5 feet spaced strips assigning one strip to one person. This will ensure adequate spacing between the engaged labours. All the persons engaged should use masks and ensure hand washing with soap at reasonable intervals. Proper sanitation and cleanliness of harvesting/threshing floors/yards for harvested produce to be maintained. Adequate personal safety measures to be taken for loading and transporting of farm produce and while participating in sale at market yards/ auction platforms.
• Home garden and kitchen garden activities at households will help in meeting the small family requirements of vegetables and herbs. Farmers can produce seedlings of those vegetables and supply to the needy people.
Field Crops:
• The Rabi crop of pulses (Green gram and black gram) are approaching maturity. It is time of pulse harvesting in the Islands grown in rice fallow lands. Farmers are advised to dry their harvested pulse grain properly to avoid any insect attack during storage. The grains should not have moisture more than 14% during storage.
• Store the pulses in clean and pest free bags at dried and cool places, the bags can be treated with 5% neem oil solution. The bags should be stacked above the ground level. Farmers can put Neem leaf in the bags to prevent the grains from insect attack.
• Incorporate pulse residue in the soil properly to increase soil fertility and texture. It will be very useful for growing next rice crop. After one moth farmers will also start sowing of early rice crop nurseries. So it is time to recheck own saved seed in the stores to prevent from the pests.
• Farmers can sundry their seed to keep it free from insects, which insures proper seed germination in the nursery.
• Farmers and field workers to follow safety measures and social distancing at each and every step in the entire process of field operations. All the persons engaged may use masks and ensure hand washing with soap at reasonable intervals. While performing drying, threshing, winnowing, cleaning, grading, sorting and packaging operations at the farm level, wearing of protective face mask may help against aerosols and dust particles to prevent respiratory difficulties.
Livestock and poultry:
• Avoid herding of different species of animals together
• Provide ad-lib drinking water to livestock and poultry to combat heat stress.
• Electrolyte may be provided to the livestock and poultry or alternatively sugarcane molasses @ 5 g/l of water.
• Bio safety measures like sprinkling disinfectant solution (phenyl solution, bleaching powder, fumigation with potassium permanganate with formaline) , entry of poultry and livestock shed should be provided with the foot tray having phenyl or savlon )to be adopted but Keeping strict social distancing and using face mask and also using alcohol based hand sanitizer.
• Swine fever vaccine in pigs of more than two months of age and booster dose after one month to be given. For this local veterinary doctors should be contacted.
• Farmers should make social distancing and avoid crowding while delivering the milk to the milk collecting vans. Wear face mask and use hand sanitizer or wash with soap.
Fisheries:
• Summer season is the appropriate time to do prestocking management of the ponds, bund strengthening etc.
• In case of perennial ponds drain out maximum water and remove unwanted aquatic plants and wild fishes.
• It is good practice to add a minimum if 200-300 kg/ha lime to maintain the pH and water quality
