Maize cultivation in India: issues and solutions
Maize is third important food crop in India after rice and wheat. Maize is not only used for consumption by humans/animals, but it is also used in industries to produce starch and oil etc. Maize production in India has doubled from ~12 million tons in 2000 to >24 million tons, having an average yield of 2.4 tons per hectare. This significant growth in maize production is caused by adaptation of advanced technologies, increased demand of maize for feed industry and increase in the demand for nutritionally enriched products.
India ranks 7th in the production of Maize, and has lower productivity when compared to countries like USA, China, Brazil, etc. To maximize maize productivity and achieve higher production, following needs to be addressed.
Seed treatment:
Majority of farmers in India are buying hybrid maize seeds from professional companies thus ensuring good quality maize seeds. But pre-sowing seed treatments are not followed by majority of farmers. Seed treatment with natural compounds aid in fast and uniform germination, enhanced seedling life and development under extensive variety of ecological conditions brings about better and uniform harvest of the crop.
Soil health:
Application of excess quantity of fertilizer will not increase yield. Maize is a fertilizer responsive crop, but excessive, untimely and unscientific application of fertilizers will have a negative impact on the yield. Fertilizers should be applied based on the soil testing results. For example, one-time application of urea leads to loss of nutrients and instead it should be applied in 2-3 splits. Crop specific fertilizer formulations are better suited than depending on the straight fertilizers. Instead of broadcasting fertilizers, equipment like granule sprayers must be used to increase the efficiency.
Maintenance of soil health is also an important factor when it comes to the nutrient availability. If the soil health is not maintained properly, any amount of added fertilizers will not be of any use. Application of FYM/compost is a must. Agronomical practices like crop rotation, summer ploughing, green manuring should be followed to keep the soil health.
Irrigation source:
One of the proximate causes of the weaknesses of Indian agriculture has been that most of the farmers throughout the country depend upon rainfall and very few of them have access to irrigation. Inadequate irrigation facility is the main barrier for agriculture in India. Better utilization of rain water, moisture conservation practices, improved irrigation methods must be adapted, which increases irrigated area under maize. However, in the scenarios where Maize is grown as catch crop in marginal soils, adequate water management strategies must be adapted. These water management strategies would include sowing in ridges, sprinkler irrigation etc. Along with these efforts, weather forecast based farming of Maize in case of rainfed farming will have a positive impact on increasing the production and reduce risk involved.
Communal Holding & Contract Farming:
The average size of holding in India is very low, about 1.2 hectares. Not only agricultural holdings are small, but they are fragmented too. This situation has a negative impact on availability of resources. One of the better solutions for small land holding is communal approach. For better utilization of farm equipment, hiring or purchase as a community instead individually would be a viable option both in terms of efficiency and economics. Contract farming with private firms for larger plots, engaging in poultry feed production will not only reduce the risk but it will boost the farm productivity as the farmer will get the benefits of advanced technologies.
Mechanization Prospectus:
To maximize the maize yield there are various operations that can be mechanized, not necessarily with the costly automatic equipment, but with improved tools and implements suited to local conditions. Some of them are listed below:
Land Preparation:
Land preparation includes ploughing, planking, FYM application and clod breaking. This practice plays significant role in establishment of any crop. In case of Maize, it consumes 31% of the total power requirement. Bullock drawn implements for land preparation are no longer efficient and may cause clod formation in heavy soils. Utilization of light weight machineries like rotary tillers would not only solve this problem but also saves the cost, time and energy with the power tiller system.
Dibbling/ Planting:
Sowing by broadcasting is still a most used method in case of maize. This method has disadvantages like improper germination due to uneven sowing depth, increased seed rate, uneven row distribution. Experiments have clearly shown that utilization of maize planter or rotary dibler can save 7-8 times the labour and 40-50 % of the cost of operation over the broadcasting method and 20-25 % higher yield was observed due to better plant germination and stand.
Weeding and Earthing up:
Newly developed wheel hand hoe can be used for efficient weeding/ intercultural operations in rows. Power weeder (self-propelled inter-cultivators) take less time compared to hand weeding. Maize crop requires at least two earthing-up operations. KisanKraft has a huge range of power weeders and attachments e.g. ridgers and ploughs for affordable mechanization of these operations.
Plant Protection:
Many kinds of sprayers, misters and dusters are available to meet the requirements of cultivators in controlling diseases and weeds. KisanKraft has a big variety of sprayers available, in all price range, from manual to battery to engine operated models of various sizes and functions. It is important to note that just like fertilizer, correct type and amount of pesticides should be applied at correct time. Depend on your field condition, different pesticides, insecticides and weedicide application maybe required at different stages of crop growth. One should also use proper safety equipment and methods to avoid chemical contact and wash oneself thoroughly after use.
Harvesting:
Harvesting of the maize crop is traditionally done by manual methods of using a plain sickle and is no longer economical due to labor shortage. KisanKraft has several small and efficient equipment available at affordable prices, to harvest and bind, which can reduce the cost of harvesting. For example, Maize single row harvester is a small effective machine that can harvest maize.
Shelling:
Compared to manual shelling, power Maize sheller can save labour cost and reduce time to take kernels to market. KisanKraft has affordable dehusker and shellers for small farmers.
