Smart Agronomy of Ginger Production through Palash Leaves Organic Mulching under Changing Climate

Abstract

The field experiment was laidout during two consecutive years of 2009-10 and 2010-11 at Badaura village of Babina block, Jhansi district in catchments area of river Betawa. The study was made under “Farmers Participatory Action Research Programme  on Water/ Rain Water Harvesting” (Scheme of Ministry of Water Resources, New Delhi) for carrying out the research programme on important technologies of water harvesting. The pilot area located on coarse Rakar soil having low status of plant nutrients. Three treatments i.e. conventional system, Palash leaves for green manuring and mulching and mulching with farm yard manure were tested. The highest yield of ginger was found under Palash leaves for green manuring and mulching by 288.00 q/ha, which was higher 86.00 q/ha or 42.60% in comparison to conventional system of ginger cultivation. Similarly, mulching with thin layer of FYM gave ginger yield as 261.00 q/ha, which was also higher 59.00 q/ha or 29.20 % than the conventional system. The farmers practice or conventional system produced lowest yield of ginger by 202.00 q/ha in comparison to other two tested treatments. The Palash leaves for green manuring and mulching displayed the highest gross return Rs. 720000/ha, and net return Rs. 605085/ha, followed by mulching with thin layer of FYM as gross return Rs. 6,52,500/ha and net return Rs. 5,49,785/ha. Palash leaves for green manuring and mulching and mulching with thin layer of FYM increased net income of farmers upto 1.50 fold and 1.36 fold, respectively, in comparison to farmers practice.