Horti-Business Management

Irrigated upland farming system

• A study was taken up by integrating crop, dairy, biogas, spawn and mushroom production, silk warm rearing, mulberry cultivation, apiary and homestead garden under irrigated upland conditions in an area of one hectare. The dairy unit consists of 3 milch animals. They were maintained in such a way that two cows are in milking throughout the year. By keeping three animals, a net income of Rs.29,225/year could be achieved. The dung collected from 3 animals is sufficient to generate 2m3 of biogas everyday. This could meet the fuel requirement of farm family apart from the preparation of gruel to the dairy unit, lighting two lamps in the farm house and for the boiling and cooking activities of mushroom and spawn production.
  
• The economic produces and the by-products of crop activity viz., maize grain, sorghum grain, cotton seed secured through ginning of kapas, cake obtained after extraction of oil from sunflower and groundnut seed, soybean etc will be utilized for the preparation of concentrate for dairy animals. Thus the cost of concentrate could be reduced to the level of 35 per cent of the value of commercial products available in the market. Similarly, sorghum grain, maize sheath and straw from the crop activity and biogas from the biogas unit etc could be utilized for the production of spawn and to cultivate edible mushroom at cheaper rate.
  
• The sericulture activity can also be linked along with other enterprises contemplated for irrigated upland situation. The leftout bits of mulberry after feeding silkworm along with feacal matter of the worms could be an excellent supplement for the biogas unit. The left out after reeling the silk yarn is rich in protein and this could be a good supplement for poultry feed, fish and pigeon feed. It can also be mixed with dairy concentrate.