Here is some good news for patients suffering from joint pains, heart-related ailments and other chronic diseases. There is no need to run around hospitals if medicinal rice is consumed, says Panchakarla Vishnuvardhan Rao.

A farmer and Gopala Mithra member, Mr. Rao, is raising ‘medicinal varieties of paddy’ in the village in Krishna district. People are prone to diseases due to consumption of foodgrains that lack these values, said the farmer, who completed BZC in National College, at Machilipatnam.

Many people in their youth suffer from chronic diseases and take injections and gulp pills. The farmer’s idea is to give medicines along with food grains and keep the people away from diseases, Mr. Vishnuvardhan Rao told The Hindu.

In the ‘Navarai’ variety he has raised he claims it is good for gastro and knee patients, Dodda Beer Nallu is good for anaemic patients and adolescent girls, Rami Gali has high protein-content, Rohas Panjar and Kadam are other medicinal varieties of paddy.

“Farmers are cultivating medicinal paddy in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which is good for pregnant women and patients suffering with other diseases. Medicinal crop varieties are not suitable for growing in saline soil and research should be done to cultivate the varieties in coastal areas”, said Mr. Vishnuvardhan.

Adopted from USA

He took the sample grains from a researcher, Sabarmatee, in Pasadena University, California in the US. She was raising 370 varieties of foodgrains in two acres in Orissa, as part of investigations.

The duration of the crop was 135 days and medicinal paddy contains high B Complex value and disease-resistance capability, he added.

It is better, if the crop is raised by using ‘go mutram’ (cow urine) and dung, said the farmer.

“My wife, Susheela, is encouraging me in raising different varieties of paddy. I allotted some land for cultivating medicinal varieties in my five and half acre paddy fields.

Farmers can give relief to the patients, if medicinal paddy is cultivated” Mr. Vishnuvardhan Rao opined.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Rajulapudi Srinivas / Arisepalli (Krishna Dist), May 12th, 2013

Two scientists of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University Research Station (ARS) here have developed two paddy seed varieties, MCM 100 and MCM 101, which can grow in saline soil. The 12-year research of the experts in developing these seed varieties has revived the hopes of farmers having saline soils.

In 2011, the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, tagged MCM-101, a rabi season seed, as the second best variety among the 33 paddy seed varieties developed by the other scientists in India, ARS Principal Scientist T. Anuradha told The Hindu. As a part of testing for the second consecutive year, the seed with 125-day duration (MCM-101 variety) was sown in five locations in Andhra Pradesh in saline fields.

“We noticed that the fine quality variety withstood the ‘blast’ disease and reported better quality yield than MTU-1010, a leading rabi seed variety in Andhra Pradesh”, said Ms. Anuradha. The kharif seed MCM-100 was tested in ten locations including West Godavari, Krishna and East Godavari, in 2012 kharif. When compared with the leading MTU kharif variety seed, the MCM-100 yield was five per cent higher.

“About 6,075 kg yield per hectare was recorded from this variety as against 5,850 kg for MTU variety. The average yield of our seed in all the ten locations was 5,539 kg as against 5,269 kg of MTU,” said Ms. Anuradha. The crop duration was 140-145 days.

“The response from the farmers, who are growing and have tested the mini kits of the seed, is the real certification for our work and a Himalayan achievement,” said scientist K. Nagendra Rao, another scientist in the research on ‘Development of Saline-Tolerant Rice Varieties for Coastal Andhra Pradesh.’

The MCM-100 and 101 seed varieties are exclusive seeds that were developed for saline soil, which is plentiful in the State and is not suitable for existing paddy varieties.

“The scientists aimed at developing seeds meant for saline soils, but these two varieties will also give yield much higher than present leading varieties – MTU 1061 and BPT 5201 – if farmers grow in normal soils,” claims the scientist duo.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam (A.P.) – May 10th, 2013

Hyderabad :

Urban agriculture is the new culture that is catching up in the city. More than 4000 households in the outskirts of the city currently are self reliant for the vegetable needs of the family. This time Horticulture department for a change is giving subsidy directly to the citizens instead of farmers who want to grow of complete nutrients set of vegetables.

Officials say according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates, by 2050, global food demand will grow by 70 per cent to cater to the needs of the global population of 9.3 billion. As the natural resource to feed this population is going to be difficult task urban agriculture is seen as big solution to the problem.

Speaking to TOI horticulture department director K Devamuni Reddy said that the initiative as part of urban farming is met with good response since it was initiated two months back. “We give the citizens who are ready to grow a cluster of vegetables at their home a subsidy of Rs 360 and they have to spend another Rs 1200 from their pockets” he added.

This subsidy kit involves four silatin round beds, red earth, farmyard manures, 14 bags and other essential things to grow a garden at home. Officials said though the citizens have to spend additional Rs 400 to 500 for transporting ,response has been more than good. Mostly people in Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, LB nagar, Vanastalipuram who have own houses have shown good interest with more than 4000 subsidy kits being distributed so far. Officials plan to increase this number to another 1000 in next few months.

The growers will be able to get Ladies finger, Tomato, Brinjal, Pallak, coriander, Amarathis, Ridge guard, Bottle guard, Beans, cucumber, and Cluster beans. The subsidised kit will have the required seeds and the kit will be sufficient for two seasons to grow. “The programme is designed in a way that Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) recommendation for nutritional needs are fulfilled. With each kit there would be a yield of 450 KG yield which would be covered in a span for three to four months” K Devamuni Reddy said. It would cover nearly one hand half KGs a day for a family of four members.

Official sources said that in Hyderabad, it was found that households that produce vegetables saved 20 per cent of their total food expenditures by retaining part of the produce for household consumption. “I find this programme interesting because we can get the guidance from them directly. Costs can be brought down too” V Venkatalakshmi of LB Nagar said. Soon the officials are planning to do visits of as many as households possible and monitor their practices.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Vegetables / by Sribaala Vadlapatla, TNN / May 04th, 2013

National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has sanctioned Asian Seabass seed production unit — the first in Andhra Pradesh — in Krishna District. With brackish water aquaculture activity gaining ground in the district, demand for huge quantity of Asian Seabass (Lates Calcarifer) species has also gone up.

Brackish water aquaculture is taken up in more than 5,000 acres across the district, but the farmers depend only on Seabass seed provided by Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA), Tamil Nadu. The CIBA officials said that the variety survives in freshwater aquaculture ponds also, hence very popular.

The yield of Asian Seabass is much higher compared to other species. This led to the demand increasing manifold. Getting entire requirement from Tamil Nadu is turning out to be a Herculean task.

Many farmers had to withdraw their plan of growing the variety due to non-availability of seed in the district. “The NFDB has sanctioned a seed production unit worth Rs.72 lakh, which is proposed at Urlagonditippa village. It will be set up by T. Sankara Rao, a farmer,” Fisheries Deputy Director T. Kalyanam told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – May 05th, 2013

Farmers having a land-holding of not less than four-acres are largely dependent on traditional ‘Purri (granary)’ method of storing foodgrains, arguably free from rot and rain affect.

Gone are the days in Krishna district where farmers had to depend on middlemen for selling crop, as they had no godown space to store the produce till it fetched remunerative price. In this traditional farmers’ technology, two-lines of large rope made of spliced hay is tied surrounding a mud-clad space created with gunny bags and the soil for basement.

While constructing the hay rope granary, some farmers use gunny bags to create necessary space, which is simultaneously filled by pouring grains, others make a tight rope tied around a mud wall. “The granary set up in open space would never absorb rainwater and grains are safe from any weather condition” said a woman farmer and entrepreneur M. Vijaya Lakshmi from Kuchipudi.

“It’s a method in which rotting of grains is never reported and even mice cannot gain entry due to its thickness and strength,” added Vijaya Lakshmi, who built 120-bag capacity granary outside her residence by spending Rs.1,500 for labour charges. The strength of the granary depends on how much hay is used in the making of the rope. Irrespective of height or width, each granary serves the purpose for two-years to store grains.

This kind of granary is largely being used to store paddy and blackgram in Krishna district. Unprecedented number of hay granaries welcome the visitor in the villages which are far from mandal headquarters, and which are plagued by poor transportation facilities. Even in Diviseema and Kuchipudi areas village elders said that the farmers in Krishna district used to store grain underground till 1980s.

While small farmers prefer the method of storing grains for their domestic needs, middle and big farmers construct it in business interest, and store the produce till price in market goes up. “This age-old rural technology is a boon for people like me as I have no space inside the house to store the produce,” said Peketi Seetarami Reddy of Kaja village in Movva.

Mr. Reddy, tenant farmer in 23 acres, also buys paddy from his fellow farmers at low prices and stores it for better marketing prices in his 150-bags capacity hay granary. Expert in making hay granary construction, 55-year-old K. Seetaramayya of Arisepalli is happy that the work keeps him busy every January and brings numerous orders. He reveals that he too set up a granary, storing barely 15-bags of paddy for domestic grain storage.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam, April 27th, 2013