The Economic Dimension of Labour Migration Cauvery Delta Zone in Tamil Nadu, India

Majority are international migrant and interstate migrants, majority (75%) of the respondents in the age groups (21 to 40) migrated to different places like Thiruppur, Coimbatore, Chennai, Kerala and Saudi, Arabia, Dubai, Mascot, Malaysia, and Singapore. Main reasons for migration are low wages, unemployment debt due to failure in agriculture due to lack of rains, more employment opportunities in the destination place and more jobs and a handsome salary which leads to improvement of the living conditions.Such pull and push factors encourage emigration to high-income countries experiencing labour shortages. Emigration has different impacts on sending country and destination country. Low wages and rain-fed agriculture in the native place have been found the economic factors leading to migration, while poverty, poor civic amenities, leading a poor life, high aspirations and demonstration effect were social and psychological factors resulting to migration. Lesser storage of water in delta region consequent on insufficient rainfall in the catchment area does not allow the farmers to Cauvery Delta Zone. Keywords: Labor migration, Employment, income and Cauvery Delta Zone

Effect of soil and crop management practices on sodicity stress alleviation and rice productivity under water scarce condition

The prominent issue faced by the farmers of Cauvery Delta regionin Tamil Nadu particularly Tiruchirapalli District is the lack of timely release of water for rice nursery preparation and transplanting. Hence wet seeding of rice is recommended for timely cultivation. On the other hand, sodic nature of the soil warrants rice cultivation only. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the different soil and crop management practices on alleviating sodicity stress and improving rice (variety ADT 3) productivity under water-scarce conditions. The experiment was laid in a split plot design with six mainplots,including rice wet seeding, daincha (Sesbania aculeata) application as green manure, anti-oxidant microbial consortia (AOMC) spray and four sub-plots with graded levels of NPK based on soil test values with three replication. Results showed that the daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % soil test based NPK had significantly increased thechlorophyll content, SPAD values, proline content and grain and straw yields which remained on par with daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK.Significantly lower ESP at 5% level and higher phosphatase activity in soil was also recorded by daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % and 100 % soil test based NPK. Gross return, net return and B:C ratio were also higher in the plot, which received daincha incorporation @6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK. The present study reveals that the inclusion of ectophytic microbial population spray in rice plants and the management practices helps the crop to tolerate the sodicity stress under water-scarce condition by maintaining required physiological functions like proline synthesis and enzyme activities etc which need to be further explored at the genotypic level.

Influence of nitrogen application on direct seeded rice in old and new Cauvery Delta zone of Tamil Nadu, India

Direct seeded rice is a boon to farmers where the water release from the reservoir is delayed. Nitrogen fertiliser management is one of the strategies bto rectify the nutrient-related issue in Direct seeded rice. The present study aimed to optimize the nitrogen dose for direct-seeded rice in the new and old Cauvery delta zone of Tamil Nadu. Field experiments were conducted during kuruvai and samba seasons at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai and Agricultural research station Thanjavur representing old and new Cauvery delta regions during 2019-20 and 2020-21. Totally from eight experiments, the results of four field experiments in each location revealed the highest grain yield in the treatment T6 -application of 150 kg Nha-1 (5596kg/ha) which was statistically on par with treatment T5 -125kg N/ha (5326 kg/ha) in old delta and new delta. The higher grain yield was recorded in the T6 (5140 kg/ha), statistically on par with T5 (4550 kg/ha). The higher available nitrogen content of 312 kg/ ha,292 kg/ha was recorded for N application @ 150kg/ha, which was statistically on par with 309 kg/ha and 289 kg/ha, respectively, both the kuruvai and samba seasons for N application of 125 kg/ha. In the new CDZ, the same trend was followed as that of the old delta. Based on economics, N applied @125 kg/ha recorded a higher BC ratio for direct-seeded rice. For the benefit of farmers of both deltaic regions, the nitrogen application of 125 kg ha-1 for direct-seeded rice is recommended.

ESTIMATION OF POTASSIUM CONTENT OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF BANANA FRUIT IN AN INDIAN DELTA IS THERE A CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Banana fruit is one of the commonly taken foods in many parts of the world. The fruit is known for its high potassium content. We wished to study the potassium content of eleven types of ripe banana fruit available in the cauvery delta region of South India. We measured two values in each of the eleven types of banana fruit. We found the mean varied from 460.75mg/100gm in the Rasthali variety to 921.75 in the karpura valli variety. The potassium binding capacity of the soil and the fertilizers pumped may influence the values. The literature which presently describes the values between 200 to 400mg/100g cautions the use of bananas in patients taking antihypertensive medications like enalapril and in patients with renal dysfunction. Our study which shows the values to be double the described ones, will throw light on additional caution in such cases. We admit that there was no soil study in this work which can influence the potassium content. Before any dietetic advice on the intake of potassium, the bananas of the concerned geographical area and such high potassium values should be taken into account. When the needs to cater the patients of potassium arise in uncomplicated hypertension, the varieties karpuravalli and peyampalam can be considered.

Assessment of Quality of Farm Saved Paddy Seeds Collected from Cauvery Delta Region

Paddy is cultivated on a large scale in Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. Due to non-availability of adequate quantity of certified seeds at their village level most of the farmers of this region using their farm saved seeds to raise the next season crop. In order to know the quality of farm-saved paddy seeds of delta region, a total of 20 seed samples from 17 distinct varieties were collected from various villages in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu during Rural Agricultural Work Experience programme. The samples were subjected to physical and physiological seed quality parameters evaluation at Seed Science and Technology laboratory of Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Thiruchirappalli. Only 15% of samples such as Seeraga samba, Karuppukavuni and RNR 1548 alone showed 80% seed germination. The average germination percent was 50.05. Based on our observations, farmers of this region store their seeds in gunny bags without proper drying and not following any pre-storage seed treatment to protect the seeds against storage pathogens and insects. Hence, awareness should be made among the farmers of this region regarding post harvest handling and management of farm produce harvested and stored for seed purpose. The government of Tamil Nadu should educate farmers about post-harvest handling of seeds through the Department of Agriculture to increase productivity and production of our country.

Effect of seaweed extract on rice (Oryza sativa var. ADT53) productivity and soil fertility in Cauvery delta zone of Tamil Nadu, India

The monocropping of rice in the Deltaic zone deteriorates soil health and crop productivity. Seaweeds are marine resources easily available at negligible cost and also rich in bioactive compounds. A field experiment was conducted at Cauvery Delta zone of Tamil Nadu during summer season2021 to evaluate the bio-efficacy of Seaweed extract on growth, yield, and soil properties of rice, Oryza sativa var. ADT53. The experiment was framed in RBD comprising of 12 treatments viz., soil application of Seaweed extract(SWE) @ 12.5kg/ha,25kg/ha, 37.5kg/ha , foliar spraying of SWE gel & liquid @ 0.5% twice at tillering and panicle initiation stages, a combination of soil application and foliar spray and fertilizer alone. Experimental findings revealed that the soil application of SWE @ 12.5kg/ha along with a foliar spray of seaweed liquid recorded higher plant height (121.1cm),dry matter production (11390kg/ha),yield attributes viz., number of grains per panicle (166), panicle length (21.8 cm), thousand grain weight (14.7g), number of productive tillers per m2 (275), grain yield (5612 kg/ha)and straw yield (7829 kg/ha). However, The soil application of SWE @ 25kg/ha recorded higher soil available nutrients viz.,N(260 kg/ha);P(42kg/ha); K(170kg/ha);Ca(27.7meq/100g); Mg(5.5meq/100g);S(18.2mg/kg);Zn (1.17ppm); Fe (33.82ppm); Cu(1.61ppm);Mn(18.97ppm).The study will help sustain rice productivity and soil fertility in the deltaic zone of Tamil Nadu. The soil application of seaweed extract @ 12.5kg/ha along with foliar spraying (0.5% twice) could be a promising option in the rice ecosystem.

​Effect of Land Configuration and Nutrient Management Methods on Growth and Yield of Blackgram (Vigna mungo)

Background: Pulse require less water than other crops. It plays a significant role in combating soil erosion and degradation. Pulses are the main sources of dietary protein in the vegetarian diet in our country. They preserve soil fertility by biological nitrogen fixation in the soil, as well as being a rich source of protein and thus play a vital role in sustainable agriculture. In Tamil Nadu, the Cauvery Delta Zone (CDZ) has a total land area of 1.45 million ha which is equivalent to 11% of the state area and this zone is the potential zone for pulse cultivation. The cultivation of blackgram faces many problems like water logging and inadequate aeration, which affect the growth and yield in flatbed conditionsadversely. Further the major causes of poor productivity and soil fertility are imbalanced application of nutrients. Hence there is a need to evaluate the appropriate land configuration and nutrient management methods. Methods: The field experiment was performed at Soil and Water Management Research Institute, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, during the summer seasons of 2018 and 2019 in split plot design with four replications. In main plot three land configuration methods viz., broadcasting seeds and forming ridges (30 cm width), broad bed (100 cm width), flatbed and in sub plot three nutrient management methods viz., control (S1), recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) (S2), RDF+biofertilizers (S3) in a plot size of 40 m2. In all the land configuration methods 30 cm row spacing is adopted. Line sowing is followed in broad bed (M2) and flat bed method (M3). In broadcasting seeds and forming ridges (M1) the seeds will be broadcasted after land preparation and ridges (30 cm) will be formed with ridge former. Uniform seed rate is adopted in all the methods. Result: Sowing of blackgram in broad beds along with 100% RDF + biofertilizers was found to be superior over flat bed and broadcasting seeds and forming ridges by producing higher grain yield and B:C ratio and achieved the higher productivity and profitability.

Response of chilli to drip irrigation on sandy clay loam soil under Madukkur soil series (Typic ustropept) in cauvery New Delta Zone

In Tamil Nadu, one of the most important agro-climatic zone dictating the total rice production is by Cauvery Delta zone. In Cauvery Delta zone the area under rice cultivation has been reduced drastically and this situation forms the base for a paradigm shift from rice cultivation to alternate crops that requires less amount of irrigation water. Suitable alternate cropping pattern plays an important role in improving the purchasing power of farmer with the help of inclusion of commercial crops in rice based cropping system. Chilli is an important spice cum vegetable crop cultivated extensively in India. This project is indented to study the fertigation system in one of promising alternate crops in chillies in rice ecosystem. By keeping all these points in view, the present investigation was undertaken to study the response of chilli to drip irrigation on sandy clay loam soil under Madukkur soil series (Typic Ustropept) in cauvery new delta zone. Field experiment was conducted at Soil and Water Management Research Institute, Kattuthottam, Thanjavur financially supported by Department of Science and Technology under SERB programme with a budget outlay of Rs. 13.0 lakhs for three years during 2012-2015 in strip plot design with four replications. The results revealed that Sub surface drip fertigation at 10 cm depth recorded the maximum plant height, number of branches, number of flowers and number of fruits at B2 irrigation regime (IW/CPE = 0.75). Total green chillies yield was higher under sub surface drip fertigation @ 10 cm depth at IW/CPE=1 (15.59 t ha-1) followed by surface drip fertigation at IW/CPE = 0.75 (13.50 t ha-1) and sub surface drip fertigation @ 10 cm depth at IW/CPE = 0.75 (11.17 t ha-1).Thus, introduction of chillies as an alternate crop under sub surface drip fertigation @ 10 cm depth technology during January under Broad bed furrow method of cultivation paves the way for improving the social security to the rice farmers.