Organic Farming: Farm Structures, Tillage Types, And Land Preparation

Farm Structures

Farm structures are an important component of organic farms. These structures are used for varied purposes. The location of structures at the farm should be at convenient and appropriate places. Now, we shall describe some of the important farm structures in detail.

• Cattle Shed

This is one of the important structures of a farm. As we know, organic farming depends largely on plant and animal origin inputs. The cattle rearing at the farm is an important activity of an organic farm. The site for the cattle shed should be at a higher elevation. The cattle shed should provide a comfortable and hygienic condition to keep the cattle healthy and free of diseases. The cattle shed should be located closer to the compost yard which reduces the drudgery in transportation of agro wastes for composting.

The floor of the cattle shed should have slope towards the dung channel to provide satisfactory drainage and also to facilitate collection of urine. The cattle shed should be preferably oriented in east to west direction to have proper ventilation. Neem or Peepal or Pongamia trees may be raised around the cattle shed.

• Storehouse

A storehouse should be maintained to stock the farm implements and the produce after harvest. The storehouse should be at least half a meter above the farm level. It should have a projection of 0.5 m height to protect the grains from rats and other rodents. The storehouse should be damp proof. The windows and doors should be lined by fine wire mesh.

• Farm Office

To monitor the daily activities at the farm, keeping the official records and other farm documents, a place at the farm should be maintained as office. A room of 5m x 5m should be constructed near the storehouse. The records are required for inspection by the certifying agencies while conducting the inspection for the certification of the organic farm.

The farm records are essential to document all financial transactions and earnings of the farm and are useful for studying the farm business and also for planning improvements. They also indicate the financial condition of the farmer and his financial progress from year to year for preparing a sound farm planning and resource utilization.

Types Of Farm Records

1. 1. Cash Receipts and Cash Expenses.
   2. Production Records.
   3. Feed Records/Input Records.
   4. Labor Records.
   5. Record of Farm Produce Used in the House.
   6. Miscellaneous Farm Records.
   7. Single or Double Entry Account.
   8. Cash Records.
   9. Cost of Production Records.
   10. Record Forms for Income Tax Purposes.

 

Types Of Tillage

There are four kinds of tillage operations for preparing the seed-beds [1] Conventional Tillage [2] Minimum Tillage [3] No-Tillage [4] Conservation Tillage.

• Conventional Tillage

It includes all the primary and secondary tillage operations. In this system of tillage, the field is ploughed many times using machines or bullocks. Continuous use of heavy ploughs causes the development of hard-pan in the subsoil. The hardpan renders poor infiltration in the soil. The soil becomes more susceptible to run-off and erosion. However, most of the farmers have the tendency to have a fine seedbed by ploughing frequently. But now farmers are realizing that conventional tillage is consuming a lot of energy and also posing several problems.

• Minimum Tillage

It is a method of land preparation in which the number of tillage operations is considerably less than those in the conventional tillage system. The advantages of the minimum tillage over conventional tillage are reduced cost and time of field preparation, less soil compaction, no destruction of soil structure, minimal water loss through run-off and erosion, increased water storage in the plough layer.

• No/Zero Tillage

This is a practice of sowing the succeeding crop without any field preparation after the harvest of the preceding crop. The soil is given herbicides to kill the weeds and then with the help of a Zero seed drill, the crop [ for example wheat after rice ] is sown directly in the field. Zero tillage reduces the labor and power consumption in crop production. It reduces soil erosion. The no tillage is effective in cultivating soils on slopes that are otherwise prone to erosion. No tillage methods are suitable in soils with good natural drainage. This is applicable to soils with a coarse textured surface horizon, good internal drainage, and high biological activity of soil fauna, favorable initial soil structure and an adequate quantity of crop residue mulch. Build up of perennial weed is the greater problem under this system of tillage.

• Conservation Tillage

In conservation tillage, crops are grown with minimal cultivation of the soil. When the amount of tillage is reduced, the stubble or plant residues are not completely incorporated and most or all remain on top of the soil rather than being ploughed or disked into the soil. The new crop is planted into this stubble or small strips of tilled soil. Weeds are controlled with cover crops rather than by cultivation. The tillage system that reduces loss of soil or water compared to conventional tillage is called conservation tillage. The characteristics of a conservative tillage system are the presence of crop residue mulch, effective conservation of soil and water, improvement of soil structure, higher organic matter content and maintenance of the high level of productivity.

 

Land Preparation

We know, tillage is the fundamental concept used in agriculture to denote manipulation or stirring of the soil with tools and implements for loosening the surface crust and to bring favorable conditions for germination of the seeds and growth of crop plants. The tillage carried out before sowing is called primary tillage or land preparation. The soil condition resulting from tillage is called tilth. Good soil tilth provides a congenial environment for seed germination and crop growth.

Different implements are used one after another in a series to build up the soil tilth. The plough is used to open up the soil and leave the land in a cloddy condition. The cultivators break down the clods; the harrows break down the small clods further by combing the land; the rollers are used to compact the seed-bed.

• Implements Used For Land Preparation

As stated above, land preparation is also called primary tillage. Mainly plough, harrows, rotavator, rollers and planks are used for the land preparation.

• Factors Influencing Land Preparation

The land preparation is influenced by several factors like the crops to be grown, soil types and the type of farming and the available resources with the farmer. The crop determines the type and extent of land preparation. Hardy crops like millets do not require fine tilth, delicate crops like tobacco and chili require a fine tilth and the land has to be worked properly. The crops like Sugarcane and tuber crops require deep cultivation and for such crops, disc plough and spades are often used to loosen the soil to the required depth.

The heavy clayey soils can be worked only within a narrow range of moisture and it requires more draught. Once the soil is broken down to small clods, further operations are done easily. The lighter soils can be worked under a wide range of moisture conditions with less draught. Loamy soils are easily brought to proper tilth with very little effort.

With high intensity cropping land requires frequent land preparation, whereas the dry lands [often with a single crop] require limited operations for the land preparation.

• Summer Ploughing

Summer ploughing brings the soil to favorable conditions for cultivation during ensuing crop season. The land should be ploughed at least four to five times. It is very useful for the conservation of rainwater. Summer ploughing makes the soil surface more permeable and facilitates water absorption. Through Summer ploughing we also manage weed and pest population. Due to exposure to intense heat during summer, the pathogens and weed seeds get inactivated. The insect eggs and larvae also get killed.

• Wetland Preparation

Rice is grown in wetlands with 5 to 10 cm of standing water in the field throughout the life of the crop. The land preparation aims at suspending the soil particles in water and also to create an impermeable substratum for arresting the downward movement of water. This is called puddling. The flooded lands are worked with wooden ploughs. Green biomass available are then spread over the field and trampled in. Water is kept standing in the field and the green biomass is allowed to decompose for a week or two. Then, the field is ploughed twice or thrice and levelled using a levelling board to hold water uniformly all over the field. Thereafter, rice seedlings are planted in the field.

Let Us Describe The Characteristics Of Some Of The Important Implements Which Are Common For Preparing The Wetlands:

• Wetland Puddler is a very useful, economic and labor saving implement for producing fine puddling wetlands for paddy cultivation. This implement consists of three angular bladed cast iron hubs rigidly fixed to a hollow horizontal pipe and is rotated when dragged by a pair of bullocks. This implement is also useful for trampling green matter in the puddled field. When used for trampling, the vegetative matter is cut and buried in the soil. An area of 0.8 ha can be worked in a day.

 

• Helical Bladed Puddler is a bullock-drawn implement used for puddling the soil in the wetland. Five numbers of helical blades made of mild steel are fixed in skewed shape and mounted on a wooden frame having a wooden bearing such that the blades can rotate freely. A handle and pole shaft is provided. Due to the helical shape of the blade, there will be continuous contact between the blades and the soil which gives a uniform load on the neck of the bullocks. After ploughing the land with a country plough, the implement can be used to puddle the soil which operates at a depth of 8 to 10 cm. The helical geometry facilitates better churning and slicing of the soil as required for puddling purposes. The coverage of this puddler is 0.6 ha per day.

 

• Sheep Foot Roller is a bullock-drawn implement, used to arrest deep percolation losses of water in wetland after puddling. Truncated conical frustums are fixed on the surface of the drum, which can freely rotate on wooden bearings fitted on a wooden frame. A handle and a pole shaft are attached to the frame. This implement in the puddled soil helps reduce percolation loss of water by 1 to 21%. This is done by the compaction of the hollow drum. It covers an area of 1.0 ha per day.