TIST
November 2021
CHEZHUMAI
Profitable trees to plant
Planting tree is good, planting profitable trees makes you good farm-based entrepreneur. Watch for the demand in the market and plant trees and practice intercrops accordingly for sustainable multiple incomes. Trees like, mango, neem, almond, teak, fig, rosewood, redsander are longstanding trees that can be planted for long term benefits. Other short rotation trees like, banana, papaya, drumstick can be planted as intercrops to get short term benefits. Banana and papaya are two fruit trees that are well-known in India and are sold in every corner of India. To get continued good income plan to plant these two trees as intercrop in your tree groves. While you work for banana or papaya trees your other longstanding trees in that grove grow automatically without your intervention, that’s an advantage to grow intercrops.
Trees and Banana can be grown together
Growing trees and banana plants together is good idea. Several small groups in Coimbatore District are practicing this method and have witnessed faster growth of trees. While you grow banana plants, make sure you follow some of the best practices regularly to get good yield from the banana plants.
Desuckering - Removal of surplus and unwanted suckers from banana plant is known as desuckering. This can be done either by cutting the sucker at the ground level or by destroying the heart of the suckers.
Propping – Tall variety of banana needs support, bamboo or casuarina poles can be used for propping.
Mulching - Mulching is useful in conserving the soil moisture for better yield.
Removal of dead leaves - Removal of dead leaves is a good practice to reduce disease spread.
Pruning of Leaves – To avoid finger tip diseases, pruning of leaves is necessary .
Bunch Covering - Cover the fruit bunches with gunny cloth or some material to protect from the fruits from
Goats are easy to raise and gives good income
1. Investment in goat rearing is very low.
2. Goat shed maintenance cost is low as these are small in size.
3. Goats reach kids birth giving stage in 10-12 months. They will give birth to kids at 16-17 months.
4. Usually, goats give birth 2 kids at a time. Three or four kids is very rare
5. Goat rearing is better than other livestock in arid lands.
6. Goats eat a variety of fodder. Fodder maintenance is low as they eat everything like bushes, agricultural crop residues and agricultural by-products.
Goat manure makes an excellent soil conditioner for tree groves and crops. It improves the soil texture, so it uses water more efficiently and allows more oxygen to reach the plants' roots. Goat manure, like all manures, offers a low-cost, natural source of nitrogen and other nutrients.