In India, Dairy farming is one of the best and profitable business which
provides the rural employment. When it comes to buffalo population, India has
55% of world buffalo population. As population growing day by day, it is
essential to bring the best quality put from dairy farming. Usually buffaloes
have multiple advantages when compared to cross-bred cows. As milk production
is generating huge profits, even educated individuals along with other firms
are getting into this business. Murrah buffalo is the most preferred choice of
many dairy farmers in Indian dairy farm business. Murrah breed is also known as
“Delhi”, “Kundi” and “Kali”. Pure-bred Murrah buffaloes are found in Punjab,
Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Jind district of Haryana and Delhi and Western Uttar
Pradesh. The Murrah buffalo is good milk producer. The bulls of Murrah are
extensively used to upgrade the non-descript buffalo stock. Murrah buffaloes
are originated in India and distributed in Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, China,
Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Viet Nam and Venezuela. More information Read here.
Wood Apple is one of the
edible fruits native to India and parts of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
southeast Asia east to Java. These fruits are grown throughout India and can be
cultivated along both peninsulas of the country. These plants can survive in dry regions with
minimum water requirement. Wood apple has excellent health benefits along with
some religious use. Most of the people grow as side crop by planting on
borders. Wood apple is not cultivated as commercial crop in India. However,
Maharashtra grows some of the larger, sweeter varieties on large scale.
Currently, wood apple is also grown in Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and other
parts of Southeast Asia. Farmers in dry regions with less rainfall can opt for
this crop. Wood apple belongs to genus of "Limonia" in the family
"Rutaceae". When it comes to its plant and fruit description, wood
apple or Limonia acidissima is a large tree with long leaves, a hard berry
fruit and an inner sticky brown pulp. The wood apple fruit is
round to oval, 5-12 cm wide, with a hard, woody, grayish-white, scurfy rind
about 6 mm thick. These trees can be grown in any waste lands or back yards. In
south India, this fruit has significant religious importance in Ganesh chaturthi. Read more about this fruit growing here.
Sandalwood is one of the materials being used from centuries and this
tree is ever green and reaches up to 13
to 16 meter height with girth of 100 cm to 200 cm and is variable in habit,
usually upright to sprawling. It has cultural importance and commercial/medicinal
uses as well. In India, it is also being called as “Chandan” and “Srigandha”.
Due to restrictions of growing sandalwood in many states in India, the demand
for sandalwood is very high. However, some states in India have lifted the ban
on growing sandalwood. Contact your forest/agriculture/horticulture departments
for legality of growing the sandalwood in your region. Sandalwood has special
place in Indian tradition where it is being used from cradle to cremation. Read more here.
Isabgol is also known as
ispaghula or psyllium. Psyllium seed husks are portions of the seeds of the
plant Isabgol (Plantago ovata). Isabgol is a short-stemmed medicinal annual
herb that grows up to a height of 35 to 40 cm. Isabgol (Plantago ovate forsk)
is mainly grown for its seeds. India is top producer of these seeds and Isabgol
husk. Isabgol is commercially important Rabi season medicinal crop grown in
India. Apart from its husk (The seed coat is known as “husk”) medicinal
properties, it is also being used in food industry especially in ice creams,
biscuits and candies. This crop is commercially cultivated mainly in the states
of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Isabgol can be used in the
form of Psyllium Husk, Seed, Ripe Seeds, and Powder. Isabgol is distributed in
India, West Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Persia, Mexico, and Mediterranean
Regions. For more info click here.
Lettuce is one of the salad
crops grown commercially across the world. Lettuce was grown for centuries and
was originated in Asia continent. The demand for salad crops are increasing day
by day due to their diet value and medicinal values. In India, it is yet to
gain significance in terms of commercial crop cultivation. Lettuce is a leafy
vegetable which can be consumed raw. Among all the lettuce varieties, Romaine
lettuce variety is famous for its nutrition values. Lettuce is mainly used in
food items like wraps, sandwiches apart from using as leafy vegetable. China is
top producer of lettuce in the world. Lettuce plant leaves are mainly in the
green and red colour spectrums. Lettuce produces smooth, radical, spirally arranged
leaves. There are other improved varieties whose colours are available in
yellow, gold or blue leaves. When it comes to shape, they have a wide range of
shapes and texture from dense head to iceberg type. Lettuce plants can be
spread about 15 to 30 cm. Lettuce can be grown in greenhouse, polyhouse and
even hydroponically. Read more about lettuce growing here.
Cocoa is also called as "cacao" (derives from the Spanish word
cacao) and this is mainly grown for its bean from which cocoa solids and cocoa
butter are extracted. Cocoa beans are
mainly used in the production of chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter
whereas cocoa butter is also used in the cosmetic industry. Cocoa is an
important commercial bean crop from humid tropics. In India, this crop is grown
as mixed crop in suitable regions. Kerala state of south India tops the
production of cocoa beans in Indian continent. Ivory Coast is top producer of
cocoa beans in the world. Usually, cocoa is grown as mixed crop in areca-nut,
coconut and oil palm gardens. The cocoa bean plant is a native to Amazon basin
and tropical regions of South America and Central America. Commercial
cultivation of cocoa beans is very much successful due to its demand in local and international markets. One
can expect decent profits in cocoa bean farming with proper orchard management
practices. The botanical name or scientific name of cocoa tree is “Theobroma
cacao. L.”. Cocoa tree belongs to the genus of” Theobroma”. In India, cocoa
plantation is usually seen in the state of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Cocoa beans are cultivated in smaller extents in some states only when compared
to other countries Read more about the crop here.
Hydroponics Green Fodder Guide:
Green fodder is one of the
important inputs and plays major role in feed of milch animals. Green fodder
provides required nutrients/mineral for milk production and health of the dairy
animals or livestock. Control
of feed cost in dairy animals impacts the profits and result in successful
dairy farming. Generally, in most of Indian states, the feed cost is about 70
to 75% of total milk cost where in green fodder contributes 30 to 35% of total
input feed. In
India, rapid urbanisation and mining areas has caused shrinkage of grazing
areas and availability of lands that produces green fodder. This situation
caused the dairy owners to look for alternative and sustainable method of quality
green fodder production. Due
to high labour costs, non-availability of irrigated lands and high land prices
made the dairy business to face many challenges to meet the growing milk demand
in the country. It
is very clear that with increasing costs and depleting natural resources, sustainable
technology like 'Hydroponics' would be the key driver of the dairy industry
future. Using hydroponic technology to produce the quality green fodder would
be a revolutionary step in country’s green fodder production. Having limited
irrigation facility is also forces to implement the hydroponic technology in
production of green fodder. Greenhouse / Polyhouse would be the right choice
for implementing the hydroponic technology. Many states in India are providing
subsidies on building polyhouse and greenhouses. One can avail these subsidies
on greenhouse or polyhouse to implement the hydroponic technology in production
of quality green fodder. Hydroponically grown fodder can be fed to sheep, goat,
cattle and other livestock animals. Read more here.
