SANF- An Overview Of Perennial Crop Cultivation

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian village and is the major contributor to the Indian GDP. Still, the state of our Indian farmers shows a different picture altogether. It’s not hunky-dory as it is supposed to be in light of India being an agriculture-based economy. It has been a while now that farming in India has been blighted by drought, small plot sizes, declining productivity, a depleting water table, among others. Crop failure (due to too much rainfall or drought) is what has led to the condition that our farmers are in today. The government sets prices for farming in India and procures crops from farmers to incentivize production and ensure income support, but it is mostly seen that the farmers get paid much less than the fixed price, so the income of the farmers is either marginal or of no profit or loss.

It’s time now to uplift our farmers and empower them to become stable so that they no longer tell their children to move out of agriculture (which is the case these days) due to the tough times they have seen. SANF GREENMENS PVT LTD is not oblivious to the plight of the people who work tirelessly to grow food to feed the entire nation. We are always striving hard to bring in a progressive evolution in the field of agriculture. We can do the damage control by following these measures:

1. Increasing forest cover by promoting afforestation and protection of the natural environment
2. Reducing the exploitation of natural resources
3. Following natural methods than chemical substitute
4. Limiting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
5. Protecting terrestrial resources and minimizing human-generated disasters
6. Conserving groundwater by doing rainwater harvesting
7. Most importantly, producing nutritious food that would be sufficient for all

It’s high time farmers adopted natural farming techniques to overcome the problems that have been plaguing them for decades now. Not much effort is required to get started with natural farming. Hybrid seeds are not needed, chemical fertilizers not needed, tractors not needed, no need of chemical pesticides, no need of any chemical for weeds, no need to give flood irrigation, last, but not the least no need for any market techniques for natural crop cultivation. Just what is needed is farmers should get reasonable prices for their products, their products should be obtained without any hassle and the money should be transferred to their respective bank accounts right away.

Cultivating perennial crops:

Perennial crops (MELIA DUBIA, WHITE SANDALWOOD, COCONUT, BAMBOO, MANGO ETC)are crops that don’t need to be replanted every year, unlike annual crops, and they are mostly valued for a combination of their total production and the quality of the harvested products. Some of the benefits of perennial crops include

Reduced Soil Erosion- Topsoil erosion due to wind and rainfall/irrigation is drastically reduced as plant materials, including crowns, stems, etc. remain in place year-round.

Annual Cultivation Not Required- When you are cultivating a perennial crop, there’s no need for plowing under the stubble of previous crops and planting new seed annually, which saves energy and labor costs for grain producers.

Reduced Need for Pesticides and Herbicides- With perennial crops, the soil isn’t left exposed between crop rotations of annual grains, thus giving no chance to weeds to gain a foothold in the empty land, and hence the use of chemical treatments before planting successive annual crops doesn’t even arise only, in turn saving the farmers the expense of buying and applying pesticides and herbicides. Also, perennials take up nutrients more efficiently as a result of their extensive root systems that reduce the number of nutrients that need to be supplemented, therefore lowering production costs.

Water-use Efficiency- These crops can hold onto soil moisture more efficiently while filtering pollutants traveling to the groundwater sources due to their extensive root systems (deeper and more fibrously-rooted) in comparison to annual crops.

If you are thinking about planting a perennial crop, you can choose from among Bamboo, White Sandalwood and Melia Dubia (Malabar Neem) Etc., but our personal suggestion is Melia Dubia, it is the best perennial crop out of the lot because it the best host, you can grow any crop in Melia Dubia project as an intercrop, it helps other crops by increasing nitrogen content in the soil, secretes carbon, helps other roots in getting water, air, thus leading to the swift growth of the plant. Investing in a Melia Dubia plantation of your own at your farm will absolutely be bang for your buck!

The main characteristics of Melia Dubia include:

1. It is a softwood,
2. Melia Dubia Wood is termite-proof,
3. Melia Dubia Wood is water-resistant,
4. Melia Dubia characteristics are 80 percent equivalent to teak wood in terms of texture,
5. Melia Dubia grows quickly and can be sold in just 4-6 years (for paper and pulp industry), it can be harvested in 8-10 years if it’s being used for plywood.

Cultivation Practices of Melia Dubia:

Melia Dubia Planting Distance

1. When it comes to planting Melia Dubia plants in one acre, divide the number of sq.ft. in an acre, 43560, by the number of square feet allotted to each tree. Let’s say if you were to allow each tree 225 sq.ft. the number of trees per acre would be 193. Border plants per acre are 72-75 depending on the land structure.
2. Most of the Melia Dubia farmers have expressed spacing of “15 feet by 15 feet” to be ideal as better girth (diameter) is attained in shorter duration, though spacing varied with individual land holding, type of intercropping, availability of water and need of the farmer. Below 12 feet spacing among plants reduces weight and girth.
3. The majority of small landholders and horticulturists have adopted plantation of border plantation of Melia Dubia trees.

Intercropping and Mixed Cropping in Melia Dubia Farming

Near about every kind of fruit and vegetable can be grown as an intercrop in Melia Dubia plantation, starting from ash gourd, brinjal (eggplant), drumstick, ginger, papaya, turmeric, to mango, coconut, sugarcane, red gram, pomegranate, marigold. It’s also advisable that you maintain livestock, such as poultry, sheep, cow, goat, pig, rabbit, fish, etc. as livestock-based integrated farming systems can be instrumental in improving the livelihood of small and marginal farmers.

Melia Dubia Plantation and Irrigation Maintenance

1. Two inches bore-water with the help of flood irrigation can cultivate up to 5 acres of Melia Dubia plantation.
2. Two inches bore-water with the help of drip irrigation can cultivate 10 acres of Melia Dubia plantation.
3. Remember, proper watering is the key to Melia Dubia plantation in the initial stage. In Melia Dubia plantation in black soils, in the first year, you are required to give 10-20 liters for every 7 days of watering. In the second year, give 50 liters for every 7 days watering.
4. In Melia Dubia plantation in red soils, give 10-20 liters for every 3-4 days watering in the first year. In the second year, give 50 liters for every 3 days watering.
5. Do not water the trees in any kind of soil from second-year till you harvest during the winter season, as they go to sleep mode.
6. In Melia Dubia plantation, give 80 -100 liters of water to the trees in any kind of soil from third-year till the fifth year during the summer season.
7. Avoid water logging during the rainy season and prevent rainwater to stagnate around the seedlings.
8. In Melia Dubia plantation, trees respond well to irrigation once in every 4-5 days in red soils and 7-10 days in black soils during the non-rainy season.
9. It is advisable that you do not water the trees in the 7^th and 8^th year, leave the trees for hardening.

SANF GREENMENS PVT LTD will connect you with the top drip irrigation companies for your Melia Dubia project.

Malabar Neem Wood Uses

You can use the trees for timber after 10-12 years. Early harvesting is done based on the requirements of the farmers and wood industries.

1. Agricultural tools can be made with the help of Melia Dubia wood properties. Four-year-old trees can be used for that.
2. Melia Dubia wood trees can be used for afforestation purposes.
3. Boats can be made with the help of Melia Dubia wood properties, ten-year-old trees can be used.
4. Cigar boxes can be made.
5. 4 or 6-year-old trees can be used for the manufacturing of ceiling planks.
6. Melia Dubia wood veneers from this timber are strong and firm.
7. Melia Dubia wood is suitable in the pulpwood and paper industry.
8. 4-5-year-old trees can be used in packing cases. There’s a huge market for the product in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
9. Melia Dubia Wood trees are also planted as ornamental.
10. The wood is suitable for making musical instruments.
11. Lightweight furniture can be made with 8-10-year-old trees, with high market demand across the country.
12. Wood can also be used for the preparation of silkworm stands, for the preparation of silk reeling equipment.
13. Matured leaves are harvested during summer months (March to June) as a feed for cattle.

As you can see, Melia Dubia wood uses are endless with huge market demand for each of the products and a dearth of supply at the same time. The benefits of Melia Dubia plantation are second to none. For every detail regarding plantation of this crop, look no further than SANF.

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# Melia Dubia cultivation

# Melia Dubia Plantation

# Malabar neem wood

# Intercropping in Melia Dubia farming