Rise with Krish-e: Tailoring crop nutrition to fight weeds
Increasing crop productivity in an environmental -friendly way in context to food security for increasing population is one of the major challenge being faced around the world by Agriculture Scientists and Farmers. Nutrient management and aggressive weed control are two critical objectives farmers have to deal with.
What are weeds and nutrients?
Weeds are more than just unwanted plants in a field. We all know Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory, weeds are certainly unwelcome participants in farming ecosystem as they steal soil moisture, nutrients and put forth competition for main crop to grow properly and efficiently. Nutrients are essential elements support healthy growth of plants and all living beings on the planet. Plant roots absorb nutrients – along with water and oxygen from the soil. Nutrient management is crucial and critical in crop production for sustainable farming both inorganic and organic farming.
Types of nutrients
Plants requires different nutrients for their growth and there are two types of nutrients - Macro and Micro nutrients. Macronutrients are required in more quantities and used in building cells, stalks, grains and fruits include Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur, whereas Micronutrients are required in smaller amount or in traces and are utilized for physiological and metabolic activities include Boron, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Iron. Overall a plant requires 17 essential elements to complete its life cycle and growth. Food security is not only about the quantity of food which we consume, but also about the quality and diversity of that food.
Weeds have a greater potential to thrive and flourish if they allowed to grow during the initial crop phase. They even have the potential to smoother the growth and development of the main crop. Weeds compete for foods and other resources like air, sunlight and space with the main crop.. Weeds compete to survive in a limited space, removes nutrients from the soil to grow taller, stronger, and healthier each day. Weeds consume nutrients for their own growth and development processes, weeds leave crops with the lesser share of available nutrients for main crop, which in turn results in reduction of yield and output, impacting income of Farmers with higher cost of production.
Research has shown that up to 60 percent of yield is dependent on soil fertility, and weeds that steal nutrients from crops impact yield potential.
Note: The Kharif season, with the presence of monsoon and favorable temperatures for growth and development, is the main season when maximum weed fauna flourish. Thus, the Kharif crops have to compete more as compared to the rabi season crops.
The crops which are sown in the rainy season are called Kharif crops. For example, paddy, cotton, soya bean, maize, etc.
Paddy is the staple crop of our nation. One of the many factors that are responsible for yield losses are weeds. In paddy, the major weeds are Echinicloa, Commelina, Eclipta alba, etc. Cotton, also known as white gold, is prone to weeds like Acalypha indica, Euphorbia spp, etc. The annual legume, Soybean, is more prone to broadleaf weeds like Amaranthus spp, Bracharia spp, etc. Apart from these, the one segment of weeds that affect all these crops is the sedges (e.g., Cyperus spp). Agricultural consultants are experts in this field and can provide farmers with excellent information on farming techniques, crop planning, crop yield, crop protection management, prevention of yield losses, etc.
After the crop planning, farmers face many challenges during the crop cycle, but protecting crops from insects, diseases and weeds is yet another issue that can take up a lot of time and efforts. The scientific management of nutrients can enable a healthy crop management approach and good yield. Farmers usually take the help of local agricultural input dealers or colleagues to solve their problems. Farmers have limited access to agricultural consultants or government extension services. Fertilizer management is thus crucial and demands scientific approach to address the requirements. The Krish-e app by Mahindra & Mahindra acts like a personal Digital Agriculture Consultant to the farmers and provides advice on Soil and Nutrient Management, weed, irrigation & pest management along with weather-based dynamic agriculture activities including land preparation, harvesting of crops based on the type and size of crop, weather condition, soil and seed type, planting method, tips on fertilizer management, etc.
Soil nutrient management relies on soil fertility. Soil fertility is the ability of soil to supply nutrients and sustain plant growth for optimum crop yield. Advancing food security and environmental sustainability in farming systems requires an integrated soil fertility management approach that maximizes crop production in sustainable way while minimizing the exploitation of soil nutrient reserves leads to degradation of the physical and chemical properties of soil. For example, nutrient management in cotton can go a long way in ensuring sustainable yields and positively impact the cotton industry as well as employees/businesses engaged in the farming of cotton as well as other subsidiary roles. Soil fertility management practices include the use of fertilizers, organic inputs, crop rotation with legumes and the use of improved germplasm, combined with the knowledge of how to adapt these practices to local conditions. Krish-e Centres plays a major role by providing advisory on Crop Cultivation right from soil test-based nutrient advisory to harvesting on adopted Takneek plot of farmers.
The Krish-e app helps farmers in proactively managing crops during each stage like nutrient levels, and eliminating weeds is the best way to ensure crops get the nutrition they need for the entire growth and life cycle . This help in improving nutrient use efficiency and have direct impact on yield and other quantitative attributes of crop.
To transform Indian agriculture through expert agriculture consultant services, Krish-e aims to assist each and every farmer to get the highest yield from their farms.
Krish-e digital farming harnesses technology to connect the farmer’s phone to the world of information and reliable advice.
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