Abstract
The increasing demand for organic cereals especially indigenous scented rice varieties in the recent years has peaked farmers’ interest towards its organic production. However, the threat of crop loss under organic cultivation has been holding back large scale initiatives. Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology has come up as a promising organic package of practice towards mitigating this drawback of organic production that too at an affordable economics. The present study was conducted to generate scientific information regarding organic scented rice cultivation (Oryza sativa var. ‘Gobindobhog’) utilizing this organic POP in terms of productivity, energy use efficiency and economics. The yield of scented rice cultivated using organic POP was found to be 18% higher than the conventionally grown ones. In terms of energy use efficiency as well, organic POP was calculated to be more efficient signifying the role of organic practice in sustainable agriculture. Net profitability of organic paddy increased up to 17% with a minimum premium price of 25%. This increased higher income opportunity from same unit of land was an added benefit apart from improved soil quality in general; under organic management.
Highlights
Introduction of high-yield varieties of rice during the Green Revolution had gradually pushed the traditional varieties to extinction as farmers were lured away by higher yields [1]
The crop was subjected to two types of cultivation package of practices (POP) viz., organic POP using Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology and conventional POP using chemical fertilizers and pesticides
Seeds for organic POP were treated with IRF recommended seed solution while seeds for conventional cultivation were soaked in Bavistin (Carbendazim) @ 90 gm/ kg seed and sown in the nursery @ 18 kg/acre
Summary
Introduction of high-yield varieties of rice during the Green Revolution had gradually pushed the traditional varieties to extinction as farmers were lured away by higher yields [1]. The farmers’ observations that fine aromatic rice have gradually lost their aroma, taste and yield due to lack of organic matter content in soil and changes in environment [3]; corroborates present day researches that indicate the potential of organic farming towards quality regeneration of scented rice [4]. The present investigation was conducted to generate scientific information on organic cultivation of scented gobindobhog rice utilizing Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology, which has been showing promising results towards organic production of many other agricultural crops [8,9,10,11]. In this respect parameters viz. agronomy, yield, energy consumption and economics were considered for evaluation of the effectiveness of this method as against conventional cultivation practice
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