By MJ Prabhu
The Hindu, 19 Nov, 2009
The findings have still not been accepted by the scientists’
fraternity
“Many of the small farmers in the country come out with some
mind-boggling discoveries, thanks to their sharp traditional wisdom.
Their main aim is to make their job easier and that of others. In
fact, what these simple rural people do should be done by scientists
and researchers,” says Dr Vipin Kumar, Chief Innovation Officer,
National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad.
Raj Kumar Rathore, a progressive farmer from Sehore in Madhya Pradesh
has developed a new pigeon pea variety that has bushy growth and
good yield.
Not recognised
He also sent his findings to various institutions such as the Indian
Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Delhi, Agriculture College
at Sehore and Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO),
Bhopal. But his findings have still not been accepted by the learned
fraternity.
Mr Rathore says, “Wheat is the main crop grown here followed
by pigeon pea and soya bean. Earlier, we grew sugarcane. But after
the only sugar mill in this area closed down, we switched over to
other crops.
Seed collection
“In my 18 acres, I grow wheat and soya bean [15 acres] and
on another two acres mango, strawberry, litchi, etc. The remaining
one acre I use for growing pigeon peas for seed collection."
His logic for allotting only one acre to seed production is simple.
“It will not be possible to maintain the quality and purity
of the seeds if grown on a larger area,” he said.
Unusual plant
He accidentally noticed a different plant in his field a few years
back. This unusual plant drew his attention as it had bigger flowers
with two different colours. Its leaves were long and its pods grew
at the top, in bunches.
“Noticing this unique feature I immediately thought that if
I am able to increase the pod bearing and number of branches in
the plant the yield can be improved," he said.
Elaborating further, he said: “I removed the plant and carefully
stored its seeds for sowing in an isolated patch of land the ensuing
year, to observe its growth and the various characteristics. Unlike
the regular pigeon pea variety, the plants bore fewer branches.
“I tried spraying growth promoters to increase the number
of branches, but did not achieve any significant success. Then I
tried cutting the top portion a day prior to weeding to facilitate
better growth and to restrict further weed growth and enhance branching.
Six branches emerged as a result.”
Repetitive practice
He repeated the practice of clipping twice (45 and 90 days) and
observed that total of 12-14 branches emerged from a single plant.
He repeated this for three seasons, thereby standardizing the technique
and multiplying seeds to a sufficient number.
Going by the suggestions of some well-wishers, he sent seed samples
to several governmental institutions; he faced ridicule and contempt.
Forced to part
In fact, when he took the seeds to the Agricultural College at Sehore,
the scientists did not want to help him. They tried to force him
into giving his findings to them.
However, encouraging feedback now keeps pouring in from farmers
who use his seeds.
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