Quality of seed is considered to be a prime factor in farming. Farmers should give priority to select good quality seeds  in order to maximize his on-farm production and profits as well.

Characteristics of good seed

• Good  quality seed should be of  high yielding variety
• Good quality seed  should  not contain  any  seed borne diseases.
• Good quality seed  should not be mixed with  weed seeds and should be clean.
• Good quality seed  should  not be damaged and broken.
• Good quality seed should contain optimum amount of moisture.
• Good quality seed should have high germination percentage.

The following slideshow presents the samples of images of  good quality seeds:

admin-ajax (3)-soybean seed

admin-ajax (1)-sunflower seed

admin-ajax-wheat seed

Organic fertilizers have tremendous impact on farm production and surrounding environment. Farmers must realize the importance of the impact of organic fertilizers in farming.

Characteristics of organic fertilizers 

• Organic fertilizers release nutrients gradually to the soil.
•  Nutrient contents of organic fertilizer last longer in the soil providing constant supply of nutrients to the plants.
• Organic fertilizers promotes the growth and survival of the micro-organisms in the soil  to improve and stabilize the soil health over time..
• Organic fertilizers do not pollute the land and the environment significantly.

Impact of organic fertilizers

• Food crops are produced without having  any harmful/toxic effect of chemicals.
• The cost of organic fertilizers are less than the chemical fertilizers because the organic fertilizers are produced On-Farm and locally.
• Farmers need low capital investment because organic fertilizers continue to supply nutrients to the soil on sustainable basis.
• Organic fertilizer do not have significant effect on human health and environmental pollution.

Please see the slideshow below  for images of  organic fertilizers.

admin-ajax

admin-ajax (2)

admin-ajax (1)

Earthworm is gold for farmers. Earthworm is also called friend of farmers. Earthworms provides multiple services in soil that leads to better soil health and plant health.  It is also widely known as natural plough for farmers..

Earthworm promotes soil vis-a-vis farm productivity by way of –

• Improving soil texture
• Improving soil structure
• Adding nutrients to the soil
• Reducing soil pathogens
• Controlling soil erosion
• Mixing and tilling the soil
• Aiding in humus formation.
• Improving soil aeration
• Improving absorption of water
• Increasing soil organic matter
• Adding beneficial micro-organisms
• Eating harmful nematodes/orga

See below the earthworms in action:

earthworm-3

earthworm-2

earthworm-1