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G. Gurumurthy

Plans to extend it to DCH-32, existing Bt ELS strains

Coimbatore May 8 Agro-chemical company Syngenta India has developed a "best crop protection" protocol as a business model for four cotton varieties — two medium staple and two extra long staple varieties. The varieties are Surabhi, MCU-5 (medium staple), Sara-2 and Suvin (extra long staple).

Syngenta has also proposed to extend this year its model crop practices to other extra-long staple varieties, including the DCH-32 and all existing Bt ELS cotton varieties too.

The crop solution model named as the Syngenta integrated crop management (ICM) project fills the gaps in conventional crop management practices during critical growth stages in cotton, between the 10th day of sowing (crop emergence stage) and the 105th day (when the first boll opening occurrence seen largely in medium/long and extra long staple).

Thereby breaking the low-productivity and high input-cost barriers normally associated with the traditional cotton cultivation.

Right Technology

The Syngenta's crop protection regimen centres have adopted a mix of `right-use' technology — right seed sourcing, right time pest control and right nutrient management — with a constant crop monitoring system that ensures weekly farm visit by the team to record the crop's progress.

The Syngenta practices advocate need-based pesticide and fertiliser application. It dissuadesthe ground application of fertiliser on 90-day cotton crop, when its roots would have gone too deep to absorb fertiliser.

Instead it suggests folial fertiliser solution application for optimum absorption by the plants thereby minimising the input wastage.

The crux of Syngenta's crop monitoring mechanism is aimed at retention of the `base' bolls that form in the individual branches till harvest (so as to achieve the minimum 80 bolls per plant that could go up to harvest stage) to make the crop high yielding and economically profitably for the growers.

Reduced cost

"The right use technology besides ensuring enhanced seed cotton productivity has also resulted in reduced input cost, around 30 per cent lower compared to the farmers' own practices and at the same the time improved the quality of the fibre," said Mr R. Subramanian, Senior Technical Manager, Syngenta India (Crop Protection Division), who coordinates the company's model crop protection practices at the cotton belts in South.

The crop science company in association with the Coimbatore-based Super Spinning Mills Ltd (SSML) had tried out its crop protection protocol for the latter's contract farming in Salem (Edapady) and Coimbatore (Valukkuparai) cotton tracts covering both the summer and winter plantings each with 500 acres last year.

The cotton kapas yield gains recorded during the two seasons in these places were impressive and according to Mr Subramaniam, the Sara-2 could post an average per acre yield of 10/12 quintals from the contracted farms as compared to the average five-six quintals realised by progressive farmers and the three-four quintals output realised by the individual farmers.

Quality

The quality of the fibre in terms of staple length, micron air and g.tex (the unit to measure maturation strength) of the Sara-2, for example, were superior at 38.1 mm (against 35mm or so in the crops raised in other fields), 3.8 (3.3-4 mic) and 28 (24), respectively.

The crop sciences company is planning to extend this business model to cover vegetable crops such as capsicum, tomato, cabbage, potato and grapes.

The crops raised out of Syngenta model crop management do meet the standards stipulated for pesticide-free status in all the final products. The agro-chemical company is also keen to extend this service for individual farmers this year.

More Stories on : Cotton | Business Models

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