Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus by Pritham 'MetalFarmer' D'Souza

here i would like to discuss how one can successfully grow amaranthus leafy vegetable under a trellis (dompa) . Here the main crop is coccinia (Manoli , Tendli) which requires a large trellis to grow on. and since the crop requires a lot of vine trimming and pruning to facilitate more vine growth, the space under the trellis is exposed to a lot of sunlight and if not properly maintained encourages the growth of unwanted weeds.

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

• the above pic shows a typical un maintained piece of plot where coccinia is grown on a trellis

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

• the weeds have to be removed manually using the necessary agri tools and the soil turned and loosened as shown above
• circular pits or platforms are made as shown above and this is ideal for sowing seeds of amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

• Amaranthus is a very short crop and can be harvested in just 21 days from first day of sowing
• notice the photos below, the land once wasted with unwanted weeds is now growing a commercially viable crop

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

SOME IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS

From Intercropping Under Trellis with Amaranthus

• since most of the area now recovered is used for growing amaranthus, care must be taken to see the crop is not damaged due to negligence
• heavy irrigation using a hose pipe will do more harm than good as it will displace the seeds
  
• care should be taken to see the pipe is not dragged on the crop itself as shown in the photo
• this method is used when the main crop, coccinia is trimmed as amaranthus needs a lot of sunlight
• this method is not that successful when the coccinia vines are fully grown and provide a lot of shade, so the best time to reap benefits will be for at least 45 days
• weeds will also grow with the amaranthus crop and it must be ignored as amaranthus is harvested in 21 days. after that while preparing the land for re sowing, the weeds can be taken care of.

all images and data by Pritham D'Souza aka MetalFarmer

Interculture Operations in Chilli

Interculture Operations in Chilli by Pritham 'MetalFarmer' D'Souza

I have covered Chilli (Capsicum annuum) in my previous posts and here i would like to show you how to perform simple inter culture operations like manuring and weeding in the Chilli plot.

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

WEEDING

• The single most important threat to a successful chilli garden
• since this post shows chilli grown in the monsoon season, weeds can be seen more regularly
• i do not suggest chemical methods of controlling, as the residue will leave a toxic effect on the standing crops.
• manual weeding is the best method to control this and the best time for weeding is during manure application

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

• the weeds growing on the bunds or raised platforms must be removed as shown in the pic above

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

• then the bunds are broken and the soil is made loose. this is done for aeration and also to increase the porosity of the soils

FERTILIZER AND MANURE APPLICATIONS

• freshly decomposed farm yard manure is mixed with neem cake and applied to the soil as shown in the pic below

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

• after completing the manure application, the soil is once again covered and this gives strength and support to the plant

From Interculture Operations in Chilli

• spraying the crop with plant hormones can be done to increase the number of female flowers.
  
• since there are several plant hormones in the market i suggest you carefully select the best one. i use BIOVITA which is an organically prepared solution comprising of seed weed algae fortified with trace minerals and plant growth regulators, sprayed @ 2 ml per litre of water

all images and data by Pritham D'Souza aka MetalFarmer