DBCA CHIMERA Thodda hatt ke!!!

Vol. 7 No. 3 Don Bosco College of Agriculture, Sulcorna-Goa 10 July, 2018

NEW EXPERIENCES, NEW LEARNING AND A NEW BEGINNING By Saniya Makandar, S.Y.B.Sc.(Agri)

The beginning of the second academic year was very enthusiastic and interesting one with a lot of new things awaiting for us. We have

new teachers, a new semester and a brand new start to begin this academic with showers of blessings in the form of rain! We are told,

“Never stop learning for life never stops teaching”. In a similar way, DBCA-Sulcorna has also planned this semester for us in a way

that every day we learn with our new experiences.

Operating a Power Tiller in the paddy field ….. and preparing the base for a soil-less rice nursery for transplanting later

In this semester we have ‘Crop Production’ and we have to cultivate rice hands-on the job. We prepared a soil-less Dapog nursery and

the modified mat nursery, carefully following all the procedures and treatments. We also enjoyed puddling the paddy fields and each

one of us learnt to start and operate the power tiller. We have been given different plots of land in every course of study and we grow

different crops. In Botany, we are preparing the live crop museum to learn plant genetics and breeding techniques. In Horticulture, we

have been given plots for olericulture (vegetables), floriculture and landscaping. This semester has a lot new things in store for us. For

one, we have grown from being “Freshers” to “Seniors”. In Plant Pathology course, we have also learnt to prepare the world’s first

fungicide, Bordeaux mixture, discovered by Millerdet in Bordeaux-France way back in 1885. The Entomology course, we are learning

a lot about the insects. The true meaning and value of learning-by-doing is dawning to us in every activity we do. It is fun learning.

CHIKOLL KALLO: Rice Crop Production is so much fun and so healthy …. with the mud-pack therapy for free, naturally !!

FINALLY, WE ARE IN THE FINAL YEAR! By Akshay Parab , Sr. B. Sc (Agri)

We started our journey of the fourth and final year in DBCA-Sulcorna on 4th June , 2018. It was time for the RAWE program. The time

had come to deliver what we had learnt in the past three years’ journey of learning experiences. The time had come to serve the farmers

with our knowledge and skills and also learn from them from their experiences.

First week began with the orientation programme, where in all SMS (Subject Matter Specialists) explained about various schedules and

demonstrations of their respective subject. Most important thing is that we got some quality time with our juniors in hostel for a week as,

sadly, it was the last time we would be together with them in the hostel. Perhaps, the most exciting day in this orientation programme

was the last day i.e. the 8th

of June, when our RAWEP Chairman Dr. Rakesh Kawale sir was about to declare the villages allotted to us.

We got the Malcornem village in Sanguem taluka allotted to seven of us. We packed up and arrived happily in the allotted village on

10th June with all the luggage to set up “house”, leaving all hostel memories behind.

After settling down, we actually got to appreciate the work our mother does as a homemaker. Actually, it is not so easy as it seems to be.

Setting up the house after cleaning it by removing the ground beetles to termites was no entomology practical session. It was tough work.

There is always a bright sunshine after the darkest night, we were done and dusted by the morrow. We visited the Village Panchayat, the

Quepem Urban Co-operated Society, Malcornem Branch, Sub- Health Centre, Veterinary Clinic, Government High School (GHS)

Mulcornem in the first week.

We also got an opportunity to attend the two-days Jackfruit Processing Workshop Competition & Exhibition on 15th and 16

th June

organized by DBCA-Sulcorna in association with the Agriculture Committee of the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI),

Panaji-Goa. It was a great experience learning the processing of different jackfruit products from Sunetra Talaulikar ma’am, SMS-

Home Science of KVK-North Goa. I was thrilled to be winning the third place for the jackfruit chilly prepared by me.

JACK FRUIT PROCESSING: Learning ……. Doing …… Exhibiting to the world!

We started the second week in village by meeting the farmers from in and around village. We identified a host farmers for each one of us

and started the work. It followed by conducting a FMD vaccination for the cattle on Ryan Rego’s Farm along with Veterinary Assistant

Laxmikant Bandekar and helper Francisco Rodrigues and a visited Mohan Tendulkar’s vermicompost unit. I left for Hubbali on

21st June for AIEEA exams and returned on 24

th June to continue the RAWEP schedule with my Group members.

We conducted the Socio economic survey of the village and host farmers, demonstrated the preparation of Bordeux mixture on Umesh

Sawant’s field. We also had surprise visits by our RAWEP Chairman Dr. Rakesh Kawale and Programme Officer Dr. Prashanth Patil sir

several times to see our performance. It is a great experience where we learn the life of a farmers and the difficulties faced by them.

Making Bordeaux mixture and … a visit by RAWEP Chairman and Program Officer

We complete each other By: - Aiswarya Ravi K. S.Y.B.Sc.( Agri)

In its search for a valley of red roses,

The tired body had nothing but its own shadow to lie upon.

Gazing at the melancholy stars,

The body whispered,

When the moonlight disappears you too will leave along with it

Leaving me all alone in the darkness ………….

Shadow sighed…

When darkness engulfs you, it will be I who dissolves in it first.

My oblation (sacrifice for love),

Shadow asked the body,

What happens to me when at the end of time and you enter the grave,

Won’t I be the one abandoned forever???

At this question body was dumbstruck.

And in a valley far away,

There bloomed red roses with sweet fragrance filling the air.

Vanamohatsav at GPS-Pirla By Mandar Gawas, Sr. B. Sc (Agri)

Don Bosco College of Agriculture (DBCA), Sulcorna-Goa, is conducting the rural agriculture work experience program

(RAWEP) for the first batch of its students. One group of these RAWEP students organized Vanamohatsav program at the

Government Primary School (GPS) and Nursery/Anganvaddi in the village Pirla with the enthusiastic participation of the

students, their parents and teachers.

The program began with a presentation on the significance of vanamahotsav. Seedlings of trees were brought to the school

by the students of both the GPS and DBCA-Sulcorna who planted them with great joy along with the GPS teachers at Pirla.

There was good cooperation from the staff and students of the GPS in conducting the vanamohatsav program.

A drawing competition on the theme of environment was conducted for the students and prizes were awarded to the best

entries. The students from the RAWEP Group “CHATURYA” present were Parag Gawas, Shashank Naik, Mandar

Gawas, Sarvesh Deikar, Rupesh Devidas, Nilesh Rekdo and Rahul Gaonkar and they assisted in meaningfully

conducting the vanamahotsav program at the school

Students of DBCA-Sulcorna RAWEP Group CHATURYA planting seedlings of trees with students of GPS-Pirla to celebrate VANAMAHOTSAV

FMD VACCINATION DRIVE BY ANDREA CHERADIL, Sr. B. Sc (Agri)

Students from “PHOENIX” group of RAWEP (Rural Agricultural Work Experience Work Programme) of the Don Bosco

College of Agriculture, Sulcorna, had the privilege of attending a vaccination drive for the cattle at cow sanctuary situated

at Quitol, Fatorpa on 28/6/2018. The organization engaged in this noble task is Dhyan Foundation under the leadership of

Gaurav Neelavar and Prerna Neelavar. During our visit, we found out that the institution is carrying on a wonderful and

selfless service to the society by taking care of abandoned cattle. The sanctuary has been in operation for the past five

years and has under its care around 270 cattle which were abandoned on the wayside due to old age, sickness or

because they were maimed.

The institution was kind enough to accommodate RAWEP group to be part of vaccination drive further they also went out

of the way to provide transport to the students for travel from Rivona RAWEP camp to this beautiful area in Fatorpa,

covered with green pastures that are nourished by the monsoon rains.

This program was the first experience of this kind for our group and time spent at the sanctuary was a really a memorable

and enriching experience, which will be remain etched in our memories for a long, long time.

The Phoenix Group of RAWEP at cow sanctuary situated at Quitol, Fatorpa, for the Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccination program

Animal Farm at DBCA-Sulcorna by Ryan Mascarenhas, S.Y.B.Sc.(Agri)

The Don Bosco Farm, Sulcorna-Goa, had a dairy with ageing cross-bred and Jersey cows and a piggery unit. The small

poultry was shut down more than a decade ago. Last month a few indigenous but high milk yielding Gir cows were added to

the stable to increase the milk production. The good news is that the new poultry unit has become operational and the dual

purpose (milk and meat) breed of goats, Konkan Kanyal, will arrive tomorrow. Not black sheep; these are prized black

goats. Like the black Kadaknath hens, they command black market prices. Our Assistant Professor of Animal Sciences, Dr.

Harshal Wadatkar sir, now has his hands full.

POULTRY FARM: Young Ryan Mascarenhas on the farm. Here a chick, there a chick and everywhere a chick-chick

SRI IN MALCORNEM by Priyanka Parab, Sr. B. Sc (Agri)

Students of RAWEP from Don Bosco College of Agriculture Sulcorna- Quepem Goa has two RAWEP groups, one of their

girls and the other of the boys working in Malcornem village. Agri Sprouts and Kushavati Pistons have collaborated to

transfer the technology of SRI to the farmers in Malconem village. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) aimed at

increasing the yield of rice with lower seed and water requirement . It requires alternate wetting and drying of the field On

the flip side, it is a labour intensive method. It uses 10 – 15 days old seedlings, singly and wider-spaced with a distance of

25cm X 25cm. It is typically hand weeded with special tools. It was developed in 1983 from a traditional method in

Madagascar by the French priest, Henri de Laulanie, which is now been spread to most of the part of the world.

The Madagascar method or SRI is a very profitable method for farmers as it reduces the input cost, increases yields, saves

water and increases incomes. These benefits have been achieved in 40 countries till now and we need to spread this

technology to the farmers to help them to develop still more in field of agriculture. We have learnt this technique hands-

on at the college and now kept one experimental plot in Ryan Rego’s ‘Fil Farm’ where we have transplanted paddy using

SRI method and are using only organic fertilizers in that field with rest of the fields cultivated with traditional method as a

local check for comparison of yields. This will help us to show the difference in yield in both the methods of transplanting

and even we can convince the farmers to go for SRI as a consequence of this Method Demonstration’ combined with the

‘Result Demonstration’. Before sowing the seedlings in the now ‘traditional’ method, we had even given the seedling dip

with Chloropyriphos insecticide to avoid the attack of insect pests like Gall midge, caseworm, etc. We informed the

farmers about the reason behind clipping the leaves tip of seedling, i.e. to avoid the attack of Rice Yellow Stem Borer

(RYSB) which lays eggs on the tip of the leaves. We also demonstrated the farmers on seed treatments with brine solution

to remove incompletely filled grains. Then we demonstrated the germination test for farmers to know the quality and

germination percentage of their seed lot. The use of Trichoderma viride culture to avoid soil-borne disease attack was also

demonstrated. The farmers were shown how to ensure the seed purity for nursery preparation.

Students of the AGRI SPROUTS Group RAWEP demonstrating LINE PLANTING for Madagascar Method of System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

EDITORS:- Akshay Parab (Final Year B.Sc(Agri)), Saniya Makandar (S.Y. B.Sc(Agri))