Tasar Training Module for Nursery Farmers

Tasar Training Module forNursery Farmers

PRADANNew Delhi

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana Ministry of Rural Development Govt. of India

Central Silk BoardMinistry of Textiles

Govt of India

TRAINING MODULE FOR NURSERY FARMERS

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DisclaimerCentral Silk Board (CSB) or PRADAN does not make any warranty, either express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or any third party’s use or the results of such use of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed of the information contained herein or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the CSB / PRADAN. While every effort has been made to ensure the correctness of information used in this document, neither the authors nor CSB / PRADAN accept any legal liability for the accuracy or inferences drawn from the material contained therein or for any consequences arising from the use of this material. The information pertaining to facts and formats presented in the document are dated as specified, and CSB / PRADAN are not responsible or liable for any misimpressions that may result from the reading of dated material.

Text from this document can be quoted provided the source is acknowledged.

Contributors

Mr. Rajendra Kumar Khandai, Team Coordinator, PRADANMd. Shamshad Alam, Integrator, PRADANDr. K. Sathyanarayana, Scientist-D, Central Silk BoardMr. Ashis Chakraborty, Integrator, PRADAN

Copyright © July 2017

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Training module for Nursery Farmers

Objective: To impart technical knowledge and develop skill of the farmers to produce quality seedlings of tasar host plants.

Duration: 2 days Number of Participants: 25

Criteria for selection of trainees

• She/he should be laborious

• She/he should have extra hand in his family to support in nursery raising like watering, weeding etc.

• She/ he should have a good rapport among the villagers

• She/ he should not be a seasonal migrant during lean season

Pre-requisites of training

• Identification of Nursery Farmers, list finalization and invitation for training

• Fixing of dates, venue and arrangement for other logistics

• Arrangement for training materials and trainers

Logistic and materials required

1. Training hall with capacity to accommodate 25 persons with electric/ generator facility and night stay, wherever possible

2. Fooding arrangement for 25 participants and 2 Resource persons as per the schedule

3. Sitting arrangement (mat), bed roll, mosquito repellant, water and light arrangement in training venue for 25 participants

4. Stationery items viz., Note book (25 pcs), pen (25 pcs), chart paper (10 Pcs), Marker (4 Pcs, two different color), study material (25 no.), Training attendance register etc.

5. Banner, camera, stamp pad, arrangement for laptop and projector

6. Polythene bags (500pcs), vermicompost (50 kg), Arjuna seeds (1bag), measuring tape (2), rope, spades (2), shovels (2), baskets (2), sand (1bullock cart)

Sessions/ Deliverables

Experience sharing and gathering knowledge on current practices

Importance of seed selection and nursery site selection

Rooting media preparation, Seed treatment and dibbling and their role in nursery raising

Field demonstration of scientific practices

Resource planning


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Day 1

Time Module

10:00 - 11:00 AM

* Ice Breaking exercise

* Introduction of MKSP Project – Project stakeholders

* Objective sharing

* Explaining the Task, Time, Territory and Technology of the training

11:00 - 12.00 PM* Presenting an overview of tasar sericulture and positioning of the nursery

farmer in the value chain through stakeholder analysis

12:00 - 12:15 PM Tea break

12:15 - 1:00 PM * Understanding linkages with plantation farmers and Tasar Vikas Samity (TVS)

1:00 - 2:00 PM Lunch break

2:00 - 3:00 PM

Selection of nursery site and nursery layout preparation

* Why to raise nursery, taking individuals view and discussion

* Importance factors to be considered for selecting nursery site

* Preparation of layout for an ideal nursery and nursery bed

Scientific lines of nursery preparation

* How do you select the seed for nursery raising and process it?

* Identification of Plus trees for seed collection

* Discussion on the quality of seed, sorting and soaking of the seed, do's and don'ts

* Preparation of sand bed and its role in uniform germination of seeds

3:00 - 3:15 PM Tea break

3.15 - 4.15 PM

* How do you prepare rooting media?

* Discussion on seed treatment

* Discussion on importance of the size and thickness of polythene bag

* Discussion on preparing the rooting media

* Discussion on filling the polythene tubes with rooting media

* Discussion on dibbling, dos and don’ts

* Discussion on post-dibbling activities

4.15 - 5:45 PM

Disease and Pest management in nursery raising

* Pests & predators of host plant seedlings their preventive & control measures

* Discussion on major diseases of seedlings, their symptoms and preventive & control measures

Maintenance of nursery

* What is the characteristic of quality seedlings and how to attain?

* Discussion on the application of inputs like urea, enzymes etc.

* Discussion on cultural practices

Day break

7:00 - 8:30 PM Movie show of “Manthan” for Rural Empowerment


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Day 2

Time Module

9:00 - 10:00 AM Sharing, reflection and feedback on learning’s of the previous day

10:00 - 11:30 AM

Field demonstration of the scientific practices

* On field demonstration of importance of nursery site selection and nursery layout preparation

* On field differentiation between plus tree and others for seed collection

* Assessment of sand bed and nursery bed requirement in the field (by ocular estimation method)

* Practice of seed soaking, seed treatment and transfer to sand beds

* Practice of filling polythene bags with rooting media, dibbling

* Practice of watering and maintenance viz., weeding, urea spray etc.

* Practice of plant protection measures

11:30 - 11:45 PM Tea break

11:45 - 1:00 PM

Resource Planning

* Understanding on manpower requirement at different stages of nursery raising

* Assessment of seed requirement

* Economics of nursery raising

* Establishing linkages between the plantation farmer and TVS.

* Preparing action plan for the nursery raising

1:00 - 2:00 PM * Feedback Session

2:00 - 3:00 PM Lunch break

Day break


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Day 1

Ice breaking exercise

Since the villagers will know each other and the resource persons, formal introductions are not required. It is however important to create a comfortable and ambience environment so that participants feel free to talk and interact.

Trainers explain the idea of promoting private nursery and its impact on plantation programme. Emphasizes how barren wastelands will be used for Tasar silkworm rearing after 3 years of raising the plantations.

Need to raise nurseries

• Germination is low due to hard coat of seeds. Nursery is prepared to assure germination and survival of seedlings

• Helps prepare homogeneous stock

• Economic way to prepare quality seedlings

• Seedling quality determines health of plantations

• High quality seedlings have a higher survival rate and faster growth in the field

• Plants become ready for rearing in 3 years if they are transplanted, compared with 6-7 years when they are directly sown

Selecting nursery site

This is the most important aspect of raising nurseries. Points to be noted include:

• The site should be level with slight slope to avoid water logging

• Should be away from shady places

• Should be open and well ventilated

• Should have a water source nearby

• Should be near the plantation site to avoid long transportation of seedlings

Layout of nursery

How to prepare a nursery bed?

• Bed size: 30’ x 3’

• Bed should be at least 8 inches depth

• Bed should be in east - west direction so that the seedling will get morning and evening sunlight when shed is provided after the dibbling. 2 feet wide space should be kept between two beds for ease of irrigation and weeding

• Making fence around the nursery to protect from cattle grazing.

• 3’ bed should be kept free for shifting the seedlings

Trainer’s Note


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Features of plus tree

• Age: between 10-20 years

• Crown character: rounded and well developed branches.

• Leaves: Wide, glossy and succulent leaves, with dark green colour.

• Seed Weight: Average of 2.5 gm per seed.

Selection of seed

• Should be healthy and dry.

• Should not have broken coat

• Weight should not be less than 2 gram

• Free from insect attack

• Differentiating ideal seed from sub-standard seed

• Affect of seed on seedling quality and its consequences

Germinating seed

• Sorting seed and filling especially in a gunny bags

• Gunny bag should be filled 70% of its capacity

• Bag should be dipped in a water for 3-4 days for Arjuna seeds and 2 days for Asan seeds

• Before lifting the seed from water a 3” thick sand bed of size 25’ x 3’ should be prepared for sprouting

• Sand bed should be prepared in a shady place

• The soaked seed should be spread on the sand bed in two layers and the bed has to be covered with paddy straw and gunny bags

• Sprinkle water regularly over it to keep the bedcover moist

• Sprouting of seed will start on the 8th or 9th day.

Characteristic of quality seedlings

• Minimum height 15 inch and age at least 60-70 days

• Straight, woody and robust stem, free from deformities

• The collar perimeter should be at least 1.5 inches

• The leaves should be healthy and have dark green colour

• A dense root system with well-developed taproot


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Day 2

Practical training on seed treatment

• Filling seed in gunny bags

• Dipping in water

• Sand bed preparation and spreading soaked seed over the bed

• Sprinkling of water

Rooting media preparation

• First, soil should be crushed and screened on the wooden cot or iron mesh.

• A mixture of soil, sand and vermicompost (soil: 800 gm, sand: 400 gm and vermicompost: 100 gm) should be mixed thoroughly

• Rooting media should be filled in a polythene bag tightly leaving 1” vacant from the top to hold water.

• Filled polythene bags should be kept vertically in a nursery bed very closely in a compact form

Practical training on rooting media preparation and polythene tube filling

Discussion on dibbling

Dibbling is a process of placing germinated seeds on a well-drenched polythene bags. Following points should be kept in mind while carrying out dibbling:

• Watering of rooting media continuously for 3 days in the morning and evening so that the poly bags are completely drenched. Small portions of dry rooting media at the bottom of a tube can create problems after dibbling

• Germinated seed should be placed in poly bags just after sprouting

• Sprouted seed should be collected in a basket from the sand bed and should be dipped in a fungicide solution before dibbling

• Dibbling should be strictly carried out in a completely drenched poly bags and in the evening only. No dibbling should be done in the morning

• Dibbling should be done vertically without leaving intermittent space below the radical to avoid wilting

• Radical of the seed should be kept vertically below and soil should be tightly placed all round the seed to protect the radical from hot air.

• Before dibbling poly bags should be drenched and from next day regular watering should be done in the morning (before 7 AM) and in the evening just before sunset.

• Shade should be provided to the bed at a height of 1 ft. The shade should be removed in the evening time before watering and should be placed again on the bed after watering in the morning time

• Fortnightly weeding


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Practical training

• Collecting germinated seed and treating with fungicide Bavistin 2gm /Lit or diathen M 45 2gm/Lit through dipping in a solution.

• Placing germinated seed in poly bags

• Placing shade over the nursery bed.

Maintenance of Nursery

• Watering should be done strictly in the morning and evening.

• Hoeing and weeding should be done at an interval of 10 days.

• Neem oil or Dimecron is applied as foliar spray to control the attacks of leaf rollers, leaf miners and leaf eating insects as and when required.

• Plants are to be sorted on the basis of height and stem thickness and shifted

• Plant should be shifted in bed at an interval of one month to avoid root get penetrated in the soil.

• If requires growth promoting Harmon should be sprayed.

Economics of nursery

• Who will supply the materials and at what cost?

• What will be the cost of sapling

• How to reduce cost of saplings without compromising quality

• Setting purchase norms

• Setting quality norms

• The kind of support nursery farmers will get from PRADAN

• Preparing economics of nursery

Schedule of poly bag filling and seed soaking

• Seed soaking will start when 40% poly bags filling is over

• Seed requirement to raise 15,000 seedling is 120 kg (6 bags)

• Seed soaking schedule:

1st day : 2 bags

4th Day : 2 bags

7th Day : 1 bags

• 1 bags of seed should be kept in stock that can be used in case of failure of germination or shortage of sprouted seedlings

• From seed soaking to germination takes 12-14 days. In the meantime polythene bags has to be filled with rooting media

• Watering of polythene bags should start 3 days before commencement of germination.


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Spray of fungicide, insecticides, urea and enzymes

• Rogar spray after 30 days of dibbling to prevent seedling from insect attack (dose: 1 ml/liter of water)

• Fungicide should be sprayed if there is a fungal attack in a collar region of sapling.

• Urea spray after 30 days (dose: 5 gm/liter of water)

• Dhanzyme (dose: 1 ml/liter of water) and planted (dose: 1.5 ml/liter of water) spray after 45 days if the growth of seedling is not up to the mark. Enzymes should be sprayed after weeding, sorting and grading of seedlings in nursery bed

• Planted should be sprayed after 3 days of Dhanzyme spray.

• Trainer will assist the farmers to prepare an action plan of raise nursery.

• Timeline of nursery and plantation


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This publication has been made possible with the financial support from Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, under the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) tasar projects

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Tasar Training Module for Nursery Farmers