Palakkad: A farmer in Kerala's Palakkad district has developed a novel technique in farming by preparing paddy nursery beds in plastic sheets on the concrete flooring of his front courtyard.
Punchapadath Kalathil Unnikrishnan, a farmer from Chittoor Elappully in Palakkad district, has grabbed attention through his new method of preparing a paddy nursery.
On the concrete floor in his courtyard, Unnikrishnan spreads a plastic sheet . On the sheet, the soil is put in 4-inch thickness and the sprouted seeds are sown over it. Then, another thin layer of soil is spread on the top. Coconut palm leaves are then laid to cover the soil in order to prevent too much sunlight from falling directly on the nursery bed. Water is sprayed four times a day. This is Unnikrishnan’s technique in making paddy nurseries.
Usually, in paddy fields, when the seeds are sown for preparing nurseries, it takes 21 days for the nurseries to be ready for replantation. Through Unnikrishnan’s method, the nurseries prepared in plastic sheets can be replanted after 15 days.
Sufficient water is needed to transplant the nurseries prepared in a field whereas, for the nursery beds prepared in a plastic sheet, the nurseries can be transplanted without any damage to the fragile roots. Unnikrishnan points out as another advantage in using his method of nursery preparation. The nurseries are found to be healthier than the ones grown directly in the fields.
It is for the first time that paddy nursery bed preparation in plastic sheets is being reported from Palakkad district. Unnikrishnan is very happy about the success of his new technique.
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