Evaluation of Natural Farming Practices on the Performance of Chickpea and Fenugreek

Over the last six decades, the green revolution has significantly increased agricultural production through the use of high-response varieties and hybrids, better irrigation facilities, use of fertilizers and agrochemicals and thus helped to produce enough food for the growing population of the world (Eliazer Nelson  et al., 2019) Growing crops across a range of environmental conditions due to effect of climate change have significantly reduce their potential output leading to low production (Sharma et al., 2022).  At the same time agricultural intensification due to Green Revolution left its harmful footprints on Indian agriculture. The monocropping system, increased and frequent use of fertilizers and pesticides caused considerable damage to the soil’s biological operation, crop diversity, increased cost of cultivation, deterioration of groundwater, loss of flora-fauna, increased human diseases, malnutrition and decreased soil fertility, which have almost left it barren in large areas. As a consequence, farmers with small farms invest in these costly inputs, which are exposed to high monetary risks and push them in the debt cycle. The principles of natural farming are focused on environmental biodiversity and soil health and follow the laws of nature in agricultural production. Several natural farming management strategies have been developed including crop rotation, intercropping, reduced tillage, mulching with plant residue, avoiding the use of agrochemicals and application of biofertilizers. These practices are similar to the organic farming practices conducted in other countries that have been proposed as a more sustainable method of agricultural production than conventional farming (Hartmann  et al., 2015). Several studies have confirmed that natural farming can improve soil properties, biodiversity and enzyme activity within different agroecosystems.
       
With pesticide’s obvious environmental and ecological effects, government laws have been strengthened. Furthermore, the possible health implications of pesticide residue have terrified many of us into choosing pesticide-free items. Even though rules exist to assure legal maximum residual levels that have been considered scientifically acceptable for food, the campaign to eliminate pesticides has gained traction. Restoring soil health by reverting to non-chemical agriculture has assumed great importance in achieving sustainability in production. In Gujarat Gujarat organic farming policy-2015 has been introduced by the Gujarat government to support scientifically advanced organic farming practices for a sustainable farming system and to ensure reliable marketing and supply chains. It was accomplished in recognition of the detrimental effects of excessive chemical use on soil health, human health and the environment. Organic agriculture is encouraged through the use of natural resources in a manner that is technically sound, economically secure, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable. A comprehensive set of practices for the region’s primary crops must be developed immediately for the policy to be implemented effectively. Innovative organic growers have invented various cow-based bio-enhancers in diverse organic farming systems, such as “Bijamrut,” Jivamrut, Panchgavya, Amrutpani and Sanjivak (Yadav et al., 2017). However, there is a lack of scientific information on such formulations. In 2006, the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) and National Horticulture Mission (NHM) incorporated cow-based bio-enhancers into practices for organic cultivation of different crops. Modules on organic farming also include bio-enhancers. A bio-enhancer is a product derived from fermentations of plant and animal residues over a specified period of time. The plant growth promoting substances, such as immunity enhancers, are abundant in these sources because they contain microbial consortia, macro and micronutrients. This is generally used to treat seeds/seedlings, promote decomposition of organic material and increase plant vigour (Pathak and Ram, 2013). The vermiwash liquid is a solution that is derived from water that passes through a column of worm activity. It can be used as a foliar spray for growing plants. Earthworm excretory product and mucous secretion together with micronutrients extracted from soil organic molecules are gathered in this substance. The natural ecosystem transports these to the leaves, shoots and other parts of the plants. In light of these considerations, this experiment was designed to assess the effectiveness of various cow-based bio-enhancers in chickpea and fenugreek cultivation.

To find out whether various cow-based bio-enhancers are effective on chickpea and fenugreek a field experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, at the organic farm, Centre for natural resources management, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat, India. A randomized block design (RBD) with three replications was used with ten different treatments, viz. T₁:  Foliar spray of Panchgavya 3% at 30, 45, 60 DAS, T₂: Seed treatment with Bijamrut 300 ml/kg seed, T₃: 500 L/ha Jivamrut with irrigation at sowing, 30 and 45 DAS, T₄: 500 L/ha Amrutpani with irrigation at sowing, 30 and 45 DAS, T₅: Sanjivak 500 L/ha with irrigation at sowing, 30 and 45 DAS, T₆: Foliar spray of seaweed extract 5 % at 30, 45 and 60 DAS, T₇: Foliar spray of banana sap 1% at 30, 45 and 60 DAS, T₈: 1.5 t/ha Vermicompost, T₉: 5 t/ha FYM and T₁₀: Control. Chickpea variety, GG-3 and fenugreek variety, GF 2, was sown at spacing of 45 cm × 10 cm in a plot size of 3.6 × 4.0 m2 during these years and the harvestable gross-plot size was 13.5 m2 (2.7 m × 5 m). Both the crops were planted during the third week of November in each year. Harvesting and threshing were manually performed to determine grain and stover yields. Observations were recorded on five random plants, at different growth stages of the crop and average values for the traits were worked out for ten treatments in each replication. As described by Gomez and Gomez (1984), Fischer’s method of analysis of variance was used to analyse and interpret data. At a five percent level of significance, critical differences were calculated for comparing treatment means. 
               
As per the standard method, observations of plant height, branches per plant, pods per plant and seeds per pods were manually recorded on five randomly selected representative plants from each plot of each replication separately. Yield attributes were also recorded at physiological maturity stage. The seed and straw yield was recorded from net plot area of each treatment

Effects on chickpea growth and yield parameters
 
According to the analysis of the data shown in Fig 2, various treatments of cow-based bio-enhancers had no significant impact on plant height at harvest, the number of branches per plant, or the number of seeds per pod both during individual years and in pooled analyses had a significant impact on the number of pods per plant. When compared to the other treatments, application of vermicompost at 1.5 t/ha resulted in a significantly higher number of pods per plant.


       
The data shown in Table 1 and Fig 1 showed that different cow-based bio-enhancers had a substantial impact on chickpea grain yield, while they also had a significant impact on chickpea stover yield. Significantly higher grain yield (1896 kg/ha) was observed with application of vermicompost 1.5 t/ha and it was at par with treatment T₁ (Foliar spray of Panchgavya 3% at 30, 45, 60 DAS), T₉(5.0 t/ha FYM), treatment T₄ (500 L/ha Amrutpani with irrigation at sowing, 30 and 45 DAS) and treatment T₇(Foliar spray of banana sap 1% at 30, 45 and 60 DAS). However, the stover yield of chickpea was found to be significantly higher with treatment T₈(1.5 t/ha vermicompost) than the other treatments except treatment T₉ (5.0 t/ha FYM). Kumaravelu and Kadambian (2009) reported that a greater number of branches per plant, more pods per plant and the increased plant height can be due to the growth enzymes in Panchagavya, promotes rapid cell division and multiplication. De Britto and Girija (2006) found that cow urine provides nitrogen, which is essential for crop growth, whereas cow dung supports the growth of beneficial bacteria in Panchagavya. In addition to vermicompost, that contains a huge amount of nitrogen in its organic fractions, fermented Panchagavya solution this also contains a variety of salt that are easily available to plants, resulting in stimulated plant growth, leading to higher pod production.




 
Effects on fenugreek growth and yield parameters
 
Plant height, number of branches per plant, number of seeds per pod and pod length were not significantly affected by different cow-based bio-enhancers as shown in Fig 4. On the other hand, the number of pods per plant was found to be significant. Treatment with vermicompost 1.5 t/ha (T₈) recorded significantly maximum number of pods per plant (42.11) compared to other cow-based bio enhancer. Treatments with FYM 5 t/ha (T₉) and Panchgavya 3% as foliar spray at 30, 45 and 60 DAS (T₁) did not show statistically significant differences when compared with vermicompost 1.5 t/ha (T₈). Gore and Sreenivasa (2011) and Jondhale  et al. (2014) obtained similar results.


       
Liquid organics have a noticeable effect on fenugreek growth attributes because they are readily absorbed forms of nutrients, leading to faster growth and development of the components. There are a number of macro- and micro-nutrients in fermented liquid organic manures, along with vitamins, essential amino acids, diverse microorganisms and growth-promoting compounds like IAA and GA etc. It has been shown that these factors improve plant growth, metabolic activity and resistance to pests and diseases (Natarajan, 2007 and Sreenivasa et al., 2010).
       
Based on the data presented in Table 2 and Fig 3, it was found that the application of vermicompost 1.5 t/ha (T₈) was significantly associated with the highest grain yield (2168 kg/ha), whereas (T₉) FYM 5 t/ha (2061 kg/ha) and (T₁) spray of Panchgavya 3% at 30  and 45 DAS (2086 kg/ha) were found statistically at par with vermicompost 1.5 t/ha (T₈). Various cow-based bio enhancers had a substantial impact on fenugreek’s stover yield. When compared with treatment T₁, T₉, T₄ and T₇, treatment T₈ (vermicompost 1.5 t/ha) produced a higher stover yield (3735 kg/ha). There might be a connection between cow urine and crop growth, as cow manure serves as a medium for beneficial bacteria to thrive in Panchagavya (De Britto and Girija, 2006). In order to increase the yield of grain amaranthus cv. CO₃, Rajendran  et al. (2006) suggested using 5 t/ha vermicompost together with a spray of Panchagavya 3% at 10 DAS.




 
Economics
 
The ultimate purpose of agricultural growers is economic gain. The economics worked out for different treatments of cow-based bio-enhancers are outlined in Table 1 and 2. It is evident from the data that the highest net realization of 70939 ₹/ha with the B: C ratio of 3.06 was observed under treatment T₁ (Spray of Panchgavya 3% at 30, 45  and 60 DAS) for fenugreek. For chickpea highest net realization of 58685 ₹/ha with the benefit: cost ratio (BCR) of 1.72 was obtained in the same treatment. However, treatment T₈ (Vermicompost 1.5 t/ha) recorded the highest gross realization. Singh and Kushwah (2006); Singh  et al. (2011); Biswas  et al. (2012); Choudhary  et al. (2013) and Salunkhe  et al. (2013) obtained similar results.

This study was performed to assess the effectiveness as well as the impact of cow-based bio-enhancers on chickpea and fenugreek. Pooled data across three years led us to conclude that cow-based bio-enhancers were providing the suitable quantity of required nutrients to these important crops. The preliminary review of this present investigation shows that to increase chickpea and fenugreek yields and net returns under natural farming, it is recommended that 1.5 t/ha vermicompost or a spray of Panchgavya 3% at 30, 45, 60 DAS be applied in addition to 400 kg castor cake at the time of sowing. Foliar spray of Panchagavya may have resulted in easy transfer of nutrients and growth stimulants to the plants leading to enhanced yield.
 
Funding
 
Funded by Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Gujarat (India).

Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest to disclose.