| Details of Innovation |
Female farmer Kashiben Baria from Dahod district of Gujarat makes use of an interesting method to treat paddy (Oryza sativa) seeds and ensure better germination of the seedlings. Before sowing, she soaks the paddy seeds in water for 12 hr in clay pots or utensils After this procedure, she takes out the soaked seeds and allows them to dry. After this, she prepares a layer of teak (Tectona grandis) and telicherry bark (Hollarhena antidysenterica) leaves in a floor corner or in a bamboo basket and spreads the dried paddy seeds upon this layer. Finally, she covers the seeds by placing another layer of teak and telicherry bark leaves and puts some stones upon it. If the seeds are required to be sown the very next day then the weight of stone is increased. Both teak and kada leaves generate heat which allows easy sprouting and making them ready for sowing the next day.
Before sowing, the seedlings the beds are prepared by ploughing. This facilitates early germination. This method is normally followed in the regions with heavy rains where growing paddy is not possible without sowing the sprouted seeds.
In another method, if the seeds of paddy are desired to be sown directly, i.e., without sprouting, the field is first ploughed before sowing and then ploughed once again three days after the sowing. This makes the dry seeds lying on the surface to mingle with the soil, and also brings up the seeds from under the soil to the top layer. |
Honey Bee Network Knowledge & Innovation Database (HBNKIND)
