Irrigation

Setting up, operation and maintenance

Integrated farming system

For different agri-ecosystems different components of integrated farming system are used i.e. for Dryland farming – dairy-poultry-goat/sheep-agroforestry-farmpond is the best combination where as for wetland farming –dairy-poultry- mushroom-apiary-fishry-duckery is the best combination.

The following factors have to be considered while selecting Integrated farming systems in rainfed areas. Soil types, rainfall and its distribution and length of growing season are the major factors that decide the selection of suitable annual crops, trees and livestock components. The needs and resource base of the farmers also decides the selection of Integrated farming system components in any farm.

Suitable crops: According to soil types:

Black soil:
- Cereals: Maize
- Millets: Sorghum, bajra
- Pulses: Greengram, blackgram, redgram, chickpea, soybean, horsegram
- Oilseeds: sunflower, safflower
- Fibre: cotton
- Other crops: Coriander, chillies
- Forage crops: fodder sorghum, fodder bajra, fodder cow pea, rhodes grass, thompson grass, Mayil kondai pul, Elusine sp., desmanthus
Red soil:
- Millets: Sorghum
- Minor millets: Ragi, tenai, samai
- Pulses: Greengram, red gram, soybean, cow pea, horse gram, lab-lab
- Oilseeds: Groundnut, castor, sesame
- Forage crops: Fodder cholam, fodder bajra, Neelakolukattai (Blue Buffel Grass), fodder ragi, Sanku pushpam (Conch flower creeper), fodder cowpea, Muyal Masal (Stylo), siratro, marvel grasses, spear grass, vettiver

Suitable tree species

Tamarind, Simarouba,Vagai (Ladies tongue), Arappu, Kodai vel, A.tortilis, Maan Kathu vel, A.mellifera, Neem, Hardwickia binata, Ber, Indian Gooseberry, Casuarina,Silk cottonetc. are suitable for red gravelly/sandy red loam soils
Karu vel, A.tortilis, A.albida, Neem, Vagai, Holoptelia integrifolia, Manja neythi, Hibiscus tilifolia, Gmelina arborea, Casuarina, Subabuland Adina cordifolia are suitable for black soils