VENTURE MONOGRAPH

- JOWAR -

1. Introduction
2. The New Insight
3. Understanding The Plant
4. Learning To Reap Record Yield

(I) Introduction

1. Jowar is one of our staple foods, like, Bajara, Maize, Rice, Wheat, and Ragi Vari etc.

2. These staple foods are firstly our energy foods that provide, our body most of its daily energy needs.

3. One can get real insight, in these energy foods, if, one will critically understand, our daily body need of energy, that can be summarized as follows:
   

   • A working man needs, about, 2400 kilo calories of energy per day (24 hours)

   • So, in one hour (sixty minutes), one needs, 100 kilocalories of energy.

   • That is, in a minute, one needs two kilocalories of energy. Now, one half gram of Jowar, or Rice, has this much energy reserve in it.

   • But, about 20 to 30 seeds of Jowar make one gram.

   • That is, our whole body uses, only ten seeds of Jowar as energy food per minute. What a great of Jowar as energy food per minute. What a great efficiency of energy use by our body.

   • Our body, is of more than, 1017 cells (Seventeen Zero On 10) and these cells, do different types of activities, (Body equilibrium under gravity, breathing, digesting the food, blood circulation, sweating, healing, seeing, smelling, thinking etc.) and per minute the energy in ½ gram of Jowar similar grains, is enough, to run, all this life process of ours.

   • One must learn how the grains can get and preserve all this energy in their tiny seeds. We are going to learn this process, in our monograph, on Jowar. But, one must go through the chapters five and six, in the book "Plenty For All, Prayog Pariwar Methodology", and draw his own notes, to understand the details about Natueco culture

   • Then, one will learn, how a good Jowar crop, of forty quintals, per acre, is possible, in three to four months period after sowing the seeds.

(II) The New Insight

1. The record crop, of forty quintals, per acre, means, and one quintal of crop per Guntha (about 1000 sq.feet.) This is one kilogram of Jowar per ten square feet or, one hundred grams of Jowar, in one square foot.

2. A healthy well-grown Jowar plant can give us a crop of more than two hundred grams. Then that plant must get an area of more than two square feet to give us that much crop. If suppose the Jowar plant gives us crop of 300 grams, in its life time, the plant must grow to cover three sq.feet of area.

3. The principles of Natueco culture, teach us, that, it is the area of the leaves of the plant that determine, the yield of that plant. The mature leaves every plant always builds food for the plant, by capturing daily incoming, sunlight, through photosynthesis. Thus the leaves of the same variety of Jowar plant, giving 200 grams of Jowar, is double the area of the leaves, of the Jowar plant, that gives only hundred grams of yield. [Do ask your questions, if you have not followed this point well] [Do compare, the area of the leaves, some Jowar plants giving average crop and giving very good crop, giving average crop and giving poor crop and report.] [Do uproot such plants, while the crop is ready for study, count the number of internodes, nodes, leaves the plant has the length and breadth and area of leaves. The leaves those are green till the crop is ready and the leaves that have died. As well the health of these leaves send detail report.] [Before uprooting the plants, give water to the plant two days in advance and then dig out the plant, when the soil is just moist and not wet, by levering under the roots of the plant by long iron bar, to study how, each plant uses little the soil. Measure the volume of this soil and report.]

4. There are different varieties of Jowar. Early variety, late variety, winter variety, summer variety, late monsoon variety, Dwarf variety, tall variety, more fodder yielding variety, more grain yielding variety.

5. The most interesting thing, in all these varieties will be, that the dry weight of these varieties, per sq.feet area of leaf, will be the same. It may be partitioned in some varieties in the grains of the plant an in other varieties, in the stalks and leaves of the plant. The weight of the root or the remains of the ear after grains are harvested is small compared to total dry mass of the plant. The dry weight of any plant is the weight of the plant, after it is dried in open for some days. The weight that remains constant after some days of drying it called the dry weight. [One must practice to take, fresh and dry weights of plants of different age groups. So also only have leaves of different age groups etc. along with separate weight of the stalks of the plant when the leaves are removed. As well the fresh weight of the ear and dry weight of it etc. These studies well help us to get calculated assured yields at least some Jowar plants in small plots or bags and then to our entire crop.]

6. In one's study the total Jowar crop was 90 quintals. But out of it, 20 quintals weight was of grains and the remaining 70 quintals was weight of the dry fodder (Kadabi). In other variety of Jowar it was found that in 90 quintals of Jowar crop 30 quintals of weight was of grains and 60 quintals of weight was of dry fodder (Kadabi).

7. Next, if we burn the entire along with or separately, with grains, then there is bright burning with yellow blue fire and smoke and at the end of burning only some black ash remains. The fire seen is a measure of the sunlight energy, collected by the leaves of the plant, in their lifetime. While the smoke and the black ash is carbon collected by the leaves from carbon dioxide in air, in the process of photosynthesis. In this process the by using energy from the sunlight and taking carbon from carbon dioxide in air and water coming in the leaves from the roots, the green leaves of Jowar, make, the first simple six carbon sugar, called glucose. From this glucose, all the parts of the growing plant carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, cellulose fats; different enzymes in the plants build fats etc. This energy we get as food from seeds and animals can get this energy by eating the dry fodder of Jowar.

8. The black ash is the powder of the cells in the Jowar plant. On burning this black powder on hot iron sheet the cell wall of these cells, which is of carbon, goes as carbon dioxide and the ash stored in the cell walls remains.

9. So, if our healthy Jowar plant gives 200 grams of grains and 400 grams of fodder its total dry weight is only 600 grams. So, the ash in it is about 36 grams to 60 grams. This ash is the mineral part of the soil taken by the plant, in its total life cycle, of 90 days to 150 days as per the variety of Jowar. While burning, Nitrogen is lost that is about one tenth to one eighth of the total ash remains.

10. The ash contains the nutrients Phosphorous, Potash, Zinc, Magnesium and other minor and trace elements [Ask questions by quoting the number, if you have any difficulty to grasp this new information on Jowar]. [With this new insight in Jowar crop, let us see how this insight helps us take record Jowar crop in our farms].

(III) Understanding The Plant

1. The Jowar plant has a per variety a total life span of 90 to 150 days. If we divide this period in five equal parts we get five phases of Jowar growth.
   

   • The First Phase - Germination and first seven or eight leaves small size.

   • The Second Phase - The node and internode formation stage and the Growth of the size of all the early leaves.

   • The Third Phase - Initiation of the following parts inside the plant.

   • The Fourth Phase - The emergence of the ear, the flowering of the ear, And seed formation.

   • The Fifth Phase - Growth of seeds, seed maturity and death of plant Harvesting of grains. Thus while for a variety of 90 days, all the five phases of the plant are over while for a variety of 90 days, only the first three phases of growth are over.

2. To study all these phases of growth, simultaneously one must sow, Jowar seeds after every week (about 10 to 30 seeds). He can sow these, on small plots in pits and on small compost hills on the plot, on the heaps, on the terrace of our house or in four liter size polythene bags open at both end etc. and filled with well composted leaf mould. The details of these can be sent after one starts the study the germination of Jowar seed.

3. In the small seed of Jowar a very tiny Jowar plant with miniature growth of root part and first five or six leaves. It is waiting, for germination and when, enough moisture and temperature is given to the seed, the stored food in the seed, is converted into nourishing food for the resting tiny Jowar plant. That the resting small plant and it then uses food begins. This conversion of stored food in nourishing food is done to grow by activation of various types of hormones and enzymes in the seed.

4. In this very early stage of first eight to ten days the seed can grow even in pure moist sand or in moist paper cuttings till the food supply in the seed is fully used up. The growing Jowar seed under the soil can lift the heavy weight of the soil and can come up even from under a relatively big size stone on it. A good Jowar seed takes about five days to germinate.

5. Within first five or seven days after germination, the tiny Jowar leaves become green and spread and begin to produce food for their own life and the new growth of the plant. It is interesting to see that by now the plant has two competing growing parts
        a) The roots in the soil.
        b) The leaves and the stem on the soil.

6. If we will give ideal conditions for a newly germinated Jowar plant the plant will first spread its tender white roots as a network of white mat in the roots at this stage need only good type of soil and very little nutrients from the soil. These roots can grow as a full flush in only dark black color leaf mould without any trace of soil in it. One must learn to provide a handful of such leaf mould to each seed P.P. has developed various interesting methods for building such quality leaf mould. In this, first phase of growth the size of the leaves is small but if the plant is vigorous the area of these five or six leaves is more than hundred sq.cms. These leaves begin to produce each day 60 milligrams of food by the process of photosynthesis. The daily production of this food is about 60 milligrams.

7. One must remember that the weight of any good size Jowar seed is about forty grams and the growth of the plant on the small amount of the food in this seed is enough to grow the Jowar seedling in clean moist soil for the first seven to eight days. Naturally by using the food made by the first five or six tiny leaves the roots of the plant can produce ample flush of roots in good soil reach in every nook and corner of one to two liters of soil in the next remaining fifteen to twenty days of its infancy stage. [One can study these roots by sowing seed only in the dark black leaf mould aggregate. He can take a handful of in a pit, in a heap or in a polythene bag open at the both end one can uplift (not uproot) and see the voluminous growth of these roots filling every nook and corner of the leaf mould]

8. To get good Jowar crop the foremost thing we must achieve is a very good flush of white roots of two-liter volume in the soil

9. Phase two of Jowar growth. In this phase the leaves that are small in the first phase begin to expand. Also the first few bottom internodes and nodes to and fro grow. By the end of this phase most of all the leaves of the plant have emerged.

10. In good growth, in the first five or six leaves each successive leaf is of larger size than the previous leaf. This is the stage when the total area covered by the leaves of the plant is decided. For getting a good crop one must try to see that these leaves grow to their full size. If the conditions for growth are not good the leaves may remain of very small size. After this phase the size of the leaves will never grow.

11. If in the first phase of the growth the plant has suffered in its root growth we can correct this defect at the beginning of the second phase of growth by making the soil loose and airy near the growing roots.

12. At the end of this phase inflorance initiation starts in the plant. The plant has taken most of its 70% nutrients from the soil.

13. Phase three - At the beginning of this phase the inflorance initiation starts by the end of this phase all of its internodes and nodes have grown. The last three internodes their elongation in phase four. The health, the girth, the length of the stack of Jowar stalk, is an indication of the flush of roots in the soil and the balance of necessary nutrients to the plant.

14. With very good root flush and proper nutrition the girth of the stalk as well the vigor and spread of every leaf is a commanding sight. One must learn to help the plant in the second half of the phase two, and, first half of phase three to get record yield. [The details of these are sent after the actual observation and studies of chain plantation of seeds. It takes at least four months to grasp these details]

15. Phase Four - In this phase the flower parts of the inflorance grow one by one and then the flowering starts. One must understand how the seed formation takes place after opening of the flower and pollination of the flower. [Critical observations in this period will help one to]

16. Phase Five - The embryo in the seed and the food storing organ in the seed continue to grow alternately and then at the end the seed is ripe, and the crop is ready. The plant dies. But Ratoon crop can be taken from the buds at the internodes in the soil.

(IV) Learning To Reap Record Yield

1. To get record yield one must know the growth in dry weight of the plant in each phase of its growth. In the first phase of growth the plant has only one percent weight of the total dry weight at the end. In the second phase it becomes 24%. More than 35% more in the third phase. The last 40% of dry weight of the plant is gathered in the fourth and the first half of the fifth phase. [One must remember the difference between fresh and dry weight. Generally the dry weight of the plant is about 15% of the fresh weight in the early phase of growth. But in the final phase of growth it is 35% to 40% of the total dry weight.] [By having some quantitative measures of fresh and dry weights at the end of each phase of growth one can help the plant to have dry weight at the end of second phase. So, the total dry weight will be about four times that weight in the end.]

2. One must study the ratio of grains to Kadabi to dry fodder. It is generally 3 to 4.5 times the weight of grains. Thus suppose the weight of Kadabi is 300 grams while that of grains is only 100 grams, the nutrients taken by them are to be calculated separately. For each hundred grams the plant needs. N = 1.5 grams, P = 0.81 grams and K = 0.62 grams But for each 100 grams of Kadabi it is N = 0.78 grams, P = 0.18 grams and K = 1.74 grams Thus for 100 grams grain as we have 300 grams of Kadabi in this variety the total N for Kadabi is N = 2.34 grams, P = 0.54 grams and K = 5.22 grams So get 100 grams of Jowar in one sq.feet in this variety the total nutrient need is N = Grain Kadabi = 3.84 grams, P = 1.34 grams and K = 6.96 grams So the ash part of it will contain these weights in grams of P and K in it. The Nitrogen will be lost in burning. [To understand this discussion so that you can adjust the fertility of your soil so that plant can take these amounts of nutrients mostly in the growth period Phase Two and Phase Three.]

3. One must learn to study the dry weight crop ratio when the crop is harvested to the area of the leaves when the plant is growing. Generally a healthy vigorous plant in two-sq.feet area has leaf area of about ten-sq.feet. These leaves achieve their full size in phase two and early part of phase four from then onwards tills the end of the life cycle of the plant (End OF Phase Five) The Jowar variety of 120 days life cycle will on average daily build a reserve of six grams of dry matter, in the plant for about eighty days [from the second half of second phase of growth] that it is will build a total of about 480 grams of dry weight. Now if in this variety the ratio of grains to Kadabi is 1:2 then about 150 grams of grains and 300 grams of Kadabi will be record yield. 4.4) If the variety is hybrid variety where the ratio of grains to Kadabi is about 1:1:4 the grains will be 200 grams and Kadabi about 280 grams.

4. If on the other hand the variety is of 150 days then the food reserve will be made for about 100 days and the dry weight built up, will be 600 grams and the yield will be in the first case mentioned above will be 200 grams grains and 400 grams Kadabi

5. We can look at the harvest the other way also suppose we find that in variety of 120 days four plants that are growing in 6sq.feet have total canopy of ten sq.feet only these plants together will produce only 150 grams of grains and 300 grams of Kadabi. [Always begin studying standing crop leaf area by selecting some vigorous plants, some average plants and some below average plants and calculating the dry weight the area of the leaves of these plants will produce] [Then check the result of the harvest at the harvest time by studying the dry weight of the plant and of grains and Kadabi separately]

6. The real need of water for Jowar is about six to eight inches of water in its lifetime. So in some soils as are in Mangal Vedha (Maharashtra) there are only stray raining of about six to ten inches in late monsoon. The soil holds all this water to a depth of two to three feet and the best Jowar crop is grown in this area only on these rains and these soils only.

7. It is now found that the leaves of Jowar can take and use moisture of due etc. from air for growth and cropping so various new ventures can be established to make use of this knowledge. [If one is ready to work with these ventures the case studies can be sent for further research] In Nandurbar region for some reasons the early monsoon rains became very erratic but the late rains were very good. Early sowing of Jowar crop failed miserably so new venture to raise nursery of Jowar seedling was taken. There was relay Jowar seedling raising with an interval of eight days. Then there were sufficient rains in the late monsoon (more than eight inches) the nursery plants that were in the early of second phase of growth were only transplanted and watered lightly (If Necessary) for first five or six days. All other nursery seedlings were rejected as these were in different phases of growth.

8. Aggregate of leaf compost was collected from the leaves shed by big trees near the farm and was used by putting of this compost in a pit or heaps and the pits or heaps were at a distance of three feet between them three or four seeds were sown in pit or heap. The leaf compost is mostly lingo protein and can absorb enough due moisture wintertime to provide enough water for the crop. [Various methods of getting enough biomass to prepare enough leaf compost can be evolved fitting to the limitation of neighborhood. There are always shrubs and bushes that remain green throughout the year on very little water. This ecological heritage for greening can provide us various ventures to support all Jowar crop by these shrubs and bushes]

9. The fertility of the Jowar land is lost as we use all the produce grains and Kadabi and never think of returning the farmyard manure produced by the animals back. We can evolve other cropping techniques by proper stable greening in the farm. These ventures will be available to those who are interested to experiment rigorously.
   

BACK