Create And Develop Successful Businesses Through Farm Ideas.: Greenhouse Farming in India

Showing posts with label Greenhouse Farming in India. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Polyhouse farming information in India

Even though Polyhouse farming and Greenhouse farming terms are used interchangeably, there is a slight difference between these two terms.Greenhouse farming is a broad term which includes all types of Greenhouses made of Glasses,Polyethylene etc.Polyhouse farming is specific to the Greenhouses built using Polyethylene.Cost of Greenhouses ranges from Rs 80/Sq.ft to 500/Sq.ft out of which Polyhouses are cost effective.The cost will differ in polyhouse farming also based on the Quality of Polyethylene used.The Polyethylene sheet gauge varies from 200 to 800 micron.Ply film can tolerate an average temperature of55 ̊C and its average life span is 4 Years.

Construction of a Polyhouse

The Polyhouse structure is prepared with Iron pipes(GI) or Bamboos.For long life and strength,Iron pipes are recommended.But it is costly than Bamboos.The average length of a polyhouse is 30 feet(you can change the length and width based on your plan and availability of land) and 6 feet width.The direction of Polyhouse should be always east to west.This is to avail maximum sunshine.Polyhouse should be constructed in an area where maximum sunshine is available.

Polyhouse Cucumber farming

Irrigation systems used inside polyhouses are

Hand watering
Tube method
Sprinklers
Drip Irrigation
Mist system

These irrigation methods are used separately or in combined form based on the requirement inside the polyhouse.

Plants grown

Flowers:Mainly flowers like Gerbera, Anthurium, Marigold,Carnation,Rose etc are grown inside a Polyhouse farm.Read about Greenhouse flower farming and Greenhouse Gerbera farming for more details.

Vegetables:Tomato,Cucumber,cabbage,Asparagus,Broccoli,Capsicum etc are grown inside a Polyhouse farm.Read about Greenhouse tomato farming,Greenhouse cucumber farming etc fore more details.Greenhouse farming in terrace is also gaining popularity.

Polyhouse Rose farming

Polyhouse farming Advantages

Detailed advantages of Polyhouse farming is given in the post Greenhouse farming in India.Polyhouses mainly serves as a protection for plants and its surrounding environment.Hence maintain a favourable climate for plants.This will help us to increase the productivity 5 to 10 folds compared to open field farming.Quality of the products also will be superior.Optimum use of resources is possible inside a polyhouse. As the plants are grown throughout the year,farmer can expect high return compared to open field farming.

Main disadvantage of polyhouse farming is its high initial cost. The farmer/worker should be educated about latest technologies and greenhouse technology.Then only greenhouse farming will be successful.The cost of naturally ventilated polyhouse ranges from RS 800 to 1200 per square meter whereas Environment controlled fully automatic polyhouse cost range from RS 2000 to 3500 per square meter.The construction cost varies based on the quality of materials used.

There are lots of consultancies who provide services for setting up Polyhouses. Most of them are scams and they try to loot your money.Hence take care if you approach any consultancy.Approach Government agencies like Krishi Vigyan Kendra for free consultancy and training.

Polyhouse farming Subsidy

Both state governments and Central government are promoting Greenhouse/Polyhouse farming by providing various subsidies and schemes.Visit your nearest government agency like KVK,Krishibhavan,Bank etc for knowing more about government subsidies for polyhouse farming.

Polyhouse farming is the only solution for reducing the dependency of our farmers on weather conditions.In India,Now weather conditions are not favourable for farming.This affected most of the farmers who depend rain for watering their plants. Polyhouse farming can be a life saver in such conditions.It reduces the loss of water and enables effective utilization of resources.This will help Indian farming sector and farmers in long term.

You are most welcome to post your views and opinions about Polyhouse farming.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Precision farming inside Greenhouses

Implementing Precision farming in its original form inside Greenhouses is not possible as the original concept of Precision farming include usage of satellites and GPS systems and dealing large area. Greenhouses are Man made shelters which is limited to a specified area.Greenhouses are proved to be successful in almost all parts of the world.By implementing some practical concepts which can be introduced inside Greenhouses,we can improve the efficiency of our Greenhouse farm.

One of the key features of Precision farming is the full control over resources.Wastage of water and fertilizers are nil in precision farming.So by introducing this system in Greenhouses,we can avoid wastage and improve efficiency.This system includes soil analysis,Fertilizer machinery,Drip irrigation systems etc.The Greenhouse system will provide the suitable environment for the plant growth and protection from pests.So the system will provide double protection compared to traditional farming.

In India,already many farmers implemented this modern farming method successfully.This system allows us to treat the Greenhouses as a production factory and can manage each and every factor inside it. Even though we are familiar with Greenhouses and other technologies to improve production,the combined result of these technologies may vary from farmer to farmer.So it is better to have enough knowledge about them and then start to implement in our farm.Our Agricultural universities and nearest Government agencies can help a lot in this regards.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Greenhouse Farming-Future Technology in Indian Agriculture

Greenhouse or Poly house farming is a modern farming technology which is the future hope for farmers in India.Over past 20 years,Many researches happened on how greenhouse technology can improve Vegetable,flowers and Crop production in India and now a dozen of companies are doing their businesses in Greenhouse cultivation field.Lots of young farmers realized the possibility of Greenhouse farming,learned how to do greenhouse farming and are willing to invest more in various fields of Greenhouse farming like Vegetable cultivation,fruit farming,flower farming etc. Yes,Greenhouse farming technology made farming a 'complete business opportunity'.Now lets have a detailed analysis of this technology.

Here we are analysing

What is Greenhouse and Greenhouse farming.
Advantages of Greenhouse farming.
Disadvantages of Greenhouse farming.
Scope of Greenhouse/Poly house farming in India.
Subsidy by various governments for Greenhouse farming.
Scams associated with Greenhouse farming.

With the help of Greenhouse technology,Kerala Government was able to promote Vegetable farming to a large extend within the state.They almost doubled vegetable production this year(2015) compared to 2014.Farmers also earned very well and the People are getting benefited by enjoying pesticide free Organic Products.This is what expected from agricultural sector.The farming should be profitable,but at the same time the products should be harmless,High quality and pesticide free.People should be able to enjoy the benefits of new technologies,that is what exactly Greenhouse farming technology does.

What is Greenhouse farming?

Greenhouse Farming is Farming inside a shelter called Greenhouse.This Greenhouse shelter isolates environment inside the Greenhouse from external environment.It can be partial isolation also.The main objective is to provide a favourable environment to the plants and provide protection.Various issues like Pests,Animal attack,diseases,sunburn etc can be avoided by Greenhouse farming.A high- tech Greenhouse requires Lots of Money to construct,but we can also build our own cheap green house.Poly house Greenhouses are most common in India.In old days,the main use of greenhouses were to protect plants from extreme weather conditions.But now Greenhouses are incorporated with various technologies like automatic temperature controlling systems,drip irrigation systems etc to comprise a complete artificial farming environment.The main importance of this technology is that one can grow any plant at any time(Based on market requirement) at any place by providing suitable environmental conditions inside the green house.As the chance of attack of pests are zero inside the Greenhouse,the products are pesticide free.

What is a Greenhouse

Greenhouses are framed or inflated structures covered with transparent materials large enough to grow plants under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity.

Advantages of Greenhouse Technology

Protection from Heavy wind and Rain. Poly Greehouse protection is very helpful in High wind areas especially Hillside areas.
High Quality agricultural products.The products are at it topmost quality as the atmosphere is highly favourable inside Greenhouse.
Production volume increases more than 20 times than normal production.
Off-seasonal production possible.
Disease and pests attacks minimum.As the Poly Greenhouse is fully covered and isolated from external environment,zero chances of pest attack.
Production of Organic products free from Pesticides and Insecticides.
Latest technologies can be incorporated to get maximum benefits.
Plant growth rate and lifespan very high.
Considering overall performance,it is very cost effective.
Modern technologies like Hydroponic farming can be applied with this technology for better farming experience.
Pesticide free Products

Disadvantages of Greenhouse technology

Initial cost is very High
Maintenance cost high
Knowledge of various factors required to effectively control climate inside the Greenhouse.

Scope of Greenhouse farming is very huge.Various leafy greens,spinach and Micro greens which are used in Salads are cultivated inside Greenhouses.Greenhouse tomato farming and Greenhouse Cucumber farming are very popular and profitable.Pepper farming like Capsicum and Greenhouse Chilli farming are gaining more popularity and profit.Fruits like Grapes,strawberries,peaches are also farmed inside Greenhouses.Greenhouse flower farming also having large scope.Commercialized Greenhouse farming of Gerbera and Roses are proven to be successful in many parts of India.For consuming pesticide free Vegetables,Many people started to farm vegetables in their terrace,which is one of the greatest application of Greenhouse technology.

Various State Governments like Kerala,Tamilnadu ,Andra Pradesh are giving Subsidy to encourage Greenhouse farming.Apart from the State government subsidy,Central Government also providing Subsidy for Greenhouse farming.You can get in touch with your local Agricultural agencies for getting more details as the subsidy varies from state to state.Agencies like Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Krishibhavan,National horticulture board can give you more details and training.

Beware of the fake consultants and Agencies working in this field to loot money from farmers.They will collect your money by offering consultancy services and construction of Greenhouses.If you don't have enough knowledge in this field,you will end up will unnecessary expenses.To avoid such issues,you should get proper training from Government agencies before starting greenhouse farming.Investigate more details about the consultancies before approaching them.

In a country like India,where most of the agricultural practices are depending on seasonal weather conditions,Greenhouse farming got a lot of scope.By effectively utilizing this technology,we can reduce our dependency on external factors and concentrate more on productivity.Your suggestions are very much appreciated.I hope Greenhouse technology can stimulate another Green revolution in India.What do you think?