Amrita university agriculture students engage with farmers in Coimbatore, demonstrate sustainable farming techniques

The final-year students of Amrita School of Agricultural Sciences, Coimbatore, under the Amrita University, recently carried out a series of practical demonstrations and awareness programmes at Pottaiandipurambu village in Coimbatore.

This activities were part of the students Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) programme, aimed to educate farmers on sustainable farming techniques, spanning crop protection, soil health management, organic inputs, and scientific cultivation practices.

Advertisement

The programme began with a demonstration on pseudostem injection technique in bananas.

The students then explained how targeted nutrient or pesticide application through the pseudostem helps in effective control of pests like banana weevil and improves plant recovery. Farmers were given hands-on experience in preparing the solution and administering injections safely.

The importance of converting farm waste into nutrient-rich organic manure was highlighted in an extensive session on vermicomposting. In this session, the students demonstrated the stepwise process of bed preparation, moisture maintenance, and quality assessment. A related demonstration on earthworm harvesting was also held to help farmers to learn methods to collect, multiply, and maintain earthworm populations for sustained vermicompost production.

Another major highlight of this farmer outreach programme was the vermiwash purification demonstration, where students showcased how the liquid extract obtained from vermicompost units can be filtered, stored, and used as an organic foliar spray for crop growth enhancement and pest deterrence.

To promote better manure management, the team conducted a comparative demonstration on Farmyard Manure (FYM) versus cow dung, explaining differences in nutrient composition, decomposition rate, and field application benefits. This helped farmers understand the improved efficiency of well-decomposed FYM over raw cow dung.

The session on organic solutions drew considerable interest from the farmers. In this session, the students explained the method of preparations of Jeevamrith and Neemasthra to the farmers. They also explained their role in soil microbial enrichment, pest control, and overall crop resilience.

The programme also featured a demonstration on multi-tier cropping, where farmers were introduced to crop combinations that improve land productivity, and enhance resource-use efficiency. Field examples were used to illustrate how cereals, pulses, vegetables, and perennials can be grown together.

In the technical session, held as part of the programme, the students explained paring and pralinage techniques used in bananas, showcasing how it can control nematode attack in bananas.
In an extensive awareness session on green manuring highlighted the use of crops like sunhemp, daincha, cowpea and other pulse crops to naturally improve soil nitrogen levels, structure, and microbial health. Farmers were encouraged to integrate green manures into cropping schedules to reduce dependency on synthetic fertilisers

The farmer outreach programme was concluded with a practical orientation on soil and water testing, where the importance of analysing pH, EC, nutrient status, and water quality was emphasised. Farmers were also given training to collect representative samples.

The holistic set of demonstrations by the Amrita university agriculture students provided farmers with practical, science-backed knowledge to enhance productivity and sustainability in their farming systems.

The farmer outreach programmes were conducted under the guidance of the College Dean, Dr. Sudheesh Manalil, and faculty members Dr. Sureshkumar Rs, Dr. Mageshen V. R. and Dr. Shankararaman H. The sessions were jointly organised by the student team comprising Meghavarrshini A., Krishna Mahesh, Samyajhna P., Niranjana C., Krishnabhadra, Aruna V. S., Devi Chandana, Meenakshy R, Adith Krishnan P. R., and Mohan A.