Traditional farming and post harvest processing of coconut by <i>Nicobari</i> tribe

325-328The Nicobari tribes are the largest tribal group inhabiting Nicobar Islands who are well educated and advanced than many of their counterparts in these Islands and in mainland India. The main economic activity of the Nicobari tribe is agriculture and coconut plantation occupies majority of the agricultural area in these Islands. The present study encompasses a glimpse of a folk knowledge gleaned through survey on farming and post harvest processing of coconut a main source of livelihood activity of the tribals. The knowledge gained and passed on to the generations is vital for their livelihood and some of them are found relevant even today. The tribals practice a form of natural farming with minimum disturbance to the soil and do replace the old and senile plants with new seedlings. In new plantation intercropping is allowed until the seedlings are established. They also have knowledge on different methods for drying copra based on the need and extraction of oil from coconut milk mainly used for sanitary purpose which is now called as virgin coconut oil

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Not AvailableIn the coastal and humid tropical island regions waterlogging and soil salinity are serious threat to the sustainability of rainfed agriculture due to sea water inundation and intensive monsoonal rainfall. The present study was set out to evaluate and assess the raised beds technique to alleviate this problem in coastal lowlands. The raised bed and furrow (RBF) system reduced the overall salinity by 85%, improved the drainage of the raised beds, harvested rain water, and prevented entry of tidal and runoff water into the furrow. Based on the rate of reduction in salinity lag phase, leaching phase and equilibrium phase were recognised during the leaching of salts from the raised beds. But coastal lowlands experienced waterlogging (5-81 cm) and salinity (3.0-9.1 dS m-1) which closely followed the rainfall pattern. Waterlogging and salinity peaks at different seasons requiring different management strategies but, raised bed and furrow system are effective in addressing this challenge together.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe Nicobari tribes are the largest tribal group inhabiting Nicobar Islands who are well educated and advanced than many of their counterparts in these Islands and in mainland India. The main economic activity of the Nicobari tribe is agriculture and coconut plantation occupies majority of the agricultural area in these Islands. The present study encompasses a glimpse of a folk knowledge gleaned through survey on farming and post harvest processing of coconut a main source of livelihood activity of the tribals. The knowledge gained and passed on to the generations is vital for their livelihood and some of them are found relevant even today. The tribals practice a form of natural farming with minimum disturbance to the soil and do replace the old and senile plants with new seedlings. In new plantation intercropping is allowed until the seedlings are established. They also have knowledge on different methods for drying copra based on the need and extraction of oil from coconut milk mainly used for sanitary purpose which is now called as virgin coconut oil.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableIn the coastal and humid tropical island regions waterlogging and soil salinity are serious threat to the sustainability of rainfed agriculture due to sea water inundation and intensive monsoonal rainfall. The present study was set out to evaluate and assess the raised beds technique to alleviate this problem in coastal lowlands. The raised bed and furrow (RBF) system reduced the overall salinity by 85%, improved the drainage of the raised beds, harvested rain water, and prevented entry of tidal and runoff water into the furrow. Based on the rate of reduction in salinity lag phase, leaching phase and equilibrium phase were recognised during the leaching of salts from the raised beds. But coastal lowlands experienced waterlogging (5-81 cm) and salinity (3.0-9.1 dS m-1) which closely followed the rainfall pattern. Waterlogging and salinity peaks at different seasons requiring different management strategies but, raised bed and furrow system are effective in addressing this challenge together.Not Availabl

Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Not AvailableIn an island ecosystem, assessment of groundwater for its quality is very essential for understanding salinization and judicious use of water. Groundwater occurs in three different geological formations in which marine sediment formation in the coastal areas can be judiciously exploited only by rings well. Stratified random water samples (496) were collected covering all the three districts and analyzed for its hydro-chemical properties. The results showed that water samples from only three blocks exceeded EC value of more than 5.0 dS m-1 accounting for 15% while none of the sample found to contain RSC. The distribution of samples in different water quality categories indicated that 80% samples were good in quality and 4% samples were saline while 5% samples found to be high SAR saline.Not Availabl