Thoda hatt ke…!!!
Vol.04 No.09 DON BOSCO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, sulcorna-goa. 11/05/2017
A Visit to Krishna Plantation by Andrea Cheradil
Krishna plantation is just a hop away from the college but we never visited it in the two years of our stay
here .Well better late than never....Glenda Carvalho Ma'am accompanied by Rajan Shelke Sir planned a trip
there as a part of the horticulture practical’. It was really our good fortune to visit such a well established
farm. Our dynamic Entomologist and Apiculture guru, Rajan Shelke Sir, said that he wished they had visits
like this one in his college days. Just a reminder of how lucky we are at DBCA, Sulcorna, where farm visits
have been a tradition from our very first semester. Practical experiences tend to last longer in one's memory
and psychologists tell us there is 70% retention of “learning by doing”. The purpose of these field visits is to
see, feel, do, understand, remember and cherish. May be visit again as we did to the Tanshikar Farm in
Netravali.
Initially we swarmed around the plantation like bees, eagerly observing everything we came across i.e. the
crops (okra, brinjal, exotic varieties of maize, kokum, chili, bush-type groundnut, beans, Malabar spinach
,cocoa , spices , etc ).The list seems to be never ending. Well, that is how substantial and economic Mr. Dinesh
Prayag, the manager of Krishna plantation has made it. He surely is better out of experience in the field.
That is one thing we as students lack but are sure to gain experience by living through the trials and attain
success facing all odds be it the adverse climate, insect pests, diseases, market fluctuations ,etc. Mr. Dinesh
Prayag is a living inspiration for agriculturists and he had amazing interactive skills. He explained
composite farming (cultivation of crops of different species in a same plot of land planted taking into
consideration the competition for nutrients, sunlight, etc) and how it was practiced at Krishna Farm .He
had two phases the main crop being coconut and the other crops nutmeg /clove, cocoa, banana ,kokum
(grafted ones which give early crop and there is more certainty of obtaining females unlike the seedling
plants, thus making optimum use of the available space ). He also had a patch of land for paddy. He also
grow sunflower for its oil and also because of the fact that it attracted honeybees thus boosting pollination in
that area and his apiculture making profit by all means.
He shared his experiences one that would not be found in books or any kind of records. He explained the
biology of coconut with an additional information on the cambium as to how the inter nodal space is more
and the trunk hollow when fertilizers are applied compared to organic practices. He demonstrated the
extraction of “kalpaneera” a refreshing drink which is different from toddy and has no alcohol content
whatsoever.
Well, it was not all study and no play ,we did get to give a shot at climbing a coconut tree, Dinesh Rekdo did
try and managed to reach a good height but the fun and tricky part is the descend which he managed pretty
well. Further, we were let to the plot where he grew turmeric. It was the time for harvest and we got to see
the harvesting and curing process of turmeric. Mr. Dinesh Prayag hinted to make an harvest on basis of the
demand in market because if your product hits the market at a time when there is no demand you will not
get the expected profit. And that is totally undesirable. Later, we saw the processing of VCO (virgin coconut
oil ) and jaggery . Another stop was made to see the tapping of the rubber crop to collect the milk and then
the making of rubber sheets for selling. Another interesting that Mr. Prayag shared was his idea of
providing his crops particularly the coconut with extra water so as to keep the rivulets and ground water
system active and preventing the water to runoff someplace else. Apart from an agriculturist Mr. Prayag
turned to be a really motivational speaker and encouraged all the students to participate more in the group
activities, to be more confident to be able to lead rather than follow the crowd an important lesson for life of
course. After thanking Mr Dinesh for his spending his precious time, experiences and knowledge with us we
parted our ways. Sulking into regular college practical for the remainder of the day that is the afternoon
session. The visit was rather unique and memorable, one where we learned about agriculture and life.... It
was an immense pleasure to meet a personality like Mr Dinesh Prayag emitting an aura of confidence for
anyone he comes across. Thank you teachers for making our day...
Permaculture by Kushal
Call it as a permanent agriculture,
Or a permanent culture,
It is the way of the nature,
Its principle is sustainable living,
For the betterment of human being,
Let’s not abuse the land ,
Using pesticide and chemical as they offend,
Let’s be smart farmers,
And allow the Nature to work for us.
Field trip by Joswin D’Souza
It is always a time of excitement for all the students of DBCA-Sulcorna when the field trip is announced .
The peak of excitement was reached on April 28th morning when we left for a day out to be with nature
.This was arranged by the staff of DBCA to visit some of the very important and beautiful places of South
Goa to increase our knowledge and to see the theory that we learn in the classroom in practice. Our first
visit was to the Tanshikar spice garden memories of which are still fresh in our minds. The well maintained
40 years old garden was admired by all the students. Some students even received the insights to grow their
own spice garden in the near future. From there, we proceeded towards the water treatment plant. The
beauty of the scenery that surrounds mesmerized the students as well as staff members and witnessed many
cameras being turned on! Our next visit was to the Selaulim dam, a huge structure that provides water to
the whole South Goa. The students did not mind walking in the scorching sun just to savour the beauty of the
place. This walk led us to the well maintained botanical garden which was thriving with greenery. After the
lunch we paid a visit to the medicinal plant/tree garden .The explanation and medicinal use of each
medicinal plant captured our attention and made us realize the importance of it. Thus, the whole day
outside the college campus away from lectures and the daily routine was well spent as we were enriched
with beautiful insights, knowledge and experience.
Mr N.D. Prabhudesai RFO explaining the varoius medicinal plants and their uses atSalaulimBotanical garden
Tanshikar farm Prachi Bhardwaj (Ashu Kumari )
On last Friday i.e. 28/04/17 the
students of DBCA (both from
first year and second year B.Sc
(Agri) course) accompanied by
their AssistantProfessors Rajan
Shelke sir ,ma’am Glenda
Carvalho ,ma’am Sumati
Chavan, Ma’am Ashika Sali and
Ma’am Shubhangini Thakre
visited the Tanshikar’s Spice
Farm & Ecological Resthouse
situated in the rainforest of
western ghats at Netravali
village in Sanguem Taluka. The
speciality of this place is the
genuine 25 acres organic farm
out of total 40 acre land area.
Netravali is extremely popular
among nature lovers as well as
for adventure tourism.
Chinmay Tanshikar, the owner
of the spice farm has received
best organic farmer award at
the hands of prime minister
Narendra Modi. The farm
consists of a ‘Kulaghar” with
coconut and areca nut palms
with creepers of ,vanilla and
pepper trailed on them and
interspersed with banana,
pineapple and spices such as
cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and
cardamom. Apiculture yields
sweet honey while providing
pollinator bees.
The mysterious world Tanvi Surlekar
Heard about life taking a ‘U’
turn? And that the failure slaps
in public and success hugs in
private? Of course there is lot
more.
I felt like I should pen down
some thoughts that rushed in
my mind. Why is that people die
of malnutrition even though
there is lot of food that is being
wasted? why is there still
violence of women even after
thunders of women
empowerment ?why are there
divorces and heartbreaks even
they say there’s true love?why is
there corruption even though
you voted the best politician?-
Like there’s evolution in animals
and plants and also
technologies, lifestyle and minds
are also going under evolution.
We don’t know whether there
will be any place left for
humanity in the future. There
are many strange and
mysterious facts that can’t be
explained. One never knows
what will happen in the very
next second. Life is very
unpredictable. Perhaps that’s
what people call destiny
……….no has control over it, all
we can do is value every second
of this mysterious life.
“Candles that lasts long: Natural candles” By Shivama Oppari
A few students along with
ma’am Pratiksha Dabolkar had
made natural candles for
Konkan Fruit Fest. These
candles were natural because
they were made from beeswax
and natural fruit extract. When
these candles are lit, the
fragrance and aroma of fruit
fills the air.
We used different fruits extract
from fruit or peel of orange,
pineapple, jamun, cashew and
kokum. Along with fruits some
scented flowers were used like
rose, jasmine, tuberose, etc. We
did the costing of the raw
materials and priced the
candles. The candles were for
sale in KFF and many people
appreciated our work and also
bought candles as this was
something new. While selling
candles we got an experience
how to market the products and
to be a good entrepreneur.
A dance for enjoyment by Saheel Velip
The Konkan Fruit Fest was held
from 21st April to 23rd April
near Campal Garden, Panjim. It
was a bright sunny Saturday on
22 April, 2017. All the stalls
were all set for their sale on 2nd
day of KFF. The students of
DBCA-Sulcorna were also
marketing their products and
experiencing entrepreneurship
hands-on.
The evening was ours! The
students of DBCA-Sulcorna let
their hair down and showed the
people what it is to dance the
Goan folk dances. Dance
releases all the stress from the
body and gives us happiness ,
enjoyment and the zest for life.
Dance is important in
everyone’s life. In today's life so
full of stress, dance is rhythmic
relief to the mind, body and
soul. Even watching others
dance can give relief to the
persons watching and bring
them some enjoyment. The FY
students presented the Goa's
most famous GoychoMando and
Kunbi dance. The performances
drew loud applause from the
spectators.
SergioFernandes, Liza Pinheiro
and Puja Phadte entertained
the crowd with their melodious
voices rendering songs in
Konkani. Joswin D’ Souza
accompanied them on his
keyboard .
Maria Joby and Shivama
Oppari performed the
Bharatnatyam with great
gusto. In Goa, the fun never
ends and so it was. The last
dance performance was the
Shigmo, the Spring festival of
colour, gaiety and enthusiasm.
It left everyone asking for more.
It was a dance full of joy. All we
knew was that we wanted to
enjoy and let people enjoy
watching us. Memories are
made by doing such small
things. So we must remember
that it doesn’t matter how the
day begins but it is very
important how we end it.
Editors: Karishma Parsekar & Bhushan Sawant Dessai
www.donboscocollegeofagriculture.com Mobile No. 9421414268
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