First Step in to farming- Need suggestions and advices

[thaya80]

Dear my friends and mentors,

i am thayalan, an IT guy by profession but a farmer by passion, ambition, etc., from thanjavur (rice bowl), tamil nadu but currently living in abu dhabi for job purpose. i have been looking for 4 years and bought around 7 Acers of Land recently near my place( exact location is ammapettai, Thanjavur). our land is located on the bank of river with bore well and very good water source.soil type of the land is clay with sandy(not sure, some locals say it is vandal man(tamil)). however i will go for soil and water test, will share the details as soon as i receive the result.the land was being used for paddy cultivation as the general practice followed in our area for years. i am planning to settle down at my native after 6-7 years and become full time farmer and generate some decent income.now my father is taking care of the land and very much interested to start cultivating. our experience in agriculture is zero but willing to learn from failures and successes from others as well as from us.

here are my questions and humbly expecting inputs from my friends and mentors.

we are planning to go for timber trees with some intercrops for the entire 7 Acres, considering the labour shortage
and less maintenance. after googling i have short listed Kumil(gmelina arborea) as main tree. please suggest me some other trees also.

1. should i go for mono type or mixed with some other trees. if yes what kind of trees like fruit trees or timber trees?

2. how many trees can i plant per acre and the space between the trees considering the inter crop option?
   some say more trees are good, some say less. how much do i need to spend per acre including digging, sapling,etc? are there any consultants available to do this?

3. what are the irrigation options like drip or trench? and how much will be the cost per acre?

4. what are the options for inter crops? how many years can i do intercrop?

5. Can i reuse the land for natural farming after cutting the trees?

I understand that i ask too many questions, kindly bear with me and advice.

Regards,
Thaya

[sri2012]

I suggest you to go thru old threads, you will get answers for most of your questions.

[thaya80]

Thank you Sri for your input. I had already browsed for the information. but not many information regarding gmelina arborea cultivation and what happens after cuttings trees. however I will keep searching.

Regards,
Thaya

[padmanabhan_ganesan]

@thaya80

Dear my friends and mentors,

i am thayalan, an IT guy by profession but a farmer by passion, ambition, etc., from thanjavur (rice bowl), tamil nadu but currently living in abu dhabi for job purpose. i have been looking for 4 years and bought around 7 Acers of Land recently near my place( exact location is ammapettai, Thanjavur). our land is located on the bank of river with bore well and very good water source.soil type of the land is clay with sandy(not sure, some locals say it is vandal man(tamil)). however i will go for soil and water test, will share the details as soon as i receive the result.the land was being used for paddy cultivation as the general practice followed in our area for years. i am planning to settle down at my native after 6-7 years and become full time farmer and generate some decent income.now my father is taking care of the land and very much interested to start cultivating. our experience in agriculture is zero but willing to learn from failures and successes from others as well as from us.

here are my questions and humbly expecting inputs from my friends and mentors.

we are planning to go for timber trees with some intercrops for the entire 7 Acres, considering the labour shortage
and less maintenance. after googling i have short listed Kumil(gmelina arborea) as main tree. please suggest me some other trees also.

1. should i go for mono type or mixed with some other trees. if yes what kind of trees like fruit trees or timber trees?
   [Padmanabhan Ganesan] - You should go with Fruit Trees and intercrop with Kumil as Fruit Trees will become productive at the time of cutting the Kumil. This way you will have continuous money supply after the initial gestation period.
   Mango, Pomegranate, Lime, Sapota, etc. are good options but check what is locally preferred.

2. how many trees can i plant per acre and the space between the trees considering the inter crop option?
   some say more trees are good, some say less. how much do i need to spend per acre including digging, sapling,etc? are there any consultants available to do this?
   [Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Especially for Timber Trees, the space needs to be less as you want more girth growth rather than anything else.

3. what are the irrigation options like drip or trench? and how much will be the cost per acre?
   [Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Drip is a better option.

4. what are the options for inter crops? how many years can i do intercrop?

5. Can i reuse the land for natural farming after cutting the trees?

I understand that i ask too many questions, kindly bear with me and advice.

Regards,
Thaya

[thaya80]

thank you padmanabhan_ganesan ji for your valuable input. soon I will share my activities and experience. I am a regular visitor of your blog.

Regards,
Thaya