Dear Biradhar
Seems you have been disappointed with the failure of pomegranate crop and anyhow wanted to switch over to other short term crops …it is really a wise idea …From your message here that your 4 years old pomegranate orchard successively failed due to disease and other problems inspite of your great efforts to manage the crop with drip irrigation system …you might have also been faced with investment loss on infrastructure …
You do follow your own inner voice here and of course your decision is wise now …I heard most of the pomegranate orchards have been uprooted in maharastra and part of mathya pradesh due to price loss vis a vis yield loss both in local and international market …Sometimes before this same pomegranate was earning sizable profit and foreign exchange in international market but situation is not same now for pomegranate.
For your personal reference I am telling you to first uproot the old pomegranate plants because it should have become sick and unproductive …Further investment in reviving this sick orchard will bring additional burden to you …
You dismantle laterals of drip system and roll and keep it safe in a store room
Flood the land with water and prepare it for one paddy crop cultivation …This will solve most of your pest and disease problem for subsequent crops either short or long or medium term crops …
DO not hesitate to study about nearest market …just spend few hours with senior farmers selling farm produce in the nearest market and market agent that will keep you informed of the pattern of market for agricultural produce and prevailing and price forecast for various agricultural produce during different harvest period … the past local market experience shared by above members will help you plan your farming decisions …
Then after a paddy crop you can decide among the various income generating agriculture crops …
Plan to reduce the cost of cultivation …For example if you go to pesticide shop for buying pesticide for a particular disease or pest problem , the pesticide seller will get you so many pesticides for single pest or disease problem …For controlling a borer pest in brinjal a pesticide seller packed 2 different pesticides, fungicides , neem oil , and some other items to the farmer and charged Rs.2800 in lieu of Rs.250 worth pesticide to control the pest…This not just incresed the cos tof cultivation and also made the brinjal highly poisionous for consumption …Unfortuntely the pest was not controlled totally …because the borer pest in the infecting / attacking stage would have made a hole inside fruits and stems and cushioned comfortably inside the plant escaping poisionous chemicals …
Next you consider to grow only those crops for which demand exist more in your local market - if you aim for distant market you may have to incur huge transportation cost that will eat your profit …unless yuou cultivate in over large area that produce huge produce that can be transported to distant market …
You set your mobile phone to link to some important govt or private information providers that forecast demand for particular agriculture produce and expected price for the said produce -based on the total area of cultivation of particular crop and its demand for local and export market …This is called market intelligence…
The watermelon that is lucrative this year may not be a earning crop next year due to various factors …so decide about the crops based on the market demand…
Because there is no standard and fixed price for agriculture produce in the market …the price is determined based on the supply and demand condition for particular produce …so price avries each season and each year …
For the the brand organic produce the selling price is told to be higher than conventional produce but the no of buyers available for organic produce is is least compared to general buyers in the market…it is the reason why even though organic farm produce is sold at higher price the profit is not much due to movement of low volume …few exporter gain profit through organic farm produce sales …
So you follow GAP ( good agricultural practice ) to produce those crops which has high market demand , and keep your production cost as low as possible …
In organic farming the cost of cultivation will be less for those farmers who produce their own requirement in the farm itself …but for other organic farmers that cultivate organic crops with inputs purchased from outside source , the cost of cultivation is definitely more…Because they charge huge and abnormal price for organic inputs …hence cost of cultivation for organic produce also goes up ,resulting in higher market price …if there is no buyer for the particular organic produce during harvest , then again means loss …
SO your profit and earning in agriculutre depends on various factors like your own resources , dependent outside resources , investment size and capacity , market demand and prevailing price , rainfall and irrigation water availability , sudden outbreak of pest and disease on account of instant change in weather factors, transportation and market commission , market competition during glut period …
If at all you want to overcome all the above factors and come up successful , then only way out is to harvest extraordinary yield and quality produce …
Like getting 100 MT in brinjal
Getting 50 to 60 MT in tomato
Getting 40 to 50 MT in watermelon
Getting 8 to 10 MT in chillies
Or getting 100 MT sugarcane
In this case only you can earn sizable farm income inspite of disadvantageous position as regards market price and demand and other risk factors …If you want to achieve this much result in farming , then you will have to devote your whole time in the field like toiling and moiling in soil most of your life …
So as you said do better remove pomegranate and opt for seasonal remunerative crops that will sustain your life for so many years ahead …best of luck …