With an objective to provide the technical scientific technical know-how for enhancing the farm income by reducing the unnecessary inputs under the Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG) Scheme, a flagship programme of the Government of India, the team of ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana’s scientists has adopted a cluster of 5 villages in Jind and Karnal Districts of Haryana. For this, the team is promoting fish farming for diversifying the distressed farmers’ income spheres. The fish farm located at Dhatrath, Jind is spread in an area of about 12.5 acres with effective area into three quarters of 6, 4 and 2.5 acres. The fishes grown in the farm are the Indian Major Carps (IMCs), Catla, Rohu and Mrigal along with the common carps. The farmer reported two diseases outbreaks after 3 months of stocking.

During the first outbreak, the morphological examination of the dead and morbid fish showed pale skin color covered with mucus and pale gills. The anchor worm, Lernaeids, was lodged on the external body surface and gills of the fish. The fishes were emaciated with loss of appetite. The farmer was advised to apply cypermethrin for multiple times over the water surface for a week. After a few days, the fishes responded to the treatment and gained weight with good response to feed.

In the second outbreak, the fishes showed hemorrhage on the fins, gills and internal organs. The problem in water quality was the reason which resulted in stress and infection in fishes. But, the clinical diagnosis has ascertained that Aeromonads may be the possible etiological agent. The main control measure was the application of CIFAX @ 0.1ppm over pond for three times in a week which checked the mortality and the fishes recovered from the hemorrhagic septicemia. The farmer was in usual practice of applying antibiotics and several other chemicals to get better growth of fishes which raised the rearing cost without any significant benefit.

With the help of advisories by the MGMG team, the farmers have reduced 53% in monthly farm input cost and got significant hike in returns. The farmer has fully endorsed the services rendered by the ICAR-CSSRI scientists by visualizing the improvement in the health of the fishes, reduction in mortality rate and low input costs of rearing by avoiding the unnecessary use of chemicals and other inputs. Such small interventions at farm levels can prove a milestone in doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.

(Source: ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana)