MALLA REDDY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY

CROP PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY -I (KHARIF CROPS)

AGRO-201

Prepared by
Dr. B. JOSEPH
Dr. JAYA PRATHIKSHA
B. GOUTHAMI
N. RAMMOHAN REDDY
AGRO 201: Crop Production Technology - I (Kharif crops), 3 (2+1)

A. THEORY – 32 classes

L. Lessons Reference
No. Books
1 Rice - introduction, origin, distribution, area, production and 1,3,4
productivity n World, India and Telangana. Rice plant types - concept
of new plant types – important features of new plant types of rice –
Golden rice – Super rice
2 ecosystems – upland, lowland, deep water and floating rice, SRI, 1,3
MSRI, DSR, Aerobic rice – Differences between upland and lowland
rice
3 adaptation – influence of climate and soil factors – growth stages – 1,3,4
land preparation and puddling – sequential changes
4 methods of planting – manures and feriliser – N, P, K, Zn, Fe and 1,3,4
Biofertilizers, INM – steps for increasing fertilizer use efficiency
5 water management – water requirement, critical stages, water use 1,3,4
efficiency – weed control, weed flora in upland and low land – critical
period – weed control in nursery and main field
6 harvesting – threshing – post harvest operations – yield attributes and 1,3,4
yield – by product utilization – parboiling – production constraints
and strategies for increasing yield – cropping systems
7 Maize – introduction – origin – distribution – area – production and 1,3,4
productivity in World – India and Telangana and varieties/hybrids –
special types of maize – adaptation and climate
8 soils – land preparation – season – seeds and sowing – manures and 1,3,4
fertilizers – irrigation including fertigation – weed control –
harvesting – threshing – yield attributes and yield – cropping systems
9 Sorghum – introduction – origin – distribution – area – production 1,3,4
and productivity in World – India and Telangana – adaptation – soils
– land preparation – seasons in Telangana, varieties
10 seeds and sowing – manures and fertilizers – irrigation – weed control 1,3,4
– ratooning – yield and yield attributes – sweet sorghum – cropping
systems
11 Pearl millet – introduction – economic importance – origin – 1,3,4
distribution – area – production – productivity in world – India and
Telangana – adaptation – soils – land preparation – seasons – seeds and
sowings – varieties/ hybrids – manures and fertlisers – irrigation
and weed control – harvesting – threshing and processing –yield
attributes and yield – cropping systems
12 Finger millet – introduction – economic importance – origin – 1,3,4
distribution – area – production and productivity in world – India &
Telangana – adaptation – soils – land preparation – seasons – seeds &
sowing – varieties /hybrids – manures and fertilizers – irrigation –
weed control – harvesting – threshing & processing – yield attributes
and yield – cropping systems
13 Minor millets – Foxtail millet – Kodo millet – Common millet – 1,3,4
Little millet – origin – distribution – area – production and
productivity in world – India & Telangana – soils – land preparation –
 seasons – seeds & sowing – varieties – manures and fertilizers –
irrigation – intercultivation – harvesting – threshing – yield attributes
and yield – cropping systems
14 Pulses – Importance of pulses in Indian agriculture – area, production, 1,3
productivity of pulses in world – India and Telangana – importance of
pulses – utilization as food, fodder, feed – green manuring – crop
mixtures and crop rotations for improving soil
fertility
15 Pulses – reason for low yields of pulses in India (genetical, 1,3
physiological and agronomical reasons) – production strategy for
improving the productivity of pulses
16 Redgram – importance – area - production and productivity in world 1,3,4,5
– India & Telangana – varietal improvement – origin – distribution –
climate - soils – land preparation – seasons – seeds & sowing methods
– square planting – transplanting – manures and fertilizers –
irrigation – weed control – harvesting – threshing – yield attributes and
yield – cropping systems
17 Blackgram & Greengram – production constraints - area - production 1,3,4,5
and productivity in world – India & Telangana – climate - soils – seeds
& sowing – manures and fertilizers – biofertilisers - irrigation – weed
control – harvesting – threshing – yield attributes
and yield – cropping systems
18 Cluster bean – introduction – origin – distribution – soil –land 4
preparation – seasons – seeds & sowing – fertilizer – irrigation –
critical stages – weed management – harvesting – yield attributes and
yield – major cropping systems
19 Sesame – importance – area – production – productivity in world – 2,3,4
India and Telangana – origin – soils – climate – seeds and sowing –
manures and fertilizers – weed management – irrigation – critical
stages – symptoms of maturity – harvesting – yield and yield
attributes – cropping systems
20 Soybean – importance – area, production – productivity in world – 2,3,4
India and Telangana – origin – soils – climate – seeds and sowing –
manures and fertilizers – weed management – irrigation – critical
stages – symptoms of maturity - harvesting – yield attributes and yield
– cropping systems
21 Castor – economic importance – area – production – productivity – 2,3,4
world – India and Telangana – origin – soils – climate – manures and
fertilizers – irrigation- weed management – harvesting – threshing
and processing – yield components and yield – cropping systems
22 Cotton – Importance – origin – area – production – productivity in 2,3,4
world – India & Telangana – cotton species – cotton growing zones
of India – varieties/hybrids
23 climatic and soil requirements – seasons – seeds – seed treatment – 2,3,4
methods of sowing – manures & fertilizers – water and weed
management
24 harvesting – threshing – yield attributes and yield – topping – boll 2,3,4
shedding – reasons – measures – quality parameters – cropping
systems
25 Bt- cotton production technology 2
 26 Jute – importance – origin – area – production – productivity in 2,3,4
World –India, Telangana – jute types – properties of jute – climatic
and soil requirements – seasons – seeds/seed treatments - varieties
27 manures and fertilizers – water management – critical stages of 2,3,4
irrigation – method of irrigation – weed management – harvesting –
retting – fiber extraction – yield attributes and yield - institutes
28 Fodders/forage crops – importance – classification of fodders – 4
fodder sorghum and maize – introduction – origin, distribution, soils,
land preparation – seasons – seeds and sowing, fertilizer,
irrigation
29 weed management, harvesting, yield and major cropping systems – 4
toxixities – mode of action and remedial measures
30 Fodder cowpea and horsegram – introduction – origin, distribution, 1,4,5
soils, land preparation – varieties – seasons – seeds & sowing,
fertilizer, irrigation, weed management – harvesting – yield and major
cropping systems
31 Napier hybrid – introduction – origin, distribution, soils, land 4
preparation – seasons – seeds and sowing, fertilizers, irrigation, weed
management, harvesting, yield and major cropping systems
32 Paragrass – introduction – origin, distribution, soils, land preparation 4
– seasons – seeds & sowing, fertilizer, irrigation, weed management,
harvesting, yield and major cropping systems
1 Rajendra Prasad. 2002. Text book of field crops production – Food grain crops
Vol. I. Sixth reprint (Revised edition) 2017, ICAR, New Delhi.
2 Rajendra Prasad. 2002. Text book of field crops production – Commercial crops
Vol. II. Third reprint (Revised edition) 2016, ICAR, New Delhi.
3 Reddy S. R. 2004. Agronomy of field crops. Reprinted 2015, Kalyani publishers,
Noida – New Delhi.
4 Singh Ch., Singh P. and Singh R. 2009. Modern techniques of raising field crops.
Last reprint 2017, Oxford and IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
5 Yadav D.S. and Yadav V. K. 1991. Pulse crops production technology. Second
revised edition, 2005, Kalyani publishers, New Delhi.
1 Balasubramaniyan P. and Palaniappan SP. 2000. Principles and Practices of
Agronomy. Reprinted 2009, Agrobios (India), Jodhpur.
2 Das, N. R. 2009. Practical manual on basic agronomy (with theory). Scientific
publishers (India), Jodhpur.
3 Rajendra Prasad. 2002. Text book of field crops production – Food grain crops
Vol. I. Sixth reprint (Revised edition) 2017, ICAR, New Delhi.
4 Rajendra Prasad. 2002. Text book of field crops production – Commercial crops
Vol. II. Third reprint (Revised edition) 2016, ICAR, New Delhi.
5 Yellamanda Reddy T. and Sankara Reddi. G. H. 1992. Principles of Agronomy.
Fifth edition 2016, reprinted 2019, Kalyani publishers, Noida – New Delhi
REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THEORY

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRACTICALS

Lecuture No: 1
R I C E (Oryza sativa)

TRADITIONAL VARIETIES & THEIR YIELD POTENTIAL-CONCEPT OF NEW PLANT

TYPES (NPT’s)

Reasons for low yield of crops-

1. Poor genetic yield potential of varieties of different crops.

2. Under identical conditions genetic makeup of a variety is most significant factor in
determining yield.

In recent years due to all round efforts of agricultural scientists it has been possible to cultivate
HYVs of cereal crops which are often been termed as “NEW PLANT TYPES”.

1. IDEOTYPE : refers to plant type in which morphological and physiological characteristics are
ideally suited to achieve high production potential and yield reliability.

2. NPT’s are also called as fertilizer responsive varieties since these NPTs possess the trait of
high responsiveness towards heavy fertilizer applications.
3. NPT’s are also termed as adaptable varieties means the physiological attributes of
variety responsible for

a) Controlling the assimilation of absorbed N in plant body.

b) Translocation and storage of photosynthetic products.
c) Possessing more activity of roots under heavy application of fertilizers.
d) Availability of resistance to lodging and diseases.

But, the term NPT seems to be more appropriate and reasonable as it can very easily express
the extent of improvement incorporated over the old type varieties.
 The so called improved tall varieties cultivated by farmers generally grow very tall and possess
low yielding potentiality due to

1. Weak and tall straw, susceptible to lodging under heavy fertilizer application.
2. Inefficient leaf arrangement responsible for poor photosynthetic activity and less utilization
of Solar energy.
3. Many associated attributes like unsynchronized susceptibility towards the attack of pests
and diseases.

NPT’s do not posses these defects and have been further improved to increase their production
efficiency where the morphological frame work has been genetically linked with other yield
contributing characters. Recent developments in plant breeding made significant contribution towards
concept of NPTs. The successful efforts of altering the morphological architecture of crop plants and
making them suitable for cultivation under high fertility status of soils have opened a new VISTA in
developing the varieties suitable for good agronomy.

CHARACTERS OF NPT’s : They should be

1. Morphologically be dwarf in growth habit with hard and stiff straw.

2. Erect and dark green leaves remaining active for longer duration.
3. Agronomically highly responsive to heavy fertilizer application
4. Physiologically be well equipped for more dry matter production and high yields.
5. Adaptable under different agro climatic conditions and of short growing duration.

Ex : NPT’s made in wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize.

Important features of such NPT’s of cereals in grain crops are :

1. DWARFNESS :
NPT’s are dwarf in nature due to NORIN in wheat and DEE-GEE-WOO-GEN in rice dwarf genes.
NPT’s are short, stiff, not more than knee high but could take more fertilizers without lodging.
2. EFFICIANT LEAF ARRANGEMENT :
NPTs are narrow, thick, erect and dark green color with optimum LAI composed of properly arranged
leaves, which remain active for longer period after flowering due to high sunlight interception they
play important role in supporting grain formation resulting into more number of fertile grains per ear
head.
3. SYNCHRONOUS TILLERING :
The growth and development of NPTs are more or less rhythmic i.e., high germination %, formation of
all tillers at a time (during a specific period) and timely maturity of all the tillers. So, they have highest
synchronized coefficient as regards to the development and maturity of grains of different ears of a
plant.
Synchronization of tillering has been found to be dependent on other factors like moisture,
proper secondary regrowth and adequate nutrient availability during the period.
4. LOW FLORET STERILITY :
Traditional tall varieties under heavy fertilizer application produce more sterile florets. NPT’s have a
very low floret sterility % due to synchronized tillering into uniform ear head formation supported by
longer physiological activity if leaves at naturity. Low floret sterility an in NPT’s has also been
attributed due to increased activities of roots at grain formation stage.
5. SHORTER GROWTH DURATION :
NPT’s have shorter duration than tall varieties. The optimum growth duration of a variety is more
important for scheduling its irrigation and manuring for obtaining higher yield. At High N application
longer growth duration and at low N application, short duration variety is preferred for obtaining
higher dry matter production as well as more grain production efficiency i.e., grain yield/unit area/unit
time. These short duration varieties can fit very well in under high cropping intensity programmes like
multiple and relay cropping.
6. ADAPTABILITY TO DIFFERENT CROP SEASONS :
All most all NPT’s are photo insensitive and completely resistant to fluctuations in day length. They
can be grown under all crop seasons provided inputs like fertilizers and irrigations are adequately made
available, so higher yields can be obtained. However, some of the NPTs are thermo-sensitive and are
affected by variation in temperature during season.
7. ABSENCE O F SEED DORMANCY :
NPTs have no dormancy i.e. they do not require any rest period, called dormancy period. Freshly
harvested seed can be used for sowing. This character is useful in seed multiplication programmes of
HYVs, within a short span of time. This along with photo insensitivity makes them quite suitable for
adaptation under high intensity cropping programmes.

8. EFFECTIVE TRANSLOCATION OF FOOD MATERIAL FROM PLANTS TO GRAIN :

NPTs have higher potentiality to absorb and assimilate nutrient from soil throughout the growth
duration which in combination with higher photosynthetic activities enable them for higher dry matter
production. The built in efficient plant mechanism in NPT’s coupled with fewer organs respiring at
flowering stage permit more efficient use of respiration for growth and grain production. After
flowering, this enables effective translocation of accumulated food materials of straw for grain
formation.

9. RESPONSIVE TO HEAVY FERTILISER APPLICATIONS :

NPT’s possess the trait of high responsiveness towards fertilizer application. Their optimum N
requirement is 2 ½ -3 times more than the requirement is so called improved local varieties similiarly
the P&K requirement of NPT’s are also 1 ½ -2 times more in comparison to local types. Under low
fertility status, their yielding ability is not fully utilized and very often they give quiet poor yield under
sub optimum conditions, it is therefore necessary to supply adequate quantities of N, P&K in order to
exploit their high yielding potentiality to the maximum. Research results (AICRP) revealed that on an
average, NPT’s require about 100-120 kg N, 50-70 kg P? O5 and 40-60 kg K2O/ha under optimum
conditions of soil moisture status.

10. LODGINIG RESISTANCE :

NPT’s are generally dwarf in growth habit with strong and stiff stem which provides them considerable
resistance against plant lodging. Under heavy fertilizer applications , the tall varieties are bound to
lodge resulting in substantial decrease in yield. Contray to this, dwarf HY NPT’s seldom lodge unless
too heavy fertilizer application has been made coinciding with excessive water application. Because of
incorporation of dwarfing genes in NPT’s, they possess the trait of high responsiveness towards heavy
fertilizer application without lodging.
11. YIELDING POTENTIALITY :
The NPT’s are known for their HY potential. NPT’s are capable of yielding 2-3 times more grain yield
in comparison to local tall improved types. This is probably due to their altered morphology which
results into efficient utilization of water, nutrients and radiation and increased metabolic activities with
high dry matter production. Their grain to straw ratio is approximately about1:1. However, these
strains are more susceptible to any degree of variation in manageable inputs. Inadequate and untimely
supply of nutrients, irrigation and plant protection measures may result into partial or complete failure
of crop.

12. DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY :

The only drawback associated with NPT’s is the disease susceptibility with luxuriant vegetative
growth; the varieties offer scope for insect pests and diseases. However, attempts are being made to
develop disease resistant NPT’s.

Eg : Rice ------- BPH resistant varieties MTU-2067, MTU-2077 and MTU-4870.

Gall midge “---------Pothana, Kakatiya, Phalguna.

Wheat ----- Rust resistant varieties-------Sonalika.

Sorghum ---Striga resistant varieties -----N-13, SPV-462.

Lecture No: 2

Rice is the most important cereal food crop of the world. It is the staple food for more than half
of the world’s populations.
Cereals ? The crop plants which belong to the family graminae and are grown for their edible
starchy grains/seed called caeryopsis (seed coat+pericarp are fused or united) are called as cereals.
The word cereals has been derived from ‘Ceres’, name of a Roman Goddess, means ‘Giver of
Grains’.
In India, rice is grown is 42.7 m.ha constituting 30% of net cultivated area of 142.2 m.ha(1990-
91) of this 93% is being cultivated during kharif season.

East and central India accounts for 70% of rice area.

Among the states of India, AP is the maximum rice producer with 106.35 lakh tons (enjoying
3rd rank), the first and second being WB and UP respectively. The Productivity of rice in AP was 2407
kg/ha in 1992-93 against the Inidia’s productivity of 1742 kg/ha.

In AP, rice is grown in an area of 40.14 lakhs ha a production of 106.35 lakhs tons and
produc tivity of 2495 kg/ha during 1999-2000.

The area is roughly 3 times more in kharif than in rabi.

Within the districts of AP, West Godavari ranks first both in production followed by Krishna
district. (The area is also more in W.G district followed by Krishna district). Productivity is more in
Guntur (3005 kg/ha) followed by West Godavari district (2994 kg/ha)
 Area, Production and Productivity of
Rice In diff. Zones of AP(1990-91)
Area Production Yield
000 ha 000 t (kg/ha)
KG Zone 1646 4131 2665
NC Zone 467 828 1846
Southern Zone 384 1004 2736
NTZ 953 2276 2251
STZ 460 1118 2369
Scarce RF Zone 126 297 2362
4033 9654

ORIGIN : Rice is one of the oldest cultivated crops in China & India for several thousands years.
Cultivated species Oryza sativa is thought to have originated in South & SE tropical Asia. Other
species of rice are O.glaberrima, O.perennis. In Oryza sativa, the somatic chromosomal no is 2n=24
which corresponds to that of many wild species of Oryza. Some wild species of Oryza are tetraploid,
2n = 48. Rice has been cultivated for thousands of years under widely differenst geographic and
agroclimatic regions. During this long period different forms and varieties have been evolved.

ADAPTATION : Of all the weather factors, solar radiation, temperature, RH have greater influence
on rice yields.

(i) Solar radiation : Solar energy is the most impor tant climatic factor in rice cultivation in temperate
climates. The plant’s most critical period of solar energy requiremet is from Panicle Initiation to until
about 10 days before maturity which is important for the accumulation of drymatter. The yield of rice
during monsoon(kharif) season is lower than that in the dry (summer) season, because of the lower
levels of solar radiation received during the crop’s grain filling and ripening stages.
The light compensation = 15000 lux (solar energy/cm) 10.764 feet
candles Photosynthesis = Respiration
Light saturation = 45000 lux
Temperature : It greatly influences the growth and growth pattern of rice plant. Temperature
variations are low in tropics and hence needs no significant consideration for the rice cultures in these
areas. The critical temperatures for different stages of rice plant are given below.
cardinal temp (oc)
Growth Stage
Low High Medium
16-
1 Germination 45 18-40
19
Seedling emergence & 12-
2 35 25-30
establishment 15
3 Rooting 16 35 25-28
4 Leaf elongation 7-12 45 31
5 Tillering 9-16 33 25-31
6 PI 15 - -
15-
7 Initial flowering 30 18-28
20
35-
8 Anthesis 22 30-33
36
12-
9 Ripening 30 20-29
18

Night temperature of 15-20o C is favourable. Higher mean temperature will reduce the growth
duration.

3. Day Lengh : Rice is a short day plant and sensitive to photoperiods. Long days can prevent or
delay flowering. But photo insensitive varieties enable the farmer in tropics and subtropics to grow
rice at any time of the year without great changes in growth duration.

4. Humidity : The RH effects in tropics are generally confused with the effects of solar energy and
temperature. The average RH before harvest follows a trend opposite to that of the solar radiation
values for the same period. Therefore, no importance is attributed to the –ve effect of RH on
grain yield of rice.
5. Wind Velocity : A gentle wind during the growing period of the rice plant is known to improve the
turbulence in the canopy. The air blown around the plants replenishes the Co2 supply to the plant.
Strong winds are detrimental especially at heading. They cause severe lodging and shattering in
some rice varieties.

6. Rainfall : Variability in the amount and distribution of rainfall is most important factor limiting the
yields of rainfed rice, which constitutes about 80% of the rice grown in South and SE Asia.
Rainfall variability is more critical for upland rice than for lowland rice.

Moisture stress can damage or even kill the plants in an area that receives as much as 200 mm
of rainfall in a day and then receives no rainfall for the next 20 days.
An evenly distributed rainfall of 100 mm per month is preferable to 200 mm per month that
falls in 2 & 3 days.
Rice is grown in rainfed conditions with rainfall of 1000-1500 mm/annum, if distributed over 3-
3 ½ months.
The water requirement of rice is 1240 mm.

Rice crop is being cultivated under widely varying climatic conditions as detailed below:

Latitude : 45o N – 40 oS
Altitude : Mean Sea Level to 1524 m
RH : 35 – 100%
Rainfall : 20” – 200” (500mm to
5000mm) Temperature : 20 o -35 o C
Daylength : 9 hrs. optimum
Light : 400 cal/cm2/day is the minimum requirement.
 Growth States of Rice Plant
Life cycle of rice plant can be classified into 5 stages.
1. Seedling (sowing to transplanting)
2. Active vegetative stage (Transplanting to maximum tillering stage)
3. Vegetative lag phase (Maximum fillering to panicle initiation)
4. Reproduction stage (PI to flowering)
5. Ripening stage (Flowering to harvest)

1. Seedling stage (Nursery stage) : Germination to transplanting. Seed germinating to time when
young plants becomes independent of food reserve of the seed i.e. nursery stage.

2. Active Vegetative Stage (Transplanting to Max. tillering stage) : This includes sub stages viz.,
a) Recovery stage
b) Rooting stage
c) Maximum tillering stage
The transplanted seedlings need/require about 9 days to recover from the shock of uprooting
during transplanting after which new roots appear. It is also known as recovering and rooting stage.
Once the plants have good established roots, tillers develop rapidly and increases to a maximum
number. Tiller height and straw weight also increases during this stage.
The tiller number increases until maximum tiller number is reached, afterwhich some tillers die
and tiller number declines and then levels off.

3. Vegetative lag stage (Maximum tillering to panicle initiation) : It includes sub stages

(i) Effectivce tillering stage

(ii) Non effective tillering stage
During this stage weak tillers begin to die ; each strong tiller bears a panicle primordium. The
number of these potential productive (ear bearing) tillers come to be fixed at this stage which is known
as “Effective tillering stage”. Tillers that develop subsequently do not bear panicles and die ultimately.
This is the “non effective tillering stage”.
 The visible elongation of lower internodes may begin considerable earlier than the reproductive
phase or at about the same time.

4. Reproductive stage (PI to Flowering) :

Pancile development continues and young panicle primordium becomes visible to naked eye in
a few days as a transparent structure 1 to 2 mm long with a fuzzed or spongy like structure. The
developing spikelets then become distinguishable.

Bulging to booting and panicle emergence from flag leaf and sheath is called “heading”.
Anthesis or flowering/blooming begins with the protrusion of the first dehiscing anthers in the terminal
spikelets on the panicle branches.

With the initiation of panicle primordium, the internode elongates. The sheath of the flag leaf
bulges due to the developing panicles within its. This is the “booting stage”.

The reduction division of pollen mother cells and embryo sac mother cell takes place at this
time. The young panicle emerges from the “boot”. Anthesis takes place (self), fertilization follows.
This is known as “Heading & Flowering”.

A large amount of water is consumed in the major part of the reproductive growth period.
Drought during paricle primordial initiation to flowering stage impairs panicle formation, heading,
flowering and fertilization and leads to increased sterility and ultimately decrease yield.

Pollination and fertilization follow after flowering. The development of the fertilized egg and
endosperm becomes visible a few days following fertilization.

5. Ripening State (Flowering to harvest) :

This includes the substages of grain viz., milk, soft dough, hard dough & fully ripe stages
(milky ripe, soft ripe, waxy ripe and fully ripe stages). Panicle weight increases rapidly. Staw weight
decreases.
 During vegetative growth period, a relatively small amount of water is needed. Therefore
shortage at this period does not greatly affect the yield, except at the recovering and rooting stages.
Stages after panicle primordial development, especially booting, heading and flowering stages need
sufficient water.

Duration of growth Stages of Rice plant (approximately)

Duration (days)
Growth Stage
Low High Medium
Emergence to
1 30 25 20
transplanting
Active veg. stage
2 (Transpla nting to 25 25 25
max. tillerting)
Lag vegetative growth
3 25 15 5
(Max. tillering to PI)
4 PI to heading 33 33 33
5 Heading to flowering 7 7 7
6 Flowering to maturity 35 30 25
155 135 115

Growth phases in relation to yield

Y = f (Panicles/Plant, filled spikelets/panicle, test Wt or Wt of one grain)
No of panicles/plant is determined during the vegetative phase, No of spikelets/paricle is
determined during reproductive phase and weight of single grain during the ripening phase.

Adequate LA is necessary for the manufacture of assimilation products required for the
development of a large number of spikelets in a pancle.
 Number of spikelets/panicle depends upon the activity of plant during the reproductive phase.
It shows +ve linear regression with ‘N’ content of plant during this stage. The photosysthetic activity
during the reproductive phase also controls the number of spikelets/panicle, (as shading experiments
demonstrated).

Plants with adequate ‘N’ uptake in each phase of growth give high yield with large leaf area +
adequate N. The plants manufacture a large amount of carbohydrates during reproductive and ripening
phases. However, excessive ‘N’ applications induces spikelet sterility.
The starch in rice grain comes from 2 sources
(a) the assimilated products before flowering (in the culm and leaf tissues) and later transformed into
sugars – “ this is called accumulated starch”
(b) the assimilated products produced during the ripening phase.
Starch coming from 1st source is hereafter called
“accumulated”.
A short duration variety has a smaller proportion of accumulated starch than a long
duration variety and at high ‘N’ levels, the proportion of the accumulated starch is smaller than
at low N level.

.
 Lecture No: 3

Classification of rice plant types

Rice (Oryza sativa ) belongs to the family Graninae of Poeceae and subfamily panicoidae.
There are 24 valid species of oryza, of which 22 are wild species and 2 are cultivated species. The 2
cultivated species are
1. O. sativa present in Asia, Europe and America
2. O. glaberrima present in Africa.
Rice has been cultivated for thousands of years under widely different geographical or agro
climatic regions. During this long period, a multitude of forms and varieties have been evolved. Based
primarily on geographic adaptation and morphological characters of the cultivated oryza rices, the
world can be broadly divided into 3 sub species Viz., Indias, Japonicas and Javanicas.
The classification between the sub species are not absolute, but are based on morphological
characters or also adaptations to temperature and photoperiod conditions prevailing in different rice
growing regions of the world.
Characters of 3 races
Character Indicas Japonicas Java nicas
1 Leaves Very broad to narrow, Narrow, dark green Broad, very stiff, light green
pale green
2 Grain quality Long to short, Short, roundish Long, broad, very thick grains
slender, somewhat
flat
3 Tillering Profuse Medium Low
4 Height (stature) Tall to intermediate Short to Tall
intermediate
5 Awn Mostly awnless Both awned & Both awn & awnless Eg: HR
awnless 19, 47
6 No of ears & ear Many & light Many & heavy Few and heavy
weight
7 Hairs on leaves and Present Present, dense Present but are very long
glumes
8 Plant tissue Very soft Very hard Very hard
9 Sensitivity Varying None to low Low
10 Flag leaf Narrow & long Narrow & short Broad & long
11 Varieties from India, Southern China, Japan, Korea, N. Small no of varieties from
Taiwan, Ceylon, Java & China Indonesia.
other regions
1. INDICAS : The traditional varieties raised in tropics are called Indicas. These are traditional long
duration varieties, photosensitive (season bound), mostly awnless. They are tall, weak stemmed and
susceptible to lodging and less responsive to heavy fertilizers.

2. JAPONICAS : These are temperate region varieties dwarf in stature with sturdy stems & thus non
lodging. Leaves short, thick, narrow, dark green colour, making medium angle with main culm. They
are awnless to awned varieties, grains are nearly round and fertilizer responsive vartieties.

3. JAVANICAS : These are intermediatory to Indicas and Japonicas, having morphological resemblance
to indicas. Adopted to low atitudes. They are called “BULU” varieties, low tillering and sensitive to
photoperiod (equatorial belt of Indonesia)
Ex : HR 19, 47

RICE SOILS

Rice is adptable to all kinds of soils and practically all soil types are found in the world’s rice
growing areas. The suitability of a soil for rice cultivation depends more on the conditions under
which the plants are grown than upon the nature of the soil it self.
Rice is grown in all types of soils in AP, the best soils are clay loams, the characteristic of
deltas. These soils become soft to very soft on puddling and crack deep when dry.
The semi acquatic nature of the crop necessitates a heavy soil through which the irrigation or
rain water will not be easily drained away because the demands of rice are more precise for water than
soil conditions.
Sandy soils to heavy soils are most preferable to rice crop cultivation. Rice is able to tolerate a
wide range of soil reaction but it may have a preference for acidic soils.
The crop has preference to 5.5 to 6.5 PH. Redsoils, black soils and laterite soils are also
suitable.
In Punjab & Haryana ? rice is grown in light soils due to high water
table. In AP? rice is grown in all types of soils.
Best soils are CLAY LOAMS (Deltas)

1st crop 2nd crop 3rd crop

REGION
(Kharif) (Rabi) (Summer)
Coastal Sarva Dalwa Summer
Andhra (Jun-Nov) (Nov-Mar) (Mar-July)
Abi Tabi Kathera
Telengana
(Jun-Nov) (Dec-April) (Mar-July)
Vanakaru Endakaru (mungari)
Rayalaseema Hingeri
(June-Dec) (Nov-Mar)
North India Autumn Aman Boro
Lecture No : 4

LAND PREPERATION

Preparatory cultivation of main field

Puddling is the reorientation of soil particles at high moisture content due to cultivation, which
results in soil particles becoming oriented in respect of each other which causes an increase in bulk
density and a large decrease in non-capillary porosity.

The main aim of puddling is the mechanical measurement of wet soil in which coarser or larger
aggregates are broken down to smaller aggregates reducing the mean particle size. This is an essential
operation for wet land rice. Puddling of the soil results in the reduction of macropore space and
transforming the upper soil layer into a fine soft mud or puddle.

Mechanical manipulation of the soil at high moisture regime which reduces deep percolation
losses is termed as PUDDLING.

Objectives of Puddling :

1. To obtain a soft seed bed for the seedlings to establish themselves faster.
2. To minimize leaching losses of N (nutrients) and thereby increase the availability of
plant nutrients by achieving a reduced soil condition.
3. Suppression of weeds
4. To mix organic matter with the soil.
5. To create an imperveous sub soil layer for reducing deep percolation & leaching losses.
6. To facilitate easy transplantation.

It can be done by ploughs, tiller or tractor drawn implemests depending upon their availability
and soil conditions.
 Reactions under water logged situations

Soils under lowland/submerged/waterlogged conditions develop fundamental characteristics

different from those of soils under upland conditions.

Waterlogged/flooding causes changes in physical, microbiological & chemical properties of

soil because of the physical reactions between the soil and water and also because of the biological and
chemical processes set in motion as a result of excess water. These changes have a profound bearing
on nutrition and fertilization aspects of rice cultivation.

The most important change in the soil as a result of water logging is the conversion of the root
zone of the soil form an a erobic environment to an anaerobic or near anaerobic environment where O2
is limiting. The flooded or waterlogged soils develops two zones:

1. The upper zone : a thin 1 – 10 mm thickness, absorbs O2 from the water and turns brown in
colour (Oxidized zone) and reacts to N like an unflooded upland soil.

2. The lower zone : the remaining lower portion of the puddle soil truns to a dark or blue green
colour as iron compounds in the flooded soils lose their O2. This soil zone is said to be in reduced
state.

Redox Potential (E h) : It gives an indication of oxidized reduction potential. It is measured in m.v.

(+700 to -700)

Highly reduced soils ? -300 to -100

Reduced ? 0 to +100
Moderatly reduced ? +200 to +350
Aerated oxidized ? +350 to +450
Sequestial chemical changes that occur during submergence and puddling in rice

1. Depletion of O2 molecules and changing in the soil. Oxidation ? reduction systems.

2. Chemical reduction of soil, characterization of the oxidized & reduced zones and decrease
in redox potential.
3. Increase in pH of acid soils and a decrease in pH of sodic & calcareous soils.
4. Reduction of ferric (Fe+3) to Ferrous (Fe+2) and Mn+4 to Mn+2
5. Reduction of NO3 and NO2 to N2 and N2 O
6. Reduction of SO4-2 to 5-2 i.e. extremely reduced conditions.
7. Increase in the supply of availability of N
8. Increase in the availability of P, Si & Mo
9. Decrease in the concentration of water soluble Zn & Cu
10. Generation of Co2, Methane (CH4) & toxic reduction products such as organic acids and H2S.

(a) Physical changes

? Destroys the structural aggregates in the soil.

? The diffusion/exchange of air between the atmosphere and the puddle soils is impeded.
? Reduced & Oxidised zones develops distinctly

(b) Biological changes :

? The rate of decomposition of organic matter is considerably reduced in wet land soils.
? N of organic matter is changed to NH4 form (stable under water logged conditions) and
denitrification losses will take place.

(c) Chemical changes :

? Increase in solubility of P
? Reduction of SO4 to sulphide (Injurious form)
Lecture No: 5
METHODS OF PLANTING :

Direct seeding/transplanting is adapted in low land rice after

puddling. Conditions congenial for direct seeding :

Seed rate ? 60 to 80
kg/ha Spacing ? 20 to
30 cm (Solid rows) 3 cm
depth

1. Direct seeding may be very helpful in the dry season when water supply can be very
easily regulated.
2. Direct seeding can be adopted profitably in flooded rice where the size of plots for rice
cultivation are small and perfectly leveled ensuing good control of irrigation water and
soils are light.
3. When the labour shortage is more especially during transplanting period.
4. It saves labour cost and reduces the demand for labour in transplanting season.
5. Facilitates raising of crop in time.
6. The crop matures in 7-10 days earlier than transplanted crop
7. It is recommended where the weed problem is not serious (severe)
8. The expenditure in raising, pulling of seedlings, transporting and transplanting them is saved
(limited financial resources).

Advantages :

1. Saving of expenditure on seed bed preparation, plant protection & nursery pulling &
transplantation ? cost of production is reduced.
2. The crop matures in 7-10 days earlier than transplanted crop.
Disadvantages :
1. Higher quantity of seed requirement.
2. Weed control becomes a problem if planting is not adopted.
3. The seed is exposed to bird and rat damage resulting in poor crop stand if broadcasted.
4. There is a greater tendency for the crop to lodge because the base of the plants are not so
deeply set in the soil.
5. It is impossible to maintain good stand and in lowlands particularly for monsoon crop, as
there is no control over water management.
6. Proper care is needed for adopting optimum seed rate, timely weed control, rational
fertilizer application and effective control over water management.
II. TRANSPLANTING :
Transplanting of healthy seedlings may be done at 4-5 leaf stage or when they are about 20-25
cm in height @ 2-3 seedlings not deeper than 2-4 cm.
Transplanting can be done in two ways.
1. Random transplanting
2. Straight row planting
Total growth period Age of the seedling for transplanting (days)
120 25
135 32
150 35
180 42
HYV’s 21-25
Dapog 4-6 seedlings/hill at 14 DAS
SRI 1 seedling /hill at 25X25 cm or 30X30 cm at
12 days after sowing
Conditions congenial for transplanting
1. Adequate supply of water throughout the crop period
2. Transplanting is done in soft puddle soils.
3. Where weed problem is severe
4. When plant population is not uniform
5. Using community nurseries for timely transplanting.
6. Treatment of seedling for nutrient deficiency and protection against pests & diseases is needed
(Root dipping for ‘P’slurry, insecticides)
Advantages of transplanting
1. A good leveling of the field is ensured.
2. Weeds are buried at the time of puddling and weed problem is reduced.
3. The plant population becomes more uniform.
4. The availability of most plant nutrients like P, Fe & K is increased and N is converted better.
5. Seedlings transplanted in soft puddle are able to establish themselves faster and start early
tillering and growth.
6. Community nurseries facilitate timely transplanting.
7. The treatment of seedlings for nutrient deficiency and for plant protection against pests and
diseases is facilitated before transplanting.

Disadvantages :
1. It involves extra cost on seed bed preparation, plant protection, pulling and transplanting.
2. It needs higher amount of labour at a time when labour is in short supply.
3. It requires more quantity of water.
4. Seedlings ar exposed to possible injury during handling.
5. Plants tend to grow more slowly than direct seeding because of recovery time
after transplanting.
6. Harvesting is
delayed. Spacing :

Kharif : 15 x 15 cm or 15 x 20 cm
Rabi : 15 x 10 cm
With late tillering varieties or overaged seedlings, spacing may be even upto 15 x 10 cm or
20 x 10 cm.
However, avoid close planting in endemic areas of BPH incidence.
Lecture No: 6

FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT

An adequate and balanced supply of plant nutrients is a prerequisite to maximize crop

production.

The major nutrients required by rice crop are N, P & K.

Throughout the rice growing areas in India, N is the most limiting factor. ‘N’ is usually
deficient where rice is grown because the same conditions of climate which favour rice production
cause a rapid turn over and loss of ‘N’ from the soil.

The requirement of ‘P’ is not as high as that of ‘N’ Wide spread ‘P’ deficiency in rice soils and
responses of rice to the applied ‘P’ are observed in the country.

Efficient use of fertilizers :

Fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) is low in rice crop. 40% of applied ‘N’ & 26% ‘P’ alone are
recovered by rice crop in India. There is a need to increase the efficienty of use of applied nutrients
by applying the right form, right quantity at the right time & by the right method. (F Q T M )

NITROGEN : Rate of application

For Dwarf and semi dwarf varieties ? optimum ‘N’ rates are 80-100 kg /ha during kharif.
100-120kg/ha during rabi.

Time of application : It depends on the

(i) Texture of soil
(ii) Physiological stage of the crop
(iii) Other management practices.
 Efficiency of applied ‘N’ is higher at active tillering stage than at transplanting and reaches a
peak at PI, Beyond PI, the NUE decreases.
Therefore, top dressing is suitable at two times
1. Tillering 2. PI
When more splits are desired (eg: Sandy soils), the period between 3 weeks After tillering until
1 to 2 weeks beyond PI may be beneficial.
Basal application is necessary in low fertility soils, early maturing varieties (short duration
varieties), poor tillering varieties, widely spaced crops etc.,
Top dressing of N
Application of ‘N’ at planting and to a lesser extent at tillering, promotes the formation of
tillers resulting in more panicles/unit area.
Later application increase in panicle weight can be obtained with top dressing around panicle
initiation stage.
Application at P1 stage increases the length of ‘Flag leaf’ providing a longer photo
synthetically active leaf area.
Split application of N have proved to be far better as the efficiency of applied N with split
applications is about 30% under transplanted and 59% under direct seeded conditions. Extra yields of
13% in kharif & 23% in rabi have been recorded due to split applications.

Method of application :
Depth of fertilizer placement makes all the differences between efficient use and wastage. The
superiority of root zone placement (below 5 cm depth of soil) of N fertilizers to surface applications
was well established.
Surface applications resulted in slight losses of gaseous ammonia. NH3 volatilization losses
amounted to 18% of urea N fertilizers are entirely broadcasted.
FUE of root zone placement and that of SCU was nearly double that of split surface application
commonly used by farmers.
Placement of N < 5 cm depth of soil increased the yield by 7-10 Q/ha. Incorporation of
fertilizers N up to 5 cm depth in the last puddle resulted in higher grain yield than all other methods of
application.
 A plough sole application for N placement in root zone will be very useful. Before top dressing
? water is to be drained completely from field for 1 or 2 days.

Some general guidelines based on no of trails conducted under AICRIP have been summarized
by ten Have (1971).

1. If reflooding is not problem, top dressing may be given for every 2 ½ -3 wks between
transplanting/sowing and about a week before P1 @ 20-30 kg N/top dressing.
2. More N should be applied at planting with soils low in N. Soils with adeluate N the
emphasis should be on proper top dressing.
3. Permeable soils ? relatively low N top dressing should be given more frequently.
4. For early maturing varieties, low tillering varieties ? relatively more ‘N’ should be give n
at early growth stages.
5. For long duration varieties & slow initial growth due to cool conditions Relatively more N
should be given as top dressing.
6. For varieties sensitive to BLB Moderately top dressing each with a smaller amount of N.
7. For direct sown rice ? Less N should be applied at sowing. More N as top dressing.
Too much ‘N’ at sowing ? reduces seedling establishment due to strongly increased algal
development, ‘N’ is lost and weed growth increases.
8. More ‘N’ (1/4 extra dose) should be applied as basal dressing for aged seedlings. Less ‘N’ at
planting is needed if very young seedlings are transplanted as with a Dapog system.
9. For deep water rice ? Emphasis should be on good basal N application. Application of N > 40
kg/ha is found to be harmful.
10. For rainfed crop, small amount of N should be given as a basal dressing followed by a few top
dressings preferably on rainy days.

Long duration varieties ? require relatively more N as top dressing.

METHOD OF APPLICATION OF N :

N is lost through fertilizers as

1. Surface runoff
2. NH3 volatalisation
3. Leaching
4. Denitrification

Soil characteristics, weather conditions and management practices determine the extent of
losses. The losses can be reduced considerably by adopting better management practices.

For efficient management of N fertilizers in wetland rice – the following measures have to be
followed.

1. Right method of application

2. Optimisation of split application of ‘N’ in relation to growth stages (Right time)
3. Deep placement of N fertilizer in reduced soils.
4. Use of slow release N or controlled release of N fertilizer.
5. Combining the concept of slow release and deep placement of N fertilizers.
6. Furrows of 6 cm deep are opened with a stake in between rows of plants. Fertiliser is placed in
the furrows and then the furrow is closed.
7. Irrigation water is let in 24-48 hrs
later. Sources of N
1. Ammonia containing or NH4 forming (Eg. Urea) fertilizers can be used either for preplant or
top dress applications.
2. NO3 sources have to be considered for top dressing everthough its effectiveness is usually
somewhat less compared to pure ammonium N sources (NH4Cl, NH4SO4, Amm.phos, DAP)
3. (NH4)2 SO4 is regarded as superior source to NO3 forms in all except in very acid soils (or) on
strongly leached (or) impoverished soils.
 Urea is the highly popular N source of fertilizer for wet rice growing areas because of its high
grade analysis. It should be preferred in degraded paddy soils.

1. Its hygroscopic nature which results in poor handling properties.

2. Its N losses through volatilization as NH3 when urea is applied to surface soils.
Urea ? Co(NH2)2

3. Urea is hydrolysed to (NH4)2 Co3 through the enzyme, urease

4. Urea in relative to ammonium is very weakly adsorbed by colloidal particles.

5. Being highly soluble in water, the dissolution, hydrolysis or nitnification of urea N may be
completed in only 7 days after its application and is subjected to various loss mechanisms.

Efforts have been made to related the rates of dissolution, hydrolysis, nitrification of urea by (1)
altering its granule size and (2) coating or treating it with different materials.

Use of slow release N fertilizers so that N release matches with N uptake by rice crop.

(Use of slow release N fertilizer-so that N release matches with N uptake by rice crop. Use of
pre incubated urea ? 1 kg urea mixed with 5 kg soil; shade dried up to 36-48 hrs); use of mud balls ?
prepared mud balls of moist soil and put urea in the centre of the soil.

USG, SCU, LCU, LGU, CTU, Rock phosphate CU, GCU, NCU are the various modified &
coated urea materials.

Because of their large granule size, LGU, USG have much lesser total surface area exposed to
soil water than the equivalent amount of prilled urea.

IBDU ? Isobutylidine di urea

Slow release compounds : Use of urease and nitrification inhibitors alongwith urea could retard the
hydrolysis and nitrification rates respectively and thereby reduce N losses through NH 3 volatalisation
and denitnification processes.
1 PPD ? Phenyl phosphorodiamide at 26 DAT increased N uptake.
NBPT ? N butyl thio phosphoric triamide. It is more effective than PPD (Urease inhibitor)

Nitrification inhibitors :
Urea with 10% or 15 % DCD (Dicyandiamide) applied during the fina l harrowing produced
comparable yields to those of split application of urea.

N-Serve ? 2 chtoro 6 trichloro methyl phridine (USA)

AM ? 2 amino – 4 chloro 6 methyl pyrimidine (Japan)

Nitrification and urease inhibition properties of non edible oil cakes such as neem, karanji,
hahua, Sal, Kusum, undi etc., could be utilized to improve NUE.

Use of urea coated with 10% or 30% of different non edible oil cakes have proved to be
encouraging (urea coated or blended with indigenous materials).

Neem cake ble nding with urea

½ kg coatlar + 1 lit Kerosene oil + 20 kg neem cake + 100 Kg urea

FUNCTION OF N
1. Imparts dark green colour to plant growth.
2. Promotes rapid growth
3. Increases size of leaves and grains
4. Increases protein content in grains
5. Improves quality of crops
6. Supplies N to maicrobes while decomposing low N organic
materials. DEFICIENCY OF N
1. Stunted growth
2. Appearance of light green-pale yellow leaves
3. Reduced tillers
4. Flowering is greatly reduced & yield decreased
5. Results in lower protein contest.
PHOSPHORUS :
Recovery of P =
26% Rates of
application :
Results showed that application of 60 kg P2 O5/ha for red soils and 80 kg P2 O5/ha for black
soils is adequate.
Site specific recommendation on the dose of P2O5 to be added through fertilizers can be worked
out based on soil test values.
For red soils : (40 – Soil available P2 O5) x 3/2
For black soils : (40 – Soil available P2 O5) x
2
Time and Method of application :
P fertilizers are best applied basally before seeding in last ploughing by broadcasting and
incorporating in the last puddle. Top dressing of P fertilizer in rice is feasible even 15 DAT without
reducing grain yield. Placement of POH in low land rice proved to be of no advantage.

1. Applying P fertilizers to the nursery was found to be more profitable in certain cases than
applying to main field.
2. The recommendation is 2 kg DAP/40 m2 of nursery.
3. Dipping rice seedlings in P slurry reduced the quantity of P to be applied to the rice crop in
soils which are very deficient in phosphorus.
‘P’ Slurry :
SSP : Puddled soil : Water
1 : 3.5 : 5 should be prepared one hour before
use Acid soils ? Rock phosphate or bone meal.

FUNCTIONS OF P :
1. Stimulates root development
2. Promotes earlier flowering and ripening (especially in cool climates)
3. Encourages more active tillering under adverse conditions.
4. Promotes good grain development and gives higher food value. P content of grain.
‘P’ DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

1. Stunted plants with less number of tillers.

2. Leaves narrow & short i.e. erect and dirty dark green.
3. Young leaves healthier than older leaves which turn brown and die.
4. Reddish or purplish colour due to production of anthocyanin pigment.

POTASSIUM MANAGEMENT

Soil test values showed that adequacy of available soil potash except Ananthapur where it is
low; a few packets of red soils in chittore & Nellore black soils and Cuddapah have shown to respond
to potash application. Potash may become a limiting factor in red & light soils and where leaching
losses are likely to be high. Soil application of potash either as MOP or SOP under dificiency
conditions will improve yields considerably.

About 30-45 kg K2O/ha is recommended as a maintenance dose to keep available potash in the
soil above critical limits for high level production. Potash is applied at the time of last puddling
alongwith P as surface application and incorporated.

TIME OF APPLICATION :
Recent studies have shown that ? top dressing of K at maximum tillering and at or before
panicle initiation increased rice yields especially in sandy soils poor in potash holding capacity.

FUNCTIONS OF K :
1. Increases vigour and diseases resistance in plants
2. Helps in protein production of plants
3. Strengthens the straw and stalks of plants.
4. Helps in root development
5. Helps in formation and transfer of starches, sugars and oils.
6. Induces plumule development of grains
K deficiency Sympotms

1. Interveinal chlorosis near margins, scorching & browning of tips of older leaves.
2. Slow and stunted growth of plants
3. Stalk become weak and plant lodge easily.
4. Shrivelled seeds
5. Disease and pest susceptibility of
plants. Nutrient removal by some HYV’S
Grain
Nutrient removal (kg/ha)
Variety Season yield
N P K
(kg/ha)
IR-8 Khafif 6308 95 25 149
Rabi 6739 99 23 124
Jaya Kharif 6136 84 25 147
Rabi 6635 105 23 129
Locals Kharif 1942 43 13 49
MTU- Rabi 3242 41 13 65
15

Steps for increasing F.U.E.

1. Apply right quantity at night time (i.e. split application) by right method
2. Adopt root zone placement of N fertilizers
3. Follow balanced fertilization ? 80 kg N + 60 kg P2 O5 + 40 kg K2 O/ha (2 : 1.5 : 1) is very
economical. Moderate response can be had with a dose of 60-30-30 (2 : 1 : 1).
4. Integrated/supplementary use of organic manures (including green manures) and biofertilisers.
5. By correcting micronutrient deficiencies (especially zn)
6. By maintaining adequate plant population (400-450 panicles/m2)
7. By following proper water management practices (continuous submergence of not more than 2
cm depth)
8. By adopting effective weed control and plant protection measures.
ZINC DEFICIENCY

Zinc is an essential micro nutrient for rice. Its deficiency is associated with soils of high PH

1 Unit increase in PH ? makes zn 1000 times less soluble.

Alkaline soils with high organic matter aggravate zn deficiency

NP ? ? ? zn

(If N & P is increased the uptake of zinc is

decreased) FUNCTIONS OF ZINC :

1. Probable connection with production of auxins.

2. Activaton of many enzymatic reactions.
3. Close involvement in N metabolism.

Zn deficiency Symptoms :

1. The mid ribs of younger leaves especially base become chlorotic.

2. Appearance of brown blotches and streaks on the lower leaves followed by stunted growth .
3. The size of leaf blade is reduced but not leaf sheath
4. Uneven growth and delayed maturity in the

field Correction of Zn deficiency :

In India,
1. Soil application @ 40-50 kg zn SO4/ha. (For normal soils once in 3 yrs.)
(For saline soils once in every yr.)
2. By dipping the seedlings in 2% suspension of ZnO is both cheap and convenient.
3. Seed coating is a new development and is at present being used in limited scale in drilled or
direct seeded rice production.
4. Varietal tolerant to zn deficiency ? IR8, 28, 30 & 34
IRON : If iron deficiency is noticed spray 1.5% ferrous ammonium sulphate + 75 g citric acid/1lit of
water at 4 to 5 days interval till the leaves turn to normal growth.

BIOFERTILIZERS

Some microbes are capable of fixing atmospheric N, while some can increase the availability of
N & P.

“Biofertilisers are the microbial inoculants and they which refer to living or latent cells of
efficient strains of microorganisms capable of fixing atmospheric N”

Free living organisms : Important amount fixing atmospheric ‘N’ are BGA, Azolla, Azatobacter &
Rhizospirillum. Among them, BGA and Azolla can survive only in lowland conditions.

BGA : Several sps of BGA can fix N. The most important species are Anabaena and Nostoc. The
amount of N fixed by BGA ranges from 15-45 kg N/ha; standing water of 2.20 cm in the field is a
prerequisite for growth of BGA at atemperature of 25-45 0C and PH of 7-8 with high organic matter in
soils. Bright sunshine increases the growth rate.

Nursery raising : BGA inoculum is applied after transplantation of rice @ 10 kg/ha + 3-4 tons of
FYM/ha and 200 kg SSP/ha.

AZOLLA : It is a free floating fresh water fern. Azolla pinnata is the most common sps occuring in
India. It fixes N due to Anabaena sps of BGA present in the lobes of Azolla leaves.

A thick mat of Azolla supplies 30-40 kg N/ha. Unlike BGA, it thrives well at low
temparatures. It grows at a temperature of 20-300C and soil PH of 5.5 – 7.0. It grows better during
monsoon season with frequent rains and cloudiness.
 Azolla is applied to the main field as a green manure crop and as a dual crop. As green manure
crop, it is allowed to grow on flooded soils for 2-3 wks before transplanting. Later, water is drained
and Azolla is incor porated by ploughing in situ. As a dual crop, 1000-5000 kg/ha of Azolla is applied
to the soil one week after transplanting. When a thick mat forms, it is incorporated by trampling. The
left over Azolla develops again which is trampled in as a 2 nd crop. For better growth of it, 25-50 kg of
SSP/ha is applied and standing water of 5-10 cm is maintained continuously in the rice fields.

INM : Plant nutrients can be supplied from different sources viz., organic manures, crop residues,
biofertilisers and chemical fertilizers. For better utilization of resources and to produce crops with less
expenditure, INM is the best approach. In this, all the possible sources of nutrients are applied based
on economic consideration and the balance required for the crop is supplemented with chemical
fertilizers. Rice crop residues add 17 kg N/ha. Application of organic matter in any form reduces loss
of N fert and increases FUE.
Lecture No: 7

WATER MANAGEMENT

Although a major part of irrigation water (45%) is directed to rice, yet it covers only 38% of
total cultivated area under rice. In other words , 62% of rice area in the country is rainfed.

Among cereals, rice has lowest productivity/unit of water (3.7. kg/ha mm). The main reason
for growing rice is rainy season and irrigation is provided only during deficit period to make up the
water requirement.

Percolation losses account for 50-60%

Measures to reduce percolation loses.

1. Thorough puddling
2. Growing rice on clay soils < 5mm/day
3. Scrupulous land leveling
4. Compaction of sub soil
5. Application of tank silt, clay etc.,

The water needs of rice are not the same throughout the crop period. It requires small quantities of
water in the early stages, gradually increases its water requirement at flowering and early maturing
stage and then decreases to the lowest at later stages of crop growth. Hence, scheduling irrigation to
meet the crop water demands at different stages is very important. Desirable water depths at different
growth stages are as flows where irrigation and drainage facilities are available.
 Water requirements of rice at different growth stages
Depth of submergence
Growth stage
(cm)
1 At transplanting 2
2 After transplanting for 3 days (3 DAT) 5
3 3 DAT up to max. tillering 2
4 At max. tillering (in fertile fields) Nil
5 Max. tillering to PI 2
6 P1 to 21 DA flowering 5
7 21 DAF to harvest Gradual drainage of water

In AP ? 94% of the rice area is irrigated

Canals ? 50.6
Tanks ? 29.4
Wells & filter points ? 14.4
Rainfed ? 5.6
100.00

MID SEASON DRAINAGE :

Drainage for a day or two during the beginning of maximum tillering stage. This helps to
stimulate the vigorous growth of roots and checks the development of non effective tillers. The
respiratory function of roots is highest during this stage and introduction of air into the soil by draining
the water from field leads to vigorous growth of roots.

Standing Vs flowing irrigation

Irrigation efficiency is usually far higher in stagnant irrigation than in flowing irrigation but the
later has the advantage of
1. Leaching down harmful salts
2. controlling soil and water temperatures
3. Reducing labour cost
 Continuous flooding with 5-7.5 cm of water depth is however, the best system in achieving
higher yield where no water shortage is felt.

Total water requirements of rice crop

Irrigation water requirement includes 3 major components of water requirements of rice.

They are : water needed to

1. raise seedlings or nursery
2. preparation of main field
3. to grow a crop of rice from transplanting to maturity or

harvest The amount is determined by many factors.

i) Soil type
ii) Topography
iii) Proximity to drains
iv) Depth of water table
v) Area of continuous rice fields
vi) Land preparation methods
vii) Duration of crop
viii) Evaporative demands of the growing season

1. Raising seedlings :

It is estimated that 150-200 mm of water is needed for nursery bed preparation and 250-400
mm of water to raise the seedlings.

2. Main field preparation : Amount of water needed to prepare mainfield depends mainly on

a) Soil type b) its water holding capacity c) the method of land

preparation About 200 mm of water is required for main field preparation of 1

ha
3. Field irrigation : (rice crop from transplanting to harvest)
 Crop duration from transplanting to maturity is generally 90-120 days but early
maturing varieties, the duration is reduced by 10-20 days. The amount of water required in the field
depends upon
(i) Water management practices adopted
(ii) Soil types
(iii) Evaporative demand in the season in which the crop is grown
Water requirement from transplanting to maturity roughly comes to 1000 mm with a daily
consumpt ion of 6-10 mm/day. The partitioning of water requirement for different growth periods of
rice crop is given below :

Table : Total water requirement of rice crop

% of water
Average water
Stage of growth requirement to
requirement
total
1 Raising seedlings 40 3.22
2 Land preparation 200 16.12
3 Planting to P1 458 37.00
4 Pl to flowering 417 33.66
5 Flowering to maturity 125 10.00
Total 1240 100.00
Evaporation – 180-380 mm
Transpiration – 200-500 mm
Percolation – 200-700 mm
Proper water management will enable
i) good tillering of the crop
ii) increase the applied NUE
iii) minimize weed growth
iv) reduces the water requirement
v) increases yield
RICE-IRRIGATION WATER MANAGEMENT
Water requirement : Water requirement is the quantity of water regardless of source, needed for
normal crop growth and yield in a period of time at a place and may be supplied by precipitation or by
irrigation or both.
WR = CU + Application losses + water needed for special
operations CU = ET + Metabolic activities of plant
WR = IR + ER + S
(Effective (Ground water
rainfall) contribution)

Water requirement of crop depends upon

(i) Crop factors such as viz., growth stage, duration, plant population & growing season
(ii) Soil factors such as texture, strucdture, depth and topography
(iii) Climatic factors such as temp, RH, wind velocity
(iv) Crop management practices such as tillage, fertilization, weeding etc.,
(v)
According to general experience, the total water requirement is about 1240 mm.

CRITICAL STAGES
During certain stages of growth, plants are most sensitive to shortage of water. These are
known as moisture sensitive periods or critical stages/periods.
Moisture stress due to restricted supply of water during the critical periods will irrevocable
reduce the yield and provision of adequate water and fertilizers at other growth stages will not help in
recovering the yield lost.
Critical periods of rice are

Primordia development, heading and flowering

Under limited water supply conditions, irrigation is scheduled at moisture sensitive stages and
irrigation is skipped at non sensitive stages.
WATER USE EFFICIENCY : (WUE) :

If is defined as the yield of marketable crop produced per unit of water used in
ET WUE = Y/ET
(kg/ha mm of Y = yield
Water) ET = Evabotranspiration

If yield is proportional to ET, WUE has to be a constant but it is not so. Actually ET & Y are
influenced independently or differently by crop management and environment. Yield is more
influenced by crop management practices ; while ET is mainly dependent on climate and soil moisture.
Fertilization and ot her cultural practices for high crop yield usually increase WUE, because they
relatively increase crop yield more than crop water use. Crop production can be increased by judicious
irrigation without markedly increasing ET

Methods of irrigation :
Surface method : Flooding, furrow, boarder strip etc., are employed
Lecture No: 8

Weed control : weeds reduce yield by 24-48% as they compete with the crop for nutrients, light water
and space. Weeds also reduce the quality of crop produce.

Transplanted rice ? 15-20% loss

Direct seeded rice ? 30-35%
loss
(puddle soil)
Upland rice ? 50%

The potential loss in production of rice in India due to weed infestation is estimated at 15 m
tons/annum.

WEEDS : Three types of weeds are found in rice fields.

i) Grasses : Monocots, two ranked leaves
Ex : Echinochloa colonum, Echinochloa crussgelli, cynodon sps panicum sps

ii) Sedges : Similar to grasses but have 3 ranked and triangular solid stems. They frequently have
modified rhizomes adopted for storage and for propagation.

Sedges belong to the family cyperaceae, a large family of monocotyledonous plants

distinguished chiefly by having active solid stems and 3 ranked stem leaves.
Ex : Cyperus rotundus, Cyperus iria, Fimbristylis miliaceae

iii) Broad leaved weeds : Dicots

Eg : Eclipta alba, Commelina bengalensis, Ammonia baccifera

Crop weed competition : Optimum yield were obtained where the minimum duration of weed control
is from 20-30 days.

Weed control ? Manual, mechanical & chemical weed control.

Rice Nursery :

(i) Benthiocarb (Saturn) @ 2.5-5 lit/ha to be sprayed either on 3rd or 7th DAS will
effectively control Echinochloa sps without phytotoxicity to rice seedlings.
(ii) Propanil (Stam F-34) can be sprayed @ 3 ¼ lit/ha at 12-15 days of rice nursery. This
herbicide should not follow or precede the application of any fungicide/insecticide.

Transplanted rice :

1. 2, 4-Diethyl ester granules @ 20-25 kg/ha (0.8-1kg a.i/ha) applied 3-5 DAT will give better
weed control (cost Rs.400-500/ha)
2. 2, 4-Dielthyl ester granules at 10 kg/ha + benthiocarb at 2.5 lit/ha mixed with sand and applied
at 3-5 DAT will be useful when the fields are infested with Echinochloa sps (cost Rs.550/ha)
0.4 kg a.i/ha +1.25kg ai/ha
3. 2,4-Diethyl ester granules at 10 kg/ha + benthiocarb at 2.5 lit/ha mixed with sand and applied at
3-5 DAT will be effective when the fields are infested with cyperus and other weed species.
(cost Rs.512/ha) 0.4 kg a:i/ha +1.25kg ai/ha
4. Anilophos @ 1.33-1.67 lt/ha mixed with sand and applied 3-5 DAT
(Cost Rs.240-300/ha) 0.4 kg ai/ha.
5. Butachlor @ 4-5 lit/ha mixed with sand and applied
(Cost Rs.500-625/ha

Upland rice

(i) Application of 2.4-Dmine @ 0.9 kg a.i./ha mixed in 600 lit of water at 30-35 DAS was found
useful.
(ii) Direct seeded low land rice ? 2, 4.D ester @ 0.9 kg a.i. /ha at 25 DAS was found effective.

2, 4 D Na salt (Fernaxone) can be sprayed @ 0.75-1 kg/ha at 25-30 DAT when the fields are
infested with broad leaved and other susceptible weeds.
ROUGING : Roughing is the removal of off types from the main field. Though it is not cultural
operation, it is necessary to maintain purity of seed which is taken up at the following stages of
the crop.
a) A flowering (due to varieties)
b) At milk stage
c) At full maturity
d) At harvest

HARVEST : (Physiological maturity)

Turning the crop colour from green to yellow is the general symptom of maturity. At this stage, the
grain starts maturing from top to bottom of the panicle. About a week for heavy & 3-4 days for light
soils, prior to harvest, the water is let out completely and alley ways (pathways) at 10’-15’ made apart
by parting the crop.
harvest, ? moisture level of grain should be 20-23% for better milling quality.
In single cropped wet lands, either a pulse (Eg:BG/GG) or fodder crop like pillipesara/sunhemp seed is
broadcasted. Then the rice crop is harvested by manual labour using sickles. The harvested sheaves
are spread for 3-4 days, sundried and heaped and directly threshed, winnowed & stored.

For shattering varieties, crop is harvested before it is fully dried.

At the time of harvest, the bottom portion of plants and some of the grains at the base of the earhead
will be green. If it is fully riped (dead ripe), the rice gets broken during milling.

THRESHING : 3 types

1. Hand threshing of sheaves : against some hard surface like stone, wooden plank, a bench etc.,
This is practical when the quantity is small and also for when it is for seed purpose.
2. Cattle thresing : It is adopted when large quantity is to be handled. First, a threshing floor is
prepared well by removing stubbles, compacting etc., in a circular fashion and the sheaves are
spread and trampling under the feet of cattle is made to go round and round.
3. Tractor threshing : Now a days, it is widely adopted practice. The sheaves are heaped on the
threshing floor in a circular fashion and the tractor goes round and round.

In advanced countries, there will be combined thresher and winnowers.

YIELDS : It varies from season to season, and variety to variety besides several other factors. While
the average yields vary from 4-5 tons/ha during kharif. A minimum of 1 more tonne can be expected
during rabi for HYV.
Productivity of rice in different districts of A.P.
2.5 t and above ? W & EG ? 23%
2.0 t to 2.5 t ? Krishna, Guntur, Cuddapah, Nalgonda Khammam ? 34%
1.5 t to 2.0 t ? NLR, Kurnool, Rangareddy, Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Medak & Warangal ? 22%
1.0 t to1.5 t ? Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Prakasam, M. B. Nagar, Khammam, Adilabad ? 18%
< 1.0 t ? Rest 3%

By products : The ratio of cleaned rice to paddy is

65-70% by weight
50-55% by
volume
Rice bran 3 lakh tons/yr
Rice husk16 lakh tons/year
Rice bran contains 12-
used as cheap fuel and
14% rice bran oil
bedding in poultry houses
(Branola) prescribed for
under deep litter system.
heart patients.
Standard wt of bags is 75 kg
including bag wt.
A.P is a surplus in rice.

58% of the production is diverted in the market every year out of which 8-10 million tons are exported
to other states.
35% is retained by farmers for domestic
consumption. 5% payment of wages in kind
2% used as seed.

PAR BOILING of rice is also done in certain rice mills for exporting to other states like T. Nadu,
Kerala. Not only outturn of rice is more in parboiling, but its nutritive value too is highest.

Industrial uses: 75-80 lakh tons of paddy straw; supplemental source of raw material for paper
industry.
4 mini paper mills produce ? 55000 tons paper & straw

boards. YIELD & YIELD ESTIMATES OF RICE

Yield can be estimated when we have data on the following :

1. No of tillers /unit area
2. No of panicles/unit area
3. Average No of grains/panicle
4. % of filled grains
5. Weight of grain

Yield = (2) x (3) x (4) x (5)

Through the estimated yield differs fomr actual yields depending upon uniformity of the field
sampled, greater crop uniformity results in precise estimates. Efforts in sampling for each one of the
components may lead to either over or under estimate of crop yie lds.
Ex: AV. No of tiller/m2 = 500
% of productive tillers =
80% No of panicles/m2 = 400
AV No of grains/panicle = 120
% of filled grains = 75
Wt. of the grain= 0.027 gm
Yield/m2 = 400 x 120 x 75/100 x 0.027
= 972 g/m2
= 9720 kg/ha

Reasons for low yields of rice

1988-89 ? 1666 kg/ha
1990-91 ? 1776 kg/ha
1993 ? 1742 kg/ha

1. Widely varying climatic conditions under which rice is grown.

2. Inefficient utilization of applied N
3. Limited scope for optimum water management in heavy rainfall areas.
4. Cloudiness and its ill effects on the phgotosymnthetic activity of rice in monsoon (80% of the
season is cloudy during kharif)
5. Adverse effects of soil salinity or alkalinity (0.024 m.ha in AP & 7 m ha in India)
6. Susceptibility to heavy incidence of pests and diseases which tend to increase under ideal crop
conditiuons.
7. Little scope for rainfed upland rice to achieve its yield potential fully due to short growing
season and practically no control over time of transplantation in assured rainfall areas without
irrigation facilities.
8. Indiscriminate use of fertilizers.
9. Monoculturing
10. Poor drainage (10 lakh ha. suffer in Kg zone)
These are the well known reasons which restrict the overall rice production in the country.

Measures to improve the yield

1. Tailoring new varieties which can effectively photosynthesize even under low light intensity ..
Eg : IET 9354, Vijaya.
2. effective control of pests and diseases and growing of resistant varieties.
3. Growing varieties tolerant to salinity Eg: MCM-1 ; MCM-2 ; SR-26-B
4. Increasing cropping intensity thr ough early maturing modern rices.
5. Adopting best agronomical practices like adjusting the date of planting in a given locality in
such a way that the last 6 weeks of a variety pass through cloud free days.

Chemical composition of rice grain

1. Carbohydrate 76-79 %
2. Protein 6.4-85 %
3. Fat 0.4-1.4 %
4. Crude fibre 0.1-0.6 %
5. Energy value 3470 k.cal/kg
6. Ash 1.9 %
Vitamins (ppm)
Thiamine (B1) 3-5
Rhiboflavin 0.8-1
Nocotinic acid 55
(Niacin)
Pantothenic acid 17

Minerals
Ca 0.084
P 0.290
Fe 0.002
Rice grain classification:
Ramaiah committee (1969) suggested the following classification of rice grain of raw brown rice.

Class Length (mm) L : B ratio

1 Long slender 6 or more 3 or more

2 Short slender <6 3 or more

3 Medium slender <6 2.5-3

4 Long bold >6 <3

5 Short bold <6 < 2.5

PARBOILING :
A hydrothermal treatment of rice grain immediately followed by drying prior to miling to
prepare parboiled grains is called parboiling. It is a hydrothermal process in which the crystalline form
of starch is changed in to an amorphous form on account of irreversible swelling and fusion of starch.
Rice grain consists chiefly of an endosperm embodying polygonal starch granules. The air and
the moisture fill up the intergranular spaces.
The soaking of a grain either in cold or hot water results in swelling of the starch granules.
Soaking in hot water weakens the granule structure by way of breaking the hydrogen bond which
consequently provides a larger surface for the absorption of water by the starch granules. The whole
process is called gelatinization. Later on, moist heating is done to provide the irreversible swelling or
the fusion of the starch granules. Steam is mostly used for moist heating.
Advantages of parboiling :
1. Easily to shell out the parboiled rice.
2. The percentage of broken grains is reduced (Extra strength is provided)
3. More nutritious than raw rice
4. Renders more resistant to insects during storage.
5. Loss of solids in gruel is less than raw rice during cooking.
6. The bran from parboiled rice contains higher oil content. It is better owing to lower contest of
the free fatty acids.
Disadvantages :
1. Due to destroying of natural oxidants, rancidity may develop
2. Parboiled rice takes more time to cook.
3. Common rice consumer may not like the flavour and colour of the par boiled rice.
4. Parboiled rice may contain higher moisture content and some mycotoxins may develop.
5. Drying of parboiled rice to a safe moisture content for storage entails extra expenditure.
6. The milling cost of parboiled rice is higher since the shelled grains are comparatively harder.

Rice based cropping systems

Rainfed rice
Rice – fallow/sesame/pulses
Rice – fallow

Lowland rice
Rice – wheat/barley/fallow
Rice – fallow/sesame/pulse
Rice – rice –Rice/fallow
Rice – wheat – Jute/fallow
Rice – Potato

Medium land (irrigated)

Rice – wheat/barley/fallow
Rice – chickpea/linseed
Rice – wheat
Rice – Fallow/sesame/pulses
Fallow – rice – Sugarcane
Canal irrigation
Rice –Rice –
Pulse Rice –
Sugarcane
Rice – Pulse/sesamum
Well and Tanks
Rice – Pulse / groundnut
Dry paddy? It is grown as intercrop with red gram

Milling of rice : In the process of milling the aleurone layer and embryo are removed during the
polishing of rice grain. All the grain constituents except the carbohydr ates are reduced by the process
of polishing. There is a loss of Vit B1, thiamine, the deficiency of which causes the disease called
‘beri-beri’ in those persons who continuously eat ‘polished rice’

The loss of nutrients in parboiled rice, during the pr ocess of milling & washing with water
before cooking, is much less than that in white milled rice. Hand pounding of rice gives a higher
recovery as well as more nutritious rice grains.
Lecture No :
11
MAIZE
Botanical name : Zea mays

Maize- introduction- Origin- Distribution- Area- Production and productivity in India and AP- By
products and economic importance- Classification of maize- Adaptation and climate.
IMPORTANCE
Maize is one of the important foods, green forage and industrial crops of the world.
It is called QUEEN OF THE CEREALS.
Maize has highest yield/ha among the cereal crops. It is now grown in all countries except Antarctica
and under a more varied range of climates than any other cereal crops.
The National Commission on Agriculture observed that maize can substantially contribute to the
additional total food grain production by increasing its present contribution from 6-7% to 10%.
Though it is mainly used as a food crop in India by the rural population in the form of bread and
gruel, it has vast industrial potentialities as well having many as 50 different uses.
Ex: it can be put to the manufacture of starch, syrup, alcohol, acetic acid, lactic acid, glucose, paper,
rayon, plastic, textiles, adhesives, dyes, synthetic rubber, resin, artificial leather, boot polish etc.,
Corn oil is 4%
USES
Green ears find a ready market in the urban areas. The grain is ground into flour for making bread.
Maize is being used as a poultry and cattle feed. Stover, whether green or dry is fed to the cattle.
QUALITY
Grain contains:
Protein- 10%
Oil – 4%
Carbohydrates – 70%
Fat – 5 to 7%
Fiber – 3 to 5%
Minerals – 2%
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
Origin of maize plant is still not definitely known, probably because of its wild relatives having
become extinct during the long period of cultivation.

The wild relative of maize is Teosinte.

Geographical origin of maize is said to be somewhere in tropical zone of South America, probably in
the South western part of the Amazon river basin.
In its original home, the crop was developed by Red Indians from which it passed on to the
European immigrants and then spread gradually all over the world. The crop has become so
cosmopolitan that today in one area ore the other of the world, maize is being planted and cultivated
practically every week of the year.
It was introduced into India by the East India company and has now spread to a very large
areas of the count ry.

AREA AND PRODUCTION

Among cereals maize crop occupies 3rd place in the world after wheat and rice. America ranks
first in productivity followed by Europe. In these areas maize is used primarily as a source of animal
feed. Nearly 54% of the total area is located in South America, Asia and Africa, but they contribute
only 33% to the total production of the maize in the world. In these areas, average productivity is
low. Maize is consumed primarily as a source of human food. India cultivates 5.4% of the total area
and provides 1.7% of the total production of maize in the world.
1997-98
World India AP
Area [mha] 140 6.30 396000ha.
Production[million tons] 420 10.85 1084000t
Productivity[kg/ha] 3000 1720 2740
In India, UP ranks first in area production while the productivity is highest in Karnataka. Punjab ranks
fourth position.
In AP, it is intensively grown in North and South Telangana particularly Karimnagar, Medak,
Nizamabad, Warangal and Adilabad districts.
ADAPTATAION AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS
Maize is a tropical plant which prefers warm humid weather. It is grown under extremely
divergent climatic conditions in different parts of the world ranging from tropical to temperate regions.
Generally, it does not grow satisfactorily in semi arid regions. Since, it is a short day plant with C4 type
of photosynthesis, the crop has very efficient utilization of solar radiation. It is very sensitive to excess
or deficit soil moisture. It is widely cultivated from 3900m MSL though it varies with latitudes.
Therefore, it has adapted mainly in areas having sandy loam soils and sub humid climate. To some
extent, the crop is cultivated in areas having semi arid climate provided the soils are deep with heavy
texture. The optimum pH range of soil for maize is 6.5- 7.5.

It can be successfully grown where the night temperature does not go below 150 C. It cannot
with stand frost at any stage of growth. Optimum temperatures for germination is 210C and for growth
is 320C.

Min 90C ; optimum -320C

Max – 460C

In India, its cultivation extends from the hot arid plains of Rajasthan and Gujarat Extremely
high temperature and high humidity during flowering damage the foliage, deissicates the pollen and
interferes with proper pollination which results in poor grain formation.

600 mm rainfall with even distribution is sufficient for good cultivation.

Lecture No: 12

SOILS : Maize can be grown on a variety of soils, but it grows best on well darined soils which are
rendered fertile by adequate supply of manures.
Best soils are --- Deept dark silt loams
In semi arid climates-----Deep soils [heavy texture]
In sub humid climates----Sandy loam soils.
Opt PH----6.5-7.5
SEASONS : Kharif season----with onset of monsoon i.e in June or July and harvested in late
September or Octover.
Crop- - -Grown from Oct to January as irrigated one. Sowing maize at about 5 days before onset of
monsoon [i.e last week of may to the second week of June] and providing irrigation, results in good
plant stand and highest grain yields.
SEED BED PREPERATION [LAND PREPERATION]
At least 2-3 shallow tillage operations during summer season are essential in all maize
growing areas. Deep ploughing is also helpful to control weeds and for efficient moisture
conservation similarly bed and furrow or ridge and furrow systems are suitable in semi arid and sub
humid regions. In high rainfall regions ill drainage reduces the yields. Therefore in Dehradun valley
the system of ZINGG terracing has been found suitable.

ZINGG TERRACING
In this method, maize is grown in the upper 75/ area of the plot which is kept slopy to provide
quick drainage and rice is grown in the remaining 25/ area which is leveled to accommodate the run
off from the upper portion of the plant.

75 %
Maize

25%
Rice
Another method of panting is double file planting where 50000 plants/ha can be accommodated.

75cm
45 cm

VARIETIES : DHM-101, 103, 1 Rohini, Ashwini }

synthetics Trishulatha --- 3 way cross
Arsha & Varun-----composites

SEEDS AND SOWING :

Yield of maize remains the same over a wide range of pant po;ulations. On an average 60000-
80000 plants/ha is optimum for good yields.

For pure crop----20-25 kg seed/ha [60x25 cm or 75 x20 cm]

For intercropping with soybean-----15 kg/ha [1:2 ratio]
For intercropping with soybean----10 kg/ha [1:3 ratio]
For fodder maize----40-50 kg/ha

Test weight of variety decides seed rate. High flexibility in crop geometry has been found in case of
maize crop.
Crop geometry of 45x20 cm is found to be optimum for most of the areas.

Method of sowing : It is desirable to dibble the maize seed by the side of the ridges at a distance of 1/3
from the top of the ridge. Dibble seed 2-3 cm deep and should not be more than 5 cm. Ridge sowing
facilitated irrigation as well as drainage.
INTERCULTIVATION :

Weed contrl : Timely weed control is important. Proper and timely inter cultivation helps in aeration
by loosening the surface soil and assures good yields.
Weeds --- grasses --- cynodon dactylon, Echinoclhloa colonum
Sedges --- cyperus iria, eleusine indica
Cyperus rotundus
Firnbristilis miliacea
Brood leaved --- Celosisa argentina
Commelina bengalensis
Convolvulus
Tribulus terrestris
Solanum nigrum
Phyllanthus sps striga.
Maize needs two intercultivations and two handweedings.
First inter cultivation is done between rows to break ridges/furrows and earthing up of plant
rows.
See that intercultivation should not be done too near the pants nor deep to avoid injury to the
growing roots.
Growing maize by the side of the ridges and earthing up in the early stages reduces injury due
to water logging.

CHEMICAL WEED CONTROL :

The first 6-7 weeks of maize growth is the most critical period for weeds. Depending upon the
severity of weed infestation, the maize grain yield is reduced from 15 to even 100% The weeds
growing in intra row spaces as well as near the base of the plant cannot be controlled by
intercultivations because of the possibility of inflicting damage to the crop plants.
In view of the limitations of cultural methods of weed control, the combined use of
herbicides and intercultivations is the most effective technique of weed control in maize. Pre
emergence application of Simazine [Tafazine] or Atrazine [Atrafaf] at 2 kg/ha is found to control
weeds
effectively and it should be sprayed 2 or 3 DAs, wetting the entire surface uniformly. Later the soil
should not be disturbed for 4-5 weeks after application of the herbicide.
For post emergence application of 2,4 DEE at 1 ½ -2 kg/ha at any time when maize is about 20
cm height.
Chemical control of weeds proves economical and effective during wet season, when timely
cultural operations may not be possible.

WATER MANAGEMENT :

Maize is sensitive to both drought and water logging. Proper water management is a must for
increasing yields. Maize uses water efficiently. It s water requirement is influenced by

1. growth stages
2. season
3. weather
4. Soil conditions

The optimum available soil moisture for maize crop is 80 or 75/.. The frequency of irrigation
will be once in 6-10 days in a medium texture and average fertility soils depending upon rainfall.
The total water requirement vary from 530 mm to 800 mm depending upon the season and
rainfall received during the crop growth period.
Light and frequent irrigations just to moisten the effective root zone of the maize crop viz., 15
cm to 22.5 cm depth of soil are more conducive to higher yield than heavy irrigations at long intervals
being the total quantity of water remaining the same.
The most critical period for moisture stress is flowering stage [i.e. tasselling and silking]. Upto
40 DAS, the crop is more sensitive to excess moisture and from preflowering to maturity, it is more
sensitive to drought.

Maize plant utilizes about half of its seasonal intake of water during the 5 weeks following
attainment of its maximum leaf area which is about the tasselling stage. It has been observed that
continuous saturation of the top soil even for 4 days has resulted in reduction of yield of 50/. So it is
always advisable to grow the crop on the side of the ridges in areas with poor drainage or heavy
rainfall or on black soils. Popcorn is very sensitive to drought. If soil moisture stress occurs during
early vegetative stage --- then flowering is delayed.
Drought at flowering stage --- reduces yield and at later stages affect size and popping quality in
popcorn.
Furrow method of irrigation is both efficient and convenient for maize crop.
Precautions to be observed with regarding to irrigation and drainage during the life cycle of
maize crop:

1. Apply water evenly and uniformly while irrigating the maize crop.
2. Drain out excess water promptly.
3. Open the filed drains at even if to avoid the chances of damage due to excess water or rain.
4. Do not allow the maize crop to wilt due to shortage of moisture.
5. The crop should be irrigated immediately if the leaves roll or wilt during the day and fail to unfoll
in the followring morning. Sometimes leaf wilting may occur in the evenings and the leaves will not
recover by the next morning. This is a sign of extreme moisture stress.
6. Do not allow the crop to wilt at the flowering stage. The soil should be kept moist for proper
grain selting and development.

MANURES AND FERTILISERS :

At maturity ½ of the dry matter production is accounted for starch in the grain. The percent of
N and P in embryo of the seed is highest compared to any other tissue of maize plant.
More than ½ of N ? accumulates in the grain.
? There is a continuous uptake of P during the growing season.
? K accumulates in all the tissues of the plant and it reaches a maximum at about middle of
August when sown towards the end of May.
As in other crops, a balanced and integrated nutrient management plays a pivotal role in maize
cultivation. The nutrient uptake depends on soil fertility status, variety, crop growth stage, plant
density and time of cultural operations.
NITROGEN : The maize crop should have continuous supply of N at all stages of growth till grain
formation. N deficiency symptoms are indicated by the yellowing of the tips of lower leaves and the
deficiency gradually spreads to mid ribs and finally affects the upper leaves. So N deficiency in maize
plants even at an early stage of crop growth will reduce grain yield substantially.

PHOSPHORUS : A higher % of P is needed in early stages than in the later stages. P comprises an
important component of maize plant tissues and the developing grains. Thus, if P deficiency exists, it
will show up before plants have reached before knee-high stage. The contribution of P through
fertilizers decreases rapidly though plants take up this element up near maturity.

POTASSIUM : Maize takes up K from knee high to post flowering stage. AP soils are medium to
high in available k. So K deficiency in maize is not common. If K deficiency is found, it should be
corrected immediately.

ZINC : Majority of maize hybrids growing areas show zn deficiency :

Recommended doses of fertilizers (Kg/ha)

Nutrient Irrigated Rainfed

N 120-150 80-100

P 60-75 40-50

K (Based on soil test) 35 35

ZnSo4 (once in 3 seasons) 25-50 25-50

 Time and method of fertilizer application :
In case of rainfed crop, apply all the fertilizers in single dose as basal dressing.
Place the fertilizers 10 cm away from seed rows and 5 cm below the seed.
In case of other situations, adopt the following method for N.
Sl. Type of Quantity to be
season Stage Method of appln.
No. soil apliv.

Drill 10 cm away & 5

i) sowing ¼N
cm below the seed rows

ii) knee high (i.e. 30-35

K Broad cast b/n rows
Light or DAS) (25-30 DAS for ½N
1 R and mix up with soil
sandy popcorn)
S
iii) Pre tasselling i.e. 50-
55 DAS (40-45 DAS for ¼N
-do-
popcor n)

i) sowing Drilling ¾N

Broadcast & mix

ii) knee high ¼N
K with soil
Heavy or
2 S
black soil i) sowing Drilling ¼N
R

Broadcast and mix

ii) knee high ¾N
with soil

Apply 2nd & 3rd splits of N in the after noon when there is no dew. Fert. Should be mixed up in
the soil with a hand hoe. Immediately after fert. Application, filed has to be irrigated in case of
irrigated crop.
 In case of rainfed crop, it the N is to be applied as top dressing, there should be enough
moisture in the soil or fertilizers are to be applied after receipt of rain, when the soil is in proper
condition.
In case of Zn deficiency, apply 25-50 kg zn so 4/ha as a basal dose to the soil separately and
worked in to the soil but not alongwith the basal dressing of phosphatic fertilizers.
In case of ZnSO4 not applied to soil fotiar spray of ZnSO 4 @ 5 kg + 2.5 kg lime/ha. Repeat 2-3
times at weekly intervals till the deficiency symptoms disappear. Basal application of ZnSO4 is
superior and more lasting effect than foliar application.

Symptoms of Zinc deficiency in maize :

Stunted growth with short nodes pale green colour, lower half of leaf having broad ends of
bleached tissue while mid rib and leaf margins remain green.

HARVESTING : Hybrids of maize mature within 90-110 days. Test for maturity is that ? the husk
cover turns pale brown and the grains are too hard to be pressed in with finger nail. The cobs may be
harvested at about 20% grain moisture. The plants may remain green when the cobs are dry and ready
for harvest. Therefore do not wait for stalks to dry up for harvesting. This is desirable as such plants
can be used as fooder.

SHELLING : Enough time should be given for drying and shelling. Generally, the plants are left in
the field for one or 2 days after harvesting. The grains dry up during this period. Remove the husk
and cobs are kept in sun for 2-3 days before shelling.

The grains are separated easily from the ears if they are dried thoroughly and grain moisture is
reduced to less than 15 %. Shelling can be done either by beating with sticks or by using maize
shellers operated by hand or power. After shelling, the grains may be cleaned, dried thoroughly and
stored at 10 to 12% grain moisture.
 Popcorn ears should be harvested at 30-35% moisture and dried slowly in shade. Quick sun
drying results in cracking of grains and poor popping expansion. The ears may be shelled at 12%
moisture. The optimum moisture for best popping is 12-14%. Therefore, grain is to be stored at 12%
moisture in water proof bags.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES :
1. No. of cobs/plant

2. No. of grains/cob

3. Grain weight/cob

4. Test weight (100 grain weight)

YIELD :
Hybrids : 35-40
Q/ha Locals : 15-20
Q/ha

MAIZE AS FODDER : It is highly succulest which increases the milk yield of milch animals if
combined with legumes. In AP, it is grown in “PYRU” season using seed rate of 60-70 kg/ha. Growth
of maize in winter is more in South India compared to other crops. It is ready in 60-70 days. Harvest
when the ears are in formation stage. Yield is 28-50 t/ha.

CLASSIFICATION OF MAIZE TYPES :

Flint corn is widely grown in India.

1. Dent corn (zea mays var identata sturt)

This is the most common type grown in SA. Dent formation on the top of the kernel having yellow or
white colour. The depression or dent in the corn of the seed is the result of rapid drying and shrinkage.
Of the soft starch.
2. Flint corn (Zea mays var indurate sturt)
It is widely grown and cultivated in India. Endosperm of kernel is soft and starchy in the centre
and completely enclosed by a very hard outer layer. The kernel is rounded on the top. The colour may
be white or yellow. Grown in Europe, Asia, central America and South America.

3. Popcorn (Zea mays var verta sturt)

It possess exceptional qualities. Size of kernels is small but the endosperm is hard. When they
are heated, the pressure build up within the kernel suddenly results in an explosion and the grain is turn
out. Grains are used for human consumption and is the basis of popcorn confectionery. Its cultivation
is mainly confined to new world.

4. Flour corn ((Zea mays var anylacea sturt)

It possess a soft endosperm. Kernels are soft and though all coloured corns are grown but
white & blue are the most common. They are like fruit kernels in shape. Grown in USA & S. Africa.

5. Sweet corn (Zea mays var Saceharata sturt)

The sugar and starch makes the major component of the endosperm that results in sweetish
taste of the kernels before they attain the maturity and after maturity, the kernels become wrinkled.
The cobs are picked up green for canning and table purpose. Mainly grown in North half of the USA.

6. Pod corn : (Zea mays var tunicate kulesh)

Each kernel is enclosed in pod. It is a primitive type of corn and hence of no importance.

7. Waxy corn (Zea mays var ceratina Kulesh)

The endosperm of the kernel when cut or broken gives a waxy appearance. It produces the
starch similar to tapioca starch for making adhesive for articles.
High lysine composites :

1. Shakti : 95-100 days ; 10.6% protein ; 3.45% lysine yield 45 q/ha

2. Rattan : 95-100 days ; 10% protein ; 3.46% lysine yield 40-45 q/ha. Grains similar to shakti.
Tolerant to top borer and downy mildew.

3. Protina : Compos ite with high nutritional quality contains 11% protein; 4% lysine against 2%
lysine in normal varieties duration 100-105 days; yield:40-45 q/ha.

By products and economic importance :-

Cobs harvested slightly ahead of maturation are grilled and consumed tasty soups and pancakes
are cooked out of corn flour. Fermented corn is also common.

Pop corn, which swellsand pops up on rapid heating are much relished snacks consumed all
over the world. Corn flour is mostly processed into tortillas in Mexico in Latin America.

Corn is used in industries in several ways. Grains ground into flour are employed to prepare
corn flakes. Corn germ oil is a good cooking medium. Corn starch is raw material in many brews and
jams. It is also good for pr oducing alcohol. Some of the non food uses of corn are in preparing starch
based adhesive. Proteins are of use in pharmaceuticals textiles, in addition corn germ is used in the
soap making industry.
Lecture No : 13
SORGHUM
It is most important cereal crop in India. It stands second in area (next to rice), but third in production
after rice and wheat. It is cultivated primarily as a crop both during kharif and rabi and is one of the
main reasons for low average yields (864kg/ha). It is mostly grow n in marginal lands which do not
suit for wheat and maize. It is one of the major food crops of the world (wheat, rice, maize and
jowar). Millions of people in Africa and Asia depend on sorghum as their staple food.

ORIGIN: East and Central Africa (Ethiopia/ Sudan) is regarded as the place of origin of sorghum
because of the greatest diversity of types grown in that region.

USES OF SORGHUM

1. Jowar is used as human food and animal feed.

2. Jowar is used as fodder for animals.
3. Chopped green stems and foliage are used to prepare hay or silage and also as pasture crop.
4. Sweet sorghum & pop sorghum are perched and consumed by human beings.
5. Jowar flour is used for preparation of roti.
6. It is also used in breweries to prepare alcohol and malting purposes.
7. Jowar cake can also be prepared from fermented dough.
8. Sweet sorghums are used to prepare syrups, biscuit making in bakeries.
9. Left over stubbles are used as a source of fuel.
10. Tribals eat sorghum grains and sweet stems containing 10% sugar.
11. "Vani jowar" is a speciality of south Gujarat which is eaten under green perched conditions.
12. Jowar dhani i.e. pop sorghum is very popular among children.
13. Grain is sometimes fed to cattle, poultry and swines besides being used by human beings.

CYANIDE( HCN) : Sorghum varieties and sudan grass produce toxic quantitj.2S of cyanide. The
cyanide concentration is highest in seedling stage and declines as the plant grows.

MERIT: The greatest merit with jowar is that it has the capacity to withstand drought due to waxy
coating on stems and leaves.
AREA AND DISTRIBUTION: World area is 5.5 million hectares with a production of 72 million
tones and productivity of 1.3t/ha. While India leads (first) in the world in acreage, USA ranks first
in production. The other important jowar grow ing countries are Pakistan, South America, USSR,
Europe , Africa, China, Nigeria, Sudan etc.,

In India, jowar is grown in 10.9 million hectares with a production of 8.0 million tones and the average
yield is 0.73t/ha. 1/3 sorghum area is in India.

IMPORTANT JOWAR GROWING STATES:

STATE AREA (m.ha.) PRODUCTION PRODUCTIVITY

Maharashtr 5.5 3.8 -
AP 0.76 - -
MP 0.90 - 0.83
Karnataka 1.90 1.6 0.86
UP - - 0.88

Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Rajasthan accounts for 90% of jowar area in India.

IN AP: Area : 760000 ha

Production : 552000 t

Productivity : 0.73 t/ha.

AP ranks third among the jowar grow ing states. This crop accounts for 19.9% of the total
cropped area. It is largely grow n in the districts of Mahboobnagar, K urnool, Adilabad, Khammam ..
Warangal, Nalgond.':l, Medak, Prakasam, Ananthpur, Karimnagar and Cucidapah.
The Telangana region contributes 64% of total sorghum cultivated area of the state; Rayalaseema :
21%; Coastal Andhra : 15%

Mahboobnagar district is highest in area and productior. Khammam is highest in

productivity(757 kg/ha--1978 .. )
ADAPTATION

It is a sturdy crop and can withstand varied climatic hazards more than any other crop. It is
successfully grown in arid areas of UP, Rajastha n and also in humid regions of W.Bengal and Bihar.
It is primarily a tropical warm weather crop. It can withstand w ide range of temperatures varying
from
15.5 DC to 40.5 DC with rainfall variations of 35-150cm per annum. A lthough it is a crop of plains, it
grows within plateau region of South India up to an elevation of 1000m. Sor ghum is a short day plant.
Flowering and grain formation starts when day length shortens during winter.

SOilS: Sorghum can be grown in heavy black soils to red soils, but comes up weII in heavy
black soils. The best crops are grown the cla y loams. Jowar does not gr ow well under gravely
and marshy soils. The crop grows well in neutral pH of 7.0.

SEASONS OF AP : There are 4 seasons in an year viz., kharif, maghi, rabi and irrigated or
summer

KHARIF : The kha rif sowings are done in the month of june , july after the onset of southwest
monsoon. Jowar is grown on light soils in this season (red &chalka) except parts of Adilabad where
jowar is grown in black soils.

MAGHI : Sowings are done during the first fortnight of September, generally, delay beyond mid
September is not desirable. Khammam district traditionally grows maghi or mid season jowar which
is sown from late August to early September.

RABI : The rainfed rabi crop is generally sown in October after the cessation of SW mons oon. Those
areas are generally confined to heavy black soils. Sow ings are normally take n up in mid-·October.
Advancing the sowing date to 1st October is beneficial.
IRRIGATED OR SUMMER: During this period, the crop is grown as irrigated crop. The best period
for sow ing is during 2nd fortnight of January to 1st week of February. In black soil areas, where water
is in sufficie nt for rice and other crops, jowar can be grown for which 1-5 irrigations are sufficie nt.
The season could be utilized to produce good quality seed for kharif and rabi seasons.
MAJOR JOWAR GROWING ZONES

1.LOW RAINFALL KHARIF ZONE: The red soil area in the districts of Mahboohnagar,
Nalgonda and Ananthpur. 500-750 mm rainfall with 75-175 days duration.
2 .. HIGH RAINFALL KHARIF ZONE: 800-1000mm rainfall. It consists of the districts of
Adilabad, Karimnagar, Medak and parts of Rangareddy, Warangal, Guntur and Prakasam where
sowings are done during 2nd week of july. Growing period is 190-230 days.
3. EARLY RABI OR MAGHI ZONE: 800-900 mm rainfall. 70:30 red and black
soils. Contiguous areas of K hammam, Warangal, Nalgonda and Krishna.
4. NANDYAL VALLEY: 500mm rainfall. This zone includes the districts of KUrrlool
and Cuddapah where sow ings are done dur ing 2nd fortnight of September. Black cotton
soils.
5. NORMAL RABI ZONE: Light to heavy black cotton soiis. Parts of Adilabad, Rangareddy,
Karimnagar, Medak, Mahboobnagar, N izamabad and Guntur districts. Normal sowing jJeriod is
1st fortnight of October.
6 . LATE RABI ZONE: The districts of Nellore and adjoining areas of Praka sam constitute this
zone which comes under the influence of NE monsoon.

MAIN FIELD PREPERATION: Jawar is a poor man's crop which is mostly grow n under low input
conditions. However, soil management and land preparation are very impor tant items of work for
increasing production. The preparation of land for sowing of jowar is not as thorough as for most of
the cereals. In black cotton soil areas, if the land is infested with weeds , ploughing follow ed by
harrowing is practiced. Good tilth should be obtained by ploughing with iron plough/country plough
for the grain production of jowar. Tractor discing or ploughing is also advisable. Normally, the land
is well ploughed, then worked with a cultivator or blade h3rrow. Cattle manure may be applied 12
t/ha and mixed with 'soil by ploughing or harrow ing. 'The land is worked with blade harrow 2-3 times,
Sometimes gorru without seeding attachment is wor ked 2-3 times.
Incase of irrigated crop, aft'=r sowing and covering of the seed, beds are formed with the provision
of irrigation channels to irrigate the beds. An irrigation channel is formed for every pair of beds to
irrigate the beds situated on either side of the channel.
Incase of transplanting, beds are formed first, water is let into the beds to soak the land and seedlings
are transplanted.

For an irrigated crop, the best system is to form ridges and furrows, adopting a spacing of 45cm apart
with the provision of irrigation channels at 7.5-l0m apart across ridges and furrows to adopt turrow
irrigation. At the time of sowing, dibble the seed by the side of the ridge at a distance of 1/3 from the
top of the ridge.
Ploughing, harrowing and blinding in jowar is necessary for:
1. Good seed bed
2. Reducing weed population
3. Preventing soil eros ion
4. Conserving soil moisture
5, Conserving ent ire rainfall in dry ares for the USE of jowar crop
6. Providing drainage i'1 wet and humid areas
7. Mixing up organic manures in the seed bed.
YEAR ROUND TILLAGE: To assist the farmers in combating weeds and to enable him to carry
out sowing under improved seed bed Conditions w ith his tillag/2 and seeding equipment using
bullock power "a year round tillage programme" was developed at AICRIDA, Hyderabad.

The year round tillage has several advantages:

l.The primary tillage with country plough in the kharif is done during the non crop season when the
farmers are relatively free and at a time whe n the land and bullocks are in good condition. This
operation minimizes carryover of weed population from one crop season to another.

2.The subsequent harrowing operations have the advantage of a thorough weed control. Firm, seed bed
and conservation of moisture in the seed zone which in turn enables early planting and good plant
stands is so vital for increasing the productivity in dry lands. In an intercropping system, it is
necessary to till or harrow the field immediately after the harvest of one of the component crops as
otherwise weeds take over and the yield of longer duration component is drastically reduced.

GROWTH STAGES OF JOWAR

Development of sor ghum crop could be classified into number of ways. A fairly simple
classification is based on 3 growth stages (GS1, GS2 and GS3 ) and are described as follow
s ( Vanderlip and Eastin )

GS1 ( Emergence to pI ) : Growth stage 1 is a strictly vegetative period. Relatively little information
is available how this stage influences sorghum yields. It is necessary for producing sufficient leaf
area and functional root system to support maximum grain deve lopment.

GS2 ( PI to Anthesis) : This is very critical stage in the development of crop, since maximum
potent ial seed number is set. Higher seed number has generally is the most important yield
component associated with increasing yield in sorghum.

G53 (Anthesis to Maturity): Ultimate yield is the function of both the length of the grain filling
period and metabolic or synthetic efficiency. During that period either seed number or potential size
(sink) are not limiting.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YIELD ATTRIBUTING CHARACTERS AND GROWTH
STAGES
Number of grains produced and number of fertile grains will be mostly decided at 2nd growth stage i.e
from PI to flowering (G52) •
Test weight or weight of individual grains will be based on the function of the plant in
the physiological maturity stage (Le. G53)
AFTERCULTIVATION : Jowar is a warm season crop. The environmental conditions which
favour the germination and growth of jowar are also favourable for luxuriant weed gr owth. Sorghum
seedlings are weak and make a slow growth during the initial stages upto 40-45 days. Effective weed
control during this stage is inevitable.
Important weeds associated with sorghum
Grasses : Cenchrus sps
Digitalis sanguinalis
Echinochloa crussgalli
Eleusine indica

Sedges : Cyperus rotundus

Broad leaved weeds : Amaranthus viridis

Celosia argentina
Commelina bengalensis
Striga lutea
Lecture No : 14

SEED S AN D SOWING

Sorghum is sown by various methods in different parts of the country. The methods
are l.Broadcasting, 2 Drilling, 3 Dibbling, 4.Transplanting, 5.Ratooning

1. BROADCASTING: This method is not much used by farmers because the seed rate required is
more and the distribution of the seed is also uneven. Seeds are broadcasted and are covered by
working with a country plough. The seed rate varies from 12-18kgjha. Dry lands require less
seed
than irrigated lands. This method is usually done in irrigated lands where beds and channels are made
and for sowing of fodder sorghum under irrigated farming.
2. DRILLING: It is carried out by locally prepared seed drills, gorru and covered by guntaka or
brush harrowing. Seed rate is 8-12kgjha. Higher seed rate is recommended for light soils and low
rainfall areas while lower seed rate is given for black soils. Spacing of 45x15-20cm and at 3-4
cm depth is common in dry soils.
3. DIBBLING: It is a time consuming method and requires more human labour. It is otherwise
economical because the seed required is much less Le. 6kgjha and gives the equal opportunity to all
plants for their grow from the beginning. It is recommended where labour is not a constraint for
both kharif and rabi jowar in order to obtain higher grain yield.
Seeds are dropped in plough furrows directly or through bamboo tube attached to plough(akkadi)
since the land will be leveled thoroughly and marked with a marker crosswise, keeping a distance of
45x15cm. The seed is covered by the succeeding furrow. This method is adopted usually in dry lands
, where the moisture content of the soil is low. In case of irrigated crop, 2 or 3 seeds are dibbled by
the side of the ridge adopting 12-15cm spacing in the row, where ridge and furrow method is
adopted.
Depth of sowing will be around 2.5 to 5cm by adopting population of 1.8 to 2 lakhs/ha. Thinning is to
be done at 15 to 20 DAS leaving one seedling per hill. Fill up the gaps with the pulled seedlings. This
method is usually practiced in sorghum research centres.
4. TRANSPLANTING: In areas with sufficient rainfall, transplanting of jowar seedlings is done.
This practice is prevalent in the districts of Srikakulam, Vizag, E&W Godavari districts with regard
to cultivation of KONDA JONNA during july-aug. When the soil gets suffic iently moist, seedlings
of jowar obtained from a nursery after topping the leaves are dropped in the plough furrow. The root
portion of the seedlings is covered when the next furrow is opened.
As an irrigated crop, the beds of the field are irrigated and seedlings i1re planted. Even the
hybrids can be transplanted. A light irrigation before or soon after planting helps for better
establishment. The transplanting method is mostly used for hybrid sorghum. In Tamilnadu and
in adjoining areas of Tirupathi, the seed growers follow the transplanting method of sowing.
This method is developed by them for obtaining perfect synchronisation of male and female
lines of sorghum hybrid CSH-5. The female Iines are dibbled by hand or drilled directly in the
fields. The male lines are sown in the seed bed. The 2 week seedlings of male lines are then
transplanted in the field in the ratio of 4 female lines to 2 male lines. Due to transplanting of male
lines, the flowering in the m-ale lines would be delayed by about a week. Due to this method,
the farmers in South India are able to organize a good hybrid sorghum seed production
programme than North Indian farmers.
5. RATOON CROP: The cultivation of an additional crop from the re growth of stubbles of
previous main crop after its harvest, there by avoiding reseeding or replanting such as sugarcane,
sorghum, rice, fodder grasses etc.,
Hybrids of sorghum can, be ratooned with good success. They give even 'l1ore yields to the main crop
if they are properly managed. Of all CSH-l is the best for ratooning and the local varieties are not at
all fit for ratooning. This is only possible under irrigated conditions.

STEPS: 1. The main crop has to be harvested while the stem is green, leaving 4/1 to 6/1 stubble above
ground level.
2. The 2nd day after harvesting, an irriga tion has to be given to induce sprouting from the nodes.
3. Fertilizers @ 60kgN/ ha has to be applied; Y2 to be applied at the bas(! of the stubbles and covered
before the 1st irrigation and the 2nd Y 2 of N at 30 days after from date of rationing.
4. From each stubble, a number of sprouts come up. The weak sprouts have to be thinned out
leaving 2 or 3 good healthy sprouts in each stubble
5. Maintain sufficient moisture from boot leaf to grain hardening stage.
6. The ear head size though small in ratoon crop gives equal yield to main crop as it putforths 2 or
3 sprouts.
7.Ratoon comes to harve st in 80-85 days.
8.Plant protection measures have to be taken up in time against pests and diseases as
in planted crop.
9.For a ratoon crop of jowar, all the plants in the fie ld have to be harvested at one
time.
9. Ratooning reduces expenditure on land preparation, sowing, fertyilisers and
gives more net income when it is managed well.

SPACING FOR SORGHUM: 45x12-15cm

SEED TREATMENT: For control of grain smut disease - treat the seed with sulphur
@ 5g/kg seed.
OR
With organ omercurial compounds or carbomates @ 2.5g/kg seed.
For shoot fly-carbofuran 50wp@ 100g/kg seed.
MANURES AND FERTILISERS : Both N & P are essential for stepping up grain
yields of jowar.
The effect of P in increasing grain yield is more pronounced when it is applied in
combination with N. Application of N consistently increases uptake of P at all stages
of growth. N uptake is also significantly increased at high levels of P application even
at 60 days growth stage. Response to N is better in hybrids than in local improved
varieties.
Response of jowar to K is infrequent. K need not to be applied to jowar except in
areas known to be deficient regarding potash.
For 10eClI varieties, in many cases 25kg N+ 25 kg P20s/ha gave higher yields
compared to 50kg N/ha under dry land conditions. Under irrigated conditions the
doses of N & Pare 40 kg/ha each.

87
DOSES FOR HIGH YIELDING VARIETIES
Irrigated Rainfed
N (kg/ha) 100-120 80
P 60 40
K " not essential but in defic ient soils apply on the basis of soil analysis.
TIME AND METHOD OF APPLICATION OF FERTILISERS : When fertilizers
are applied in direct contact with see ds, injury to germina tion fre quently occurs. Drill
the fertilizers into the soil before the sow ing of seed at 5cm below the seed le ve l.
Basal application gives better response when drilled into the soil. HEAVY SOIL: All
N & P20S could be applied basally or drilled into the soil at sow ing 2" away and 2"
be low the seed.
LIGHT SOILS: N should be given in 2 equal splits i.e. half as basal and other half at
30-35 DAS i.e at knee high stage.
Genera l dose for HYV's is 80-40-20 kg NPK/ha.

POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR EFFICIENT FERTILISER MANAGEMEl\lT

1. Jowar crop removes la rge quant ity of nutrients from soil.
2. Grow th and nutrient uptake will be more rapid after 40 da ys from ~ ow
ing. Adequate supply of nutrients and water are necessary to provide
maximum growth.
3. Jowar ear heads may not exert out completely from the flag leaf without adequate
nutrie nts and water.
4. Final grain yield de pe nds upon the ra te of dry matter acc umulation in the grain.
NPK are necessary for dry matter accumula tion .. Nutrients at all sta ges of
de velopment of jow ar cr op are required for obtainin g maximum yields.
5. Use the fertilizers after getting the soil properly tested.

88
WATER MANAGEMENT: Though jowar is drought res istant, it responds well to
irrig ation. It is pr imarily a rainfed cr op. It has an extensive and deep fibrous root
system. It is obse rved that on an average, about 6-9 irriga tions, each of 5-6 cm
depth are necessary depending on climate. Tota l water requirement is about 500-
600mm.

CRITICAL STAGES FOR IRRIGATION: Irrigation is needed at 5 stages of the

crop i.e.

1. Germination (at the time of sow ing)

2. Knee high stage (30-35 DAS)
3. Flag leaf stage (50-55DAS)
4. Flowering ( 70-75 DAS)
5. Grain formation stage (100-105DAS)
The peak wate r needs of jowar crop is at booting to seed setting sta ge.

TIME OF IRRIGATION: The optimum time for irrigating jowar is when the soil
moisture (ASM) is depleted to the extent of 50-60% in the effec tive root zone. It was
observed that irrigating the crop when the ASM falls to 50% in the root zone of 60 cm
has given the highest yield of grain.

Irrigations to maintain a high moisture conte nt during the seedling stage of the crop
have been found to be de trimental to the growth of jowar due to lowering of soil
temperature below the optimum and leaching of plant nutrients from the root zone.
Irrigation at 45th da y e ven for rainfed crops which coincides wit h boot leaf ensures
good yields.

89
I
Peak water requireme nts a re at boot to flowering and early grain de velopment sta ges
i.e 25th, 45th and 55th DAS. These days correspond to PI, boot leaf and flowering
respectively. F or irrigate d crop, irrigation once in 7-10 days for light soils and once
in 15-20 da ys for heavy soils may be necessary. About 50% of jowar root is within
50 cm depth of soil though roots may go as deep as 150 cm. A presow ing irrigation
to br ing 120 cm depth of soil to fie ld ca pacity is essentia l. An irrigation at 15 days
after emergence in shallow soils is important. The irrigation may be given to bring 90
cm of the soil to field capacity.
POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR BETTER WATER MANAGEMENT IN
JOWAR
1. Deep t illage and other moisture conservation practic es to increase infiltration and
soil mois ture storage.
2. To provide dra ina ge in blac k cotton soils during periods of excessive
rainfall as jowar crop cannot tolera te water logging conditions.
3. Water harvesting during periods of exce ssive rainfall to make use of
all available water for improving a nd stabilizing crop production.
4. Following improved irrigation techniques and timing to utilize a limited supply of
tank or well
water most effectively.
5. Adjusting of planting dates and cropping systems to optimize efficiency of water
use.
6. Use of fertil izers and other improved production practices to increase WUE.
7. Severe moisture stress after flowering in kharif jow ar can result in "blasting" and
poor head f illing. Providing only one irrigation at this stage can boost yield.
b. Final yields depe nds on the rate of dry matter accumulation in the grain and the
length of time it accumulates. S o, all the factors related to improve dry matter
accumulation should be effic iently managed.

90
WEED CONTROL : Mechanical – intercultivation :

Rainfed crop: Inter cultivation is done in between rows with small implements
known as danthi i.e., small blade harrow - i )to remove weeds ii)to stir the top soil
and iii)to give slight earthing up to jowar plants

A light country plough is also used for this purpose and the interspaces are
ploughed. lnterculturing commences when the crop is about 15-20 DA5 and it is
repeated at 10 days interval.

Irrigated crop: A hand weeding is done within 20 DAS.A light plough is worked
in between rows to break the ridge and earth up the rows of jowar plants when the
crop is 30-38 cm in height.

Chemical: (a) A pre emergence application of Atrazine or Propazine @ 0.25 - 0.50 kg

a.i./ha in 900 lit water for effective control .This is followed by a late weeding which
is the best and safest.

(b) A post emergence application of 2 lit of MSMA /ha in 700 lit water can be
used to control nut grass effectively. During the application, avoid as far as
possible spraying on the crop (MSMA=Monosodium methyl arsenate)
(c) 2,4-D @ 0.75-1.0 kg a.i./ha as post emergence 4-5 days after sowing for broad
leaved weeds.
One or two inter cultivations in sorghum may provided adequately effective
control of weeds.

Striga: Witch weed (striga sps), a root parasite which falls in the group of higher
parasitic plants, comprises of major threat to sorghum production. The common
sps of striga are l.Striga asiatica 2.Striga lutea 3.Striga densiflora 4.Striga
euphrasiodes 5. Striga hermonthica.

Striga lutea, an erect herb grows to a height of 10-30 cm. It is the most wide
spread sps of striga causing severe crop losses and occurs through out India.

91
Striga robs the host sorghum plant of food and hormones through the roots attached to
the sorghum roots. Growth of sorghum consequently remains stunted and the plant
vigour is adversely affected. The total effect is drastic reduction in sorghum yield.
This parasite which grows on the root of jowar plant, depleting it of its nourishment
and there by arresting the growth and reducing the yield.

Striga can be controlled by systematic removal before it flowers. Spraying with

chemical weed killer, methaxone or 2,4-0 @ 0.2% solution can control striga. Some
other measures to control striga are 1.Deep ploughing 2.Double the recommended
dose of N 3.Growing resistant varieties like SPV-462, N-13 etc., 4.Growing catch
crops and trap crops like cotton, redgram, groundnut, linseed, sunflower, c owpea. 5.
Use of methyl bromide @ 200 kg / ha as a fumigant, which is costly 6. Post
emergence spray of 2,4-D @0.75-1. 0 kg a.i. / ha gives moderate control.

HARVESTING AND THRESHIING: When the grain is ripe and hard, the crop is
to be harvested (i.e., whe n the grains become hard and contain less than 25%
moisture, they are considered fully ripe for harvesting). Generally, the irrigated crop
matures later than dry crop. The plants are pulled out with the roots, cut at the base
with sickles; when the crop is of short height are where mixed cropping is practiced,
the ears a lone are harvested firs t, leaving the stalks to be cut at a future date. The
harvested plants are allowed to dry in the field for 3-4 days and the ears are then
removed. The straw is kept in stacks in the field for a week for complete drying. Then
it is carted and stacked in the yard.

Sorghum grown for fodder purposes should be harvested either up to or at 50%

flowering. Younger jowar plants possess, a high hydrocyanic acid (HCN) content
which is poisonous to the animals. Further, there is a sharp decline in the protein
content and digestibility of nutrients beyond the flowering stage

In case of multi cur varieties – first cutting: 2 months after sowing

-Subsequent cuts: 30-40 days after the first cut

92
Threshing of the dried ears is done by beating with stic ks or trampling under the
feet of cattle. Stone rollers are also used for this purpose. The grain has to be
winnow e d, cleaned and dried to reduce the moisture to about 12-13 %. Threshing
machines are also a va ilable.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES: 1. Number of panicles/unit area

2. Length of the panicle (cm)
3. Number of filled grains/panicle
4. Test weight or 1000 grain weight
Yield is the function of above yield attributing factors.

YIELD: Rainfed: 20-25 q/ha

Irrigated:50-60q/ha

MID SEASON CORRECTION: The practices that are adopted w he n crop is

subjected to prolonged drought/ aberrant weather conditions in order to mitigate
the adverse effec ts cause d due to them are known as mid season corrections.
The y are 1. Ratooning 2. Thinning the plant population 3. Removing the crop
which is more sensitive to moisture stress in mixed cropping (eg: jowar +
safflow er) 4. Follar spray (eg: groundnut) with nutr ients are some of the mid
season corrections.

At Bellary , with a limited moisture, jowar plants are earless when the
population is 80000/ha. But when the population was reduc ed to 20000/ha ear
emergence and grain setting is satisfactory.

In a crop mixture of jowar - safflower (during rabi in blac k soils) , remove jowar
which is sensitive to moisture stress and allow safflower to gr ow a lone.

Ratooning can be done with jow ar and ba jra crops with the receipt of rains
after a prolonged dry spell. Urea can be spraye d on crop foliage (eg :
groundnut) after the receipt of rains soon after a prolonged dry spell.

93
SORGHUM EFFECT: Sorghum is an exha ustive crop. It removes more
amounts of nutrients. So, two exhaustive cr ops like sorghum and cotton should not
follow each other. Instead pulse crop can follow sorghum.

It was experie nce d that some of the suc ceeding crops to sorghum do not thrive
well due to some toxic effect left over by the jowar crop. This can be
counterac ted by good manuring of the succeeding crop w ith FYM and by
green manuring with indigo or wild indigo or crop rotation or sorghum mixed
cropping.

CROPPING SYSTEMS:
North India -(i) Seque nces
Sorghum - Wheat
Sorghum - Wheat- greengr
am Sorghum - Whea t –
Cowpea Sorghum – Pea
Sorghum - Safflower/ Sunf lower
(ii) Mixed cropping
Sorghum + Soya bean
Sorghum + Pigeonpea
Sorghum + Greengram/Blackgram
South India - (i) Se quences
Sorghum- Cotton
Sorghum - Rabi sorghum
Sorghvn - Tobacco
Sorghum -- Finger mille t -
Groundnut Groundnut - Rabi sorghum
(ii) Mixed cr opping
(kharif) Sorghum+pigeonpea
Sorghum+greengram
Sorghum+blackgram

94
Sorghurn+c owpea
Mixed cropping(rabi)
Sorghurn+safflower/ sunflower

The average grain composition of sorghum grain is as follows:

Protein : 7.4 – 14.2%

Lipids : 2.4 – 6.5%

Carbohydrates : 70 – 90%

Fibre : 1.2 – 3.5%

Minerals (mg/100gm)

Ca : 11 – 586

P : 167 – 751

Fe : 0.9 – 20.0

Compa red to other cerea ls, sorghum protein is deficient in lysine and rich in leucine.
Lysine is require d for bone formation. Children are more susceptible to lysine
deficienc y than adults. (The stic ky nature of cooked rice is determined by the relative
proportion of amyloprotein a nd amylase. The main prote in in ric e is Oryze nin.
Among a mino acids, the glutamic acid content is highest in rice which is also rich in
lysine.)

95
Lecture No: 15

BAJRA

(Pennisetum americanum)

English: Pearlmillet Telugu: Sajja

Other names: Cat tail millet, candle millet, Spiked millet, Bulrush millet, dark millet
etc.

Bajra is one of the major coarse grain crops and is considered as poorman’s food. It
provides staple food for the poor in a short period in the relatively dry tracts of the
country. It is the most drought tolerant crop among cereals and millets. Pearl millet is
endowed with greater ability to withstand harsh climatic factors, and still yield
substantially. Globally, it occupies around 27 mha.

The grain of bajra is superior in nutritive value to Sorghum grain but inferior in
feeding value.

Bajra grains contain about

12.4% moisture

11.6% protien

5.0% fat

67% carbohydrates &

2.7% minerals

Bajra is cooked like Rice or Chapaties are prepared out of flour (like maize or
sorghum), It is also used as feed for poultry and fodder for cattle.

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ORIGIN:

Most of the Scientists believe that the primary centre of origin of bajra is
Africa from where it spread to India and other countries.

Distribution:

Bajra is grown mostly in tropical climate. It is widely grown in Africa and

Asia. The important Bajra growing countries are India, pakistan, China and South
East Asia.

In India, except in west Bengal and Assam, it is grown throughout the country.
It is generally grown in areas of low rainfall and in poor soils. Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P and Haryana account for 87% of the total area. About 78%
of the production comes from these states. India is the largest producer of bajra.

Area Production Productivity

India ---- 9.1 mha 7.3 mt 780 kg/ha

Rank Area Production Productivity

I Rajasthan Rajasthan M.P

II Maharastra Gujarat Haryana

III Gujarat Maharastra Gujarat

In A.P. Bajra is mainly grown in Srikakulam Vizanagaram, Visakhapatnam,

Ranga Reddy, Mahboobnagar, Nalgonda, Prakasam, Chittoor and Anantpur districts .

97
 Rank Area Production Productivity

I Visakhapatnam Prakasam Nellore

(36,900 ha) (34,000t)
(1658 kg/ha)

II Prakasam Visakhapatnam Cuddapa

(1605 kg/ha)
(29,300 ha) ( 28,300t)

III Nalgonda Kurnool Srikakulam

(25,900 ha) (12,200t) (1324
Kylha)

ADAPTATION:

The crop has wide adaptability as it may grow under different day lengths,
temper atures and moisture stress. It has a high degree of resistance for drought. Most
of the varieties developed in India are photo-insensitive which permits in growing the
crop during Kharif, rabi and summer seasons. The crop requires low annual rainfall
ranging between 40 to 50 cm and dry weather. The crop needs wet weather, light
showers and bright sunshine, at its grand growth stage. There should be no rain at
flowerns as the pollens are washed off and fertilization is found to be poor, while at
maturity it needs fairly dry weather associated with bright sunny days. The crop may
tolerate drought but cannot withstand high rainfall of 900mm or above. The best
temperature for the growth and development of bajra is between 30oc and 35oc.

98
SOILS

Bajra can be grown on a wide variety of soils, but being sensitive to water
logging, it does best on well drained sandy loams and clay loams. Bajra is sensitive to
acidic soils. It is grown successfully on black cotton soils, alluvial soils and red soils
of India.

LAND PREPARATION:

The crop needs very fine tilth because the seeds are very small. It is essential to
do the summer ploughing by mould board plough and after the onset of monsoon the
field should be harrowed twice (or) thrice or ploughed by country plough. Care should
be taken to remove all the weeds and stubbles from the field and if possible the field
should be levelled and drains should be provided in the field.

SEASON, SEEDS AND SOWING:

Sowing time:

Kharif :June -

July Rabi :Sept -

Oct

Summer : First fortnight of January

Avoid late planting beyond July 15 th (In case, sowing is delayed there is a drastic
reduction in yield due to more incidence of diseases like downy mildew or ergot,
restricted vegetative growth of the crop, high rate of mortality and poor grain setting).

Seed Rate:

4.0-5.0 kg/ ha (If sown by drilling)

2.5-3.0 kg/ha (If sown by dibbling method)

99
Spacing:

45x15 cm

Seed treatment:

Seed should be treated with Thiram or captan @ 3g/kg of seed.

Meththod of Sowing: Broadcasting, Drilling, Dibbling and Transplanting.

Of these, Drilling is most popular. Thinning and gap filling should be done at 10-
15 DAS.

Depth of Sowing: 2 to 3 cm

Transplanting is done, in case, if sow ings are delayed due to late onset of monsoon or
heavy and continuous rains at the time of sowing. Transplanting gives higher yields
as compared to direct sowing. 3-4 week old seedlings are planted @2/hill. Under
South Indian conditions, summer bajra is usually grown by transplanting.

Advantages of transplanting:

1. Transplanted crop matures early and produce more tillers and ears due to better
growth.

2. Gives Higher yields than direct seeding.

3. Optimum plant population is ensured.

MANAGEMENT OF OVER AGED SEEDLINGS:

In case of seedlings having age of less than 20 days, the tillers arise from the basal
nodes ‘just below the ground’ and most of the tillers put forth ears at the same time.
When aged seedlings are transplanted, tillers arise from the internodes ‘above the
ground’. This makes the plant susceptible to lodging.

To overcome this, the ear of the main culm is pulled nipped followed by top dressing
of nitrogenous fertilizers and copious irrigation which induces profuse tillering from
the basal nodes.

100
MANURES AND FERTILIZERS:

FYM @ 5t/ha should be applied and mixed well in to the soil about 20 days before
sowing. Fertilizer schedule is as follows:

Rainfed crop : 50 to60 -30 -20 kg N, P2O5, K2O/ha

Irrigated : 100 to 120 - 40 -20 kg N, P2O5, K2O/ha

Half dose of nitrogen, full doses of phosphorus and potassium should be applied at the
time of sowing. The remaining N is applied in 2 splits. Once at the time of thinning (3
to 4 weeks after sowing) and the rest at ear formation stage.

WATER MANAGEMENT:

As Bajra is a rainfed crop, there is hardly any need for irrigation. Irrigate the
crop if there are no rains. Generally, two irrigations during the growing period of the
crop are enough. If moisture is limiting, irrigation must be given at the time of
earhead emergence because it is the most critical stage for moisture stress. Bajra does
not tolerate water logging. So do not allow rain water to stand in the field for more
than few hours. Proper arrangement for draining the excess water must be made.
Total water requirement is 450-550 mm and W.U.E. is 8.0 kg/ha.mm of water.

WEED CONTROL:

The damage due to weeds is severe during 3-5 weeks after sowing.
Intercultivation by hand hoe or wheel hoe should be done at 3-5 weeks after sowing.
However, sometimes due to unavailability of labour or soil being too wet to permit
manual wedding, timely weeding becomes difficult. Under such conditions the only
effective way to control weeds is the use of herbicides.

Pre-emergence application of Atrazine or Propazine @0.5 kg per/ha in 600 litres of

water controls most of the monocot and dicot weeds.

101
HARVESTING AND THRESHING:

Harvest the crop when grains become hard and contain about 20% moisture.
Harvesting is done by cutting the entire plant or removing the earheads first and
cutting down the plants later on. The ear heads after harvesting, should be dried in the
sun. The grains are separated either by beating the ear heads by sticks or by trampling
by bullocks. The threshed grain should be cleaned and dried in sun to bring the
moisture content down to 12% for safe storage.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES:

Total number of tillers per unit area

Number of productive tillers per unit area

Lenth of the earhead

Number of filled grains per earhead

Test weight

YIELD:

Rainfed: Grain : 12-15 q/ha

Dry stover : 70-75 q/ha

Irrigated: Grain : 30-35 q/ha

Dry stover: 100 q/ha

CROPPING SYSTEMS:

Sequential cropping: Pearlmillet- Ground nut

Pearlmillet - Cowpea

Pearlmillet- Pigeonpea

102
 Pearlmillet – Barley

Pearlmillet- Wheat

Pearlmillet- toria

Inter cropping system :Pearlmillet + Groundnut

Pearlmillet + Cowpea

Pearlmillet + Pigeonpea

Pearlmillet + Castor

Pearlmillet + Sesame

Pearlmillet + Mungbean

Pearlmillet + Urdbean

Reasons for low yield of coarse cereals:

1. Marginal lands are used for their production than other cereals.

2. They are confined to small production units

3. They are often grown as intercrops

4. uncertain precipitation trends

5. Limited commercial demand

VARIETIES:-

BJ-104, BK-560, BD-111, MBH-110, ICMH-451

COMPOSITS: VIJAYA, NAGARJUNA, ICTP -8203, BALAJI, VISAKHA, WCC-

75, ICMV -155, ICMV -221

SYNTHETICS: MUKTA, MALLIKARJUNA(PBS-1), APS-1 (ANANTHA), ICMS-

7703

103
Lecture No: 16

FINGERMILLET (Eleusine coracana)

English name : Telugu

Finger millet Ragulu

Birds foot millet Taidalu

African millet

Finger millet is commonly known as Ragi. In eminent vedic literature ragi is

mentioned as ragika. It is an important minor millet grown in India. It is a staple food
crop in many hilly regions of the country. In fact, it is the main cereal crop for
monsoon season in some hilly areas. It is predominantly grown as a dry land crop in
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Finger millet contributes nearly 40% of
total small millet produce of India, occupying nearly 3.2 million ha. Ragi is relished
mostly by the rural population of southern India for the nutritious meal it provides.

It is grown both for grain and forage. In northern hills, grains are eaten mostly in the
form of ‘Chapaties’ and halwa. In South India, grains are used in many preparations
like cakes, puddings, sweets etc.

- Germinating grains are malted and fed to infants also.

- It is also good for pregnant woman

- It is a nutritive food for adults of different ages.

- It is good for persons suffering from diabetes

- The green straw is suitable for making silage, which gives sweet smell and
consumed by cattle with out wastage.

- Besides vitamin A&B phosphorus is also present in smaller quantities.

- The grain is nutritionally rich and the richest in ‘calcium’

104
NUTRITIONAL STATUS

Proteins - 9.2%

Fat - 1.29%

Carbohydrates 76.32%
-
Minerals - 2.24%

Ash - 3.90%

Calcium - 0.33%

ORIGIN:

According to Decandoll (1886) Finger millet probably originated in India. It

might have originated from Eleusine Indica, a grass that occurs in many parts of
North India. It is supposed to have spread form India to Abyssinia and rest of Africa.

Mehra (1962)

Vavilov (1951) – considers Eleusine coracana to be of African origin.

It is grown in India, Africa, Malaysia, Srilanka, Japan & China. India is the leader in
the area of finger millet improvement.

AREA & PRODUCTION:

Total area of India is 2.50 m.ha with a production of 2.20 mt. Karnataka is the
major state for finger millet production in India, accounts for 55.6% of the area and
60.7% of production in the country.

105
 Area Production Productivity

I Karnataka Karnataka Tamil Nadu

II Vizag Vizag Prakasam

III Chittoor Vijayanagaram Guntur

IV Vijayanagaram Ananthapur Ananthapur

ADAPTATION:

It is a crop of tropical and subtropical climate and can be grown successfully

from sea level to an altitude of 2100 mts on hill slopes as well as in plains. It is a
hardy crop. It is grown in areas having annual average rainfall between 500 to 1000
mm. In regions of higher rainfall it can be raised on well drained soils as a
transplanted crop. It can be grown under rainfed as well as irrigated conditions.

SOILS:

It can be grown on a wide variety of soils ranging from very poor to very fertile
soils. It thrives best on well- drained loam or clay loam soils. Clayey soils, heavy
black cotton soils, gravelly and stony soils with poor fertility and drainage are not
suitable. It can tolerate salinity better than other cereals.

LAND PREPARATION:

The first ploughing with mould board plough should be done immediately after
the harvest of the previous crop. With the onset of monsoon, field should be ploughed
with local plough 2-3 times and finally levelled.

SEASON:

Finger millet is not a season bound crop. So, it can be grown through out the
year, if water is available, The main seasons are

106
1. Punasa Ragi (or) Burada Chodi:

Finger millet is grown in wetlands, prior to planting of rice in slushy conditions

by taking advantage of monsoon rains in Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam Dist. Short
duration varieties (AKP -2) are preferred for this season. Twenty five percent Ragi in
above districts is under this season (May-Aug).

2. Main Season (or) Pedda Panta:

The main area under Ragi crop during this season (Aug-Nov) accounts for 50%
area of Srikakulam and Visakhapantam. Suitable varieties are AKP -7 and Kalyani
(WR – 652)

3. Pyru season:

Remaining 25% of area is under pyru season. (Nov/Dec – Feb/ March). As the
crop is grown under assured irrigated conditions, the yields are high.VZM-2 is
recommended.

SEEDS & SOWINGS:

Sowing is done by Broadcasting, drilling, sowing in shallow furrows and

transplanting.

1. Broadcasting:

In dry lands sowing is done by broadcasting and seed is covered by working

with blade harrow which is generally practiced in coastal districts of A.P & T.N. Seed
rate is 8 Kg/ ha

2. Drilling:

Finger millet is also sown by bullock drawn seed drills in shallow depths of 3-4
cms. This is generally adopted in Rayalaseema & Telangana regions of A.P and
Karnataka.

107
3. Sowing in shallow furrows:

In Karnataka, seeds are mixed with cattle manure and sown in furrows drawn
by 3 tyned drills. Furrows are covered by blade harrow. Seed requirement in this
method is higher than normal recommendation.

4. Transplanting:

It is practiced under assured irrigation. 1) Ridges and furrows 2) Flat bed

method.

Seeds are raised in nurseries and after 20 days, seedlings are ready for transplanting in
main field.

Seed rate: 4-6 kg/ha.

SPACING:

15x15 cm or 15x15cm – for long duration varieties

15x10 cm – for Short duration varieties.

MANURES & FERTILIZERS:

For Nursery: FYM : 10t/ha Incorporation before sowing

40-40-40 kg N, P2O5 and K2O/ha

For mainfield: FYM: 10t/ha – Before sowing

60-30-30 kg N, P2O5 and K2O/ha

N is applied in 2 Splits

1. At the time of transplanting – ½ dose of N along with full dose of P and K.

2. Remaining dose of N at 30 DAS.

108
IRRIGATION:

Ragi sown during Kharif, generally does not need any irrigation. Adequate
moisture should be provided at the time of flowering and grain setting stages. It can
not tolerate waterlogged conditions. Hence, drainage facilities should be provided.
After establishment of seedlings for a week or 10 days, irrigation should be cut off.
This helps in hardening of seedlings and for vigorous and healthy growth.

WEED MANAGEMENT:

It is essential to control weeds in the initial stage of plant growth and

development. Weeding should be done with hand hoe after 25 days of sowing. 2-3
hoeings would be sufficient to control the weeds in problems areas. Hand weeding
gives satisfactory control of weeds. Pre emergence herbicides like metoxuran 0.75 kg
ai/ha + one hand weeding gives excellent control of weeds.

HARVESTING OF THRESHIN G:

The crop matures in about 4-4 ½ months depending on the tract and the variety.
Irrigated or transplanted crop produces more tillers than that grown in drylands.
Earheads on main shoots matures earlier than tillers. As & when earheads are matured
harvesting is done generally 2 or 3 times. Harvested earheads are kept on floor and
covered by gunny bags or tarpaulins which brings change in colour to all the grain in
earhead.

It is dried & threshed by stone roller or cattle.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES:

Number of plants per unit area

Number of tillers per unit area

Number productive tillers per unit area

Number of fingers per earhead

Number of filled grains per earhead

Test weight

109
YIELD

Rainfed: 7- 8 q/ha - grain

11-18 q/ha – fodder

Irrigated: 30-35 q/ha - grain

35-50 q/ha – fodder,

Varieties:

Kalyani – Released in 1971 from ARS, Pelumallaplle

Sarada - Relesed in 1972 in 1971 RARS, Anakapalli.

Godavari - Released in 1974 - ARS, Peddapuram

Simhadri - Released in 1981 – ARS Vijayanagaram

Ratnagiri - Released in 1985 – ARS, Peddapuram

Hamsa, co-9 – White grained var. with protein (12%) others (7.9%)

The other varieties are AKP-2, Suraj, Padmavathi, VZM-1, Sapthagiri, Maruthi,
Gauthami, Bharathi, Champavathi etc.

Cropping System

Finger millet in rainfed conditions is cultivated generally as a mixed crop with

sorghum, pearlmillet and a variety of oil seeds and pulses. In hilly areas it is grown
mixed with soybean. Under irrigated conditions, it is grown in rotation with crops like
tobacco, vegetables, turmeric, B engal gram, linseed, mustard etc.

Some of the most prevalent cropping sequences are

Finger millet - Bengal gram

Finger millet - Mustard

Finger millet - Tobacco

Finger millet - Groundnut

Finger millet - Sugarcane

Finger millet - potato – maize

Finger millet - potato – maize

Finger millet - potato – finger millet

Finger millet - rice

110
Lecture No: 17

KORRA (Setaria Italica)

English Names: Italian millet

Fox tail millet

German millet.

It is grown in many of the Asian, African and American countries especially

where the climatic hazards do not permit the cultivation of other cereals. It is
generally grown as a rainfed crop in india.The grains are cooked like rice and then
utilized. In some areas the grains are ground to flour and used in the form of
chapaties.

Korra grains contains

12.3 % - protein

4.7% - fat

60.6% - carbohydrates

3.2% - Ash

The grains are fed to cage birds. The straw is thin stemmed and is liked by
cattle. It is not good for horses. In China, Italian millet is next to rice and wheat in
importance. It provides approximately 15-17% of the total food consumed in china.

ORIGIN

It is a very old crop. It was cultivated in China as early as 2700 B.C. Vavilov
(1935) considered China as its place of origin. Werth considers China (or) Central
Asia as its place of origin. According to him setaria spread to india and Europian
countries from there.

111
Distribution:

Setaria is cultivated in China, Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Syria, S.Africa and

India & to some extent in Africa and American countries. China still ranks first in
foxtail millet production in the world (4.6mt) where as world production is 6mt.

The area under foxtail millet in India has comedown by more than half during
1990’s mainly due to introduction of more remunerative crops like sunflower &
soybean in blacksoils. However, it is still grown to meet the domestic needs of the
rural people.

In india, it is cultivated in Karnataka, A.P, M.P and U.P. In A.P. Korra is

suitable for dryland cultivation in Anantapur, Kurnool, Prakasam, Mahaboob Nagar,
Guntur and Rangareddy Districts. In A.P. it occupies an area of 1.74 lakh ha. with a
total production of 0.85 lakh tonnes / annum.

SOILS

Setaria requires fairly fertile soils for good yields, although it can grow in poor
soils. Light soils including red loams, alluvials and black cotton soils are suitable for
its cultivation. But it thrives best in rich, well drained loam soils.

LAND PREPARATION:

It does not require much field preparation, Before the onset of monsoon the
field should be ploughed once with mould board plough. With the onset of monsoon
the field should be harrowed or ploughed with local plough twice. Planking should be
done for making the field smooth and well levelled.

CLIMATIC REQUREMENTS:

Setar ia is cultivated in tropical as well as temperate regions. The crop can be

grown even at an altitude of 200mts. It requires moderate temperature throughout its
life cycle. The crop can be grown successfully in areas receiving 50-75 cm annual
rainfall. Although its water requirement is low, the plant has no capacity to recover
after a long spell of drought.

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SEASONS:

It is grown through out the year from early rainy season

Early rain season (May)

Monsoon Season (June- July)

Late Season (Aug-Sept)

Irrigated (or) Summer season (Feb-Mar)

Seeds & Sowings:

Seed rate: 5 kg /ha

Spacing: 30x10 cm

The seed can be sown with local seed drill with tynes 30cm, apart. Covering of the
seeds with blade harrow is recommended

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS:

The crop is usually manured with 10-12t of FYM per hectare. To get a good crop, 40
Kg N, 30Kg P2O5 and 20 Kg K20 / ha is sufficient. All the fertilizers should be
applied as basal dose at the time of sowing. If irrigation is available apply only ½ of
the dose of N and full amount of phosphorus and potash at the time of sowing and
remaining ½ quantity of N at 30 DAS.

IRRIGATION:

Setaria sown during kharif season, does not require any irrigation. How ever, if dry
spell prevails for longer period, then 1 or 2 irrigations may be given to boost yields.
Summer crop requires 2-5 irrigations depending upon soil type and climatic
conditions. During rainy season, drainage is essential. Remove excess rain water from
the field as it does not withstand water logged conditions.

113
INTERCULTIVATION:

Keep the field free from weeds. Intercultivation should be done with a tyne-harrow
when the crop is 30 days old.

MIXED CROPPING:

Korra – Cotton mixture is of repute in Rayalaseema. It is also mixed with Ragi,

Jowar, Bajra, Redgram, Costor and pulses.

HARVESTING AND THERESHING:

The crop flowers in 50-60 days and matured in 80-100 days. The crop is harvested
when the earheads are dry either by cutting the whole plant by sickle or the ears
separately. After drying for few days threshing is done with a stone roller or by
trampling under the feet of bullocks.

CROPPING SYSTEMS:

Fox tail millet is grown as sole crop, subsidiary crop mixed with finger millet as in
Karnataka or to a large extent as mixed or inter crop with cotton. When it is grown as
a sole crop under dry land conditions, it is usually followed by sorghum, finger millet
or pearl millet in the next year. Inter cropping of foxtail millet and cotton is usually
followed by sorghum in the next year.

Inter cropping: Foxtail millet + pigeon pea (6:1)

Foxtail millet + Bengalgram

Foxtail millet + Safflower

Foxtail millet + Sunflower

Foxtail millet + Rice

Foxtail millet + Groundnut

114
YIELD ATTRIBUTES:

Number of plants per unit area

Total number of tillers per unit area

Number of productive tillers per unit area

Length of the panicle

Number of filled grains per panicle

Test weight

YIELD:

Rainfed crop : Grain – 6 -10 q/ha

Straw – 10- 20

q/ha Irrigated crop : Grain – 10- 16 q/ha

Straw – 20- 40 q/ha.

VARIETIES: Chitra, Arjuna, Prasad, Lepakshi, Krishnadevaraya, Nallamala,

Narasimharaya, Srilakshmi etc.

115
 ARIKA (Paspalum scrobiculatum)

Or

KODO MILLET

Kodomillet is a highly drought resistant crop. It is the coarsest of all the food grains.
The grain is covered with a horny seed coat which should be removed before cooking.
Immature and molded grains are supposed to be poisonous. Kodo grain is easily
preserved and proves as a good famine reserve. The grain is recommended as a
substitute for rice to patients suffering from diabetes disease. The grain contains.

8.3% protein

1.4% fat

65.6% carbohydrates

2.9% Ash.

Straw is very poor in quality and ‘harmful’ to horses. Some of its species are used for
pasture & forage and to check soil erosion due to their binding capacity

ORIGIN:

Kodomillet (Arika) is a very old crop .There is a mention of Arika in ancient

literature of India. Some of the investigators think that Arika probably originated in
South-East Asia.

DISTRIBUTION:

Arika is grown mostly in A.P., Maharastra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and U.P.

SOILS:

Kodo is grown from gravelly and stony upland poor soils to loam soils. Inspite of
adverse conditions the crop can struggle on even poor soils and may yield some
quantity of grain and straw. But it thrives best on sandy loam to loam soils. Soil
should be well drained.

116
CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS:

It makes a rapid growth in warm and dry climate. It is highly drought tolerant and,
therefore, can be grown in areas where rainfall is scanty and erratic. It grows well in
areas receiving only 400 to 500 mm annual rainfall.

LAND PREPARATION:

Before the onset of monsoon, the field should be ploughed to get good tilth and
enable it to retain moisture. With the onset of monsoon field should be harrowed or
ploughed with local plough 2-3 times followed by planking. Field should be levelled.

SEASONS, SEED AND SOWING:

Sowing time of Arika is between June 15 th – July 15th in northern India. In South, it is
mostly grown as rainfed crop from September to December.

Seed rate – 10- 12 kg/ha

Spacing - 30 x 10 cm

Depth of sowing – 3- 4 cm

Method of sowing – Broadcasting, Drilling

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS:

Addition of organic manures is always beneficial since it helps to improve the water
retention capacity of soil in addition to providing essential nutrients to the crop plants.
The crop should be manured with 5-10t of 40-20-20 FYM/ha. Apply 40 kg Nitrogen,
20 Kg P2O5 and 20 Kg K2O/ha in the form of chemical fertilizers. All the fertilizers
may be applied at the time of sowing in furrows.

IRRIGATION:

Kodo sown in kharif season generally does not require any irrigation. It is mostly
grown as a rainfed crop. If irrigation facilities exist, apply one or two irrigations at the
time when rains stop for a long spell. Drain out the excess rain water from the field
during heavy and continuous rains.

117
WEED CONTROL:

It is essential to control weeds in the initial stages of plant growth. Field should
remain weed-free upto 35-40 DAS. Generally two weedings at an interval of 15 days
are sufficient. Weeding may be done with hand hoe or wheel hoe in line sown crop.

HARVESTING and THRESHING:

The crop become ready for harvest in the month of September or October in northern
India. The plants are cut close to the ground, bundled and stacked for a week and then
threshed by trampling under the feet of bullocks.

CROPPING SYSTEMS:

In addition to solid stands, most small millets are are also grown as mixed crop with
cotton, maize, sorghum,pigeon pea, and other pulses. Since, small millets are
generally grown on marginal lands, kharif season millets are followed by rape seed-
mustard, gram, lentil, linseed, barley, etc.,the rabi crops are grown under rainfed
conditions.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES:

Number of plants per unit area

Total number of tillers per unit area

Number of productive tillers per unit area

Length of the panicle

Number of filled grains per panicle

Test weight

YIELD:

Grain : 8-16 q/ha

Fodder : 15-40 q/ha

Grains should be stored after drying them properly. Moisture in grain should not be
more than 10-12%.

VARIETIES: Niwas-1, Dindori-73, Pali, JK- 76 & 62, JK-2, GPUK-3, APK-1, KMV-
20

118
Lecture No: 18

VARIGA (Panicum miliaceum)

Also called as Proso millet or Common millet

This is an important minor millet grown in India. The crop is able to evade
drought by its quick maturity. Being a short duration crop (80-90 days) with relatively
low water requirement, it escapes drought and, therefore, offers better prospects for
intensive cultivation in dry land areas. Where irrigation facilities are available, this is
profitably grown as summer catch crop in high intensity rotations. It is quick growing
grain crop, often grown during emergencies, famines or when sowings of other crops
is abnormally delayed.

Nutritive values:

12.5% Proteins

1.1% Fat

68.9% Carbohydrates

2.2% Crude fibre

3.4% Ash.

Vargia contains lysine as high as 4.6% of protein. Grains are cooked like rice, flour is
used for making “Chapaties”. It can be used in making ‘Kheer’. It is a good poultry
feed. Straw is good fodder for cattle.

ORIGIN:

Variga probably originated in India. It spread from India to other parts of the world. It
might have originated from Panicum psilopodium which is found in its wild state in
Mynamar, India and Malaysia.

AREA & DISTRIBUTION:

It is grown extensively in India, Japan, China, Egypt, Bihar, Tamilnadu, Maharastra,

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

119
In A.P. it is grown in Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Cuddapah and Kurnool Districts. In
A.P it is grown in an area of 44,000 ha with an annual production of 25,000 tonnes.

CLIMATE REQUIREMENTS:

Variga is a crop of warm climate. It is highly drought resistant and can be grown in
areas where there is scanty rainfall. It can withstand water stagnation also to some
extent.

SOILS:

It can be grown both in rich and poor soils, having variable texture, ranging between
sandy loams to clays of black cotton soils. Coarse sands are not suited for its
cultivation. Well drained loam or sandy loam soils rich in organic matter are ideal for
variga cultivation.

LAND PREPARATION:

Soon after harvesting of previous crop, the field should be ploughed to expose the soil
to sun and enable it to retain more moisture.

With the onset of monsoon, the land should be harrowed 2-3 times and then
finally levelled.

SEASONS:

As a kharif crop, variga should be sown in the first fort night of July with the onset of
monsoon rains. As a summer crop it should be sown by the middle of April.

SEEDS AND SOWINGS:

Variga can be sown by broadcasting or by drilling the seeds in furrows 3-4 cm deep.

Seed rate : 8-10 kg/ha

Spacing : 30 x 10 cm

MANURES & FERTILIZERS:

Variga being a short duration crop, requires relatively less amount of nutrients
compared to other cereals. If organic manure is available, it may be added to the soil
about a month before sowing @ 5-10 t/ha.

120
To get a good crop, general fertilizer recommendations under irrigated conditions are
40 kg nitrogen, 30 kg P2O5 and 20 kg K 2O/ha.

Apply half of the nitrogen and whole of phosphorus and potash as a basal dose
at the time of sowing. The remaining half of the nitrogen should be applied at the time
of first irrigation. Under rainfed conditions, fertilizer dose is reduced to half of the
irrigated crop.

IRRIGATION:

Variga sown during kharif season, generally does not require any irrigation.
However, at tillering stage, if dry spell prevails for longer period, then one irrigation
must be given to boost yields.

Summer crop however would require 2-4 irrigations depending upon soil type and
climatic conditions. Give first irrigation 25-30 days after sowing and second irrigation
about 40-45DAS. Due to shallow root system of Variga, heavy irrigation is not
advisable.

INTER CULTIVATION:

For getting high yield and minimizing loss of soil moisture and nutrients, the
field should be kept weed free upto 35 days stage. Two weedings at an interval of 15-
20 days would help control it. Weeding may be done with handhoe or wheel hoe.

HARVESTING AND THRESHING:

Variga is ready for harvest after 65-75 days after sowing in most of the
varieties. The crop should be harvested when about 2/3 rds of seeds are ripe. Crop is
threshed with hand or bullocks.

YIELD:

Rainfed crop : Grain - 4- 8 q.ha.

Irrigated crop : Grain – 10-20 q/ha

Straw yield varies from: 10-25 q/ha.

Under improved conditions: Grain – 20-25 q/ha.

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 Straw – 50-60 q/ha.

VARIETIES:

Duration
S.No. Variety Season Yield (q/ha) Characters
(Days)

Withstands moisture stress,

Varada 1971, ARS,
1. Rabi 80 16-20 suitable for all, variga growing
Podalakur
areas.

Nagarjuna, 1988
2. Rabi 65 20 ,,
(RARS, LAM)

Sagar, 1988, RARS,

3. Rabi 80 22 ,,
LAM

4. V-27 ARS Podalkur Rabi 80 17 Guntur, Prakasam,

5. PV-38, ARS, Podakur Rabi 80 20 Nellore

6 Manasa Rabi 80-85 24 Tolerant to moisture stress

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 SAMA or Little Millet

Panicum sumatrence (Panicum millare)

As the name little millet indicates it is a crop of minor significance. It grows on the
soils which are unsuitable for other crops. In Hindi Little millet is known as ‘Kutka’.
Like most millets, it is also a good famine food as it can produce some grain under
drought conditions when all the other crops fail to produce. It has a potential as fodder
crop as it has been reported that some of the little millet types mature in about 45-50
days. The husked grain of this millet is cooked almost in a manner similar to rice or
rotis can be prepared with this flour.

 Little millet is grown on a limited scale.

 It is known as Poorman’s crop.

 It is capable of with standing both drought and water logging.

DISTRIBUTION:

It is a grown in India and Srilanka. It India it is grown in Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh,

Madhyapradesh and Uttarpradesh. It is confined to poor and upland soils in small
pa tches in Kurnool, Anantapur, Guntur, Mahaboobnagar, Cuddapah, Chittoor, Vizag
and Srikakulam Districts.

ADAPTATION:

It can thrive upto 7000 feet above. It is a typical dryland crop, suited to low rainfall
and poor soils.

Duration:

It flowers in 40-75 days and matured in 80-110 days.

Season:

July – October

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Land Preparation:

It requires minimum tillage. It is not regularly manured. Sometimes no after

cultivation is done.

Sowing:

seedrate 4- 6 Kg/ha. Sown by means of Broadcasting.

YIELD ATTRIBUTES:

Num ber of plants per unit area

Total number of tillers per unit area

Number of productive tillers per unit area

Length of the panicle

Number of filled grains per panicle

Test weight

Yield : Grain: 4- 5 q/ha.

Straw : 10q/ha

Straw is soft, fed to animals. Used to stuffing saddles of horses and coarse mattresses

Varieties: Paiyur -1,Paiyur-2, Co-3, PM-2, PM-296, Dindori-1. .

UNIQUE CHARACTERS OF MINOR MILLETS

1. Wider adaptability

2. Short duration

3. Resistance to pests and diseases

4. High W.U.E.

5. Resistance to drought and variations in the climatic abnormalities.

6. Wide range of Photoperiodism

7. Higher nutritional values.

8. Less potential to yield.

9. Long shelf life.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING LOW CONSUMPTION

 Lack of regular supply of small millets largely due to limited de mand by urban

population.

 Availability of cheap preferred cereals such as wheat & rice

 Higher social prestige associated with consumption rice & wheat.

 Marketing channels are not well developed for small millets due to distance

between remote producing areas and major consuming centres.

 Most food aid projects include other cereals, more readily available in the

market, rather than small millets.

 Increased production though higher yields has led to decrease in area under

small millets in favour of cash crops

The ICAR in New Delhi established the following 6 crop specific lead centres with
the help of the International Development centre, Canada in 1978-79 for the
improvement of small millets.

1. For Ragi – Bangalore.

2. For Prosomillet at Dholi in Bihar

3. For Kodomillet at Dindori in Madhyapradesh.

4. For Foxtail millet at Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.

5. For Little millet at Semiliguda in Orissa.

6. For Barnyard millet at Almora in Uttar Pradesh.

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 LECTURE No. 19
CROP PRODUCTION-I

COURSE No. AGRO 203

PULSES – IMPORTANCE OF PULSES IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE:

 Pulse crops called grain legumes are the most important food crops after cereals.
 They have been valued as food, fodder and feed and have remained as main stay of
Indian agriculture.
 The term pulse is derived from the latin word “Puls” meaning “pottage” (thick soup)
 Pulse crops play an important role in agricultural economy of India .
 They fix atmospheric nitrogen and their deep penetrating root system enable the
plants to utilize limited available moisture more efficiently.
 Indian Institute of Pulse Research (IIPR) was established in 1993 at Kanpur
 In 1992-93, Technology Mission on Pulses was started by 2 sub terms.
a) NPDP : National Pulse Development Programme.
b) SFPP : Special Food grain Production Programme.
 Per capita requirement of Pulses :
 Per capita requirement of Pulses: Acc. To ICMR – 150gm /dayand Acc. To FAO –
140gm /day
 At present, the per capita availability of pulses in India is only 47gm/day

AREA , PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF PULSES IN INDIA

Pulses are grown over an area of 23 miilion ha with a production of 13 to 14 million

tonnes with average productivity levels ranging from 500-600 Kg/ha.

 India accounts for 33% of total world area unde r pulses and 25% of total world
production.

 Kharif pulses (Pigeon pea, black gram, green gram, horsegram, Mothbean,
Cowpea) cover 45% of total area and 30% of total pulse production.

126
 Rabi pulses (Chick pea, pea, lentil, lathyrus) cover 55% of total area and 64% of
production

 In Andhra Pradesh area under pulses is 14.7 lakh ha with a production of 5.75 lakh
tones and the average productivity is only 390 kg/ha.
 Major pulse producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Orissa, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh.
 Highest production of pulses is from Madhya Pradesh followed by Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh.
 Haryana has the highest productivity (880 kg/ha)
 National average productivity is 570 kg/ha

AREA , PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF PULSES IN INDIA

SL.NO STATE AREA (Ha) PRODUCTION PRODUCTIVITY

(T) (Kg /Ha)
1 Andhra Pradesh 1470 575 390
2 Assam 118 64 55
3 Gujarat 895 613 680
4 Haryana 422 375 890
5 Madhya Pradesh 5029 3254 650
6 Maharastra 3267 1243 350
7 Punjab 87 60 680
8 Rajasthan 4389 2635 600
9 Uttar Pradesh 2808 2318 830

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Importance of Pulses:

 They are rich source of proteins

 The average protein available in pulses is 20-30%. Pulses are rich in ‘Ca’ &
Phosphorous. They are also good sources of Vitamins.
 Pulses provide a superior quality of fodder & feed to the cattle, as they are good
forage crops with proteins and minerals content.
 They are considered as good green manure crops because of rich canopy
development.
 They improve the soil fertility by biological nitrogen fixation
 The nitrogen needs of pulses is low & minimizes the N requirement of succeeding
crop by around ¼ of its total requirement.
 Pulses help in the Soil and Water conservation.
 They improve the physical condition of the soil like soil aeration, water holding
capacity by improving microbial population, breaking of hard pans and moisture
retention.
 Pulses are important in crop mixtures / rotation. They act as catch crops.
 Some crops act as smoothering crops which control weeds & protects soil from
erosion E.g.:- Cowpea and Horse gram. Pulses can also be used better intercrops.

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Lecture No. 20.

PULSES -REASONS FOR LOW YIELDS OF PULSES IN INDIA

In spite of the importance of pulses in our daily diet, the production of pulses
has not yet increased pr oportionately as that was increase d in the cereal production.
Over the past 3 decades, the area production and productivity of pulses have been
swinging between 22 to 24 million hectares, 10-14 million tonnes and 475-544 Kg/ha,
respectively. As a result, their availability has declined sharply from 64 gm per capita
per day during 1951-56 to less than 40 grams per capita per day during 1987-88 as
against FAO/WHO’s recommendation of 80 gm/capita per day. Looking the situation
being a national level problem, it is important to analyse different constraints leading
to low productivity of pulses. The following have been realized the major constraints
in pulse production.
AGRONOMIC CONSTRAINTS:
i) Improper sowing time: The pulse crops gets last preference and priority in the
sowing schedule. Late planting not only results in poor growth but also leads to high
attack of sucking pests. If sowing of pigeon pea is delayed beyond 20th July, there a
is significant reduction in yield. In case of mungbean delay in sowin g beyond August
reduced the yield to the extent of about 600 kg/ha. A late sown crop is more prone to
serious damage by pod borer.
ii) Low seed rate: Farmers hardly use any recommended seed rate. Very poor plant
population has been reported in case of arhar, moong and urd in the farmers fields.
Farmers have been using a seed rate of 10-15 kg/ha as against the requirement of 20-
25 kg/ha in case of moong and urd.
iii) Defective method of sowing: Pulses are hardly sown in rows. This creates lot of
problems in adopting agronomic practices such as weeding, hoeing, spraying,
harvesting etc.,

129
iv) Inadequate interculture: Farmers hardly follow interculture in these crops. Line
sowing helps for interculture operations through bullock drawn implements and hand
hoes etc. Pulse crops suffer due to the infestation of weeds because of their initial
slow growth.

v) Insufficient irrigation: Though pulse crops are drought tolerant, one or two
protective or life saving irrigations are required, particularly in rabi pulses. For
Kharif pulses also, protective irrigations are essential during the period of dry spell.
Farmers give priority for irrigation to cereals and millets. Irrigations, if provided,
wherever possible, enhances production, particularly at the pod development sta ge of
pulse crops.
vi) Sowing under utera cultivation: Large area under pulses is sown as utera without
cultivation and inputs. The yields of such crops is very poor.
vii) Poor management conditions: The concept that pulses can grow and produce
better yields on marginal lands without any inputs and management is not correct.
Being protein rich crops, pulses require more energy input per unit of production as
compared to cereals. But on the contrary, they are grown under conditions of energy
starvation resulting in poor yields.
viii) Non-availability of efficient Rhizobium culture: In general, Rhizobium culture
is the cheapest input with high cost: benefit ratio: Symbiotic nitrogen fixation takes
place very effectively if the natural relationship is established between the legume
cultivar and its specific strain of Rhizobium. However, use of Rhizobium culture is
not getting popular among the farmers because unlike fertilizers, the specific cultures
of desired quality are not readily available in the market. Many times spurious
cultures are supplied to the farmers which are not effective and the farmers lose faith
in using Rhizobium culture.

130
ix) Weed infestation: Because of their inherent slow growth rate at the initial stage,
pulse crops suffer due to infestation of weeds. Depending upon the duration of the
crop, the critical period for weed competition in the pulses varies from 20-45 DAS. If
weeds are not controlled during this period, marked crop losses ranging from 30-50%
in chick pea, 50-70% in greengram and blackgram and as high as 90% in pigeonpea
have been recorded.
x) Losses due to diseases and insects pests: Pulses in general are susceptible to a
large number of diseases and insect pests, which cause heavy losses. The major
diseases are wilt, blight and grey-mould in chickpea. Powdery mildew and leafspot
diseases in greengram, blackgram and cowpea etc. For yield stability and wider
adaptability of genotypes, it is essential that varieties with multiple resistance to these
major diseases are identified, adopted and popularized. Such multiple resistant
varieties are wanting among the pulse crops.
II) GENETICAL CONSTRAINTS:
The major constraints of pulse production in the country is the lack of suitable
genotypes with higher yield potential on farmer’s fields. Some other genetical
constraints are,
 Lower productivity
 Non synchronous flewering/fruiting
 Non-responsiveness to good management
 Complete or partial absence of genetic resistance to major diseases and pests
(eg: Helicoverpa armigera under continuous rainfall, causes wilt and sterility
mosaic in redgram etc.)
 Indeterminate growth habit of most of the pulses
 Instability in performance,
 Lack of good and quality and certified seed [SRR (seed replacement ratio in
pulses is 2.5% against the recommended SRR i.e. 10%]
 Non-availability of drought and waterlogging resistant varieties.

131
III. PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS:
Besides the agronomy and genetical constraints, physiological constraints are
also plays a major role in the low production and productivity of pulses. Some of the
physiological constraints are:
 Low harvest index
 Low sink potential [ source=leaf, drymatter; sink=seed]
A lot of dry matter goes for production of stalk, with the result the harvest
index is very low. For example, in pigeonpea out of about 15,000kg total dry
matter produced, the grain share was only 10 percent. On the other hand, in
case of most of dwarf wheats, the grain share is even more than 33% of the
total dry matter.
 Flower drop is another physiological problem in pulse crops. This results in
poor pod setting and consequently low yield.
 Non-responsiveness to fertilizers.
 Photo and thermosensitive phenomenon.
 Lack of short duration varieties i.e. long duration gives low per day
production.

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF PULSES:

The problem of short supply of pulses was brought to notice of I.C.A.R and an
integrated All India Co-ordinated Programme was started in 1972-73 in collaboration
with U.S. Department of agriculture for the pulse improvement work in the country.
The main emphasis for increasing pulse production is to be laid on following points:

1. Bringing an additional area under short duration high yielding varieties to fit
in multiple cropping programmes to be grown as catch crop.
2. Developing new cr opping systems like companion cropping, mixed cropping
(or) intercropping for growing pulses between widely spaced crops such as
sugarcane, maize, potato, cotton, arhar, groundnut, bajra and jowar etc. both
under irrigated and rainfed conditions.
3. Evolution, multiplication and use of improved seeds of various pulses.
4. Adoption of efficient plant protection measures.

132
5. Basal placement of phosphatic fertilizers and treating the seeds with
Rhizobium culture.
6. Growing pulses on relatively fertile lands rather than growing them on
marginal and submarginal lands.
7. Adoption of improved package of practices like line sowing, control of weeds,
harvesting at right time or at physiological maturity to avoid splitting of pods
and thereby minimising shattering losses.
8. Granting subsidy on Government loans to the growers and providing improved
seeds, fertilizers and plant protection materials on concessional price to the
farmers.
9. Evolution of better plant-types of pulses for boosting pulse production.

The varieties thus develope d are characterised under:

a) non-spreading and erect types.
b) Thermo and photoinsensitive.
c) Early maturing
d) Responsive to applied inputs with high yield potentials.
e) Fairly resistant to water logging, insect pests and diseases.
f) Resistant to drought and frost.
g) High nutritional qualities.

Rice fallow production Technology and Constraints:

Sowing of sprouted seeds short duration pulses particularly Greengram and

Blackgram just 3-4 days before harvest of paddy is known as relay cropping.
Popularly termed as Rice fallow pulses.
The seed rate recommended in the system is higher than that of direct sowing
of Blackgram and Green gram. The rice fallow pulses are grown with the available
residual soil moisture and residual fertility.

Beofre sowing of pulse seedalleys are made in the paddy field for removal excess
water as well for easy sowing and proper distribution of seeds in the field.

133
Generally ferilisers and irrigation are not given and hence farmers mostly preferred
as economical crop
The seed rate for Blackgram : 40- 45 kg/ha
Varieties recommended are LBG 645, LBG 648 LBG 685, and LBG 752
The seed rate for Greengram : 30 -35 kg/ha
Varieties recommended are LGG 460,LGG 410, TM 96-2

Constraints:
 Maintaining optimum plant population is one of the major constraint in rice
fallows as the seed is sown in the standing paddy crop.
 Possibility of waterlogging at initial stage of establishment due to sudden
rains or lack of proper drainage before sowing.
 As the crop is sown in rabi, there is possibility of te rminal moisture stress
especially for Blackgram.The terminal moisture stress is much more
pronounced in case of sandy soils rather than Blacksoils.
 Powdery mildew infection may be observed initially during vegetative stage.
 The final yield of rice fallow pulses are lesser than that of direct sown pulses.

134
Lecture No. 21
REDGRAM

Scientific name - Cajanus Cajan

Common Names - Arhar, tur, redgram, congo pea,
Gungopea, no eye pea.
* Pigeonpea is the second most important pulse crop of India after chickpea.
AREA, PRODUCTION & PRODUCTIVITY:
* India ranks first with about 90% of the world area and 85% of production.
* Pigeonpea ranks sixth in area and production in comparison to other pulses.
PLACE AREA PRODUCTION PRODUCTIVITY
India 3.61 Mi.ha 2.7 Mi.tonnes 747 kg/ha
A.P. 2.43 lakh ha 0.57 lakh tons 235 kg/ha.
VARIETAL IMPROVEMENT
Long duration - 180-270 days
Medium duration - 150-180 days
Early duration - 120-150 days
Extra early duration- <120 days
* For kharif , never choose early and extra early varieties as the rains coincide with
flowering and pod formation.
* Generally medium duration varieties are recommended for kharif.
* Late maturing varieties during kharif may suffer from terminal stress.
* In A.P., LRG-30 (PALNADU) is t he promising variety both in kharif and
Rabi, ICPL 85063 (Lakhsmi) both for kharif and Rabi.
VARIETIES FOR KHARIF: Duration 170-180 days
ICPL 332 (Abhaya)
ICPL 8719 (Asha)
Maruti( LRG-41)
Early maturing varieties for Rabi CPL-87
ICRISAT varieties – ICPL 870, ICPH-8 (Hybrid variety)
ORIGIN: AFRICA

135
DISTRIBUTION: The important Pigeonpea growing states are Maharastra, U.P.,
M.P, A.P & Karnataka. In India, Maharastra, U.P & M.P together occupy 62% of the
area & contribute 73% of total production.

SOILS: It can be grown on a wide range from Sandy loams to clay loams. The crop
performs well on fertile well drained loamy soils. Saline, Alkaline and waterlogged
are not suitable.

CLIMATE:
 It is a quantitative short day flowering response plant i.e. the onset of
flowering is hastened as day length shortens.
 It is grown throughout the tropical, sub-tropical & warmer regions of the
world between 30oN & 35oS latitude.
 It tolerates heat and drought. It prefers moist and warm climate during
vegetative period a nd cool and dry period during reproductive stage.
 It is susceptible to frost.
 The cloudy weather and excessive rainfall during flowering damage the crop
to a great extent.
SEASON:
Kharif: June –
July Rabi : Sep –
Oct
 The sowing time depends upon the duration of variety and rainfall pattern of
the region, Early sowings are always better.
 Sowings should be planned in such a way that flowering and pod formation
should not coincide with peak rainy period.

SEEDS & SOWING:

SEED TREATMENT:
 Seed treatment wit h fungicides like Bavistin 1g/kg seed captan or Thiram @
2.5 g/kg before sowing effectively controls fungi and reduces incidence of both seed
and soil borne fungi.
 Seed treatment with Rhizobium culture can increase the yield upto 20-30%.

136
SEED RATE:
Kharif: 12-15
kg/ha Rabi : 45
kg/ha
METHOD OF SOWING: Seeds are sown behind the plough or with the use of seed
drills. Plant population depends on:
1. Sowing time: For Kharif, plant population is less than rabi because of more
canopy growth.
2. Fertility status of soil: Higher plant population can be used under fertile soils
than on infertile soils.
3. Rainfall pattern: In regions which is having well distributed rainfall, maintain
high plant population than in the areas with low rainfall.
4. Varieties: Variety with les s branching require higher plant population.
5. Duration of the crop: Longer duration varieties require less plant population
because of more canopy development.
SPACING: Short duration-60x10cm; Medium & Long duration 75x20 cm.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN:
PARAMETER KHARIF REDGRAM RABI REDGRAM
Season June to July Sep – Oct.
Seed rate 12-15 kg/ha 45 kg/ha
Spacing 60x10cm-sole crop 45x10cm for
1.2 to 1.5 m for sole crop.
Intercrop.

Duration 160-180 days 120-125 days

Plant height >2m 1-2m
Seed size Big Small
No.of pods/plant More Less
Pest & Diseases More Less
Yield level 10-15 q/ha 8-12 q/ha.

137
MANURES & FERTILIZERS:

MANURES: 5 tons/ha of FYM in Kharif.

NITROGEN: 20kg/ha – long & Medium duration varieties
PHOSPHOROUS: 50 kg P 2O5/ha for phosphorous deficient soils at sowing.
POTASSIUM: 20kg K2O/ha for potassium deficient soils by placement at sowing.
IN A.P, 20N & 50 P2O5 in addition to 5t/ha FYM for Kharif crop. For rabi crop,
Nitrogen dose is doubled (40N kg/ha).

BIO -FERTILIZERS: For early and effective nodulation, seed treatment with
Rhizobium is recommended.

IRRIGATION:

 The critical periods for Irrigation are flower-initiation and pod-filling stageS.
 Intensive cropping of pigeonpea can also be achieved under tube well
irrigation, arising at a highest production of 4 tons/ha.
 Redgram grown in Kharif does not require any irrigation.

WEED MANAGEMENT

 Pigeonpea is a slow -growing crop during the first 6-8 weeks, and 2 harrowings
during this period would be adequate to check weed growth.
 The herbicides recommended are pre -emergence application of Alachlor
(Lasso) @ 1.5 kg a.i/ha, Fluchloralin (Basalin) @ 1.5kg a.i/ha.

HARVESTING, THRESHING & PROCESSING:

 YIELD ATTRIBUTES; The Redgram is said to be indeterminate in growth

habit where the flowering goes on continuously over the months on the same
plant. Flowering, unriped pods & already, developed pods at the same time
Hence, on the plant will be seen the crop is harvested in 2-3 pickings.
 The whole plants are cut when most of the pods are dried.

138
 Then the plants are bundled and staked for one week for the purpose of post
harvest ripening of unriped pods after that the dried pods are beaten with
sticks and then the seed is separated.
 Since seeds are consumed in the form of split cotyledons and Dal it is better to
go for processing before storing.
 Power operated hullers or processors are available for splitting of seeds in to
dal.
 The dehulle d operation is usually performed in 2 steps: the first involves
loosening the husk from Cotyledons and the second involves removing the
Husk from Cotyledons and splitting them using a roller machine .
 Plant population/unit area
 Plant height
 No. of pods/pla nts:
YIELD: For irrigated – 15-18 qt/ha
Rainfed – 10-15 q/ha
Inter/Mixed cropping- 5 - 6 qt/ha

UTILITY VALUE:
 Dry seed is dehulled & the split cotyledons (dal) are cooked to make thick
soup primarily for mixing with rice (dal-rich source of protein).
 The ability of pigeonpea to produce economic yields under soil moisture
deficit makes it an important crop of dry land agriculture.
 The husk of pods after threshing is also used as cattle feed.

CROPPING SYSTEMS:
Intercropping:-
Sorghum + pigeon pea
Maize + pigeon pea
Pigeonpea + groundnut
Sequential cropping:
Pigeonpea – Wheat/mustard – greengram
Pigeonpea + greengram – wheat/mustard
Maize – pigeonpea.

139
Lecture No. 22

BLACKGRAM or (Urd bean)

Vigna mungo (Linn.) Hepper
Importance:
- Consumed as dhal or split seeds, husked or unhusked
- Chief constituent of papad..
- Haulms used as fodder.
- Husk and split beans are used as livestock feed.
- Possesses deep root system binds soil particles and prevent erosion.
- Also used as green manure crop.
- Contains 25% protein, 1.83% fat, 61% carbohydrate.
- Pecularity is when ground with water develop muscilagenous character giving
additional body to the mass.
- Husked dal is ground in to a fine paste and allowed to ferment with rice flour
to make dosa or Idli.

Origin: India is considered as primary centre of origin and Central Asia as the
secondary centre of origin of blackgram.

Distribution:
Distribution is comparatively restricted to tropical regions i.e.India,
Pakistan,Bangladesh, Myanmar, Srilanka.
States cultivating B lackgram in India: M.P., Maharashtra, A.P, TN, U.P,and Orissa.

Area, production and productivity:

Blackgram is grown in an area of about 3.29 million ha with a total
production of 1.60 million tonnes with an average productivity of 485 kg/ha.
Andhra Pradesh leads with highest area and production among states followed
by Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra. Karnataka leads with highest productivity
followed by Orissa, Andhra Pradesh. In A.P. area under Blackgram is 2.95 lakh ha.
with a Production- of 2.14 lakh tonnes and productivity of 877 kg/ha.

140
 SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT:
- Ideal soils with well drained loam or sandy loam.
- Generally grown in areas which receives annual rainfall of 800mm. It is a
hardy and drought resistant plant and can be grown in areas receiving 650mm
rainfall.
- Optimum temperature for better growth ranges between 25-35oC but it can
tolerate upto 42oC.
- Grown from sea level to 1800m.
- Optimum pH range is 5.5 to 7.5.
-
Climate and varieties:
Grown as Kharif and summer crop in North India but in South and South west ,
it is also grown as rabi crop.

In A.P:
Season Varieties
Kharif LBG-20, LBG-623, WBG-26, T -9
Rabi (rice follow) : Krishna, LBG-611, LBG-22, LBG-648, LBG-685, LBG-645
Varieties resistant to yellowmosaic virus :U G-218, Pant-U19, DPV-88-31
Varieties resistant to downymildew: LBG-17, LBG-402, LBG-22, LBG-611

PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS OF BLACKGRAM:

1. Moisture stress: Generally kharif sown crop suffers from moisture stress due
to intermittent dry spell during the growth phase.
2. Pre -harvest sprouting: Kharif sown crops mature in August or September.
Usually crop is caught in rains at the time of harvest. Hence , there is a
sprouting of seeds in the pods causing heavy losses both in terms of yield and
quality.
3. Non-Synchronous maturity: It is usually harvested by pickings. Most of the
varieties are non synchronous in maturity. Hence , harvesting is done in 2-3
pickings.
4. Susceptible to diseases: Major diseases in blackgram are yellow Mosaic
virus , leaf crinkle, powdery mildew.
Seed and sowing:
Seed rate Kharif – 15-18 kg/ha.
Rabi - 18-20 kg/ha

Rice follow - 40 -45 kg/ha

Spacing: Dibbling – 30x10cm.
On wet land bunds
dibble at 30cm spacing.

Generally in A.P – In rice fallows, pulses (blackgram and greengram)

broadcast in standing crop of rice 2-3 days before the harvest uniformly at optimum
moisture condition.

Fertiliser application:
Rainfed : 12.5 kg N + 25 kg
P2O5/ha Irrigated : 25 kg N + 50 kg
P2O5/ha. Foliar spray of DAP and NAA (rice
follows)
- Spray 2% DAP at the time of first appearance of flower and 15 days later.
- Spray 40ppm NAA-at the time of first flowering and 15 days later.

Irrigation:

Not required for Kharif crop. For Rabi crop

1. Irrigate immediately after sowing followed by life saving irrigation on third
day.
2. Irrigate at interval of 10-15 day depending on soil moisture.
3. Flowering and pod formation are critical period for irrigation.
4. Avoid water stagnation at all stages.
5. Apply KCl at 0.5% as foliar spray during vegetative stage if there is moisture
stress.
weed management: Spray fluchloralin 1.5 lt/ha or pendimethalin 2.0 lt/ha as pre-
emergence 3 DAS followed by one hand weeding 30 DAS.

Harvesting & threshing:

Crop com es to matur ity at 80-95 DAS. Upon ripening, blackgram pods turn
from green to yellow and then to black.
In case of irrigated crop, ripened pods can be collected in one or two pickings.
If plants come to even harvest, then plants are cut and spread on threshing field to dry.
The plants will dry and become black and pods start splitting. The plants are then
beaten using sticks and separate seeds from pods followed by winnowing to remove
debris.

Yield:
Rainfed: 600 -700 kg/ha
Irrigated: 1000-1300 kg/ha.
Rice follows: 500 kg/ha.

Processing:
1. Dal milling: Dal milling is one of the major food processing industry and
a there is net loss of 10-15% during milling.
2. Pulsing: Snack food prepared by heating and toasting/pulsing.

Cropping systems and rotations:

1. Paddy followed by blackgram.
2. Paddy-paddy-blackgram.
3. Blackgram - Maghi Jowar (Khammam)
4. Blackgram – tobacco (black cotton soils)

North India:
Maize - Wheat – Blackgram.
Maize – potato – Blackgram
Paddy – Wheat – Blackgram.
Lecture No. 23
GREENGRAM

Botanical Name: Vigna radiata

Family : Leguminasae
Common Indian Name: Mung
(or) Mung bean
(or) goldengram
 Greengram is the third most important pulse crop of India after chick pea and
pigeon pea.
 The protein content in Greengram is 24 percent.

Economic importance:
 Pods are used as vegetables.
 It is highly digestible pulse crop than any other pulse crop.
 The husk and haulms are used as good fodder for cattle.
 The left over seed coat i.e testa is also used for milch cattle.
 Due to it’s shorter duration, it can be fitt well in several multiple cropping
systems.
 It is also grown as a green manure crop.
 Inclusion of greengram in cropping systems improves soil health and fertility.
 Being a close growing crop, it helps in reducing soil erosion and also checks
weed growth.
 Being a legume crop, it fixes biological nitrogen.

Origin and distribution:

 The origin of greengram is India
 Greengram is widely cultivated throughout Southern Asia. Myanmar,
Pakisthan, Thailand, Srilanka, Indonesia and China are the principa l countries of
greengram cultivation.
Area, production and productivity:
Area Production Productivity

1.2 million
India 3 million ha. 436 kg/ha
tonnes
2.5 lakh
A.P. 6 lakh ha 350 kg/ha.
tonnes

In A.P. the crop is mainly cultivated in Warangal, Karimnagar, Krishna, Khammam,

Adilabad, Nalgonda, Guntur and Nizamabad districts where Rainfall is less than
600mm in Kharif.Area and production of greengram is highest in Orissa whereas
highest productivity is recorded in Punjab.

Soils:
Greengram is cultivated on a wide range of soils from sandy loams to black
cotton soils. In North India, the crop is cultivated on well drained loamy soils where
as in South India. It is cultivated on red soils. The crop doesn’t with stand
waterlogging. Optimum soil pH: 6.5-7.5. Fairly tolerant to soil salinity.

Climate:
Greengram is a tropical pulse crop largely grown under semi arid and
subtropical environment. It is well suited for all rainfed areas with Annual rainfall of
600-1000mm. It can tolerate high temperatures upto 40 oC, It is hardiest among all the
pulses]

Preparation of land:
There is no need for a fine seed bed preparation 1 or 2 ploughings followed
horrowing is adequate for a kharif crop. Greengram is cultivate d on deep soils during
Rabi on Kharif fallow soils. There is no tillage for rice fallow (Relay Crop) as the
seed is broad casted in standing crop of Rice about a week before its harvest.
Seeds and Sowing :
Seed Rate: Sole Crop ---- 12-15 Kg/ha
Green manure ---- 25-30 Kg/ha
Summer Crop ---- 25-30 Kg/ha

Rice fallow pulse crop------------------30-35 Kg/ha

Method of sowing: Broad casting (Relay Crop)
Drilling in rows (or) furrows behind a plough for direct sown crop.
Dropping the seed in furrows ---- KERA (or) PORA
Optimum seed depth for sowing-------------------------5-7cm
Spacing: 30X10 cm
Plant population: 3.33 Lakh plants/ha

VARIETIES:
AICRP Centre: RARS, Lam
Non-Plan Centre: ARS, Madira
Varieties released from A.P
11 Varieties
LGG-127,407,450,410,460,
TM 46-2, WGG 2, WGG 37,
MGG 295, MGG 347,MGG 348.
Khariff-LGG450, LGG 407,LGG 460,
WGG 37, MGG 295,M2 267,
Pusa 105, MGG 347, MGG 348,PDM54.

Rabi --LamM2,LGG 460, LGG 410, Pusa 105,

LGG 407, MGG 295, WGG 37, TM96-2

Summer & Spring Season — Pusa Baisakhi and Co-4

Rice fallows --- LGG 410
Tolerant to high temp. --- Padma, Sunaina & Co-4
Early maturing (60-65 day) --- Pusa Baisakhi, k851,PS16,
Padma, Sunaina & Co-4,
Pusa Bold (Vishal),
 OVM 11 -5, CoGG 912
First mung variety released in Orissa during 1980: Dhuli
First Mung been variety released in India during 1948: T1.

Resistant Varieties:-
Yellow Mosaic virus --- LGG 407,LGG 460,WGG 2,WGG
37,PDM 54,ML 267,
Leaf Curl --- LGG 460, MGG 295
Angular Black Leaf Spot –-- LGG 407, WGG 2
Powdery Mildew --- TM 96-2, TARM 18.
Seasons:
1) Kharif Greengram
2) Summer Greengram and
3) Rabi Greengram
4) Summer Mung: is advantageous because
Quick maturity (60-65 days)
Low pest and disease incidence
Utilizes residue fertility of previous crops

FERTILISERS:-
Rhizobium inoculations considerably minimize the need for nitrogen fertilizer
application.
Rainfed Crop: 10 kgN/ha (Starter dose (or) booster dose) & 30 P2O 5 Kg/ha
(Basal) Irrigated Crop: 20N (Starter dose) & 40 P2O5 Kg/ha (Basal)
Nearly 40N, 10P 2O5 & 15 K20 Kg/ha is removed by 1 tonne of Greengram.
Biofertilizers:
For Mung bewan, 500 gr of Rhizobium culture is sufficient for seeds required to be
sown in 1 ha i.e., 2.5 packets/ha
(Since I packet=200 gr)
Greengram fixes 20 Kg N/ha
Greengram associated with VAM (Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza)
Which is a PO-
3 4 absorber, absorbs greater amounts of phosphorous.
Water management:
 For Kharif crop, irrigation is not required but winter & summer crop require 2-
3 irrigations.
 Ricefallow greengram crop is not irrigated
 Critical stages: Flower initiation (35 DAS)
Pod filling (55 DAS)
 Total water requirement: 300 – 400mm
 Water logging at flowering & pod filling reduce the yield upto 75% and more.
Weed Management:
Critical Period for weed competition is 35 DAS
Herbicide recommended is Fluchloralin (Basalin) @ 1.5 Kg a.i/ha

Production constraints of Greengram:

1. Moisture stress: Generally kharif sown crop suffers from moisture stress due
to inte rmittent dry spells during the growth phase. Hence, drought tolerant
varieties may be recommended like PDM-54,MH 309, K-851.
2. Preharvest Sprouting: Kharif sown crop matures in August (Or)
September,.usually the crop is caught in rains at the time of harvest. Hence
there is a sprouting of seeds in the pods causing heavy losses both in terms of
yield and quality. The variety resistant to preharvest sprouting is LGG-450.
3. Non synchronous in maturity: It is usually harvested by pickings. Most of the
varieties are Non-Synchronous in maturity. Hence, harvesting is done in 2-3
pickings. Varieties tolerant to non-synchronous maturity are PDM 54, MH
309 and Pusa 105:
4. .Susceptable to diseases: Major diseases and pests are: Yellow Mosaic Virus,
Leaf Curl, Powdery mildew, Angular black leaf spot, Thrips, Maruca pod
borer. Tolerant varieties are ML267,MH 309 and LGG 460.

Harvesting : For kharif crop, the harvesting is done by picking the pods. For Rabi &
Summer crops, harvesting is done by cutting the whole plant to the base.
Threshing and processing:
The produce is cleaned and sun dried to about 12 percent moisture content
and then stored.
Greengram is primary consumed in the form of Dhal.
Green pods are also used as vegetables. Sprouted seed is consumed as salads. Dry
seed is boiled and used in soups, made into porridge with rice and wheat. The flour is
used in cakes . Starch is used in making noodles.

Yield and Yield Components :

Yield Components:
Major yield components are number of pods per plant, number of seeds per
pod and test weight.

Cropping systems:
Paddy followed by Greengram
Paddy- Paddy- Greengram
Greengram-Maghi Jowar Practiced in Khammam.
Greengram-Tobacco—followed in Black cotton soils
Greengram-Maize-Wheat
Greengram-Rice-Wheat
Greengram-Maize-Potato-Wheat
Greengram-Maize-Toria -wheat
 Lecture No.26

Fodder/Forage crops-Importance, classification of fodders – Hay and Silage their

preaparation and preservation
IMPORTANCE OF FORAGE CROPS :
 Live stock production is an integral part of Indian agriculture.

 India ranks first in live stock production and accounts for 15% of cattle
production in the world.

 States with largest acreage under cultivated fodders are Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Haryana, Punjab, U.P., M.P., Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.

 Total area under forage crops in India is 8.3 m.ha which is 4.2 to 4.9% of total
cropped area.

 There is need to improve the fodder acreage up to 8 to 10% of total cropped

area to meet the deficit of green fodder for sustained live stock production in India
which is considered as an important avocation of rural areas in India .

FODDER SUPPLY, DEMAND AND DEFICIT(MILLION TONNES)SCENARIO IN

INDIA

YEAR SUPPLY DEMAND DEFICIT

DRY TOTAL GREEN DRY TOTAL GREEN % DRY %

GREEN

1995 421 800 947 526 1473 568 60.0 105 20.0
379

2000 813 988 549 1537 603 61.0 121 22.0

385

2005 443 833 1025 569 1594 635 62.0 126 22.1
390

2010 451 846 1061 589 1650 666 62.8 138 23.4
395

2015 466 867 1097 609 1706 693 63.4 143 23.4
401

2020 473 879 1134 630 1764 728 64.2 157 24.9
406

2025 488 899 1170 650 1820 759 64.9 162 24.9
411

162
SOURCE:Patil et.al (2005) forage production and feeding during scarcity.
International book distribution co.lucknow the gap between supply and demand is
widening year to year due to many reasons and low productivity of the forages is
main reason.
Reasons for low productivity of fodder crops:
1. Allotment of poor and marginal lands.

2. Poor management practices.

3. Unavailability of seed of fodder crops.

4. Growing less productive forage crops

Ways to improve fodder production:

 To bring more area under fodder crops.

 In India greater more than 8.8% area under fodder crops should be maintained
as per NCA (NATIONAL COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURE)

 Raise short duration fodder crops before or after growing food crop with
residual moisture and nutrients.

 Encourage for forage crops(Guinea grass, Stylo and Cenchrus) in horti or

silvi-pasture systems.

 Growing more productive crops like NB hybrid and Lucerne

 Forage seed production should be strengthened.

 Growing dual purpose (forage+grain) varieties in crops like sorghum, bajra

and oats with strengthening the research on forages in India.

FORAGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA :

 First research station was established in 1925 Lyalpur in Punjab province.

 National dairy research institute,(NDRI), Karnal, Haryana during the year

1955.

163
 CAZRI-Central arid zone research institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

 IGFRI-Indian grassland and fodder research institute, Jhansi, U.P(1962)

 CSWRI-Central sheep and wool research institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan.

 AICRP NETWORK-All India coordinated research project on forages was

established in the year 1970 with 18 sub centres and main center at Jhansi.

 NRCAF – National Research Center For Agro Forestry Jhansi, UP.

 NDDB – National Dairy Development Board-Anand, Gujarat.

Terminology in forage production:

Forage crop : A crop of cultivated plants or plant parts other than separated grain
produced and grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals.
Fodder : Coarse grasses such as corn and sorghum harvested with seed and leaves
green or dry used for feeding as hay, soilage or silage.
Carrying capacity: The maximum stocking rate i.e. animals/ha that will achieve a
target level of animal performance in a specified grazing method that can be applied
over a defined period of time without deterioration of the ecosystem. It is not static
from season to season.
Agrostology : Study of grasses, their classification management and utilization.
Hay : Fodder conserved in dry form by reducing the moisture content to <15%.This
prevents the rapid development of biological processes to build up the heat.
Soilage : Forage cut green and fed to livestock while it is in fresh form.
Silage: Process of preservation or conservation of green fodder under anaerobic
conditions in the green form is called Ensiling and conserved fodders called Silage.It
is highly palatable slightly laxative and easily digestible.
Haylage : Silage made from the material with high dry matter content under
anaerobic conditions. Moisture content is between 40-60%.
Pasture: A grazed plant community usually of several species of diverse botanical
types. It includes grasses, shrubs, legumes and trees.

164
Grassland: Land on which vegetation is dominated by the grasses which are used
directly as grazing by the animals or cut and feed systems. Grasses may be either
indigenous or introduced grasses.
Rangeland: Land on which the indigenous vegetation is predominant. Grasses,
shrubs suitable for grazing or browsing used and are managed as a natural ecosystem
Paddock: Grazing area which is part of the grass land and separated from the other
areas by a fence or barrier.
L : S ratio : Ratio of leaf weight to that of the stem weight.
Guinea, Cenchrus, Rodes - 0.5-0.7
N B hybrid- 0.7-0.8
Cowpea, Berseem and Lucerne – 0.9-1.0
Maize, Sorghum, Bajra - 0.5-0.75
Per day productivity: Production of green or dry matter/unit area/unit time.
Important parameter for evaluating productivity of forage crops.
Quality Parameters:
Roughage: Animal feeds that are relatively high in crude fibre and low in total
digestible nutrients and protein.
Concentrates: The feed is low in fibre and high in total digestable nutrients that
supplies primary nutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) Eg: cotton seed meal,
grains, wheat bran.
Nitrogenous concentrates: Feeds that are rich in protein content. Eg: Groundnut
cake, cotton cake.
Non-nitrogenous concentrates: Feeds that have relatively low protein but high in
digestible carbohydrates and fats. Eg: Oats and maize grain.
Crude protein: All nitrogenous substances contained in the feedstuffs. It includes
true protein, which is composed of amino acids and non protein nitrogenous
compounds such as amides.
Crude fibre : All insoluble forms of carbohydrates. It is made up of cellulose, lignin,
and hemicelluloses.
CF=NDF + ADF + ADL.
NDF: Portion of plant that is insoluble in neutral detergent solution. Synonymous to
cell wall constituents.
ADF: Insoluble residue following extraction of herbage with acid detergent solution
(Van Soest).

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 ADF = Cell wall constituents –Hemi cellulose.
Digestible crude protein: Common way of expressing the protein value digested and
taken in to animal body.
DCP = Feed protein – Feces protein (N x 6.25).
High quality protein : A protein containing appropriate portions of amino acids for a
particular dietary usage.

TDN: Sum total of the digestibility of the organic components of plant material or
seed.
TDN = CP + NFE + CF + Fat.
Proximate analysis: Analytical system of feed stuff that includes the determination
of ash, crude fibre, crude protein: either extract, moisture(dry matter) and nitrogen
free extract.

Characteristic Features of Forage/ fodder Crops or ideal characters of forage

/fodder crops
1. It should be succulent and juicy and easy palatable.
2. It should have more number of leaves i.e., high leaf-stem ratio, less shattering
of leaves.
3. It should contain high amount of carbohydrates or proteins.
4. Resistance to pests and diseases.
5. It should have regeneration (ratooning) capacity.
6. It should have quick growth and smother weeds.
7. More number of tillers and fine stem.
8. Should be photo insensitive and give more number of cuts.
9. Should have shorter life cycle so that it can fit in cropping systems.
10. It should tolerate shade, drought resistant so best suited for agri, silvi pastoral
conditions.
11. Should be suited to different soil classes from III to VII.
12. It should be free from hairs and thorns.
13. It should be free (or) less concentration of anti-nutritional factors.

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 Classification of fodder crops
I. BASED ON FAMILY:
a. Poaceae: Wheat,maize,jowar and bajra.
b. Legumaneae: Cowpea,Lucerne.
c. Cruciferae: Chinese cabbage,Japanese rape.

II. BASED ON MAINTAINANCE

a. Maintainance crops : Ex :Maize,Bajra,Sorghum
b.Non-maintainance crops: Ex :Wheat Bhusa, Rice Straw, Sorghm & Maize stover.

III. BASED ON THE PROTEIN CONTENT:

a. Low protein forage crops: Ex:Cereals,grasses
b. High Protein forage crops: Ex:Legumes

IV. BASED ON SEASON :

Kharif Rabi Summer
Cowpea Oat Bajra
Sorghum Barley Multicut sorghum
Maize Berseem Cowpea
Grasses Lucerne Grasses

V. BASED ON ORIGIN
a.Indigenous sps. b.Non-Indigenous sps.
Ex : Marvel grass,Anjan grass Ex :Signal grass,Timoty grass

VI. BASED ON LIFE CYC LE

1) Annual or Seasonal
i) Legumes. Ex:cowpea,Berseem (D)
ii) Non-legumes or cereals.Ex:maize,sorghum A & B
2) Perennial forage crops :
i) Non-legumes or grasses :Ex :Guinea grass (C).
ii) Legumes. Ex:Subabul,Lucerne (E) & F

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VII. BASED ON HABIT:

a. Herbs: Cylinder stem goes vertically but <2m length. Ex: Cowpea, Jowar, oat,
maize.
b. Shrubs: Bushy in nature and may be biennial or perennial. Ex: Hedge Lucerne,
guinea, hybrid napier.
c. Trees: Trees are pruned to feed the cattle with twigs along the leaves. This
practice is called lopping. Useful in lean months. Ex: Subabul, Sesbania.

VIII. BASED ON HABITAT:

a. Cultivated fodders: Productive fodders which give higher green fodder yield
(GFY).
Ex: NB Hybrid, Lucerne.
b. Wasteland fodders: Less productive fodders. Give less GFY and grown under
poor management conditions. Ex: Rhodes grass, Marvel grass.
c. Marshy land fodders: Forages grown under waterlogged conditions. Ex:
Paragrass.
d. Aquatic fodders: Forages grown under standing water. Ex: Water hyacinth and
algae.
Annual or Seasonal Non-legumes (A)
1. Maize or corn Zea mays
2. Jowar or sorghum Sorghum bicolor
3.Pearl millet Penisetum americanum
4.Finger millet or Ragi Eleusine coracana
5.Teosinte Euchlaena mexicana
6.Foxtail millet or korra or Italian Setaria italica
millet
7.Prosomillet or variga Panicum milliaceum
8.Little millet or sama Panicum miliare

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Winter or Rabi cereals (B)
9.Oats Avena sativa
10.Barly Hordeum vulgare

Perennial Non-legumes (C)

1.Hybrid Bajra Napier P.americanum x P.purpureum
2.Guinea grass Panicum maximum
3.Para grass Brachiaria mutica
4.Anjan grass or Buffel grass Cenchrus ciliaris
5.Anjan grass or Buffel grass Cenchrus setigerus
6.Rhodes grass Chloris gayana
7.Dinanath grass Pennisetum pedicellatum
8.Napie r grass Pennisetum purpureum
9.Rye grass Lolium perenne

Annual or Seasonal legumes (D)

1.Cowpea Vigna anguiculata
2.Field bean or Lab lab Dolichos lablab
3.Cluster bean(Guar) Cyamopsis tetragonaloba
4.Sunhemp Crotalaria juncea
5.Pillipesara Phaseolus trilobus
6.Berseem Trifolium alexandrium
7.Horse gram Macrotyloma uniflorum

Perennial Legumes (E)

1.Lucerne Medicago sativa
2.Stylo Stylosanthes hammata
Stylosanthes scabra
3.Siratro Macroptilium atropurpureum
4.Hedge Lucerne Desmanthes virgatus
5.Perennial groundnut Arachis glabrata

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Tree species (F)
1.Subabul Lucaena leucocephala
2.Khejri Prosopis cineraria

IX. Other fodders

1.Chinese cabbage Brassica pekinensis
2.Grain Amaranthus Amaranthus viridis
3.sesbania or shevri Sesbania sesban
4.Sesbania or agati Sesbania grandiflora
5.Hariyali/Bermuda/Star grass Cynodon dactylon
6.Spear grass Heteropogan contortus
7.Blue panic grass/giant panic grass Panicum antidotale
8.Marvel grass Dichanthimum annulatum
9.Clitoria/Sangu pushpam Clitoria cernatea
10.Centro or Butterfly pea Centrosema pubescens

X. Miscellaneous fodders:
1. Miscellaneous legumes: Chick pea,pigeon pea
2. Root crops: potato, sweet potato
3. Crop residues: Agricultural byproducts.
4. Aquatic fodders: Water hyacinth, BGA.
5. Miscellaneous fodder trees: Subabul, Sesbania.
6. Introduced fodder plants : Timothy grass, Guinea grass
7. Indigenous fodder plants: Marvel grass.
8. Seeds or grains used as fodder: Bengal gram.
XI. Crop residues
1. Roughages
a. Succulent dry crops.
b. Green fodder
c. Agricultural by products.
2. Concentrates
Ex: Oil cakes example: Groundnut cake and Seasame cake .

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Lecture No.27

Introduction- Origin, distribution,soils,land preparation-varities,seasons –

seeds&sowing,fertilizer,irrigation,weed management,harvesting,yield and major
cropping systems of fodder sorgum and maize

SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor)

Common name Sorghum/jowar/Milo/Guinea corn
Plant Characters and uses :
1. Better regeneration capacity. Produces several thin & succulent tillers with more
no. of juicy & succulent leaves which make it more palatable than grain sorghum.
2. Supply fodder for long time due to its multi cut nature.
3. Rapid growth of plants and tolerate to shoot fly & leaf spot diseases.
CP: 7-7.75% (Crude protein)
DCP: 3.3 - 4.25% (Digest able crude proteins)
TDN: 64%-single cut varieties (Total Digestable Nutrients)
53%-multi cut varieties
Origin,and Distribution
Sorghum is one of the most important food cum fodder crop grown mostly under dry
land conditions and as irrigated fodder in many milk shed areas. Sorghum is believed
to be indigenous to Africa although india China have been claimed to be the home of
at least certain varieties of sorghum. The term Sorghum is derived from Italian word
Sorgo whic h means rising above to denote its tallness as compared to other cereal
crops. It is grown extensively in low rainfall areas of America ,Manchuria and
Australia. In India grown mainly in states of Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.

Climate & Soils:

Sorghum is almost unique in its ability to grow over a wide range of climatic and soil
conditions, particularly in climates too hot and too dry than other cereals. Being well
adapted to arid and semi arid conditions. Sorghum is a crop that thrive in tropical
climate with Optimum temperature range of 25o-35o c. It is not suited to elevated high

188
elevations of 1220 m and above. Being more often a rainfed crop comes up well
when rainfall is about 300-450 mm. It can be grown in all types of soils. Sandy loam
to clay loam soils are best suited. Optimum pH is 5.5-8.0.

Land preparation: Plough the field once with iron plough and twice or more with
the country plough to obtain good tilth. Form ridges and furrows 6m long and 50cm
apart or beds of 5x 4m depending on the availability of water and slope of the land.
Form irrigation channels suitably.
Varieties:
Single cut: HC 136, HC 308, HC 260, PC 5, P C 6, PC 9, MP chari, UP chari, UP
chari-2, APFS 5-3.
Multi cut: CO27, COFS 29(>5 cuts), SSG59-3, SSG-988, MFSH -3, Harasona,
Proagro chari, Safed moti (FSH-92079), Punjab sudex.
Dual purpose : SSV-84, CSV -15, CSH-13, AJ-140, N-14, N-13.
SSG 59-3: Cross between Sorghum bicolor x S.sudanense.
Season:
Under irrigation sorghum can be grown in all months of the year, although in actual
practice it is mainly grown in two seasons, December –january and March – April. As
a fodder crop it is convenient to grow it in staggered sowing in different months for
cutting and feeding. Usually sown from june till August as south west monsoon crop.
Seeds & Sowing
The seed rate for irrigated crop is 40 kg/ha in rainfed areas 75 kg/ha. In the south of
Madras a very high seed rate 90-112 kg/ha is used to secure a fine and thin stalked
fodder
Spacing&Sowing:30 X 10 cm. Plant to a depth of 3-4 cm on the sides of ridge or use
a seed drill or sow behind the seed drill and cover with harrow or country plough.
Seed Treatmnet with Azospirrilum (3 packets 600g should be practiced).
Manures and Fertilizers: In regions of low rainfall, sorghum should be manured
with 25t/ha FYM or compost and covered by means of blade harrow. Sheep penning
and carting tank silt is also prevalent in some areas of peninsular India. The
recommended nitrogen (30kg/ha) , phosphorus (40kg/ha) and potassium (20kg/ha).
With band application of fertilizer mixture prior to the sowing is preferred.1/3 N total
P&K as basal,1/3 N at 25&50DAS.40 kg N/ha after each cut in multi-cut type verities
should be adopted .

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Irrigation:
Requires less irrigation as it is drought resistant one . Irrigate immediately after
sowing and give light irrigation on the 3rd and thereafter can be irrigated at 10-15
days interval depending upon the weather type of the soil.
Weeding :
Hand Weeding twice at 20 & 40 DAS or spr aying Atrataf @ 1-1.5 kg ai/ha as pre
emergence herbicide followed by one weeding at 40 DAS. To control broad leaved
weeds including striga.
Plant protection:
Spray any one of the following plant protection chemicals on the 10 th and 17th day of
the sowing to control the shootfly : Endosulfan 35EC or Methyldematon 25EC or
Dimethoate 30EC 500ml/ha in 250 lite of water . On the 30th day apply Endosulfan
35EC 750 ml/ha or Carbaryl 50WP 1kg/ha or dust the leaf with 10kg/ha.
Harvesting :
Sorghum is harvested when the ear heads are fully emerged and the grain is in the
milky or early dough stage. Care is necessary not to cut the sorghum for feeding the
animal before its flowering, as otherwise there is a risk of cattle poisoning by the
cyanogenic glucoside contained in the young plants. For single cut varieties
harvesting at the 60-65 days after sowing (50% flowering stage). In multicut varieties
first cut is taken at the 50 DAS and second cut should be taken 40-45 days after the
first cut.
Yield:
The yield will be 30-40 tonnes/ha in irrigated single cut varieties. 100-120t/ha/year-
Multi cut varieties. Under rainfed conditions the green fodder yield will be about 15-
20 t/ha.
Cropping systems : Pearl millet – Lucerne - sorghum
Toxicities :
Three types of poisoning is noticed in fodder sorghum
1. Prussic acid or HCN or Hydrogen cyanide poisoning
2. Toxicity due to Tannins
3. Nitrate poisoning

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1. Prussic acid or HCN or Hydrogen cyanide poisoning:
Lethal dose:2 mg/kg body weight .of animal.
In foliage, 200 ppm on wet weight basis & 500 ppm on dry weight basis.
Symptoms:
Excess salivation,Excitement (Restlessness)
Vomiting & difficult breathing
Convulsions, staggering & collapse.
Mode of action :
 Cyanogenic glucoside called as DURRIN enters into blood stream and binds
to enzymes in the cells.
 On enzymatic hydrolysis, dissociates to cyanide complex.
 It prevents hemoglobin from transferring oxygen to individual cells and
animal dies of Asphyxiation.

Conditions for aggravation:

 More in young leaves than old le aves. Harvesting should be avoided before
50% flowering.
 New plant growth following frost or drought is high in cyanide concentration.
 Rainfed crop and crop attacked by pests & diseases have more concentration.
Than irrigated and normal crop.
 Heavy nitroge n fertilization results in high concentration of HCN.

Control measures:
 Cultivate sweet sudan type of jowar varieties.
 Always harvest at 50% flowering.
 Give normal irrigation & N dose.
 Protect the crop from pests and diseases.
 Conservation of sorghum in the form of silage.
 Intravenous injection of 50 ml of 20% NaNO3 followed by 75 ml Na
thiosulphate or 3 gr NaNO3 + 15gr Na thiosulphate in 200 ml water.

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2. Tanning Content:
Cause bitterness and affects palatability and digestibility in forage sorghum.

3. Nitrate poisoning (ppm):

0-3000 – Virtually safe
3000-6000 - moderately safe. limit to 50% of total ration.
6000-9000 – potentially toxic
>9000ppm – dangerous to cattle & will cause death.

Mode of action:
 It oxidizes the ferrous ion of Hemoglobin to ferric state, producing a brown
pigment,Methamoglobin.
 This Methamoglobin is incapable of transferring oxygen to body tissues.

Symptoms:
Gastro enteritis
 Abdominal pain and diarrhea
 Color of the body changes to dark brown color.
Treatment:
 Methylene blue @20mg/kg body weight for cattle.
 Antibiotic supplementation
 Additives like rapeseed oil meal, grain mixture, molasses, sodium chloride.

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 MAIZE (Zea mays)
Common name : Makka/ American –Indian corn:Corn
Uses:
Maize is one of the most important economic plants of the world, serving as forage
for cattle.
Maize can be feed to the animals during any stage of its growth as it is free from
toxic effects.
It also has lactogenic properties.
It can be used as silage, soilage or hay.
DCP: 6% TDN: 63% CP: 8-10%
Origin and Distribution
Its origin is in Mexico and it has been cultivated from the pre historic times by the
aboriginal people of America. In India major areas for maize cultivation are mainly
in Northern and central parts of India along the upper and middle gangetic plains, in
the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar , Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Climate & Soils:
Maize thrives best in warm climate.(50o North to 40oSouth) where the day
temperatures are fairly high and night temperatures are not too low. Ideal
temperatures are 24o c – day & 18o c—night. It can be grown up to an altitude of 3300
metes above msl. This crop require bright sunshine hours, but cannot tolerate frost or
cloudy weather and it is Highly sensitive to water logging even for a short period of 5-
6hrs. It can be grown in all types of soils. Sandy loam to clay loam soils is best suited.
Land preparation:
Plough the field once with iron plough and twice or more with the country plough to
obtain good tilth. Form ridges and furrows 6m long and 50cm apart or beds of 5x 4m
depending on the availability of water and slope of the land. Form irrigation channels
suitably.
Varieties:
African tall, Ganga -5,7 &10,Composites : Vijay. Jawahar, Moti, Gaga safed-2,A-de-
cuda & APFM- 8.Baby corn & sweet corn types also used as fodder purpose.

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Season :
In Andhra Pradesh maize is grown within the kharif season as rainfed crop from June
to September and also in the rabi season as an irrigate d crop from November to
march.
Seeds & sowing :
Seed rate in irrigated conditions is 50-60 kg/ha. In rainfed areas 40-50 kg/ha. Dent
type of maize varieties are most suitable for fodder purpose.
Spacing: 30x15 cm. Plant to a depth of 3-4 cm on the sides of ridge or use a seed drill
or sow behind the seed drill and cover with harrow or country plough.
Seed Treatment with Azospiriilum (3 packets (600g should be done).
In the parts of Maharshtra maize is dibbled in rows of 60-90cm apart , a fortnight
before cutting the plants , maize again dibbled in rows between the standing rows of
maize plants and this inter sowing is repeated five or six times to secure green forage
all through the year from the same land.
Manures and Fertilizes:
To ensure higher yields liberal manuring is necessary. Maize is very responsive to
both nitrogen and phosphorus and it is good practice to apply 45 to57 kg of nitrogen
and 22-45 kg of phosphorus in the form of ammonium sulphate and super phosphate
with potassium (20kg/ha) in the form of MOP. Band application of fertilizer mixture
prior to the sowing is preferred .fertilizer should be applied in divided doses of 1/3
N,total P&K as basal,1/3 N at 25&50DAS.
Irrigation:
Irrigate immediately after sowing and give light irrigation on the 3rd and thereafter can
be irrigated at 10-15 days interval depending upon the climate and soil type.
Weeding :
The first weeding is given when the crop is 20-25cm height and a second weeding
when it is about 60cm high. For hoeing bullock drawn harrows are more convenient
when the crop is sown in rows. Or spraying Atrataf @ 1-1.5 kg ai/ha as pre
emergence herbicide followed by one weeding at 40 DAS.
Plant protection:
Spray any one of the following plant protection chemicals on the 10 th and 17th day of
the sowing to control the shootfly : Endosulfan 35EC or Methyldematon 25EC or
Dimethoate 30EC 500ml/ha in 250 l of spray fluid water.

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Harvesting :
As a fodder crop it is important to cut maize at the right stage, when the cobs are just
being formed, because the feeding value goes down rapidly therafter. If it is for
silage, harvest at dough stage.

Yield : The yield varies from 40-50 tonnes/ha.

Cropping systems :
Maize-oats-sorghum., Pearlmillet-Lucerne -Maize
Maize-berseem-sorghum.
Dinanath grass-oats +mustard, maize+cowpea.

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Lecture No.28

Introduction- Origin, distribution,soils,land preparation-varities,seasons –

seeds&sowing,fertilizer,irrigation,weed management,harvesting,yield and major
cropping systems of fodder Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata)

Common name : Cherry bean/ Blackeye pea/barbati/Southern pea

Plant characters and uses:
 Annual /perennial bushy climbing herb.

 Trifoliate leaves with fast and quick growth.

 It is tolerant to shade.

 Roots penetrate to 55 cm

 Readily accepted by animals at all stages of crop growth.

 Protein content is 16-18%

Origin, and Distribution :Cowpea is considered as native to central africa, though it

is claimed to be indigenous to india as well. It is has been cultivated from very early
times for human consumption in the Mediterranean region by the greeks, romans and
spaniards.

Climate & soil:

Cowpea can be grown in all tropical, subtropical and temperate regions between 30 o N-
S and on wide range of soils, but Sandy loam soil with pH 5-6.5 are the best for
this crop. Saline, alkaline and water logged soils not suitable. Heavy clay soils
encourage vegetative growth with less seed production. It can withstand moderate
drought and heavy rains. It can also grow under the shade of tall trees, but cannot
survive cold or frost. In fact no other legume can grow so well under such a variety of
soil and climatic conditions , with so little attention, as cowpea.

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Land preparation:
Plough the field once with iron plough and twice or more with the country plough to
obtain good tilth. Form ridges and furrows 6m long and 30cm apart of beds of 5x 4m
depending on the availability of water and slope of the land. Form irrigation channels
suitably.
Varieties:
Russian giant, (EC-4216), IGFRI 450, IGFRI 985, IGFRI-8503 CO-5, CO-8, UPC
5286, UPC-287 and HFC-42-1,S-450,S -457, FOS-1, Bundel lobia-1 &2, Shewta
988,GFC-1&2.

Season:
Under irrigated condition throughout the year it can be cultivated June - July is
preferred or the onset of spring. In rainfed areas October – November months are
suitable: January – February. Months or suitable for summer sowing Cowpea is not
so season bound as some other pulses and so it can be grown in any months of the
year, except some hottest summer months.

Seeds & sowing:

Seed rate: Under irrigated conditions 20-25 kg/ha; for rainfed areas 40kg/ha in south
and 45 to 55 kg/ha in north. Spacing is 30 x10 cm.
Seed treatment: Treat the seed with 3 packets of rhizobium using the starch binder.
Sowing: sow to a depth of 3cm on one side of the ridge or sow above the fertilizer
band at 2cm depth and cover with soil.

Manures Fertilizers:
Apply 10 t/ha of FYM or compost after the second ploughing. The recommended
nitrogen- applied 25kg/ha, phosphorus-40kg/ha and potassium 20kg/ha. Fertilizer
mixture should be applied prior to the sowing. 1/2 N, total P&K as basal, 1/2 N at 25
DAS.

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Irrigation:
Irrigate immediately after sowing and give light irrigation on the 3 rd and thereafter can
be irrigated at 10-15 days interval depending upon the climate for soil, moisture
status.
Weeding: Cowpea is having smothering effect. Hence weeding may not be
economical . If weed problem is there, one hand weeding 20 DAS. With soil mulch is
sufficient to eliminate existing the emerging weeds..

Plant protection:
If sucking pests are noticed spray methyl dematon 25EC 500ml or dimethoate 30EC
500ml or phosphomidon 85WSC 250ml/ha in 250 litres.of water. stop spraying 15-20
days before harvest.
.
Harvesting:
As a fodder crop, cowpea can be cut in 60-75 DAS or at 50% flowering to formation
of pods.

Yield: 20-30 t/ha under irrigated conditions and about half this quantity under rainfed
conditions
can be obtained.
Cropping systems:
Inter cropping at1:1 ratio with maize, jowar or bajra or 2:1 with grasses or creal
fodder crops will help to improve fodder yield as well as fodder quality.
Cwpea-sorghum+cowpea-berseem.

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Lecture No.29

Introduction- Origin, distribution,soils,land preparation-varities,seasons –

seeds&sowing,fertilizer,irrigation,weed management,harvesting,yield and major
cropping systems of Napier hybrid

HYBRID BAJRA NAPIER

Common Name : Giant Napier /Pusa gaint napier / Gajraj / Giant Elephant grass
Plant Characters & Uses :
1) More vigorous, nutritious, succulent and palatable than napier grass.
2) It is a triploid and hence sterile.
3) Highly responsive to fertilization.
4) It is tall growing (200-300 cm), erect, stout, deep-rooted perennial grass.
5) Lodging resistant a nd resistant against pests and diseases.
6) Crude protein: 9-11% DCP : 5.5%TDN : 58%
Origin and Distribution A Cross between Bajra X Napier grass
P. americanum x P. purpureum was developed in South Africa with the name “Babala
Napier hybrid” or Bana grass. It produced more number of tillers and leaves, grew
faster and yielded more fodder than the napier grass, but the stem of the hybrid was
hard it comes up well in all tropical and sub tropical areas of high rainfall in the
world. It is important component of orders in intensity dairying for continues supply
of fodder year round.

Climate & soil:

It is cultivated in areas receiving more than >1000 mm rainfall.
- It can withstand drought and recover the growth quickly with the onset of
monsoons.
- Optimum temperature is around 24-28oc.
- It can tolerate low air temperatures but less than 10oc makes the crop remain
dormant.
- It is sensitive to frost. Even a light frost kills the crop but the underground
rhizomes will sprout again when the temperature rises.
- It performs better under long day than short day photoperiods.

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Soil: Sandy loam or clay loams are the best.
pH range : 6.5 – 8.0. In sandy soils, its vigour is low and yield is reduced.
- It cannot withstand flooded or water stagnated condition.
- It should be grown in well-drained soils with good moisture retention capacity.
- It comes up well in saline sodic soils better than guinea grass.

Land preparation: It needs thorough land preparation plough the field 4-6 times
followed by harrowing. Then made into ridges and furrows.
Varieties:
In India, first hybrid developed is NB-21.
CO 1: It is profusely tillering, highly leafy, tall growing and non-lodging, yields
300 t/ha. Released during 1982.
CO 3: Released during 1996. It is tall growing, highly tillering and non-lodging
with low oxalic acid ad crude fibre content. Yield 300-350 t/ha.
APBN 1: Released during 1998 by AICRP on Forage Crops, L.R.S., ANGRAU.
It is tall growing highly tillering, more leafyness (high L:S ratio) with
low oxalic acid content. It is found to be drought resistant and adopted for
cultivation.
Other varieties:
Pusa giant – For cultivating all over India
PBN – 83 – Punjab
Yeshwant (RBN-9) – Maharashtra
K K M-1 – Tamilnadu
IGFRI No: 3: It is a profusely tillering type with erect growth habit. It is good for
intercropping and has the capacity to yield 100-150 t /ha green fodder per year. It is
suitable for NE hills, U.P., M.P. hills of N. India.

IGFRI No: 7: Suitable for temperate zone of the country. It is an erect growing and
leafy variety with high regenerative capacity. 120-150 t/ha. It may be grown under
acidic conditions.
IGFRI No: 10: It can be grown throughout the country. It is also erect growing, leafy
and multicut variety. It produces 100-160 t/ha green fodders per year. The variety is
also suitable for acidic soils and sub-temperate situations.

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Season: It can be grown during any part of the year provided sufficient water is
provided. Optimum time of pla nting during Kharif and summer is June and February
respectively winter sowing is not recommended due to low temperatures.
Seeds & sowing:
Seed rate : 40,000 rooted slips or stem cuttings/ha.Spacing is 50 x50cm .Irrigate the
field through furrows and plant the one rooted slip or stem cutting per hole at a depth
of 3-5cm on one side of the ridge
Method of sowing : The seed of hybrid napier is sterile. Therefore hybrid bajra napier
is multiplied only through stem cuttings or rooted slips. The stem cuttings are
obtained from clumps grown upto 2.5 to 2 m ht. Top ¼ is removed and remaining
3/4th is used. Rooted slips are obtained from clumps, which are 1 m width.
Stem cuttings: Stem cuttings can be stored for about 20 days for planting by covering
with moist gunny bag but in sub tropics, with cold weather, they can be stored during
the entire winter season.
450 angle method: Stem cuttings are obtained from basal 3/4th portion of the plant.
Each stem cutting with 2 nodes measures about 30-40 cm inserted in the soil in a
slanting position at 450 angle. One bud should be inside the soil and one bud should
be exposed over the soil surface. Buds inside the soil develop roots and, the bud over
the soil produce shoots.
End to End Method: 2 budded or 3 budded setts are pla ced in the furrow such that
eyes on the node are exposed to the sides of the furrows and then cover with soil.
Then irrigation is given.
Rooted slips: Break up the old clumps and separate the tillers along with their roots.
Each slip should consists of 1-2 tillers measuring 10-12 cm height. Dig a small hole in
the furrow and insert the roots into these holes. Propagation by this method is best in
Summer Season. The stem cuttings are likely to dry up due to desiccating winds and
hot summer.
Manuring:
Being the heavy feeder this hybrid should be manured with 25t/ha FYM or
compost.50kg/ha of nitrogen,50kg/ha of phosphorus and 40kg/ha of potassium. Band
application of the fertilizer mixture prior to the planting is preferred.for this open
furrows 5cm deep on the one side of the ridge, apply fertilizer mixture and cover with
soil. Repeat the basal application once in year for the sustained higher yields. Top
dress with 100 kgN/ha after each cut.

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Irrigation:
Irrigate immediately after sowing and give light irrigation on the 3rd and thereafter can
be irrigated at 10-15 days interval depending upon the requirements of crop.

Weeding and inter cultural operations:

Hand weeding or hoeing and weeding should be followed on the 30 th day. Gap fill to
maintain population. Subsequent weeding may be carried out preferably after each
harvest. Earth up once after three cuts and removal of dried tillers and quartering
once in a year is recommended.
Harvesting :
When cutting the crop for forage, a fairly long stubble of 13-15cm has to be left, to
avoid damaging the growing point near the base of the plant . first cut at 60-75 days
after planting and subsequent cuts once in 45 days. In case of sewage or high N
containing effluents irrigation, the harvest interval may be increased to 55-60 days to
minimize the nitrate/oxalate problem.
Yield: Green fodder yield is about 350t/ha/year

Major cropping systems:

Intercropping/mixed cropping with Desmanthus at 3:1 ratio will help to improve
fodder quality and yield of green fodder. The other compatible mixtures include
Lucerne.
N-B hybrids+velvetbean-berseem_sarson.

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Lecture No.30

Introduction- Origin, distribution,soils,land preparation-varities,seasons –

seeds&sowing,fertilizer,irrigation,weed management,harvesting,yield and major
cropping systems of Paragrass&guinea grass

Paragrass (Brachiaria mutica)

Common name : Water grass, Buffalo grass, Mauritius grass, Angola grass,
California grass

Plant characters This grass is a coarse trailing perennial, rooting at the nodes with
ascending flowering stems even upto 2.5m high.
Origin and Distribution :
Though it is a native of tropical Africa and tropical south America (Brazil), it is
widely distributed as a fodder grass in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. It
grows well on moist soils (a water loving grass) and withstand prolonged flooding or
water logging, bur makes little growth during dry weather. More suited for water
inundated condition and sewage farms. It can be used for green soiling, hay and
should be grazed rotationally as it will not withstand heavy grazing.
Climate and soil:
Grows well in areas with Rainfall 1000-1500 mm., with optimum temperature is
around 15-38ºC. Can tolerate water logging and most suitable for marshy areas.
Comes up well in sewage water. But sensitive to cold and frost. Semi-aquatic grass
grows well in rice growing areas of world. Highly tolerant to saline and sodic soils
and used for reclamation of saline soils than any other grass.

Land preparation: It needs thorough land preparation plough the field 4-6 times
followed by harrowing. Then made into ridges and furrows.

Season:
In irrigated condition throughout the year it can be sown suitable time for kharif is
June -

203
 July or the onset of spring. In rabi conditions growth is very poor. Summer: as it
is water
loving crop summer crop cultivation is rare phenomenon.

Seeds & sowing:

Propagated by seed, rooted slips and runners/ stem cuttings.Seed setting is poor and
has dormancy. So mostly propagated by rooted slips and runners. In summer, rooted
slips are safer than runners.Seed rate- 2.5-3.0 kg/ha.Transplanting method- 40,000-
50,000 rooted slips/ha or 2-4 q/ha planting material is required. Spacing is 50cm × 50
cm. planting should be done to a depth of 3cm on the side of the ridge.
Manures & Fertilizers:
Apply 25 t/ha of FYM or compost after the second ploughing. The rcommended
nitrogen (20kg/ha), phosphorus (40kg/ha) and potassium (20kg/ha). Should be
applied in band prior to the sowing is. Top dressing of nitrogen 20kg/ha after each
harvest.
Irrigation:
Irrigate immediately after sowing and give light irrigation on the 3rd and thereafter can
be irrigated as and when depending upon the requirement of crop.

Weeding :
Hand weeding or hoeing and weeding on the 30 th day should be practiced. Gap fill to
maintain population. Subsequent weeding may be carried out preferably after each
harvest. Earth up once after three cuts and removal of dried tillers simultaneously.
.
Harvesting and yield:
The crop is ready for the first cut in the three months after the planting and
subsequent cutting can be taken at an interval of the 30-35days. Para grass is reported
to have yielded 200-240 t/ha/year.
Guinea grass (Panicum maximum )
Plant characters:
The grass is a tall, densely tufted perennial, with numerous shoots arising from the
short stout rhizomes. A full grown plant attains a height of 1.8 to2.7m under
favourable conditions. Culms are erect ,glabrous, nodes densely hairy, leaf blades are
about 60cm long. The inflorescence is an open panicle ,about 30cm long

204
 Has a variable species. Depending on agronomic characters like habit, height, stem
thickness, degree of branching etc. They may be identified into two distinct types
i) Large or medium types suitable for soilage and grazing.
ii) Small or low growing types mainly suitable for grazing.

Origin and Distribution :

This grass is native of tropical Africa. Introduced in our country in 1798. It is one of
the oldest introduced grass in our country.

Climate and soils:

The grass thrives best in warm moist climates with annual rainfall 600-100 mm.
Tolerates drought fairly wells but susceptible to frost. Frost burns the plant tips and
leaves rapidly loose their succulence and stems become hard and dry. Optimum
temperature is 15-380C.Best grass suits under orchards or forestry trees because of
shade tolerance ability.
Adopted to wide range of soils except water logging and acidity, can
tolerate medium salinity Fertile of well drained medium loamy soils are most suitable.
Can be grown along the field bunds and sides of irrigation channels to prevent
erosion.
Land preparation
Thre land is prepared by giving 1-2 ploughings, fallowed by 3 to 4 harrowings.

Varieties:
The following are some of the commercial varieties of large or medium types.
1) Queensland common: East African Origin. It is a well-tillered buchy type
grows to 150 cm height. Stem nodes are hairy and finer leaf sheath and blades.
2) Rivers dale : is a selection from 9 C made by South Johnstone Research Station
at Riversdale.
3) Makueni: Drought resistant one. Grows to a height of 1 m in height and light
green in colour.
4) Gatton panic : is a medium type variety. Easily distinguished from Queensland
guinea, as the stem nodes are smooth. Resistant to grazing and creates less
management problems.

205
5) Hamil: very tall variety of guinea grass. Robust, smooth, erect that grows from
3 to 3.5 m hight. Foliage is dark green than Riversdale and Makueni and stem
nodes are free of exposed hairs. Well accepted by animals.
6) Colonial guinea: Very palatable type but less productive than other guinea grass
varieties. Very tall variety growing upto 3 m. Practically hairless and thick fleshy
stems. Well accepted by cattle. The foliage is blue green and flowers later than
other varieties due to long growing season. Very drought resistant.

Small types: Green panic or slender guinea var. (trichoglume). This is a French grass
has an ascending habit crown expanding by short horizontal stems. It shows drought
resistance and survives well in situations where Rhodes grass dries at completely.
Leaves are fine and soft and stems are slender. Has a good (unique) regenerative
capacity and most responsive to improved fertility.

Season :
In South India under irrigation conditions all months are suitable Except in Dec-Jan.
Under rainfed condition it is sown during June-August. In North India Mid Feb-
August is favourable under irrigated conditions.

Seeds & sowing :

Propagated by seed, rooted slips and stem cuttings. In summer Root stocks are safer
than stem cuttings. seeds may be broad casted in the nursery bed and seedlings
transplanted in the field with the break of the monsoon. Straw mulching can improve
the establishment. 4-10 kg seed/ha under direct seeding, 2-3 kg/ha for transplanting,
40,000-45,000-stem cuttings/ha. Or 66,000 rooted slips are sufficient spacing is 50 x
30 cm or 90 x 45 cm. Seeds have to be stored for more than six months before sowing
for breaking dormancy. Plant the rooted slips to a depth of 3cm on the side of the
ridge or sow the seeds on the marked lines or raise seed in nursery and transplant 20-
25 days after ger mination.

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Fertilizers:
The grass responds well to manuring. To ensure high yields a basal dose of 10-15 t
FYM/ha or compost after the second ploughing should be incorporated. The
rcommended doses of nitrogen 50kg/ha, phosphorus 50kg/ha and potassium 40kg/ha
should be applied in band prior to the sowing. Repeat the basal application once in a
year for sustained higher yields.Top dressing of nitrogen 25kg/ha after each cut.

Irrigation:
Irrigate immediately after sowing and give light irrigation on the 3rd and thereafter can
be irrigated at 10-15 days interval.

Harvesting & Yield:

The first cut can be taken in six to eight weeks after planting . The average
production is about 200-250t/ha/yr in 7-8 cuttings. The yield however, declines with
age and it is advisable to replant the field with fresh slips every fifth year. The
replanting can be done in the standing field of guinea grass in between the rows and
the old plants removed after the new plants get established. The fodder supply can
thus be maintained at an uniform level.

Major cropping systems:

Legumes should be grown along with guinea or rotated.
Australia – Centro and Stylo Desmodium
North India – Berseem, Senji, peas.
South India – cowpea, guar or rice bean, Lucerne. Under humid -red soil conditio ns
guinea grass is grown under coconut garden.

Toxicities:
Heavy N fertilization Causes nitrate toxicity.
Small levels of HCN % is also noticed
Panicum sps. Contain Heptotoxins which may cause secondary photo sensitization.
Animal with white skin or with white patches usually suffer from the disease.
Remedy: - Affected animal may be given chlorophyll free diet and kept in darkness
for a few days till recovery.

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 Lecture No. 6 CROP PRODUCTION– II Course No.Agro 301

SESAME

ORIGIN : Ethiopia Sesamum indicum

DISTRIBUTION:- Major sesame producing countries are India, China, Myanmar,

Sudan, Pakisthan, Mexico, Ethiopia, Srilanka and Burma.
 In India, major sesame cultivating states are Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra
 Major exporting countries are Sudan, Nigeria.
 India stands first in both area and production.
AREA PRODUCTION & PRODUCTIVITY:-
World India Andhra Pradesh
Area (M.ha) 8.80 1.74 0.132
Production(M.t) 2.80 0.60 0.018
Productivity(Kg ha -1) 3.82 3.40 140

VARIETIES:- Popular varieties in Andhra Pradesh  Gauri, Madhavi,YLM-11, YLM-17, .

Latest Variety in Andhra Pradesh  Chandana (ICS-94)
Brown seeded varieties  Grown in Coastal areas.
Gauri, Madhavi, YLM-11, YLM-17, Varada,
Usha, TMV-6 etc.
White seeded varieties  Grown in Telangana area
Rajeswari, Swetha, Pratap, RT-125, Mrug-1, TG-22,
T-12, T-78 etc.,
Black seeded varieties  Krishna, Soma, etc.,
Reddish brown variety  Rama.

CROP ROTATION:-
Andhra Pradesh  R ice / Groundnut – Sesame
Sesame – Horse gram – Chickpea.
Rice / Potato – Sesame.
Cotton – Sesame – Wheat.
Sesame – Groundnut / Cotton / Maize
CROPPING SYSTEMS:- INTER CROPPING:-

Sesame + Greengram (1:1)

Sesame + Pigeonpea (2:1)
Sesame + Soybean (2:1)
Sesame + Cowpea (8:1)
Sesame + Groundnut (1:1)

21
SOILS:-
Sesame comes up well on soils with slightly acidic (or) neutral reaction. It can be grown on
well drained soils and performs well in light loamy soils.
 It is highly sensitive to water logging.
 Very sandy, saline and alkaline soils are not suitable.

CLIMATE :-
Sesame is essentially a tropical crop grown in arid and semi-arid areas.
 It is generally cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical countries.
 It’s main distribution is between 250 s and 250 N Latitudes
 Its altitude range is normally below 1250 m although some varieties locally adopted up to
1500 m.
 Generally, it requires fairly hot conditions during growth for optimum yield.
 Ideal optimum temperature for growth is 25-270 C
.Extremely low temperatures of 100 C, there is a complete ceasing of growth.
 Temperatures >40 C seriously affect the pollination when there is less number of capsules.
 Sesame is a short day plant.
 High light intensity increase number of Capsules / plant.
INFLUENCE OF RAINFALL:-

 Sesame is capable of with standing a higher degree of water stress.

 The crop can be grown entirely on stored soil moisture.
 A rainfall of 600-1000mm results in optimum yield.

SEEDS AND SEEDING:-

SEED RATE:-
Rainfed Irrigated

Under broadcasting (Kg/Ha) 6 5

Row seeding (Kg/Ha) 5 4

Mixed (or) Intercropping  1 Kg/Ha

SPACING:-

30 X 10 Cm in Andhra Pradesh (all seasons)

45 X 15 Cm is also recommended.

22
SEED TREATMENT:-

Seed treatment with Thiram (3g/kg) is effective against seed borne diseases. Seeds may be
soaked in 0.025% solution of Agrimycin-100 for 30min. prior to seeding will minimize bacterial leaf
spot.
SEASON – TIME OF SOWING:-
Season Time
Coastal A.P. Kharif  First fortnight of May.
Summer  Second fortnight of
January.
Telangana Kharif  Second fortnight of July.
Rayalaseema Kharif  May to June
Rabi  Middle of January.
METHODS OF SOWING:-

1. Broad casting is usually most widely used in all situations. Seed is mixed with sand in equal
quantities (or) 3 times to facilitate uniform distribution of yield.
 After sowing, seed is covered by shallow ploughing and planting by cultivators
and harrowers
2. Line sowing (or) Row seeding is done with seed drills to promote higher yields.
 Optimum depth of sowing is 2-3 cm.

MANURES $ FERTILIZERS:-

N-P-K REQUIREMENT:-

Rainfed Irrigated
½ basal
N 40 60
P 60 60 ½ (30-35 DAS)
K 40 40
 Application of sulphur @ 50 Kg/ha increases the yield if soils are deficient in
sulphur.

METHOD OF APPLICATION:-
Placement of fertilizer at seeding using seed drills is more effective than broadcast
application.
INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT:-

Integrated nutrient management consisting of 5 t ha-1 of FYM, 40 Kg nitrogen, 20 Kg

Phosphorous and seed treatment with Azospirillum has given encouraging results at several
situations.

23
INTERCULTIVATION:-
Sesame is sensitive to weed competition during the first 15-25 DAS. A minimum of two
weedings, one after 15 DAS and another 35 DAS are required to keep the field relatively weed free.
Row seeded crop facilitates use of blade harrows for intercultivation. Two intercultivations, 15 DAS
and 35 DAS followed by one hand weeding keeps the field free of weeds.
WEED MANAGEMENT:-
Use of Herbicides:-

Herbicides use, especially under rainfed conditions, is very limited due to low yield, which
may not compensate for the cost of herbicides. If necessary, Alachlor (1.0kg/ha) or
Thiobencarb(2.0kg/ha) can be used as pre emergence spray for effective control of weeds. Use of pre
emergence herbicides followed by one hand weeding around 30 DAS is the most appropriate way of
weed management in sesame.
IRRIGATION:-
Water requirement is 300-350mm. For rabi crop 5-6 irrigations are required.
1st irrigation  at sowing
2nd irrigation  3 WAS
3rd irrigation  6 WAS
4th irrigation  8 WAS
5th irrigation  9 WAS
CRITICAL STAGES FOR IRRIGATION:-

For rabi / summer sesame, a presowing irrigation is necessary for optimum seed germination
and adequate stand establishment. Flower initiation and capsule filling stages are most sensitive to
water deficits.
SCHEDULING IRRIGATION:-
Scheduling irrigations at 50% DASM is adequate. If irrigations are scheduled based on
IW/CPE ratio, a ratio of 0.6 is optimum under most situations. Depending on soil type, weather
conditions and crop duration, irrigations may be given once in 12 to 15 days. If irrigation water is not
a limiting factor, flower initiation, maximum flowering and capsule filling results in optimum seed
yield. Depending on the duration, sesame water requirement ranges between 350 and 450mm. The
crop is usually irrigated by check basin method of irrigation.
HARVESTING:-
Depending on the variety, sesame crop takes 80-150 days for maturity. The crop is harvested
when the leaves, stems and capsules begin to turn yellow and the lower leaves start shedding. To
prevent shedding of seed, the crop should not become dead ripe in the field. The ripe plants are cut at
the ground level carried to threshing yard, stacked for a week in the sun with the cut ends upwards.

24
QUALITY CHARACTERS:-
Sesame is the oldest oil seed crop of the world. The seed has high food value because of the
higher contents of good quality edible oil and nutritious protein
SEED COMPOSITION:-

Sesame seed protein content varies from 20-28% with an oil content ranging between 48-
55%. Its mineral content is around 6%..
Among oilseed proteins, sesame seed proteins are more nutritious It is rich in methionine and
tryptophane. Like other oil seeds, it is also deficient in lysine. The other limiting amino acids are
thionine, isoleucin and valine. Sesame seed contains 21-25% carbohydrates, 1% calcium and 0.7%
Phosphorous
Sesame oil has two constituents namely sesamin and sesamol. They are responsible for very
high stability of oil at room temperature, and frying temperatures. The sesamin content ranges from
0.07 to 0.6%.

25
Lecture No.11 Soybean (Glycine max)

Introduction
 The soybean (U.S.) or soya bean (UK) (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia
 Grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a
pulse
 The English word "soy" was derived from the Japanese pronunciation of shoyu the Japanese word for
soya sauce ; "soya" comes from the Dutch adaptation
 The word glycine is derived from the Greek - glykys (sweet) and likely refers to the sweetness of the
pear-shaped (apios in Greek) edible tubers produced by the native North American twining or
climbing herbaceous legume .
 Glycine max from soy-a or soya to soy plus bean or soybean or soyabean
Chinese pea, Japan pea and Japanese fodder plant, known as Bhat Bhatmer rumkut
 Soybean accounts for “50%” total production of oilseed crops in world.
 A very small proportion of the crop is consumed directly by humans. Soybean products
do, however, appear in a large variety of processed foods.
 It was during World War II that the soybean was discovered as fertilizer by the United States
Department of Agriculture
 Soybeans, like most legumes, perform nitrogen fixation by establishing a symbiotic relationship with
the bacterium Rhizobium japonicum
 U.S., Brazil, Argentina, China and India are the world's largest soybean producers and represent more
than 90% of global soybean production
 Prior to fermented products such as Soy sauce, tempeh, natto, and miso, soy was considered sacred
for its use in crop rotation as a method of fixing nitrogen
 Wild ancestor of soybean is Glycine soja a legume native to central China
 Soybeans are one of the "biotech food" crops that have been genetically modified, and genetically
modified soybeans are used in number of products

Uses :

 Soybeans are an important globalcrop, providing oil and protein

 It contains about 20 per cent oil and 40 per cent high quality protein
 It contains a good amount of minerals, salts and vitamins (thiamine and riboflavin) and its sprouting
grains contain a considerable amount of Vitamin C
 A large number of Indian and western dishes such as bread, `chapati’, milk, sweets, pastries etc.,
can be prepared with soybean
 It can be used as fodder, forage can be made into hay, silage etc. Its forage and cake are excellent
nutritive foods for livestock and poultry. Soybean being the richest, cheapest and easiest source of
best quality proteins and fats and having a vast multiplicity of uses as food and industrial
products is sometimes called a “wonder crop”.

Origin and distribution:-

 Soybean is one of the important crops of the world.

 Soybean is native of China
 Spread to India and Nepal in 16th century
 Soybean cultivation in India started during 1970’s
 Area & Production : Globally, area is 65 m ha, production :130 mt, productivity :2 t ha -1
 USA, Brazil, China, Argintina, are the important soybean producing countries.

45
 USA has highest productivity of 2.2 t ha -1 followed Argentina
 India : Area : 5 m ha, Annual production : 5 mt, productivity : 1000 kg ha-1.
 Largely grown in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra and Gujarat.
 It is also grown on a small acreage in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi .
 Madhya Pradesh, ranks first both in area and production
 Andhra Pradesh : Area : 1.7 lakh ha, production : 32.3 l tons, productivity 2000 kg/ha.

Climate :-

 Basically it is a tropical crop but extends to subtropics and temperate climates.

 Commercial production is between 25o and 45o N latitude at 1000 m altitude .
 Soybean is short day plant, but response to day length varies with variety and temperature.
 A temperature of 26.5 to 30°C appears to be optimum for most of the varieties.
 Optimum temperature for germination is 30-35oC.
 Maximum flowering occurs at 30oC.
 Temperature of 18oC or less ,there is no pod setting.
 Temperature below 24oC – delays flowering by 2-3 days.
 Temperature of 40-46oC results in pod abscission .
 A lower temperature tends to delay the flowering.
 Day length is the key factor in most of the soybean varieties as they are short day plant and are
sensitive to photo-periods.
 Most of the varieties will flower and mature quickly if grown under condition where the day length is
less than 14 hours provided that temperatures are also favourable
 Critical photoperiod for bud initiation is 14 hrs.
 Maximum floret blossoming occurs at 10-13 hrs
 Moderately salt tolerant (sal. Threshold 5 dsm-1).
 Sensitive to water logging especially during early stages
 Optimum soil PH range is 6-6.5
 Growth and Development : Have two growth habits – determinate, indeterminate.
 Flowering starts from 20 DAS, or even delays upto 50 DAS and continues for 4-6 weeks.
 Pods are visible at 10-15 days after flowering
 2-20 pods per inflorescence and upto 400 in single plant is observed.
 2-3 seeds per pod at maturity.
Seasons :-

 In Andhra Pradesh :
“ Kharif” : A rainfed crop is sown from June 15 to July 15th in light soils
“Rabi” : Irrigated crop is sown from November – December
“Summer” : Sown in January, and extends upto February
 Seed rate of soybean : It depends upon germination percentage, seed size and sowing
time. If seed is of 80 per cent germination, 70-80 kg seed per hectare is required.
For late planting and for spring crop, seed rate should be 100-120 kg per hectare
 Since soybean loose its viability in 2-3 months, hence higher seed rate: 75 kg/ha or 25-
30 kg/acre is to be given
 Spacing : Heavy soils : 45 x 5 cm
: Light soils : 30 x 7.5 - 8 cm.
 Depth of sowing should not be more than 3-4 cm under optimum moisture conditions
 If seed is placed deeper there is crust formation just after sowing, the seed germination
may be delayed and may result in a poor crop stand.

46
 Seed drills are used in large areas , and sowing in ridges are to be followed under irrigated
condition.
 Plant population : 40 plants / sq mt or 1,60,000 plants/acre
 Thinning should be completed within – 3 weeks after germination.
 Seed treatment : seed is to be treated with Thiram (2g) + Carbendazim (1 g) or
Thiram (3 g) + Imidachloprid (5 g) or Carbosulfan (30 g / 8-10 kg of seed)

Varieties
S.No. Vareity Duration (days) Yield (q/acre)

1. JS – 335 90-95 8-10

2. PK - 1029 100-110 7-8
3. MACS - 450 100-110 8-10
4. LSB – 1 65 6

5. LSB – 3 110-115 6-7

6. JS- 93 - 05 90 7-8

Fertilizer and Nutrient Management :-

For obtaining good yields, should apply 15-20 tones of FYM or Compost per ha.
But soybean being a legume crop has ability to supply their own “N” needs provided
they have been inoculated .
Application of 20-30 kg N per ha as a starter dose will be sufficient to meet the “N”
requirement of crop in initial stage in low fertile soils having poor organic matter.
Soybean requires relatively large amounts of phosphorus than other crops.
Phosphorus is taken by soybean plant throughout growing season. Period of
demand starts just before pod formation and continues until about 10 days before seeds
are fully developed.
With the application of phosphorus, the number and density of nodules are stimulated
and the bacteria becomes more mobile.
Soybean also requires a relatively large amount of potassium than other crops.
The rate of potassium uptake reaches to a peak during the period of rapid vegetative
growth then slows down about the time the bean begins to form.

FERTILISER SCHEDULE :

 Light soils :- 20 + 40-60 + 20-40 + 20 kg N P K S /ha

 Rhizobium culture @ 500 g / 75 kg seed/acre
 Andhra Pradesh : Rhizobium + 30 + 60 + 40 + 8 kg N P K S/ha (Irrigated)
The fertilizers should preferably be placed, at sowing time, about 5-7 cm away
from the seed at a depth of 5-7 cm from seed
 In Light soils : 50% N and full dose of P & K is applied basally , and remaining
50% N is top dressed at 30 DAS
 For Rabi crop : Entire fertilizer is applied basally at seeding.

47
 Water Management

 The soybean crop generally does not require any irrigation during Kharif season.
 However, if there were a long spell of drought at the time of pod filling, one irrigation would be
desirable.
 During excessive rains, proper drainage is also equally important.
 Basically it is a rainfed crop, in deep black soils for Kharif and rabi, the crop
responds to irrigation in intensive cropping system
 Due to deep tap root system with 1.8 m deep withstands moisture stress for short periods
 Under soil moist stress, Flower drops, but due to “extended period of flowering,” late formed
flowers will compensates early flower drop.
 Critical stages : flowering and pod development stages are sensitive stages for moisture stress.
 Scheduling irrigation : at 50 DASM or at IW/CPE 0.6
 Irrigation in Light soils can be given once in 10-12 days, in heavy soil at an interval of 18-20 days
 Irrigated by check basin or border method, but furrow method is ideal.
 Under Water scarcity conditions, sprinkler irrigation and alternate furrow can be followed.
 WUE is 0.4 – 0.7 kg m-3. and water requirement is 450 -750 mm.

Weed management
 First 6-7 weeks after seeding is critical period, hence clean cultivation is essential.
 Since crop is sown in lines/rows, intercultivation can be done 2 times ,first at 20-30, followed by
second at 45 DAS along with manual weeding .
 For wide range of weeds in soybean, foliage herbicides provide excellent weed control
 Pre plant herbicides (PPI) : Fluchloralin 1.0-1.5 kg ai/ha.
 Pre emergence herbicides : Alachlor (1.5-2.0), Acetachlor (1-1.5) Metachlor (1-1.5) oxyflourfen
(0.5-1.0)
 Post emergence herbicides : Quizol fop ethyl (Turgasuper) @400 ml/acre Imzythpyr (250 mg / ac)
(pursuit) for broad leaved weeds.

Harvesting :-
 When plants mature, leaves turn yellow, start dropping , pods dry out quickly.
 There is a rapid loss of moisture from the seed. At harvest, the moisture content of the seeds should
be 15 per cent
 Harvesting can be done by hand, Plants are uprooted, or cut with sickle above ground level
 After cutting , plants are heaped and sun dried for a day or two
 Threshing is usually done by beating with sticks or using mechanical threshers.
 Threshed produce is winnowed to separate seeds from chaff
 cleaned seed is dried for 1- 2 days
 Seed is stored in moisture proof bags / seed bins
 For seed purpose – seed is stored after treating with thiram / captan (3 g/kg).
Quality consideration:-
 It is protein rich oilseed and presently number one edible oil source globally.
 Seed composition : Seed consists of Hull (8%) cotytyledons (10% ) hypocotyls (2%), oil content 14-
23%, protein (32-50%).
Oil content and quality : Oil content influenced by temperature. High temperature increases oil
content.
 Oil contains neutral lipids (88%) phospholipids (10%) Glyco lipids (2%) saturated
fatty acids (11-26%)
 Commerical oil contains – Linolenic (5-9%) linoleic (43-56%)

48
 Utilization:-

 Soybean is used as processed products, soyflour, protein products, fermented food products.
 Other products : are Beverage, whole milk, milk extender, Coagulated products like panneer
 Fermented products : soy-sauce, yogurt, cheese etc
 Sprouted cooked beans – fried and roasted nuts
 Fortified foods like – bread, biscuits, cake etc.
 Substitute products like bison, frozen desert
 Textured products like nuggets, chunks etc
 High protein biscuits + granules

Cropping systems

Mixed cropping of soybean with maize and sesamum has been found feasible and more remunerative

Intercropping : Soybean + maize (2:1, 2:2)

Soybean + pigeon pea (2:2, 4:2)
Soybean + finger millet (2:2)
Soybean + cotton (1:3, 2:1),
Soybean + groundnut (1:4, 1:6)
Soybean + sorghum (1:2, 2:2)
Soybean + pearl millet (2:4, 2:6)

Some of the common rotations followed in north India are as given below:

1. Soybean – wheat
2. Soybean – potato
3. Soybean – gram
4. Soybean – tobacco
5. Soybean – potato – wheat

49
Crop growth stages

Seedling stage

50
Crop under field conditions

Flowering Stage :

Pod Development stage

51
52
 Lecture No - 13
Castor (Ricinus Communis)
 Castor belongs genus : Ricinus, Family : Euphorbiaceae
 Known as Erand in Hindi “Amudam” in Telugu plays an important role in country’s Vegetable oil
economy.
 Castor is one of the ancient important non-edible oil seed crop which has industrial and me dicinal
value.
 Ricinus is derived from latin term “ Dog’s Tick” because of the resemblance of mottling on the seed
to the common pests of dog.
 Cultivated chiefly for trading, since it has no food value
 Castor is coined by English Traders, who confused the oil with Vataxagnus castus.
 Though generally known as castor bean plant, its seed is the castor bean which, despite its name, is
not a true bean .
 To many people the castor plant is just an overgrown, undesirable weed, and yet it produces one of
nature's finest natural oils
 It is used as a lubricant in high-speed engines and aeroplanes.

Origin & Distribution

 Castor is a native of east Africa especially Ethiopia
 India, Brazil, China, Argentina, USA, Thailand, Queensland, Egypt and Sudan are the
important countries producing countries.
 In India, important states producing castor are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and to some extent T.N,
Karnataka, Orissa Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Area, Production and Productivity

World India Andhra Pradesh
Area 1.5m/ha 0.72 ha 157 l/ha
Production 13 mt 0.9 mt 087 l/tons
Productivity 900 kg/ha 1221 kg/ha 511 kg/ha

 Globally, India ranks first both in area and production.

 Productivity of castor is highest in Gujarat (1650 kg/ha).

Morphology
 Castor plants is of 2 types : Tall / Giant types with perennial habit,tap root system
: Short / Dwarf types with shorter duration
 Stem : is Round, glabrous, bluish ,waxy gives resistance to jassids, hoppers.
 Stem is solid in gaint types and become hallow with age in dwarf types.
 Leaves are large, green in color, glossy and sometimes red due to anthocyanin pigmentation.
Usually leaves consist of 5 to 11 lobes.
 Inflorescence: Forms a pyramidal “ raceme, spike / candle ” born terminally on main lateral
branches
 Lower portion of raceme consists of male flowers and upper portion bears female flowers and the
ratio between them is varietal character and influenced by climate.
 High temperature leads to maleness, spraying gibberellins tends to increase the female flowers

67
 Plant produces the flowers over an extended period through out the year.
 Fruit : It is globular capsule, spiny becomes hard and brittle when ripened
 Seed : Capsule contains 2-3 seeds, oval shape, shiny, brittle, white/brown /black/red with a mottling
on testa. Seed size varies with variety in diff. racemes on same plants
 Seed has dormancy for many months. But dwarf type are non dormant and germinates with in 10-12
days
Climate
 Basically a warm season crop grows in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world.
 Can be successfully grown from 300 -1800 m above sea level
 Castor production lies between 40o N and 40o S
 In India successfully grown upto 1500 m
 Temperature:- Requires moderately high temp of 200-260 C with low humidity through out
growing season to give high yields.
 Low temperature extends emergence, making more liable to attack by fungal diseases & insects.
High temperature 410 C results in blasting of flowers & poor seed set.
 A frost free growing period between 130-190 days depending on cultivar is necessary for
satisfactory yields.
 Day length : Basically a long day plant, fairly adaptable to day length from 13-18 hrs.
 Rainfall :- 600-760 mm rainfall is required.
 For optimum growth and development - 100 mm evenly distributed rainfall in first few months
period is desirable.
Soils
 Grows on any type of soil, well drained, sandy loams will produce optimum yields.
 Crop is sensitive to excessive moisture.
 In Andhra Pradesh grown in sandy loams and shallow black soils.
 Prefers slightly acidic pH of 5- 6. 5, but can also grow upto pH 8.

Tillage / and land preparation

 As castor crop is deep rooted plant with the trap root system extending beyond 2-3 meters for
extraction of soil moisture from deep layers, deep plouging (<45cm) and chiseling in shallow soils
with sub surface hard pan is adopted to support deep root system, reducing weeds.
 Castor is a hardy crop for better crop insitu moisture conservation, summer tillage or offseason
tillage with pre-monsoon rains helps in removal of weeds for better infiltration and rain water
retention.

Varieties

S. Duration (in Yield

Variety Season Characters
No. days) q/acre
Kranti Kharif / Drought tolerant bold seed.
1. 90-150 5.6-6.4 Suitable for late sown
(P.C.S 4) Rabi conditions.
Kharif /
Haritha (P.C.S
2. 90-150 5.6-6.4 Wilt tolerant
124)
Rabi
 Kiran Kharif /
Drought tolerant escapes
3. 90-150 5.2-6.0
Botrytis to some extent
(P.C.S 136) Rabi
Jyoti
Kharif /
4. 90-150 4.8-6.0 Wilt tolerant
summer
(D.C.S 9)

Jwala
Tolerant to wilt and Botrytis
5. Kharif 150-180 4-4.8
disease
(48-1)

Suitable for rainfed conditions.

Tolerant to drought. 1st bunch
6. P.C.H. 1 Kharif/ Rabi 90-180 5.6-7.2
will come to maturity early.
15days earlier than GCH-4

Tolerant to wilt and root rot.

7. G.C.H. 4 Kharif 150-210 5.6-7.2 Tolerant to drought.

Kharif for
8. D.C.H 32 rainfed 90-180 5.6-7.2 Comes to harvest early
conditions

Kharif / Rabi
9. D.C.H 177 for rainfed 90-180 6.0-7.6 Drought tolerant
conditions

Aruna(220-280 days), and short duration varieties like Bhagya and Sowbhagya are the oldest
varieties of cator.

Seasons and sowing time:

 Kharif : with the onset on the monsoon, June 15th is a ideal time of sowing
 Rabi : September to October
 Summer : January

Seed Rate

 Rainfed crop : 12 - 15 kg/ha : w ith plant population of 55,000 plants / ha

 Irrigated crop : 5 - 6 kg/ha : with the plant population of 18,500 plants/ha
 Varieties

 Kranthi, Haritha, Kiran etc released by ANGRAU

 Jyothi, Jwala, DCH-177, DCH-519 relased by DOR Hyderabad.

Spacing

Regions Cultivar Spacing (cm)

 All castor areas Improved var’s / Hybrids 90 x 20 or 60 x

30 (Rainfed)

 Andhra Pradesh Hybrids 90 x 60

& Gujarat

 Delayed planting 60 x 15 60 x 30
(in want of rains) (Ideal to curtail veg. growth.)

 Seed is sown in furrow behind plough furrow at 10-12 cm below soil surface.
 Fertilized drill is preferred in rainfed areas and widely spacing of 90 cm in larger areas.
 Dibbing the seed either in flat bed or at the base of ridge is common under
irrigated conditions.

Nutrient Management

 Crop yielding 2000 kg seed removes around 80 kg N, 18 P 2 05, 32 kg K2O, 12 kg Ca,

10 kg Mg ha-1
 Nitrogen application is related to available soil moisture through rain/ irrigation.
 For improved varieties under rainfed conditions, 90-140 kg N/ha is recommended
 For hybrids under irrigated conditions, 200 kg N/ha is recommended

Phosphorus :- Under rainfed condition, 30 kg P 2 O 5 / ha is adequate

 Improved cultivars responds upto 75 kg P2 O 5 / ha

 Potassium : Tropical soils are well supplied with available K

 But application of N & P may result in increased potassium uptake

Recommended fertilizer schedule:-

 Rainfed conditions in Andhra Pradesh : 40-60 + 40 +30 kg N P K/ha.

 Irrigated conditions in Andhra Pradesh : 80-100 + 40 + 30 kg/NPK/ha.
 Under rainfed conditions nitrogen should be applied in three splits
 50% of the dose at sowing time, 25% at 35 – 40 DAS, 25% at 65- 75 DAS.
 Under irrigated conditions nitrogen should be applied in four splits.
 30 kg N at sowing , 60 kg N splitted three times with 20 kg each time at 30-35 days,
60-65 days, and 90-95 DAS
  Entire dose of P & K should be applied basally at sowing time.
 Use of Single Super phosphate as a source of P can meet the requirements of “S”
Calcium, Magnesium.

 Integrated nutrient management involving crop rotations with legumes, green

manures, phosphate solubilising bacteria etc will reduce the cost on fertilizers
besides improving the soil fertility.
 Alley cropping or Green leaf manuring with subabul, contributed to “ N” pool in soil

Water management

 Castor is drought tolerant rainfed crop but responds well to irrigation.

 Water requirement of castor crop is 500-700 mm.
 Flowering and seed development stages are more sensitive for moisture stress.
 Scheduling Irrigation: - Information on scheduling of irrigation is limited but it is desirable to
give heavy irrigations at longer intervals than the frequent irrigations.
 In a crop duration of 180 days, require around 6 irrigations to obtain optimum yield
 As the crop is sensitive to water logging, furrow method of irrigation is ideal as it drains out the
excess water from the field.
 In Rabi, first irrigation should be given at 50 DAS after sowing, followed by irrigations at an
interval of 20 days.

Weed Management

 Castor crop is highly susceptible to weed competition in intital stages, has the growth of castor is
slow initially and larger area is exploited by weeds.
 Hence, weed control is of paramount importance.
 Critical period for weed free competition is 45-50 days.
 Clean cultivation in terms of summer ploughing and thorough seed be d preparation eliminates
weeds to a larger extent before sowing of castor.
 For rainfed castor : 2-3 intercultivation with blade harrow ,starting from 20 DAS along with
manual weeding is ideal.
 For irrigation castor : 2-3 hand weedings at an interval of 15 days starting from 15 DAS is ideal.
 Herbicides are economical in irrigated castor.
 PPI herbicides : Fluchloralin (0.75-1.0), Trifluralin (0.75-1.0), EPTC (2.0 – 2.5),
Nepatalam (3.5-4.0)
Pre -emergence herbicides : Alachlor (1.0 -1.5), Metalachlor (1.0-1.5),
Pendimethalin (1.5- 2.0), Nitrofen (1.5-2.0)

Harvesting

 Harvesting castor spikes should be done at right time

 15-20% of yield is lost in the field due to dehiscence of capsules under rainfed
conditions of A.P waiting for all the spikes to come to maturity for single harvesting.
 On an average, castor plant produces 4-5 sequential order spikes over a span of 180 –
240 days.
 Main spike is ready for harvest within 100 days after seeding, subsequent harvest can be done at 30
days interval in improved cultivars.
 Optimum stage for harvest is capsules turning yellow and starts drying.
  Pre-mature harvest should be avoided.
 Dried capsules on the spike are plucked, /collected and threshed instead of cutting the
entire spike from the plant.
 Harvested spikes are usally placed in heaps around one week and than sun dried for a
couple of days.
 Threshing is done by beating with the sticks or trampling under the cattle feet or tractor or power
operated threshers.
 Castor seed can be stored in gunny bags without loss for three years.

Storage Of Seed

 Castor-seed is very hard and does not require much care during storage.
 No insect or fungus attacks the seeds.
 Under ordinary conditions of storage in jute (gunny)bags, the oil and the free fatty acid content of the
seeds are not affected even after three years of storage.
 Usually, castor - seeds are not required to be stored in warehouses over long periods.
 Being an important industrial and export commodity, it is immediately crushed locally or exported.
 In warehouses, castor seed is stored in gunny bags.
 Sometimes, if the bags get wet due to high humidity or leakage of rain-water, the seeds become
slightly mouldy but this does not affect either the oil or the free fatty acid contents.
 With sun drying, the source of damage can be eliminated.
 It is recommended that castor seeds be dried to 7-8% moisture content before storing.
 At domestic or farm level, storage of large quantities of castor seed is not recommended as it
occupies a considerable space
 Castor seed is also not recommended to be stored in open as both heat and sunlight damage the
germination and reduce the oil content.
 Artificial low temperature storage also affects the viability.
 Castor seed stored at 5 to 70C temperature for 6 months reduced the germination percentage.
 During bagging the seeds, handling should be minimized.
 On large scale handling, wooden scoops, shovels and rubber conveyor belts are recommended.
 Seeds should be stored at dry place and cooler part of the house.

Quality considerations:-
 Oil content ranges from 40-45%, 12-16% proteins 27% of carbohydrates 23-27% fibre.
 Dehulled types contains 60-70% of oil and 18-26% protein.
Castor oil is unique that it contents 85-90% ricinolic acid which imparts high degree
of viscocity and oxidative stability, four times stable than olive oil.
 Castor cake contains 6% nitrogen, 2.5% P2 O5, 1.5% K20, as it contains toxic
constituents, unfit for edible puropose, except to poultry, cannot be fed to any
animals.
 Castor seed contains an alkaloid called “recinine” which is extremely poisonous.

Economic importance:-
 Seed consist of oil ranging from 50-55%, the various uses of castor oil is ascribed because of presence
of fatty acid called as “ricinolic” acid.
 Oil is used as lubricant, because of its quality, can remain as liquid at low temperature 320C and
viscouys at high temperature.
 Used in textile soaps, cosmetics, nylon, pharmaceuticals, paints, varnishes, dying, carbon and
papermaking
 Used for production of wetting agents, detergents, sebacic acid, secondary octyl alchol, undecylinic,
acid, resins, fibres etc.
 Associated with medicinal and veterinary use of obstetrics, dermatology etc.
 Used as purgative, laxative and a soothing medium for eye diseases.
 Used in production of artificial leather, printing inks.
 In cytogenetic studies, soaking root tips in oil for 2 hr help in excellent chromosomes spreading
 It is a good source for synthetic flower scents and fruit flavours.
 Castor cakes is used as a manure and anti termite products
 Protein from a castor seed is used to produce distemper; oil bound water paints, adhesives, casein
plastics.
 Pulp from the stem mixed with the bamboo pulp produce papers.
 Green leaves are used in raising eri silkworms.
 Grown as shade crop in turmeric, windbreak in sugarcane, as an attractant to catch pests in tobacco.
 Few castor seeds are mixed in safe storage of sesame seeds.

Intercropping combinations Proportion States

recommended/practised
Castor + Red gram 1:1 Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh

Castor + Cowpea 1:2 Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh

Castor + Blackgram 1:2 Andhra Pradesh

Castor + Greengram 1:2 Andhra Pradesh
Castor + Cluster bean 1:1 Andhra Pradesh
Castor + Groundnut 1:5 or 1:7 Andhra Pradesh

Castor + Groundnut(Bunch) 1:3 Gujarat

Castor + Soybean 1:1 Bihar

Castor + Sunflower(Hybrid) 1:1 Gujarat(Irrigated)

Castor + Lathyrus 1:5 Bihar

Castor(Local)+turmeric 1:5 Bihar

CASTOR PLANT Male & Female flowers

Castor with spikes

Flowering stage

Capsule formation
Castor with dried capsule

Castor seeds
Lec No: 14: AGRONOMY Course No: AGRO-301 (Crop Production-II)

Cotton- Importance-Origin-Distribution-Cotton growing Zones- Classification-

Soil, Climatic requirements-Seasons- Seeds & sowing.
Cotton

Cotton is one of the oldest and the most important commercial crop of the world and forms
the most important fibre crop. Cotton textile industry is the oldest Agricultural industry of India. The
fibre obtained from seed is used for variety of purpose. But major use of fibre is manufacturing of
textiles which provide clothing to the mankind. Ever since the dawn of civilization, cotton served the
purpose of providing this need and even today it dominates despite of the production and marketing
of many synthetic fibres Cotton is referred to as “ King of Fibres “and also known as “White Gold”
Cotton is also used for several other purposes like making threads, for mixing in other fibres
and extraction of oil from the cotton seed. Oil content ranges from 15-25 percent.
Cotton seed cake after extraction of oil is good organic manure contains 6.4% N, 2.9% P2O5
and 2.2% K2O.
Cotton seed and pulp obtained during oil extraction and cotton meal are good concentrated
feed for cattle.

Origin and History:

Cotton has been used as a fabric in India from time immemorial. It has been cultivated in the
Indus Valley for more than 5000 years before. The excavations of Mohen – jo- daro indicates a high
degree of art in spinning and weaving with cotton at that time. It finds mention in the Rigveda, the
oldest scripture of the Hindus. Manu also refers to it in his Dharma Shastra. India appears to have
been the centre of an important cotton industry as early as 1500 B.C. The cultivation of Cotton
spread from India to Egypt and then to Spain and Italy. Every available evidence proves that India is
the original habitat of Cotton.
The cultivated Species are divided into two groups.
They are Old world cotton:
India is the major cotton growing country, growing all four species of cotton commercially.
India is considered as centre of origin of old World cotton and believed that two Species (arboreum
and herbaceum) belonging to old world cotton have spread along the commercial routes to several
countries in the East and also to the Northern countries like Africa to Egypt and other Mediterranean
regions through trade and business.
New World cotton:
Cotton belonging to species barbadense are derived from a perennial cotton, a native of Peru
called Tangins. This variety was introduced into USA and by selection a new type of annual cotton
was developed known as Sea Island Cotton which was the longest and finest fibre of all the
cultivated cotton. Hirsutum species is the native of Central Mexico and spread to other parts of USA,
Asia, Africa etc from native place.

Area and distribution:

Cotton is the most important fibre crop of the world cultivated over an area of 34.5 ha with a
total production of 54.5 mt.
The important cotton growing countries are India, USA, Russia, China, Brazil, Egypt,
Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico and Sudan. These ten countries account for nearly 85% of the total
production.
Climate:

It is a tropical crop and thrives well in hot and humid climate. It is heat loving and sun
loving(heliophyte) plant. A daily minimum temperature of 16oC is required for germination and 21
to 27oC for proper vegetative growth. It can tolerate temperature as high as 43oC, but does not do
well if the temperature falls below 21oC. During fruiting phase, the day temperature ranging from 27
to 30oCand cool nights are needed.
Abundant sunshine during the crop growth period particularly the period of boll maturation
and harvesting is essential to obtain a good quality produce. Successfully grown in areas receiving
an average annual rainfall ranging from 500mm, of which 175-200mm should be received during
crop growth period. If, during the fruiting period heavy showers of rain occur or heavy irrigation is
applied, shedding of the flowers and young bolls results. At harvesting also high rainfall is not
desirable since it not only affects the quality of lint but also delays harvesting and makes the
harvesting difficult.
Cotton is highly sensitive to frost occurrence. Even for short period, frost will result in killing
of plant cells and severe frost situation, death of entire plant occurs. Hence, its cultivation is confined
to plains and extends from MSL occur s to an altitude of 1000 m only. For successful crop, it requires
a frost free period of a minimum of 180-200 days, starting from the emergence of the plant.

Soils:

Cotton is a deep rooted crop. As the tap root extends even up to a depth of 200-250cm deep
soils are ideal for better root penetration and development. Soils should have good water retention
capacity as most of the cotton is confined to rainfed conditions.
Soils must be well drained and well aerated since the crop is sensitive to water logging. Crop can
tolerate P H of 5.5 to 8.5. The Principle soil types for cotton cultivation in the country are
a) Alluvial Soils: Punjab, Rajasthan , Haryana, U.P, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Godavari,
Krishna region (A.P)
b) Black Cotton Soils: Central and Western M.P, parts of M.S, South Orissa, South and Coastal A.P,
North Karnataka
c) Red Soils: Tamilnadu, Karnataka, N-E parts of AP, Parts of MP, Orissa, Assam, UP, West Bengal,
Rajasthan
d) Laterite Soils: Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, E Parts of A.P, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and
Kerala.

Land Preparation:

he field, after the harvest of the preceding crop, should be ploughed 15-20cm deep with
mould board plough. There after two to four harrowings depending upon the soil type are done. After
each ploughing, planting is essential to make soil pulverized, leveled. No stubbles of the previous
crop should be left in the field. For irrigated crop, particularly in North, the field should be prepared
by applying heavy pre-sowing irrigation.

Seeds and Sowing :

Time of Sowing:
 Time of sowing season of cotton varies considerably from tract to tract and is generally early
April – May in N-India and is delayed as one goes down to south.
Cotton is essentially grown as Kharif crop in the major parts of the country - Punjab, Haryana,
Rajasthan, U.P, M.P, Gujarat, MS and parts of A.P and Karnataka. In these areas Irrigated crop –
March to May, Rainfed Crop – June/July
In parts of Gujarat and M.P, pre-monsoon dry sowings are practiced in the end of May or early June
to give early stand to the crop.
T.N. – Irrigated and rain fed – Sept/Oct, Summer sowings – Feb/March
A.P. Northern region – June/July, Central region – Aug/Sept, July/Aug(Hybrids)
Eastern region – July/Aug, Rice fallows – Dec/Jan
Seed rate is influenced by the variety and method of sowing.
High yielding variety – 10 to 15kg/ha, Hybrids – 2.5 to 3.0kg/ha
Spacing: Straight varieties – 45 to 60X15cm (R)
-90 to 120X45 to 60 cm (I)
Hybrids -90 to 150X45 to 60 cm
Method of Sowing: Seed drill /behind the plough, dibbling (hybrids)
Depth of Sowing: 4 to 6cm
No. of seedlings/hill: Varieties 2, Hybrids 1

Seed treatment :

The seed of the most of the cotton varieties particularly of American types is covered by short
fibre called Fuzz. The fuzz makes the seeds cling together, thus hampering their free passage through
the seed hopper and tubes of the seed drill or they are not easily separated for sowing by dibbling.
The fuzz also interferes with the absorption of the water by the seed and delays germination. The
H2SO4 poured on seed and simultaneously. Wash the seed with fresh water followed by lime water
again with fresh water to neutralize the acid residues. The fuzz gets burnt and immediately washed 3-
4 times in water and dried under shade. This is called delinting. Delinting can be done mechanically
in the cotton gin or chemically or the seed is rubbed with mud or a mixture of earth and fresh cow
dung. By this treatment, the fuzz on each individual seed becomes pasted on the seed itself and the
seeds no longer cling to each other.
In order to control the seed borne diseases the seed is treated with 0.01% Streptomycin
Oxytetracyclin (Paushamycin or Agrimycin) and with 0.1% Systemic fungicide like carboxin
(vitavax) solutions for 6-8 hours. The treated seed should be dried in shade before sowing.

Gap filling and thinning:

To maintain optimum population, gap filling is done with the same stock of seed which
was used at the time of sowing. This is done on the 10th day. Wherever seed has not germinated to
fill the gaps, the water soaked seeds are dibbled so as to have quick emergence or seedlings are
raised in polythene bags at the time of sowing and these are used for gap filling. So that crop growth
is uniform.
Thinning should be done within 3 WAS, by removing the excess seedlings that are weak,
diseased or damaged and retaining robust and strong plants. The main objective is to maintain
optimum plant population per unit area.
Lec No: 15: Cotton- Zones of India, Classification of Cottons

Cotton growing regions of India:

Cotton is cultivated in Inida from Sub– Himalayan region of Punjab in the North to Kerala in
south and from dry regions of Kutch to high rainfall areas of Manipur in East. Based on soil, climate
and types of cotton grown, the country is divided into six cotton growing tracts.

1. Northern hirsutum: – arboreum region: Comprises of Punjab, Western UP, Delhi, Haryana and
N.W.Rajasthan. This is most important cotton growing and potential region. More than 90%
of the area in this zone is irrigated. Two species of cotton i.e hirsutum and arboreum are
grown in this region. At present 60% of the total cotton acreage consists of hirsutum varieties
and growing of arboreum has assumed secondary importance. The soils are of alluvial origin.

2. Central arboreum region: This region comprises of many districts of M.P, Maharastra,
Gohilwad, Amreli dts of Gujarat and Adilabad dt of A.P. Entire region is characterized by
black cotton soils locally called REGAR soils which are highly suitable for cotton
cultivation.

3. Southern hirsutum – arboreum region: Comprise the states of Tamilnadu and Kerala. Major
soil groups are red soils but also grown on sandy and heavy black soils.

4. Central herbaceum – arboreum – hirsutum: Comprises A.P and Karnataka. The principal soils
on which cotton is gr own are coastal alluvium, deltoic alluvium, red, black cotton soils, lat
erite and loamy soils. The major area of cotton is confined to black cotton soils (80%)

5. Western – herbaceum region: Comprises of Gujarat and parts of Bombay and Karnataka.
Improved varieties of cotton are grown in this region. Major soil group is black cotton soil
followed by loamy soil.

6. Eastern region : Comprises the states of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Manipur and
Tripura. Longest zone with respect to area but the production is negligible from this region.

Cotton growing zones of A.P:

Cotton cultivation is spread over three distinguished areas i.e. Coastal, Rayalaseema and
Telangana regions which vary widely in climate and soil types and also production levels. In A.P
Cotton growing regions are divided into three regions.

I ) Northern region:

It comprises of Adilabad, Warangal and Nizamabad districts. Two distinct cotton grown
zones are there in this zone.
1) High plains locally ca lled as “Ghat areas of Adilabad : Soils are black cotton soils which are fairly
deep and highly water retentive .Fairly assumed rainfall of 750mm from June to October. Most of the
area cultivated during Kharif with American cotton.
2) Low altitude plains or Gaorani tract comprising parts of Adilabad, Nizamabad and Medak. Soils
are black cotton soils and are less deeper, rain fall is 550mm and is often ill distributed under rainfed
condition desi cotton is grown and under irrigated condition of Sri Ram Sagar command area
American cottons are grown.

II) Central region:

Traditional cotton growing area of Rayalseema. Desi cottons ( G.arboreum and G. herbaceum)
and American cotton (G.hirsutum) are grown purely under rainfed conditions distributed over three
districts of Kurnool, Kadapa and Anantapur. Based on the agro climatic conditions and varieties
grown, this region is sub divided into four tracts.
1. Mungari tract (early kharif planting): G.arboreum cottons are grown in light red and black loam
soils of KNL, KDP and ATP Dts during early Kharif season.
2. White Northern tract: Desi cotton G.arboreum are grown as late Kharif (Hingari) season. The soils
are very deep and highly moisture retentive. However, the mean annual rainfall of 650 mm which is
most unpredictable both in intensity and distribution.
3. Rainfed American Cotton tract: American cottons are grown during late Kharif season as Hingari
cotton. Dominant soils are black cotton soils. Mean annual RF 650mm with normal distribution.
Confined to rainfed conditions but in Tungabhadra command area grown as irrigated crop.
4. Western tract: Desi cottons(G.herbaceum) are grown during late Kharif (Hingari) season under
rainfed conditions. Low rainfall region i.e 450-500mm annually.

III) Western region:

Based on climate and soil it is divided into two cotton growing areas.
1. Kharif cotton areas: It comprises of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project ayacut areas of Guntur, Prakasam,
Krishna, Nalgonda and Khammam Dts. Two types of soils viz black and light red soils are available
in 2:1 proportion. The annual rainfall in the region is 900-1100mm. The American cottons are grown
under irrigated and rainfed conditions.
2. Rabi/Rice follows area: It comprises parts of Krishna and Nellore dt. And confined to rice fallows
with supplemental irrigation. Both desi and American cottons are cultivated in this zone.
India ranks first in the world in respect of acarage with about 9.0 m ha under cotton and
fourth in total seed cotton production (10-14 m bales).
In India, cotton is cultivated on a large scale in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat is
the largest producer of cotton in India followed by Maharashtra. Maharashtra is first in area with
nearly 3.0 m ha.
Classification:
The predominant species cultivated
Gossypium hirsutum - >90% of the area
“ arboretum - 5%
Gossypium herbaceum – 2%
Gossypium barbadense – negligible

Gossypium hirsutum:

(American Cotton) Species contain haploid number of chromosomes (26) plants are either
annual shrubs or large perennial shrubs (1-1.5mt tall), Flowers are creamy white in colour when first
open and turn pink or red later. The capsules are 3-5 locular with 5-11 seeds in each locule.
Seed contain a thick coat of lint hair besides a thick coat of fuzz hair. Fibre is medium coarse and
length varies from ¾ “ to 11/4” (27-30mm)
 Gossypium barbadense:

(Sea island / Egyptian Cotton): Species contain haploid number of chromosomes (26). Plants
are either anuual shrubs or perennial shrubs. Petals are yellow with purple spot at the base. Capsules
are 3.5 locular w ith 5-8 seeds, in each locule. Seeds bear a thick coat of lint and thick coat of fuzz
and fuzz may be absent in some varieties. Fibre is fine and extra long ranging from 1/2” to 2’’ length.
Lint is readily detachable from the seed.

Gossypium arboreum:

Species contain haploid number of chromosomes (13). Plant may be annual sub shrub or
perennial. Capsules are tapering with prominent oil glands in the pits and are 3 or 4 locular with 6-17
seed in each locule . Seeds are usually covered with two coats of hair (lint +fuzz). Fibre is coarse and
short and length varies from ½” to 7/8”

Gossypium herbaceum:

Haploid number of chromosomes (13). Plants are sub shrubs. Capsules are brown provided
with beak, smooth surface or with shallow pits with oil glands. The capsules are 3-4 locular with 8-
10 seeds in each locule. Seeds are covered with two coats of hair (lint+fuzz). Fibre is coarse and
short with lint length varying from 1/2” to 7/8’’

Branching in Cotton: There are two types of branches observed in cotton.

Monopodial branches:

They arise from basal region upto 1/3 rd height of the plant, few in number, they does not bear
flowers, also termed as vegetative branches. They appear as growing straight. They bare sympodial
branches.

Sympodial branches:

They arise from main stem as well as on monopodial branches. They are many in number,
they bear flowers on it, hence also termed as reproductive branches. The growth pattern of
sympodial branches is stop-grow -stop pattern.
Lec No: 16:

Cotton- Manures and Fertilizers- Water Management- Weed Managenment-

Topping- Bud and Boll Shedding- Harvesting.

Manures and Fertilizers:

15 to 20 t Fym/ha should be incorporated into the soil at last ploughing. Recommended dose
of fertilizers depends on the variety grow n, whether rainfed or irrigated and the nutrient supplying
capacity of the soil recommended dose is not uniform in all the cotton growing regions.

N/ha P2O5/ha K2O/ha

Desi Cotton : 20 – 40 kg 20Kg 20 Kg
American Cotton Varieties : 90 Kg 45 Kg 45 Kg
Hybrids : 120 Kg 60 Kg 60 Kg

Entire P205 should be applied as a basal dose at last ploughing and duly incorporated in the
soil. Nitrogen and Potassium is applied in three equal splits each at 30, 60 and 90 DAS.

While top dressing, fertilizer should be applied in pockets 7 -10 cm away form the plant and at a
depth of 7 – 10 cm for a rainfed crop. Fertilizer application should be done only in presence of
adequate moisture. For the irrigated crop, provide irrigation soon after application of fertilizers.

N P 2 O5 K2 O
Rain Fed :
Desi 40 20 20
American 60 30 30
Hybrid 90 45 45
Irrigated:
American 120 60 60
Hybrid 150 75 75
Rain fallsVariety 135 45 45
Hybrid 150 60 60

Water Management :

Cotton is a drought tolerant crop due to its deep root system. Water requirement of the crop
is 600 to 800 mm. Cotton cannot tolerate excess moisture in the soil and so frequent irrigation is not
necessary. Interval between two irrigations depends on the soil type, rainfall and others related
climatic factors. The crop must not be allowed to suffer from water stress during flowering and
fruiting period, otherwise excessive shedding of flower buds and young bolls may occur resulting in
loss of yield. The crop cannot tolerate water logging conditions at any stage of growth.
Critical Stages : Square formation stage

: Flowering stage
: Boll developing stage
Weed Management :

First 50 -60 days after sowing is the critical period of Crop Weed Competition, Initially the
crop growth is very slow, thus more vulnerable to weed compertiaton. During this period, the field
should be free form weeds for better growth and higher yields. 5 – 6 intercultural operations should
be done depending on the intensity of weeds. Weeds near the plant should be removed by manual
labour. Chemical method of managing weeds helps in maintaining the filed weed free. Following
herbicides can be used in cotton.
Pre – eme Pendimethaline @ 1.5 – 2.0Kg a .i/ha
PPI fluchloralin @ 1.5 Kg a.i /ha
Pre –eme: Alachlor @ 1.5 kg/a.i/ha
Diuron @ 0.8 - 1.0 kg ai /ha
Pronamide @1.5 – 2.5kga.i/ha
Cinmethiline @ 0.5 -1.5 Kg /ha
Post – eme: Paraquat @ 0.5 Kg a.i/ha or Glyphosate – 3.5 – 4.5 as directed spray on the foliage of
weeds

Topping:

Cotton is indeterminate plant, to check excessive vegetative growth topping is practiced ,

Toping refers to the removal of the terminal bud. Level of topping or at what node topping is to be
done will differs with cotton plant type.
MCV –5: Topping at 15th node level (70 – 80) DAS resulted in better yields
MCV 7: 10 – 12th node (90DAS)

Topping is done manually. In USA machines are used . Excessive vegetation growth can also
be controlled by using chemicals which are growth retardant like cycocel (ccc). It restricts excessive
vegetative growth retards senescence, keeping the leaves green for longer time thus prolonging their
effective period.

American Cotton – 40 to 60 PPm

Desi cotton - 60 to 80 PPm 50 to 80DAS

Bud and Boll shedding:

It is a natural phenomena in cotton . Heavy shedding of flower buds and young bolls occur
which is aggrevated under adverse conditions of soil, climate and management under such situation
it may be as high as 60% . under natural conditions 10 to 15% loss occurs.
Various reasons for bud and boll shedding in Cotton is

1)Unfavaurable Weather conditions:

- Reduced light conditions

- Excess or lack of moistures in the soils
- Cloudiness
-High relative humidity

2) Imbalanced nutrient supply

3)Incidence of pest and disease

4) Weeds alter the microclimate

5) Physical injury - due to use of farm machinery

This problem can be minimized by using certain hormones like NAA, since it increases the
supply of auxin to bolls and buds, thus the senescence of them is reduced. Spraying of NAA –
planofix @10 ppm at flower initiation (1 ml in 100 liter) 50 – 60 D AS & 15 days after 1st applicaton
resulted in retention of more bolls.

Harvesting :

Harvesting usually commences in the month of Nov. and extends to March depending upon
sowing time and duration. Harvesting is done usually by manual labour ie hand picking the cotton
from the open matured bolls. Since cotton is indeterminate type, flowering occurs in no. of flushes
hence all the bolls do not mature at a time and bolls come to maturing stage at intervals of 2-4 weeks
period. Harvesting is done in 4 -5 pickings as and when bolls are fully matured. Precautions must be
taken to maintain the quality of fibre at the time of picking.

1) Picking needs good experience, care is taken that all the cotton from all segments should be
removed in one stroke. without lea ving any fibre in the boll.

2) Produce from each picking should be dried separately and stored separately . Cotton from all
pickings should not be mixed since they vary in their quality. Cotton should be dried on clean floor
in shade.

3) Kapas should not be contaminated with foreign materials like leaf bits, trash, soil particles etc, at
the time of picking and shading.

While picking weather conditions must be taken into account. Usually pickings are done in
the early hours of the day, As the day advances the fruit wall becomes brittle due to sun and while
picking they easily collapse and contaminate. Picking must commence after cessation of dew fall
Cotton of early picking are of superior quality and later pickings produce inferior quality fibre due to
inadequate nutrient supply at later stapes, high incidence of pest and inadequate moisture at later
stages.

Boll affected with insect is common feature which not only reduce yield but produce yellow
stained cotton which is considered inferior fibre.

Yields :
Dryland crop - 10to 15 q/ha
Irrigated Crops - 25 to 30q/ha
Hybrids - 35 to 40 q/ ha.
1 Bale = 170 kg.
Lec No: 17: Cotton- Quality parameters- Yield attributes

1. Colour of fibre:

Colour of the fibre of cotton is white with few exceptions like desi cotton which have reddish
or yellowish tinge. White coloured cotton which are shiny are considerd as superior cotton. Cotton
obtained from first picking will be bright white in colour and the later produced will be dull or
yellowish tinge in colour. The fibres may also be discoloured or stained by insect damage, fungal
diseases mechanical harvesting and the sap of green plant parts.
Colour of the cotton is decided by visual observation cotton marketed in India are classified on the
basis of visual observation into white , grey, brownish , greenish and light reddish. In lab colour
grading is done by using NICKERSON – HUNTER calorimeter,. Where a light is reflected from
sample of cotton and the extent of yellowish tinge is calculated.

2. Length of fibre:

The length of fibre is mainly predetermined by heredity and is only slightly influenced by
growing conditions. fibre length is the mean length of lint hair expressed in mm. longer the length
superior will be the quality.. Presence of excess moisture and poor nutrition will result in long fibre
with poor strength. length is determined by varies methods (at 65%RH &21oC temp.)

1. Seed is combed making halo and length is measured by a disc, which gives mean length

2. By measuring each fibre with scale and getting average length which is teadious
, laborious and not practicable on large scale.

3. By using digital fibrograph where in sum amount of light is transmitted through the fibre
beared after combing along the fibre length and calculated. On the basis of fibre length ,
cotton is classified into six groups.

Groups Length (mm) Varieties

Short staple < 19.5 Lohit , G - 27

Medium staple 20.0 – 21.5 Raichur 51 ,DB-3-12
Medium long Staple 22.0 – 24.0 MCV-7,G cot 12
Long staple 24.5- 26.5 Krishan, JKHY – 1
Superior long staple 27.0 – 29.5 MCU -5 , H4, Amaravathi
Extra long staple 32 & above Suvin and sujatha

Holo length : it is overall length of the lint w ithout the fibre taken out of the seed

3. Fibre fineness:

It denotes the diameter of the fibre hair or thickness . Lesser the diameter superior is the
quality . Thickness of the fibre ranges from 15-20 microns. Fineness is measured by taking the
weight per unit length of fibre which gives indirectly the finesses because measuring diameter of the
fibre is very difficult as they are thin and minute. Fibre fineness is generally expressed as microgram/
inch of the fibre which is also called micronaire value. It is measured by the
1) Weight /unit length – specified number of fibre are taken with known length and weight is
recorded using a sensitive balance.Lesser the weigth, superior is the quality and finer the lint hair.

2) By using instrument MICRONAIRE . In this cotton plugs are prepared by using known
weigth of cotton lint, i.e. 3-4 gm by pressing in a specially designed cylinder. Air is passed at high
pressure through cotton plugs and fineness is determined indirectly by the flow of air through the
plug. Finer cotton will allow more air to pass than coarse fibre ,. This is calculated on a scale and
expressed as micronaire value. On basis of fineness, cotton are classified into five groups.

Groups Fineness variety

Very fine < 3.0 -
Fine 3.0 – 3.9 MCU -5 , Varalaxmi ,H6
Average 4.0 – 4.9 H4
Coarse 5.0 -5.9 AKH -4 ,maljari
Very coarse >6.0

4. Fibre strength:
Fibre strength doesnot refer to a individual fibre but to a tuft of fibres of a given thickness. It
is expressed as maximum load in terms of Kg that a fibre bundle can take when stretched in one
direction before it breaks. Strength is determined by using STELOMETER . Generally the tuft of
finer fibre will have greater strength . Fibre strength is measured in thousands of pounds /sq inch or
kg/sq cm and grade is allotted, based on strength cotton is classified into

Group Grade
Very strong >95
Strong 86 – 95
Average 76 85
Fair 66 -75
Weak 66- below

5. Spinng count:

Spinnabilty of the fibre depends on length and thic kness of the fibre . It is expressed in
counts or hanks. A count is the number of hanks that a pound of cotton gives. One count is equal to
840 yards . Thus finer the thread the greater will be the count. Ordinarily Indian cottons have 22
counts . While the best quality cotton may have count ranging between 80 to 400 . On the basis of
spinnability cottons are divided into five groups.

Group Counts Vareties

Course Cotton 1 - 17 Maljari
Medium coarse 17-26 AKH4, Sanjay
Superior medium coarse 26 – 35 Nerma
Fine 35 -48 Bur 1007
Superior fine 40- 80 MCU5, H4, H6
 > 80 Varalaxmi, Suvin, DCH 12
6. Fibre maturity :

Fibre is matured when the cavity of the lint is completely filled with the cellulose . Extent of
the filling indicate its maturity . According to cellulose content fibres are classifed into

Mature fibres - Yellowish white fibre

Half mature fibres - Bluish or bluish green
Imature fibre - Deep blue or purple
Trash content or Foreign Matters:

Foreign matter mainly consists of debris of leaves and broken stems of cotton and weeds that
mix very easily with the lint during harvesting the amount of foreign matter remaining in the lint
after ginning depends mainly on the efficiency of the dr ying and cleaning process in the ginning
plant.
Presence of foreign material will reduce the quality and yarn manufactured from such cotton
will have poor strength and gives bad appearance presence of foreign material can be detected and
measured quantitatively by instrument called SHERLY ANALYSER

7.Hygroscopicity:

The dry cotton absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Presence of moisture in the lint affects
the colour,elasticity, luster etc, and the fibres having moisture break very frequently. Thus the fibres
which absorbs less moisture are considered to be of superior quality and vice-versa.

Ginning percentage:

Recovey of lint from seed cotton is called Ginning percentage. A variety of cotton with high
percentage of ginning is prefered as more lint per unit weight of seed cotton can be obtained form
such varieties. This value ranges form 24 -43 % in different cottons
Barbadense – 28-30%, Hirsutum -34-38% , desi cottons -36-42%
GP = Weigth of lint x 100
Weigth of seed cotton

8. Neppiness:

It refers to formation of small knots or specks in the yarn manufactured form cotton. Knots
generally occur if fiber is not cleaned and ginning not done properly, lesser the nippiness, superior is
the quality of fibre. Neps are tangled knots of fibre, caused by mechanical processing.

9. Lint Index :

It is the weight of lint form 100seeds

Lint Index = Weight of 100 seeds x GP
100 – G.P

10. Seed Index:

It is the test weight , which is weight of 100 seeds (g). Seed index of cotton varies from 4.8
to 11g.
11. Oil content:

It varies from 14.5 to 22.5% is desi cotton and ranges between 17.5 to 22.5 % in American
cottons.

Yield attributes:

1. Number of plants per unit area.

2. Number bolls for plant
3. Seeds per boll
4. Boll weight
5. Lint percentage

Coloured cottons:

Natural coloured cottons are in existence in all shades form white to black. As per historical
documents, blue, purple , pink, green, brown cottons were in cultivation and usage in coastal Peru. In
Mexico wild trees of brown cotton are grown as perennial crops. The brown cotton are called
coyoqui and yellow cotton is coyuchi. These are still spun by tribals in Mexico. In Indian brown
cottons of G.arborium and G.herbaceum are grown in some remote areas of Kakinada in AP and
Tripura. The natural colored cotton are environmental friendly and economically viable as they are
sold at premium price. They do not fade on washing. The disadvantage of coloured cotton is as they
yield less, fibres are shorter, low strength , low micronaire value and low maturity coefficient.
Lecture No. 18
JUTE – FIBRE CROP
Introduction
 Jute is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine and hence known as Golden Fibre.
 Jute is cheapest vegetable fibre and second most important vegetable fibre after cotton.
Origin
 Jute has two cultivable species
1. Corchorus capsularis – originated from Indo-Burma region.
2. Corchorus olitorius – Originated from Africa
 Wild species of Jute include Corchorus oestuans, Corchorus tridens, Corchorus trilocularis,
Corchorus urticifolices, Corchorus japanicum.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CULTITVABLE SPECIES OF JUTE
Corchorus capsularis Corchorus olitorius
 Common names – White Jute, Tita Jute,  Common names – Tossa Jute,
Bitter Jute Mitha Jute
 Originated from Indo Burma region  Originated from African region
 Colour of the Fibre is White  Colour of the fibre is Yellowish or
Reddish brown
 It is herbaceous annual with slender and  It has cylindrical stem and grows up
straight stem and grow s to a height of 1.5 to a height of 5m
to 4m with tapering stem
 Leaves are glabrous, ovate & oblong  Leaves are glabrous, coarsely
toothed
 Stem is green to red in colour, may/may  Stem is green and are usually
not branched branched
 Pods are round in shape  Pods are elongated
  Leaves and flowers are larger but
Leaves and flowers are smaller but seeds are smaller in
seeds are larger in size (1g = 300Nos.) size (1g = 500Nos.)

 Fibre Quality is poor  Fibre quality is Finer, Softer,

Stronger and more lustrous than
C..capsularis
 Tolerates water logging, can be grown on  Cannot tolerate water logging
both uplands and lowlands occupying grown only on uplands hence
more area of cultivation occupying low area of cultivation
 Seed rate 10 to 11 Kg/hac  Seed rate – 6 to 7 Kg/ha
 Spacing 30 X 5 cm  Spacing – 20 X 5 cm
 Plant population – 2.5 lak/ha  Plant population – 4.5 lakh/ha
 Seed yield is more but fibre yield is less  Seed yield is less but fibre yield is
more.
 Longer duration 180 – 200 days  Shorter duration – 120 to 150 days

 Grown in loamy soils  Grown in sandy loams

 Sowing time is February to March  Sowing time is April to May

 Fertilizer requirement is high  Fertilizer requirement is low

 It withstands water logging  It withstands drought
Distribution:
 Jute is extensively grown in India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Mayanmar, Nepal
 In India, it is extensively cultivated in eastern regions like West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa,
Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh.

Area, Production and Productivity of Jute in India and Andhra Pradesh

State Area in 000’ Production in ‘000 Productivity in
hectares bales of 180 Kg qt/hectare
Assam 69.00 680.00 17.74
Meghalaya 9.6 61.5 12.03
West Bengal 504.5 7032.4 25.09
Bihar 137.1 1100.0 14.44
Orissa 33.8 164.5 8.76
Andhra Pradesh 54.0 425.0 14.17
Tripura 2.2 18.6 15.22
Others 35.7 73.0 6.78
Total 845.5 9555.0 20.34

India is the largest producer and consumer of raw jute

 Bangladesh is largest exporter of Raw Jute
 India stands 1st in area and production of Raw Jute
 In India West Bengal stands 1st in area, Production and Productivity
 50% of total raw jute production in India is alone from West Bengal
 In Andhra Pradesh, negligible amount of area is under cultivation of Jute and is mostly
confined to North Coastal Zone.
 1st Jute mill was started production in Bengal in 1856
 Jute is an important crop providing livelihood to 2,50,000 mill workers and 4 million farmer
families.
 Jute plays an important role in improving Indian economy by adding Rs.6089 millions
annually by export..
Properties of Jute:
 It has high tensile strength, low extensibility and ensures better breath ability of Fabrics
 Jute Fibre is 100% biodegradable, recyclable and this environmentally friendly
 Jute has good insulating and antielastic properties
 Jute has low thermal conductivity and moderate moisture gain
 Jute has properties like more heat and fire resistance
 These fibres are grouped under bast fibres and they are lignified
 A bitter glucoside called “Corchorin” present in white Jute
Uses of Jute:
 Jute fibre is used in manufacturing rugs, carpets, coarse fibres, twines and coarse blankets
 Broken fibres of Jute is called ‘ Tow ‘ which is used in making low grade paper
 Jute waste is used as fuel in ma king activated charcoal
 In market Jute and Mesta fibres are together known as “ Raw Jute “
 Leaves of Jute have medicinal Properties
Types of Jute:

 Based on general utility purposes, Jute is of 4 types

A] Hessian or Burlap:

 Made of good quality Jute Yar n

 It has wide range of applications as in cloth form or in the form of bags
B] Sacking:
 Also known as “heavy goods”
 It is made from lower grades of fibre and used for bags of all types
C] Canvas:
 Finest Jute product, closely woven of the best grades of fibre widely used in India for
protection from weather
D] Jute Yarn and Twine:
 Most of the single strand Jute Yarn produced in consumed by the mills themselves in
fabric and twine manufacture.
Varieities:
 Varieities of Corchorus capsularis – JRC 212, JRC 321, JRC 7447
 Varieities of Corchorus olitorious– JRO 524, JRO 878, JRO 835
Jute based cropping systems:
 Under rainfed conditions
1. Jute – Wheat
2 crops per year
2. Jute – Mustard
 Under irrigated conditions
1. Jute – Rice – Wheat
2. Jute – Rice – Potato  followed in West Bengal
3. Jute – Rice – Cauliflower / Cabbage
4. Jute – Potato – Rice
(Kharif)-(Rabi)-(Summer)
Soils:
 Alluvial sandy loams and clay loamy soils are the best suited for Jute cultivation.
 Capsularis Jute can grow even in standing water especially towards the latter part of
growth
  Olitorius Jute cannot thrive in standing water and is more drought resistant and hence
grown in light soils.
 New grey alluvial soils of good depth, receiving salts from annual floods is best suited for
Jute cultivation
Climate:

 Jute is a rainfed crop

 Grows well in warm and humid climate with temperature in the range
of 240 C – 370 C with 65-90% relative humidity.
 Jute is mainly grown in Kharif or monsoon season as vegetative growth is more in kharif
that results in higher yields of fibre.
 Alternate sunshine hours and rainy days are congenial for better growth.
 Temperatures less than 200C and more than 400C are harmful because it restricts the
plant growth especially the plant height.
 Annual rainfall is 80 to 100cm.
 Low plant population is not preferred because of branching and reduces quality of fibre.
 Early sowing of Corchorus Olitorius is not preferred because it comes to early flowering,
quality is reduced.
 Constant rain or water logging is harmful.
Tillage :

 Deep ploughing is necessary because root system is extensively developed.

 Seed bed should have fine tilth since seeds are very small.

Cultivated Seed rate (Kg/ha Spacing No. of Plants

species of Jute Line Sowing Broad Casting (cm) Per Sq.mt
Corchor us
5 7 25 X 5 80
olitorius
Corchorus
7 10 30 X 5 67
capsularis

Time and methods of sowing:

 In midlands and high lands sowing starts with summer showers in March and April and
continues till early June in Western part of Jute belt.
 Method of sowing is generally broadcasting or line sowing.
Lecture No: 19
Manures and Fertilizers :

 5 tons of well decomposed farm yard manure should applied in last ploughing.
 Nitrogen should be applied in 2 splits –
1st split as basal and 2nd split at 4-6 weeks after sowing.
 Application of Phosphorous reduces the lodging and improves fibre quality .
 Potassium application prevents disease incidence.

Cultivated Species Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium

Corchorus
capsularis 60 Kg/ha 40 Kg/ha 60 Kg/ha
60 Kg /ha
Corchorus olitorius 40 Kg /ha 40 Kg /ha

Weed Management

 Critical period of crop weed competition is upto 60days after sowing.

 Hand weeding is done thrice at 20-25DAS and 35-40DAS.
 Basal application of herbicide – Fluchloralin @ 1.5 Kg/ha at 3 DAS followed by irrigation.

Irrigation:

 Water requirement is 500mm.

 1st irrigation is given after sowing.
 Life sowing irrigation is given on 4 DAS.
 Afterwards, irrigation is given once in 15 days.
 Critical stages of irrigation are Germination and Knee high stage.

Crop Rotation:

 In crop rotation system, one legume crop must be included so as to improve soil health.
 In light sowing soils green manure crop is grown prior to sowing of Jute.

Harvesting:

 Duration of Corchorus olitorius – 120 to 150 days

Corchorus capsularis – 180 to 200 days
 Early harvesting gives lower fibre yield but fibre is of finer quality, whereas, late harvesting
gives higher fibre yield but the fibre is coarse in texture
  Ideal stage of harvest in Jute is 50% of tender pod formation.
 Late harvesting leads to poor quality fibre due to lignifications of bast fibres
 Harvesting is done by cutting the plants close to ground with sickles.
 Harvested plants left standing in the field for 2-3 days for shedding of leaves.
 Afterwards plants are ready for retting.
 Fibre yield is 6-8 years on wet weight basis of stalks.

Process of Fibre extraction:

Bundle stalks Retting  Stripping  Washing  

Storage / Transport  Kutcha packing  Boiling  Sundry Squeezing excess water

A] Retting

 Retting is a microbial process in which bast fibre gets loosened for an easy separation from
woody stalks
 During retting, gums, pectins and other mucilaginous substances are removed from the
plants by combined action of water and microbiological ac tion.
 Retting is of 2 types – Dry retting and Wet retting
 When water is not available for retting immediately after harvest, plants are allowed to dry,
whenever monsoon occurs, dried plants are retted. This process is called Dry retting..
 Harvested plant s are immediately retted directly in water without drying and this process is
called Wet retting.
 Wet retting is preferable than dry retting because of good quality of fibre.
 After 2-4days of harvesting, plants are shaken for complete leaf shedding then they are tied
into bundles of 25cm diameter.
 Then bundles are steeped in standing water vertically, bundles are submerged in water in a
horizontal position laid side by side and tied together to form a sort of platform called “Jak”.
 Jaks are covered with plants like water hyacinth or any other material which do not release
tannins as well as iron.
 Float is then kept with weight to make the float completely immersed in water.
 Wood logs and concrete slabs may be used for this purpose
 Freshly cut mango logs or banana stems should not be used weighing material of Jak because
tannins coming out from stems reacts with iron of retting water and gives black color to fibre
called “Shyamala”.
 This colour can be removed or reduced by adding 2% tamarind solution.
  For ideal retting, JAKS should be kept submerged of at least 20cm deep .
 Most of the defects in fibre quality are due to improper or incomplete or faulty retting.
 Incomplete submergence results in under retting produces a fibre called “crappy fibre” which
is of extremely of low value where as over retting results into “dazed fibre” which is very
weak fibre.
 So gently flowing fairly deep clean and soft water are congenial for ideal retting.
 Optimum temperature of water should be around 340C .
 Retting period is 8-30 days.
 Incase of stagnating water, addition of Ammonium sulphate will hasten up retting process.
 For finding out exact end point of retting, JAKS must be examined every 10-12days.
 Fibre should be slip from the wood easily when the plants are pressed between thumb and
finger.
 Soon after the end point, JAKS or platforms should be taken out of the water and fibre should
be extracted.
B] Stripping:

 Process of removal of fibres from the stalk after completion of retting is called Stripping.
 Fibre may be extracted in two ways – Single Reed method and Break – Break – Jerk Method
 Fibre is extracted by hands either from individual plants or from bundle of 10-12 plants.
C] Washing:

 After extraction, fibre is washed thoroughly in the running water

D] Fibre is Squeezed for Excess Water

E] Sun Drying:

 After squeezing the fibre for excess water, fibre is dried on bamboo frames in the mild Sun.

F] Boiling and Packing:

 Extracted fibre is weighed in amounts of bales
 1 Bale of Jute =180Kg
 Jute fibres are pressed base d on different grades
 Jute fibre is graded into
1. Tops – Very Strong Fibre, Good Luster and Colour
2. Middles – Strong Fibre, Average Luster and Colour
3. Bottom – Sound Fibre, Medium Strength
4. B – Bottom – Sound Fibre, Medium Strength, not suitable for high grades
5. C – Bottom – Medium Strength Fibre, Any Colour
6. X – Bottom – Weak Jute
Yield:

 Green Plant yield is 45 – 50 t / ha

 Fibre yield is – 2.0 – 2.5 t / ha

Factors hastening up Retting Process:

1. Warm water
2. Retting in already used water
3. Harvesting time
4. Climate Conditions like high temperatures
5. Deep water ( Too deep water will delay retting )
6. Addition of Chemicals

Quality Parameters:

1. Length of Fibre:
 If the length of the entire fibre is more, more is the quality
2. Strength of Fibre:
 Fibre should offer less resistance while using for packing material and other low grade
yarn.
3. Colour of the Fibre:
Bright Colour is superior
4. Luster of the Fibre:
 Bright fibre of smooth surface will have superior luster
5. Stiffness and Hardness:
 Properly retted fibre will be soft and fine
6 Fitness of Fibre:
 Coarse fibre always fetches low price than fine fibre
7 Percentage of Cuttings of Stem or Percentage of Cutting of Fibre:
 Less the number of cuttings, More the Superiority of fibre
8 Proportion of faulty materials:
 Roots, Specks, Knots, Runners should be avoided for good Quality.
Factors influencing Quality of Fibre:

1. Retting Water – Gentle flowing, clean and soft water give good quality
2. Materials used as weights on JAKS
3. Seed rate should be more
4. Stage of harvesting
5. Method of Retting – Complete submergence of jak is prefered
6. Variety of Jute – C. Olitorius gives good quality fibre than C. capsularis
7. Method of fibre extraction – Single Reed Method is preferred
8. Period of Retting – under retted or over retted fibres are of inferior quality
 Fibres should be stripped off immediately after Retting Process.

Different Institutes working on Jute:

1. J A R I - Jute Agricultural Research Institute – West Bengal

2. C R I J A F - Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres
Burrackpur, West Bengal
3. J T R L - Jute Technological Research Laboratories – Kolkota
West Bengal
4. I J M A - Indian Jute Mills Association
5. J M D C - Jute Manufacturers Development Council
6. I J I R A - Indian Jute Industries Researc h Association
7. I J S G - International Jute Study Group
8. N C J D - National Centre for Jute Diversification