Frequently Asked Questions :: Crop Production

Crop Production

How can I manage aged seedlings?

Follow the spacing recommended to medium and low fertility soil
Plant one or two seedlings per hill
Avoid cluster planting of aged seedlings, which are hindering the formation of new tillers.
New tillers alone are capable of producing normal harvestable panicle. Weak panicle may appear in the mother culm within three weeks after transplanting and vanishes well before harvest.
To encourage the tiller production, enhance the basal N application by 50% from the recommended and thereafter follow the normal schedule recommended for other stages.

What is the recommendation and how to apply the biofertilizers in rice crop?

Broadcast 10 kg of soil based powdered BGA flakes at 10 DAT for the dry season crop. Maintain a thin film of water for multiplication. Raise azolla as a dual crop by inoculating 250 kg/ha 3 to 5 DAT and then incorporate during weeding for the wet season crop.

Mix 10 packets (2000 g)/ha of Azospirillum and 10 packets (2000g/ha)of Phosphobacteria or 20 packets (4000g/ha) of Azophos inoculants with 25 kg FYM and 25 kg of soil and broadcast the mixture uniformly in the main field before transplanting and Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf 1) at 2.5 kg/ha mixed with 50 kg FYM and 25 kg of soil and broadcast the mixture uniformly before transplanting.

What precautions measures should be followed while using biofertilizers?

Seeds should be kept moist. Avoid using fungicides or other chemicals. Inoculants should be kept in the shade away from direct sunlight. Treated seeds should be sown in moist soil.

How much moisture content should be maintained during storage to prevent from attack of insect
pests ?

The moisture content should be less than 8 %.

Whether rice hybrids are suitable for direct seeding?

Hybrids are not recommended for direct seeding as it requires high seed rate. Seed cost being very high, cultivation of hybrids becomes uneconomical under direct seeded conditions.

Can the harvested seed from hybrid rice crop be used again for planting next crop?

No. Every season, farmers have to purchase the fresh F1 hybrid seed for growing the crop of hybrid rice. The high yielding potential of hybrids is expressed in first generation only. If the seed from hybrid crop is used again for replanting, there will be lot of variation in the crop due to segregation and yield is reduced drastically.

What does rough rice mean ?

Rough rice, is a rice that has been harvested and threshed but still has its hull and bran.

What is the cooking quality of hybrids rice ?

Cooked hybrid rice is slightly sticky, which has lower amylase content.

What are the rabi crops which can be taken as intercrops with sugarcane?

Wheat, coriander, linseed, lentil, pea can be taken as intercrops with sugarcane.

Is it possible to produce own hybrid rice seed?

In order to maintain high seed quality and purity and for realizing targetted yields, hybrid seed should be strictly produced under the supervision of a seed production agency either in public or private sector. This being a highly technical and skill oriented enterprise, it may not be proper to leave it entirely to the farmers themselves, since quality control and marketing are also involved.

Whether silica is beneficial for rice crop?

Silicon, is one of the most abundant element in the earth's crust. Because of its abundance in the biosphere, the deficiency of Si as a micronutrient for plant growth occurs very rarely.

What is the harvest index for rice?

When 80% of the panicles turn straw colour, the crop is ready for harvest. Even at this stage, the leaves of some of the varieties may remain green.

Confirm maturity by selecting the most mature tiller and dehusk a few grains. If the rice is clear and firm, it is in hard dough stage.

How can the maturity be hasten in order to escape from monsoon rains?

Maturity may be hastened by 3-4 days by spraying 20% NaCl a week before harvest to escape from monsoon rains.

Can I get the information regarding the varieties of blackgram suitable for rice fallow pulses?

CO 4, ADT 2, ADT 3, ADT 4, ADT 5, TMV 1

What is the optimum time of sowing for rice fallow pulses?

Third week of January –Second week of February

Under dual cropping of rice with greenmanure, at what stage should the green manures be incorporated?

Incorporate the green manure when the growth attains 40cm height or at 30 days after sowing, whichever is earlier, using Cono-weeder.

How to avoid root snapping while pulling out the seedling for transplanting?

If seedlings are to be pulled out after 25 days, application of DAP is to be done 10 days prior to pulling out.
For clayey soils where root snapping is a problem, 4kg of gypsum and 1kg of DAP/cent can be applied at 10 days after sowing.

What is the optimum planting depth for better establishment of rice?

Shallow planting (3 cm) ensures quick establishment and more tillers.
Deeper planting (> 5cm) leads to delayed establishment and reduced tillers.

Can I apply gypsum for rice crop, what is the recommended dosage?

Apply 500 kg of gypsum/ha (as source of Ca and S nutrients) at last ploughing.

Let me know the suitable land and climate for the cultivation of Ricinus Communis ?

Castor can be grown on a wide range of fairly deep and well drained soils. Heavy clays, with poor drainage, and marhsy soils are unsuitable. The most suitable soils for castor are deep, moderately fertile, with slightly acidic conditions (pH 5.0 to 6.5), well drained, sandy loams. It is essentially a warm season crop, cultivated in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. A moderate temperature of 20-26º C is highly favourable during crop period for obtaining higher yields.

Can I adopt wheat cultivation in my field; I would like to know the districts suitable for wheat cultivation ?

Plains & adjoining areas near to hills and hills in Theni, Dindigul, Karur, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Thiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram Districts

What is the ideal sowing time for Wheat?

Ideal sowing time is 15th October to 1st week of November. Sowing must be completed within the first fortnight of November.

What is the seed rate and planting technique for ragi ?

A plant population of 4 – 5 lakhs per ha is optimum for getting higher yields and higher or lower population than the optimum will reduce the yield. Line sowing is ideal and seed drills giving spacing of 22.5 – 30 cm between rows should be used. Finger millet seeds are very small (400 seeds/g) and the recommended seed rate of 15-20 kg per hectare will contain about 4 million seeds. Therefore, even when seed drill is used thinning within the row leaving a spacing of 7.5– 10 cm between plants, must be followed.

How can I improve seed set in sunflower by mechanical means ?

During the mid flowering phase, improve pollination by :
Mild rubbing of the capitulum with the hand covered with soft cloth or
Rubbing two flowers face to face gently.
The mid-flowering phase are: 58 to 60 days of planting for long duration varieties, 45 to 48 days of planting for short duration varieties.
Do this operation in the morning hours between 9.0 and 11.0 am when pollen shedding is high
Keeping bee hives at the rate of 5/ha improves seed setting.

How can I delint the cotton seeds ?

i)	Choose plastic bucket bucket for acid delinting of seeds.
ii)	Do not use earthen wares, metal vessels, porcelain wares or wooden drum for acid delinting as concentrated sulphuric acid will corrode them.
iii)	Put the required quantity of seeds in the container and add commercial concentrated sulphuric acid at the rate of 100 ml per kg of fuzzy seed.
iv)	Stir vigorously and continuously with a wooden stick for 2 to 3 minutes till the fuzz sticking to the seeds is completely digested and the seed coat attains a dark brown colour of coffee powder.
v)	Add water to fill the container. Drain the acid water and repeat the washing 4 or 5 times to remove any trace of acid.
vi)	Remove the floating, ill-filled and damaged seeds while retaining the healthy and good seeds which remain at the bottom.
vii)	Drain the water completely and dry the delinted seeds in shade.

How can I arrest the terminal growth in cotton?
Nip the terminal portion of the main stem as indicated below:
For varieties having less than 160 days duration nip the terminal portion of the main stem beyond the 15th node (75 to 80 DAS) and for varieties and hybrids having more than 160 days duration beyond the 20th node (85 - 90 DAS).

Is there any sugarcane variety with drought tolerant characteristics ?

Variety Co C (Sc)22 is a high yielding drought tolerant variety

Name a sugarcane variety suitable for jaggery production ?
Co G (Sc) 5

What is the advisable age of oil palm seedling at the time of transplanting?

It is advisable to plant well grown seedlings of 12 - 14 months old. At this stage, a well developed tenera seedling will have a height of 1-1.3 m from base and will have more than 13 functional leaves. These seedlings were found to maintain higher leaf production, bear earlier, produce heavy bunches, give higher fruit/bunch ratio and a higher oil to mesocarp in the first year of harvest.

What is the fertilizer recommendation for Oil Palm?

Fertilizer recommendation for oilpalm

Age	Nutrients (gram/palm/year)
Age	N	P	K
First year	400	200	400
Second year	800	400	800
Third year onwards	1200	600	2700

What is the seed optimum seed rate for castor hybrid and variety?

Adopt a seed rate of 10 kg/ha for varieties and 5 kg/ha for hybrid.

Sorghum

What is the harvest index for sorghum?

a. Consider the average duration of the crop and observe the crop. When the crop matures the leaves turn yellow and present a dried up appearance.

b. The grains are hard and firm.

What is the rationing technique in sorghum?
i. Harvest the main crop leaving 15 cm stubbles.
ii. Remove the first formed two sprouts from the main crop and allow only the later formed two sprouts to grow. Allow two tillers per hill.

What is the fertilizer recommendation for sorghum?
i. Apply 100 kg N/ha in two split doses.
ii. Apply the first dose on 15th day after cutting and the second on 45th day after cutting.
iii. Apply 50 kg P2O5/ha along with the application of N on 45th day.

What is the seed rate for rainfed sorghum?
15 kg/ha

Ragi

What is the optimum stage to transplant ragi seedlings?

Pull out seedlings on the 17th to 20th day of sowing for planting.

What is the harvest index for ragi crop?

Ragi crop does not mature uniformly and hence the harvest is to be taken up in two stages.
ii. When the earhead on the main shoot and 50% of the earheads on the crop turn brown, the crop is ready for the first harvest.

Kindly suggest an intercropping system for ragi?

Finger millet + Pigeon pea combinations in 8 : 2 or 6 : 2 proportion brings higher returns in Tamil Nadu. Finger millet + field bean in 8 : 1 proportion or finger millet + blackgram or green gram in 8 : 2 proportion are the other profitable crop combinations.

What is the seed rate for baby corn?

25 kg /ha for COBC 1

What is the harvest index for maize?
Observe the following symptoms, taking into consideration the average duration of the crop.
i. The sheath covering the cob will turn yellow and dry at maturity.
ii. The seeds become fairly hard and dry. At this stage the crop is ready for harvest.

What is the seed rate for wheat cultivation?
100 kg/ha

Suggest me the pruning technique for garden lab lab (avarai)?

A spacing of about 10 feet between lines and four feet between plants are adopted. Pits are dug and two to three seeds are sown in the middle of the pit. One healthy seedling is allowed to grow and the rest removed. The vine is propped with a stick. When the vine reaches the pandal, the terminal bud is nipped. Allow the branches to trail over the pandal. Each branch may be pruned at three feet length so that the pandal is covered with vines. Branches arising on the main vine below the pandal are removed. When flowering starts, prune the tip of the branches bearing inflorescence having three nodes from the productive axil. Continue this procedure throughout the reproductive phase.

What is the harvest index for soybean ?

Yellowing of leaves and shedding, indicate the maturity of the crop. Cut the entire plant when most of the pods have turned yellow, drying and processing.
15. Name the soybean varieties suitable for rainfed condition?
CO 1, ADT 1

What is the optimum time of sowing for rice fallow soybean?

Soyabean can be sown in rice fallows from middle of January to middle of March.

Suggest me the intercropping system suitable for groundnut cultivation?

Raise one row of cowpea for every five rows of groundnut wherever red hairy caterpillar is endemic.
Raise intercrops like redgram, blackgram, sunflower, gingelly or other pulses.
Cumbu can be raised as intercrop.
Groundnut + Gingelly or Groundnut + Blackgram in the ratio of 4:1 or Groundnut + Cowpea at 6:1 ratio and Groundnut + Sunflower at 6:2 ratio may be raised.

How can I improve pod filling in groundnut?

Pod filling is a major problem especially in the bold seed varieties. To improve pod filling spraying of nutrient solution is to be given. This can be prepared by soaking DAP 2.5 kg, Ammonium sulphate 1 kg and borax 0.5 kg in 37 lit of water overnight. The next day morning it can be filtered and about 32 litre of mixture can be obtained and it may be diluted with 468 lit of water so as to made up to 500 litre to spray for one ha. Plano fix at the rate of 350 ml. can also be mixed while spraying. This can be sprayed on 25th and 35th day after sowing.
What is the harvest index for groundnut?

Observe the crop, considering its average duration. Drying and falling of older leaves and yellowing of the top leaves indicate maturity.
Pull out a few plants at random and shell the pods. If the inner shell is brownish black and not white, then the crop has matured.

I felt difficult in pulling the groundnut plant while harvesting, suggest me a techniques so as to avoid loss of pods in the soil itself?

Irrigate prior to harvest, if the soil is dry, as this will facilitate easy harvesting. If there is enough moisture in the soil, there is no need for irrigation for harvesting.
If water is not available for irrigating the field prior to harvest, work a mould board plough or work a country plough, so that the plants are uprooted. Engage labour to search pods left out in the soil, if necessary.

How can mitigate the ill effects of water stress in groundnut?

Spraying 0.5% Potassium chloride during flowering and pod development stages will aid to mitigate the ill effects of water stress. Sprinkler irrigation will save water to the tune of about 30%. Borderstrip irrigation is recommended in command areas in light textured soils. Composted coir pith increases moisture availability and better drainage in heavy textured soil.

Suggest me a sesame variety suitable for adipattam?
CO 1, TMV 3

Suggest me a sesame variety suitable for Karthigaipattam (Oct - Nov)?
CO 1, TMV 3, TMV 5, SVPR 1, VRI(SV) 2

What is the harvest index for sesame?

Observe the crop, considering the average duration of the crop.
Twenty five per cent of the leaves from the bottom are shed and the top leaves loose their colour and turn yellow at maturity.
The colour of the stem turns yellow.
The colour of the capsules turn yellow upto the middle.
Harvest before the bottom capsules turn brown.
Examine the 10th capsule from the bottom by opening. If the seeds attained the full color of the variety harvest may be taken up.

Suggest me a castor variety suitable for raising in the bunds?

CO 1 (Perennial)

Recommend me a suitable cropping system for castor?

Raise one row of castor for every six rows of groundnut. In the case of late receipt of monsoon blackgram + castor at 6:1 ratio is recommended.

What is the harvest index for castor?

Observe the crop considering the average duration of the variety. i) One or more capsules show sign of drying. ii) Cut the matured racemes without damaging the secondaries. iii) Dry the capsule in the sun without heaping it in the shade. iv) Use castor sheller to separate the seeds or beat the dried capsule with wooden planks, winnow and collect the seeds.

What is the harvest index for sunflower?

Observe the bracts on the backside of the capitula. When they turn lemon yellow, the heads harden and the crop is ready for harvest.

What is the optimum pit size for coconut planting?

Dug pit size of 3’ x 3' x 3'.

How can I increase nut bearing in coconut?

For nut bearing coconut, root feed TNAU coconut tonic @200ml/palm once in six months.