ICAR Rabi season Agro Advisory for Assam

Field crops

Transplanted early Ahu Rice

Field selection: Areas with assured irrigation facilities should be selected. Heavy to medium textured soils are preferred.

Nursery management: Seeds are to be put in plain water, stirred well and floated ones are to be discarded. Seeds should be sown in nursery bed during mid-February. Land is to be thoroughly puddled and seed beds of 1.25 m breadth and 10 m length (may be increased or decreased as per the requirement) are prepared with 30 cm gap in between beds. In each seed bed 20-30 kg cow dung or compost, 80 g urea, 80 g SSP and 40 g MOP are to be applied. Well germinated seeds are sown @ 650 to 1000 g per bed. Seed requirement for transplanting one hectare of main field is 40-45 kg. In case of hybrid varieties, seed are to be sown @ 250 -300 g/bed and seed requirement for transplanting 1 ha area is 7.5 kg.

Transplanting is to be done by putting 2-3 seedlings per hill at a depth of 4-5 cm in semi dwarf varieties and 1 seedling per hill for hybrid. The spacing is 20 cm x 15 cm. Recommended fertilizer dose is 40 kg N, 20 kg P₂ O₅ and 20 kg K₂O per hectare in case of semi dwarf varieties. Only one third of the total urea, full doses of super phosphate and potash are to be applied at the time of final puddling. The 2nd one third and 3rd one third doses of urea are to be applied at tillering and panicle initiation stages respectively. Top dressing of urea should be preceded by weeding. In case of hybrid varieties, recommended fertilizer doses are 100 kg N, 60 kg P₂ O₅ and 60 kg K₂O per hectare and urea fertilizer is to be applied in 4 equal splits i.e., at the time of final puddling, at maximum tillering, at panicle initiation and at booting stage. 

Wheat

• Sandy loam to silty loam soils, rich in organic matter are suitable. Clayey soil is not suitable for wheat.
• Seed priming should be done by soaking the seeds overnight before sowing, for faster emergence and uniform crop establishment.
• A seed rate of 100-120 kg/ha is adequate. Row to row distance of 20 cm is to be maintained for optimum plant population. Depth of sowing should be 3-5 cm but not deeper than 5 cm.
• In case of dry topsoil, pre-sowing irrigation is to be applied 3-4 days before sowing for quick and uniform germination of seeds. Two irrigations of 6 cm depth have been recommended for all the agro-climatic zones. The first irrigation must be applied at crown root initiation stage (20-25 days after sowing) of the crop and the second one at heading stage (70-75 days after sowing). Irrigation should be avoided when ground water table remains within 50 cm of the root zone.

Maize

• In case hybrids maize, it is advised not to keep seeds from previous year’s harvest for sowing in the following years. However, seeds from composite varieties can be kept for sowing in the following year, without appreciable decrease in yield.
• Well drained sandy loam soil is to be selected, Field should be free from water logging.
• Optimum time of sowing is middle of September to middle of November.
• Spacing of 60 cm between rows and 20 cm between plants should be maintained.

Buckwheat

• Optimum time of sowing is September-October for Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone and October-Mid November for Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone.
• Seed rate is 20 kg/ha (2.7 kg/bigha) and spacing is 30 cm between rows is recommended.

Foxtail millet

• Optimum time of sowing is middle of January to middle of February (the best time is last week of January). Seed rate is 8-10 kg/ha, which may be increased to 15 kg/ha under broadcast sowing. Spacing should be 25 cm between rows.

Lentil

• Newly recommended varieties are HUL 57 (small seed lentil variety), Axom Masur 1 (SL 2-24) and Axom Masur 2 (SL 2-28).
• Optimum time of sowing is mid-October to mid-November and recommended seed rate is 30 kg/ha or 4 kg/bigha. The seeds are to be sown in line at a spacing of 25 cm between rows and 5-7 cm from seed to seed.

Rapeseed and Mustard

• Recommended toria varieties are TS 36, TS 38, and M-27 with 90 -95 days duration. Newly recommended varieties suitable for late sowing are Jeuti, TS 46 and TS 67.
• Some newly recommended Indian Mustard varieties are NRCHB – 101, PM 26 and PM 27 having crop duration of 107 days.
• Optimum seed rate is 10 kg/ha (1.3 kg/bigha) for toria and seed rate will be 8 kg/ha for mustard.
• A seed proportion of 75:25 of toria + lentil mixed is recommended for Hills Zone only. As pure crop, a seed rate of 6-8 kg/ha is recommended for Hills Zone.
• Seed rate of rainfed late sown toria after sali paddy (rice-toria sequence) should be 13 kg/ha, i.e., 33% higher than normal recommended rate of 10 kg/ha.
• The optimum time of sowing is middle of October to middle of November. Early sowing helps in escaping the attack of aphids. In Barak Valley Zone, rapeseed and mustard can be sown as late as November 30 in upland condition and up to third week of November in medium upland condition.
• Irrigation of 6 cm depth of water may be applied either at 50% flowering or at early siliqua formation stage. In case a rainfall of 20-25 mm is received during this period, no post sowing irrigation is essential. Pre-sowing irrigation is normally not required for timely sown crop. However, in dry areas, pre-sowing irrigation may be applied. As moisture conservation tillage practice for rapeseed after sali rice, one cross ploughing by power tiller incorporating rice stubbles is recommended. 

Linseed

• Optimum time of sowing is from middle of October to middle of November. In Barak Valley Zone sowing can be done in December after harvest of sali paddy. Seed Rate is 15-20 kg/ha. Spacing should be 25 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants.
• It can also be grown as relay crop with kharif rice.se3

Niger

• Time of sowing is October (September to middle of October for Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone).
• Seed Rate should be 8 kg/ha (1.1 kg/bigha) for line sowing and 12 kg/ha (1.5 kg/bigha) for broadcast crop.
• Recommended spacing is 25 cm between rows and 5-7 cm between plants

Potato

• Well drained sandy loam and loam soils, rich in organic matter are suitable. A pulse crop should preferably be included in the rotation to improve the soil condition.
• Field should be thoroughly ploughed to obtain a good tilth. It should be levelled for uniform distribution of irrigation water or to maintain soil moisture uniformly under rainfed situation. The furrows should be prepared at 50 cm apart.
• The optimum time for planting is mid-October to mid-November. In case of Kufri Sindhuri planting may be extended up to middle of December.
• Virus free, healthy, medium sized sprouted tubers are to be selected for planting. Ideal size is about 2.5 cm in diameter (25-40 g). Bigger sized tubers may be cut into pieces longitudinally with 2-3 eyes in each piece. In case of cut seeds, the pieces are to be dipped in Mancozeb @ 5 g in 1 litre of water for about 10 minutes. After treatment, the seeds are to be spread thinly and dried under shade for 48 hours or should be covered with moist gunny bags for 2-3 days for suberization.
• The seed requirement is 22.5-25 q/ha when size of the tubers is about 2.5 cm in diameter (about 25 g) and planted with an intra row spacing of 15 cm. Intra row spacing is increased with bigger sized tuber.
• The sprouted tubers should be planted in furrows with sprouts facing upward. Care should be taken to avoid sprout damage while handling the tubers.
• The furrow method of irrigation must be adopted. Three irrigations should be applied, first at 25 days (stolon formation stage), second at 60 days (tuber formation stage) and third at 80 days (tuber development stage) after emergence of sprouts. In case of application of mulching materials in furrows, only two irrigations are to be applied at 25 and 60 days after emergence of sprouts. At the time of application of irrigation, care should be taken not to submerge the ridges completely.

Horticultural crops

• For nursery raising of rabi vegetables, sunny area with well drained friable light soil rich in organic matter should be selected. The nursery bed should be 1 m width and of convenient length. The bed should be raised to 10-15 cm above the ground level.
• Important varieties of straw berry are ‘Sweet Charlie’, ‘Festival’, ‘Chandler’ etc. Straw berry is propagated through runner and best time for planting is November.

Livestock

• The livestock and poultry shed need be repaired before winter, so that they can be protected from inclement weather (cold wind). The sides of the shed may be covered with polythene sheet or gunny cloth to obstruct the flow of wind. Shady trees around the shed should be trimmed.
• The livestock are needed to be fed silage, hay, edible tree fodders as well as chopped paddy straw (3-5 kg) daily to sustain the milk production during rabi (cold) season.
• Farmers are suggested to provide artificial heat source to their newborn piglets and poultry chicks during rabi season, if needed.
• Disease surveillance and monitoring network to be established. List out the endemic diseases of birds (species wise) in the district and store vaccines for those diseases.
• Timely vaccination against all endemic.
• Ensure de-worming of livestock (cattle, goat, sheep and pigs) immediately after rainy season.
• Livestock farmers are suggested for regular supplementation of mineral mixture @ 50-60 g/day/ adult cows and calcium to the lactating cows @ 60-80 ml/day/cow.
• Suitable bedding (paddy straw, dry grass, wheat bhusa, saw dust, rice husk etc.) to the depth of 4-6 inches in large animals and 2 inches for smaller animals should be provided on puccaa (concrete) floor. 
• Bathing of animals with cold water during winter should be avoided
• Hairs of animals should not be clipped during winter.
• All the farmers are requested to contact KVKs at district level for any kind of advisories. 

Fish Farming

• Pond construction, pond preparation and pre stocking management of fish culture needs to be completed by the rabi season. During pond construction one should not dig out a pond in upland. Before construction one may perform soil testing at Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Location with Silt loam soil, less sandy and soil with higher water holding capacity are suitable for pond construction. Ideal soil for pond construction needs to have Nitrogen 30-50 %, Phosphorus 6-16%, Organic Carbon 1-2%, Calcium carbonate 5% and pH 6.5-7.5.
• In case of old pond, removal of pond muck is most essential as a measure for pre stocking management during this season.
• De-silting of pond bottom has to be done every 3 years for better release of nutrients for higher fish growth.
• Liming is done to correct the pond soil pH by applying initial dose/ basal dose as per existing value of soil pH. 
• Monitoring of fish health and behaviour, feeding intensity are to be done on regular basis.
• The water quality parameter has to be checked regularly as most of the diseases prevail in winter season.
• Farmers are advised to use low protein diet as the rate of feeding and metabolic activities decreases during winter and advised to reduce adding of organic manure such as cow dung, poultry droppings and pig dung in the pond as the rate of decomposition decreases during winter.

Source : ICAR Rabi agro-advisory for farmers