ICAR Rabi season Agro Advisory for Nagaland

Pulse and oilseeds (Field pea, Rapeseed and Linseed)

• The field should be first deep ploughed, followed by two to three harrowing and planking should be given to prepare a well pulverized seed bed. Field should be well levelled and there should be sufficient moisture at the time of sowing for good germination.
• Suitable varieties: Field pea -Aman, Prakash and Rachna, Rapeseed - M 27, TS-36, TS 38 and TS-67 for late sown upto first week of December and Linseed - Ruchi, T-397 and Shekhar.
• In field pea incorporate organic matter @ 200 q ha-
   at the time of land preparation and apply 55 kg of urea, 313 kg of SSP and 42 kg of MOP per ha as basal application at the time of sowing.
• In rapeseed, incorporate FYM or compost @ 50 q ha-1 at the time of land preparation. Under irrigated condition apply 54 kg of urea, 375 kg of SSP and 50 kg of MOP as basal dose at the time of sowing by placement method and again apply 54 kg urea at the time of first irrigation at three weeks after the sowing. In rainfed condition apply 50 % of the recommended dose fertilizer.
• In Linseed application of 87 kg of urea, 125 kg of SSP, 17 kg of MOP ha-1 along with FYM@ 20 q ha-1 as basal is recommended under rainfed conditions.
• Seed sowing should be done during the Second fortnight of October to first fortnight of November however in rapeseed sowing can be delayed upto last week of November.
• Before sowing pea seeds should be treated with rhizobium culture@ 50 g kg-1 seed, Bavistin @ 2 g kg-1 seed and Trichoderma viride @ 4g kg-1 seed
• For Rapeseed and Linseed Seed treatment is done with Azotobacter and Phosphotika @ 40 g each/ kg of seed before sowing.
• At least two weeding should be done at 20 and 40 DAS.
• For enhancing yield through increased pollination, 5 honeybee colonies ha-¹ is recommended to install in rapeseed.

Insect pest management

• Clip aphids infested shoots or parts in the early stage.
• Collect and destroy the egg masses, grubs and gregarious early instar larvae in the cropped area.
• Install yellow and blue sticky trap @ 6 traps/acre at crop canopy level to monitor the sucking pest population
• Set up light traps @ 1trap/acre to monitor the emergence of adult moth population.
• In the early stage of infestation spray the NSKE or Neem oil @ 4%
• Spray Trichogramma chilonis @50000/ha or Spinosad @ 0.75ml/L of water in the initial infestation of Lepidopteran pests (caterpillars).
• If infestation of the leaf feeders/ caterpillars and borers are high spray anyone of the following insecticides, Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 0.5 ml/L or Emamectin benzoate 5% SG @ 0.4 g/L of water
• If the incidence of sucking pests persists (Aphids, Thrips, and bugs) spray anyone of the following insecticides, Imidacloprid 200 SL @ 0.5 ml/L or Thiomethoxam 25 WP @ 0.3 g/L or Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 0.5ml/L of water.

Disease management

• Use certified seeds of resistant/tolerant variety.
• Burn infected pea stubble soon after harvest to reduce the disease.
• Avoid sowing pea in the same infected field.
• Follow crop rotation with non-leguminous crops and adopt mixed cropping.
• Spray Benomyl 50% WP @80g in 240 litres of water per acre. Second spray after 15 days interval. Or Sulphur 80% WG @750g-1kg in 300-400 litres of water per acre followed with second spray after 25 days of interval for Powdery mildew and Pea rust.
• Spray Blitox @3ml/lit or Dithan M-45 @2g/lit of water at 10 days interval for Sclerotinia stem rot and Alternaria black spot.
• For white rust, Spray Metalaxyl 8% + Mancozeb 64% WP @1000 g in 400 l of water/acre.

Post-harvest management and storage

• After sufficient drying in the sun threshed clean seeds should be stored in appropriate bins or gunny bags.
• For safe storage moisture content should be 9-10 percent in field pea, 8 percent in rapeseed and 8-10 percent in Linseed.

Horticultural Crops

• Prepare nursery for cole crops (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, knoll khol, radish, turnip etc.) and other vegetables like chilli and tomato during the month of August-September. Prepare raised seed bed of about 10-15 cm above the ground on a fine tilth soil with well decomposed FYM with a size of 1m width and of convenient length or raise in pro-tray with coco peat and Vermicompost media in a ratio 1:1.
• Prepare the field for winter vegetables by ploughing 2-3 times to make friable soil and incorporate 10-15t/ha well decomposed FYM.
• Transplant 30–40-day old seedlings to the main field or when the seedlings attain 3-4 leaf stage with a spacing of 45x30 cm for early and 60x45 cm for mid and late season crops.
• Start sowing of winter vegetables like French bean, carrot, pea etc in the month of October and complete the sowing by 15th November.
• Irrigate the field regularly to avoid moisture stress and get maximum yield.
• Use paddy straw or dry leaves for mulching to conserve moisture and control weeds.
• Kiwi can be propagated through hard wood cutting in the month of December – January. One-year-old matured and dormant shoots of the preceding summer growth having 2 – 3 nodes are selected. The cuttings are planted in moist coarse texture media with 2 nodes below and 1 or 2 nodes above. Care should be taken that male and female plants are identified and planted separately

Insect pest management

• Clip aphids infested shoots or parts in the early stage.
• Collect and destroy the egg masses, grubs, and gregarious early instar larvae in the cropped area.
• Install yellow and blue sticky trap @ 6 traps/acre at crop canopy level to monitor the sucking pest population
• In the early stage of infestation spray the NSKE or Neem oil @ 4% or Spinosad @ 0.75ml/L of water in the initial infestation.
• If infestation of the leaf feeders/ caterpillars and borers are high spray anyone of the following insecticides, Emamectin benzoate 5% SG @ 0.4 g/L or Flubendiamide 39.35% SC @ 0.5ml/L of water
• If the incidence of sucking pests persist (Aphids, Thrips, whiteflies and bugs) spray anyone of the following insecticides, Imidacloprid 200 SL @ 0.5 ml/L or Thiomethoxam 25 WP @ 0.3 g/L or Fipronil 5 SC @1ml/L of water.

Disease management

• Use resistant or tolerant varieties
• Follow crop rotation with non-cruciferous crops
• Treat the seeds with Trichoderma harzianum @5g/litre of water for an hour followed by shade dry before sowing reduces soil borne diseases

Suitable Varieties

• Cabbage: Rareball, Pusa Ageti, Pride of India, Green Challenger, Green Express
• Cauliflower: Hybrid-Madhuri, Pusa snowball 1, Pusa Sharad, Swati, Himani
• Broccoli: Green Magic, Green belt, Emerald city
• Knol Khol: Early white Vienna, King of the market
• Radish:  French breakfast, Sparkles
• Carrot: Early nantes, N.S 820
• Pea: Arkel, VL Matar-42, Rachana
• French bean: Dwarf-Premier, Masterpiece, Green pods

Mushroom

• Collect good quality paddy straw for oyster mushroom cultivation and store in dry clean place.
• Always use good quality mushroom spawn.
• For the management of green mould in mushroom bag use garlic extract. Peel garlic and make a paste of 50g (10 big size cloves) by adding 50ml of water. Squeeze the paste through muslin cloth to get stock solution. Spray garlic extract (stock solution) mixed with 3-5ml/litre of water on the boiled straw. 1 litre of garlic solution is sufficient for 2 kg dry straw (5 kg of boiled straw)
• Yellow sticky paper can be used for the management of flies in mushroom cropping rooms.

Community Science

• Farmers can generate income by processing and value addition of surplus horticultural crops by pickling, dehydration etc. and processing into different food products like juices, jam, jellies, candy etc.

Livestock enterprise

• Due to change in weather from the month of October onwards, arrangements should be made for upcoming winter season. All the animals are to be vaccinated against infectious diseases like Swine Fever in pigs, FMD, HS, and BQ in Cattle, Buffalo, Goat, Mithun etc. and Ranikhet Disease in poultry.
• In the month of November sudden drop of temperature may affect the animals and poultry birds so the livestock should be placed in covered shed or area during the night with appropriate lightings.
• Animals affected by Pica (depraved appetite) should be dewormed and adequate amount of mineral mixtures (@2% in the diet) to help cure the disorder.
• Follow good management practices related to feeding, housing, watering, and general hygiene to keep the animals healthy.
• Animals during winter require more feed to maintain heat production and body condition. Depending on the age and size and outside temperature and weather conditions, you may need to increase the daily feed allowance by 3 times or more
• Since shortage of fodders during winter months may occur due care should be taken to store the harvested fodders.
• Controlled breeding programme should start and continue during the month of February so that all the participating animals should become pregnant at this month.

Mithun

• Mithun often struggles to get enough water during winter season. Water harvesting structure may be constructed to maintain water uptake and keep them healthy
• During lean winter there isn’t enough green jungle forages. Planting of perennial cold hardy grasses and tree fodders in the range may be done.
• Winter stress has negative effect on immunity, fertility, and production. Ensure timely deworming, vaccination, and mineral supplementation to keep the Mithun in good health and in optimum production.

Source : ICAR RabiI agro-advisory for farmers