ICAR Rabi season Agro-Advisory for Ladakh

Vegetable

No crop is possible in open field conditions in winters in Ladakh UT. Therefore, crops should be grown under protected structures like 3-side walled greenhouses, trenches, and hi-tech greenhouses.

Vegetable and their varieties to be grown during Rabi season:

• Chinese cabbage-Springsun-60, Palampur green, Tropic Prince
• Cabbage- KGMR-1, Mitra
• Broccoli- Green Magic, Lucky
• Spinach- Banejee Giant, Silver beat/Beet Leaf, Shalimar green, Virginia Savoy
• Swiss Chard-CITH-Red, CITH Green
• Methi- IC-74, Kasuri, Pusa Early Bunching
• Coriander-Shalimar Dhania-1, Surabhi
• Turnip- PTWG
• Lettuce-Chinese Yellow, Simpson Black seeded, Grishma
• KnolKhol- White Vienna, early white vienna
• Celery-Ford Hook Emperor
• Kale- Khanyari, HaeznHawk
• Radish-Japanese white
• Carrot- Early Nantes
• Nursery of Cole crops, lettuce and Chinese cabbage should be sown in first fortnight of September
• Vermi compost should be added before sowing/transplanting @5t/ha for leafy vegetable and 7t/ha for cole crops
• Cabbage andbroccoli should be completed in first fortnight of October at a spacing of 45x30 cm.
• Spinach and Swiss Chardand other leafy vegetables should be sown at a spacing of 30x30 cm.
• Radish and carrot should be sown on bunds.
• Chinese cabbage should be transplanted at a spacing of 30x30 cm.
• Knol Khol can be transplanted in September- November to get crop throughout the winters.
• Spinach and Swiss chard should be directly sown before October to get maximum yield throughout the winters.
• Irrigation is required at an interval of 15-30 days during winter
• As the irrigation sources are frozen in winter, keep provision of water Tank inside the greenhouse for irrigation purpose
• Black mulching under the greenhouse/trenches will give excellent yield

Agricultural Engineering

• Bore well may be employed to cater large area under greenhouses.
• For maintaining temperature in peak winter, Earth Tube Heat Exchanger facility may be employed in the green houses. Otherwise in area like Changthang, greenhouse polythene may be covered under blankets or can use triple layer polycarbonate as covering material during nighttime to maintain heat loss

Agro-forestry

• Autumn plantation of willow may be carried out after leaf fall and in the month of November.
• Cutting height should not be kept 2 m.
• Irrigate plant immediately after planting and then 15 days after.

Fruit Science

• Orchard sanitation by cleaning and removing dry leaves, clothes, rotten fruits etc from canal and basin of trees and dispose it with covering ¹/₂ mtr soil or by crushing or burying in doubling plastic bag.
• Management of canopy architecture by pruning trees that are more than four-year-old if not pruned earlier.
• The plants trees which are 1-3 years should be trained to Modified Central leader system or open centre system.
• Apply Bordeaux paste/Chaubattia paste/white lead paste/Zinc paint on the cut surface.
• Digging or preparation of pits for transplanting of new plants
• Top working of inferior cultivars with highly superior/productive type of cultivar
• Scrap dead bark & lichen from trees with BARK SCRAPEPS or knife (clean). After each cut sanitize the tools by rubbing alcohol/Ethanol.
• Apply fertilizer/FYM 3-4 week before expected bloom under the tree canopy away from trunk.
• FYM should be applied when sufficient moisture is present in soil or before the rainfall is expected
• Graft wood (Scion) must be collected in March before the bud start to swell.
• The scion should be one year old, vigorous & healthy diseases free.
• Should have only vegetative bud not reproductive bud.
• For healthy storage of graft wood, packed in moist media such as sawdust/newspaper and storage in airtight boxes or polythene bag.

Animal Science

• During winters, following diseases are prevalent in livestock: -

Goat & Sheep

Cattle and Yak

Common control measures

• Proper drainage, sprinkling of copper sulphate near water bodies will help to control fluke infection.
• Avoid early morning and late evening grazing.
• Disinfect and keep the animal shed clean and provide clean quality drinking water.
• Separate infected animal from healthy one.
• Provide at least 21 days quarantine to the newly purchased animals.
• Rotational grazing to control infection.
• Proper nutrition is essential for having healthy kids especially during winter. Simultaneous deficiencies of energy and protein can cause abortion of embryos early in the pregnancy. Deficiencies of some trace minerals such as copper and iodine can be the cause of abortions. Feeding of complete feed block and multi nutrient block may be helpful.
• In case of outbreak of contagious diseases, immediately segregate the sick animals from healthy one and take necessary disease control measures.
• Bloat will be formed when animal consume young leaves and grasses, unknown weeds, easily digestible cereals, rotten vegetables, and fruits. Bloat will be followed by diarrhoea; dysentery leads to decumbency and death. Administration of vegetable oil (50-100 ml) orally in a careful manner can help in control of bloat as a first aid and then get veterinary doctor help. Sometime feeding potato, brinjal may also obstruct the food passage and leads to bloat due to obstruction of gas from the rumen.
• Provide colostrums to the young ones within first few hours of birth.
• Animal shed should be well ventilated, clean, and free from ammonia smell.
• Provide good bedding material for pregnant animals and to young ones during winter months.
• Dipping of all livestock should be done with proper preferred concentration of medicine for effective result. Dipping should be done preferably during summer on a sunny day.
• All domestic livestock should be dewormed once in 6 months

Source : ICAR Rabi Agro-Advisory for Farmers