ICAR Rabi season Agro-Advisory for Uttarakhand

Wheat

• Under Irrigated conditions of Plain, Bhawar and Trai area the timely sown varieties of wheat are UP 2903, UP 2938 UP 2855, UP 2784, Up2628, UP2554, HD 3086, HD 2967, WH 1105, DPW 621-50, PBW 502, WH542 and BL 953 while late sown variety includes UP2944, UP 2844, UP, 2865, UP 2526, UP 2565, WH 1124, HD 3059, PBW 590, DBW 173, DBW 71, Raj 3765, Raj 3077 and UP 2944.
• In Rainfed areas of Plain, Bhawar and Trai area timely sowing (Oct. second fortnight) varieties are PBW 396, PBW 644, WH 1080, PBW 299, PBW 175 and V 306.
• Timely sowing varieties (Nov. first fortnight) like UP 2572, UP 2584, VL 953, VL 907, VL 804, VL 738, HS 507, HS 240 and HPW 349 used under irrigated area of lower hills.
• Timely sowing varieties (Oct. first fortnight) like UP 2572, VL 953 and VL 829 used under rainfed area of lower hilly area.
• In Rainfed conditions of hill area timely sowing varieties (Oct. first fortnight) i.e., HPW 42 and HS 365 used.
• The recommended seed rate is 100 kg/ha.
• Fertilizer and manure: 150 kg/ha Nitrogen, 60 kg/ha Phosphorus and 40 kg/ha Potash for timely sown wheat and 80 kg/ha Nitrogen, 40 kg/ha Phosphorus and 30 kg/ha Potash for late sown conditions. For higher yield 10 tonnes well decomposed farmyard manure should be applied in one ha area.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10 gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp. /kg of seed. 4-6 irrigations are required.
• In case of the incidence of yellow (stripe) rust, spray of Propeconazole (25 EC) @ 1 ml /litre water should be applied.

Gram

• Sowing time of gram is November first fortnight optimum time late sowing up to Dec. first fortnight under plain, Bhawar and Trai area while mid Oct. to Nov. first week in lower hilly area.
• Small grain size varieties of gram are Pant G 114, DCP 92-3, GNG 1581 and RSG 963.
• Medium size grain varieties of gram are Pant g 186, Pusa 547, Pant G3, Pant G4, Pant G5.
• Bold Size size variety of gram is Pusa 256.
• Kabuli channa varieties of gram are Pusa 1003, Pusa 1053, Pant Kabuli Channa 1, Pant Kabuli Channa 2 and JGK 1.
• 60-80 kg/ha seed required for small size while 80-100 kg/ha seed required for medium size.
• Fertilizer: 15-20 kg/ha Nitrogen, 40-45 kg/ha Phosphorus and 20-30 kg/ha Potash required.

Barley

• The recommended varieties of Barley are VL Barley 85 and VL Barley 118
• For an area of one ha 100 kg seed is sufficient.
• 10 Tonnes well decomposed farmyard manure should be applied in one ha area.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10 gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp/kg of seed.
• Sowing should be done by last week of October in irrigated condition and first fortnight of October in rainfed conditions.
• In case of the incidence of yellow (stripe) rust spray of Propeconazole (25EC) @ 1 ml /litre water should be applied.
• Seed treatment with carboxin fungicide @ 2.5 gm/kg seed for management of loose smut disease.

Lentil

• Under Plain, Bhawar and Trai areas Nov. first fortnight, late sowing up to second week of December is the best time to sow Pant Lentil 5, Pant Lentil 7, Pant Lentil 8, Pant Lentil 9 varieties.
• The recommended varieties of Lentil are VL Massor 5, VL Masoor 225, VL Masoor 126, Masoor 507, VL Masoor 103 during Mid Oct to Nov. first week of Nov for Lower hilly area.
• For an area of one ha 40 kg seed is sufficient.
• Fertilizer and manure: 40-50 kg/ha Phosphorus and 20-30 kg/ha Potash.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10 gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp./kg of seed.
• Management of wilt disease should be done by selecting resistant or tolerant varieties, seed treatment and following crop rotation with field crops.

Yellow Mustard/Toria

• The recommended verities of Toria are VL Toria 3, Pant Hill Toria 1, Uttara, and Pant Pili Sarson 1.
• Yellow Mustard varieties Pani Swela and Pant Girja are sown during Oct. first Fortnight in Plain, Bhawar and Trai area whereas Pilli sarso 1, Pant Sweta Pant during Oct. second fortnight in lower hilly.
• Early sowing varieties of Rye are Pusa Mustard 27 and Pant Rye 19 in Plain, Bhawar and Trai area whereas timely sowing last week of Sept. to first fortnight of Oct are Pant Rye 20, Pant Rye 21 and RGN. Late sowing varieties are NRCHB 101, Ashirwad and Vardan.
• For an area of one ha 5 kg seed is sufficient.
• Fertilizer and manure: 120 kg/ha Nitrogen, 40 kg/ha Phosphorus and 40 kg/ha Potash for rye and 90 kg/ha Nitrogen, 40 kg/ha Phosphorus and 20 kg/ha Potash and 30 kg/ha sulphur for yellow mustard.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10 gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp/kg of seed.
• Acetamiprid (20% SP) @ 0.3 gm/litre should be sprayed for aphid management in the evening when there is no honeybee movement.

Pea

• Dwarf varieties of pea like KPMR 522, ARPANA, Malviya Matar 15, DDR 23, Pant Matar13, Pant Matar 25, Pant Matar 74, Pant Matar 155, Pant Matar 250 are sown during mid Oct. to Mid Nov. in Plain, Bhawar and Trai area while regular varieties are Pant Matar 42 and Pant Matyar 243.
• Varieties: Pant Matar 13, Pant Matar 14, IPFD1-10 are sown during Mid Oct. to first week of Nov. in lower hills while regular varieties are VL Mater 40 and VL Mater 42.
• For an area of one ha, 80-100 kg seed regular varieties and 125 kg seed for dwarf is sufficient.
• Fertilizer: 20 kg/ha Nitrogen, 60 kg/ha Phosphorus and 40 kg/ha Potash.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10 gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp/kg of seed.
• Sulphex fungicide @ 2gm/litre or Dinocap @ 0.5 ml/litre should be sprayed for management of powdery mildew disease.
• Incidence of Pod borer insect can be managed by foliar spray of bioinsecticide Bacillus thurengensis @1.5 gm/lire or Deltamethrin @1 ml/litre at the time of flowering.

Onion

• The recommended varieties of Onion are VL Pyaz 3, Agrifound Light Red (ALR), Pusa red, Nasik reed, Pusaratnar, Arkaniketan, Arkabindu, Arkapragati, Agri found light red, Agri found rose, Pnjab selection, Pusa white flet.
• For an area of one ha 8-10 kg seed is sufficient.
• Fertilizers and manure: 100 kg/ha Nitrogen, 60 kg/ha Phosphorus, 80 kg/ha Potash and 20-30 Tonnes well decomposed farmyard manure should be applied in one ha area.
• Seed treatment should be done with 2 gm thiram/kg seed or 5-10gm biofungicide Trichoderma spp/kg of seed
• The right time of nursery sowing is October month and transplanting should be done in the month of December to overcome bolting problem.
• Stemphyllum disease can be managed by spraying of mencozeb @2.5 gm/litre after 10 -15 days interval with sticker.
• Purple disease can be managed by spraying of defeconazole @1ml/litre with sticker after 10-15 days interval after disease incidence.
• Thrips insect can be managed by spraying Imidacloprid insecticide (17.8 SL) @ 3ml/10 litre.

Potato

• Hybrid varieties of potato are Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Giriraj, Kufri Jawahar, kufri Bahar, Kufri satraj, Kufri chipsona, Kufri Lalima and Kufri chandan.
• The recommended time of sowing is October second fortnight for Plain, Bhawar and Trai area while in irrigated valley (up to 3000 ft) Mid Sept. to Mid Oct. Irrigated valley (up to 5000 ft) Jan-Feb.
• For an area of one ha 25-30 quintal seed is sufficient.
• Fertilizers and manure: 180 kg/ha Nitrogen, 80 kg/ha Phosphorus, 80 kg/ha Potash and 20-25 Tonnes well decomposed farmyard manure should be applied in one ha area.
• Green leafy vegetables for Nutrition Garden
• The recommended varieties of radish are Japanese long and Doonagiri gol 8-10 kg/ha seed is sufficient. Sowing time is Sept to Jan for Plain, Bhawar and Trai area, Sept. to Oct. for Lower hilly area while June to July for hill area.
• The recommended seed rate for coriander is 20-25 kg/ha for varieties of Pant haritima and Pant dhaniya 1. The recommended variety of Spinach is All green and seed rate is 25-30 kg/ha.

Apple

• In lower hilly and hill area the time of sowing is December to first fortnight of February.
• General varieties for cultivation are Red delicious, Royal delicious, Golden delicious, Rinch-A-Red, Red gold, Early sanwari, Fany, Chuabatia princess, Rimer.
• Early colouring varieties for cultivation are Wash delicious, Bright, and early, skyline, supreme delicious, top red delicious, hardy man.
• Spur varieties for cultivation are red spur, silver spur, rd chief, arigansper, hardy man spur, golden spar, super chief, scarlet spur 2.
• Prepare tree basins and apply recommended dose of FYM (100 kg/plant), Nitrogen (1.5 kg Urea per tree basin), Phosphorous (SSP 2 kg per plant) and potash (MOP 1.7 kg per plant) for plants of age more than 10 years. Complete dose of Potash and phosphorous should be given at the Time of basin preparation along with FYM during December- January.
• During winters (November- December), expose the root system of infected trees and cut the infected portion and apply Bordeaux paint / chaubatia paste for the control of White root rot.
• Apply a mixture of lime + copper sulphate + linseed oil (30kg lime+ 500 gm copper sulphate + 500 ml linseed oil in 100 L water) on stems upto a height of 2-3 ft from the ground level during OctoberNovember for protection against sun burning.
• Spray Horticulture Mineral Oil (2%) (20ml/L water) for the control of sanjose scale at green tip stage of apple bud.
• Drench with Chlorpyriphos 20 EC (4ml/L water) in collar region during October-November using at least 5 L of pesticide emulsion per tree in collar region for the control of woolly apple aphid. Spray with Chlorpyriphos 20 EC (2ml/L water) or quinalphos 25 EC (2ml/L water) in September- October to check aerial population of woolly apple aphid.
• For the management of scab/ powdery mildew give a spray of dodine (1gm/L water) or fluxapyroxad + difenconazole (30ml/100 L water) at green tip stage.

Peach

• Recommended varieties for Plain, Bhawar and Trai area Partap, Early grand, Floridasum, Floridaprince, Floridared, Floridagold, Sarbati, Sarbatisurka, Pant peach 3.
• Recommended varieties for lower hilly areas are Red june, Paradelux, Totapari, Safeda, early white jaint, Alekzendar, Red gold, Sun heaven, Snow queen.

Plum

• Varieties for Plain, Bhawar and Trai areas are SatlajpurpIe, Kalaamratsari, Aloochapurple, Tetro, Kabuli greengang.
• Recommended varieties for lower hilly areas are Centarosa, Beauty, Redbute, Frontier, Maripoza.
• Varieties for hill areas are Sweet early, Methle, Celse, Elephantthard, Maripoza.

Apricot

• Recommended varieties for lower hilly areas are Newkesar, Harkot, Earlysikle, Kesa, Naeeth, Safeda, Charm agi, Sakarpara.
• Varieties for hill areas are Kesa, Nageth, Safeda, Charrnagi, Sakarpura.

Almond

• Recommended varieties for lower hilly areas are Drek, Ne-plusaltra, pearless Varieties for hill areas Marsid, Nanperil, IXL, Ne-plus-altra, Texas

Fish and Pond Maintenance during Winter Season

• Fish, being a cold-blooded aquatic animal, needs special care during winters. As temperature of the surface water is colder than the bottom layers, the fish prefers to live in the bottom zone. Famers shall keep the water depth up to 6 feet, so that it gets enough space for hibernating in the warmer bottom zone. In shallow waters, the whole water column becomes cold, which affects the fish and can prove fatal.
• As day length and light intensity also decreases during winters, oxygen levels decline in ponds due to reduced photosynthetic activity. The situation further aggravates during continuous cloudy days. The farmers are advised to aerate their ponds either by adding fresh water or by using aerators, especially during early hours of the day.
• Feed intake of fish decreases with decrease in temperature as its digestive system becomes sluggish. Hence, it is essential to reduce the feeding rate by 50-70 % depending on the temperature.
• In case the temperature falls below 50 degrees, it is advice to stop feeding. Excess feed remains unconsumed and accumulates at the pond bottom, which deteriorates the water quality.
• Farmers re further advised to use low protein diets. It is also necessary to reduce/stop adding organic manures such as cow dung, poultry droppings, and pig dung in the pond as rate of decomposition of organic manures declines due to poor microbial activity during winters. It is also advised to go for periodic raking of bottom soil (with the help of barbed wire) to prevent any suspected accumulation of toxic gases at the pond bottom.

Animal care during winter season

• Feed more roughages (like hay, straws. etc.) or forages (berseem) to maintain the milk production and body heat of the dairy animals.
• Additional quantum of grains like maize, wheat, oats, or readily available whole grains can be given to animals for meeting their energy requirements which generally increases during winters.
• Use of oil cakes such as mustard oil cake, cotton seed cake etc. can be fed. Seed cakes suffice the protein requirements of the animals and boost production.
• Calves should be fed with more milk, Increase the feedings per day from two to three times while holding the amount per feeding the same.
• Hypothermia is a major risk for neonatal calves, and housing, feeding and hydration are key considerations for minimizing hypothermia.
• During harsh winters, keep animals indoor but take care of ventilation. Keep a vent open for air to pass through the animal house.
• In case of loose housing system, use curtains around the animal house. The curtains can be made from tarpaulin, bamboo, dry grass, paddy straw, jute bags, guinea bags, jute, etc. Chop the branches of the shady trees which will enhance the infiltration of sunlight in the animals shed.
• Temperature of drinking water. The water should not be frozen in any case. If the water is too cold, add some hot water to it for balancing the temperature and making it lukewarm.
• Young stock should be provided with protective clothing to prevent heat loss from the body and providing warmth which can be made from gunny bags, sacks, blankets etc.
• If the floor of the animal house is concreted, it should be covered with bedding usually comprising of straws which will providing insulating effect and prevent heat loss. Provide a bedding of about 4 to 6 inches to prevent heat loss due to conduction.
• Keep the floor and bedding of the animal dry using sand, woodchips, saw dust, straws, rice husk etc.
• For the bed drainage of urine and other excretions, maintain proper alleys and drains. Wet floor may lead to diarrhea, fever, pneumonia, coccidiosis, hypothermia leading to death, etc. Young animals are at higher risk of developing disease due to wet floors.
• Avoiding overcrowding of the animals in shed as it leads to accumulation of ammonia which may hasten and enhance severity of respiratory problems especially pneumonia. Use recommended floor space for housing animals.
• For proper elimination of ammonia, livestock waste and other disease-causing pathogens, it is advisable to clean shed twice a day. It will also enhance ventilation in shed.
• Winters bring chapped and cracked skin to animals as well and udder being the most sensitive part. Care should be taken to dry the udder of dairy animal thoroughly and if the udder becomes chapped or raw, there are many commercial balms and moisturizers that are highly effective in healing and moisturizing udders. Lavender oil, calendula, peppermint oil, etc. can be used for making udder balm at home.
• Do not clip hair during harsh winter. Clipping of hairs is advisable before and after winters.
• Deworm the animals at regular intervals. It is advisable to repeat deworming after 21 days of the first dose to prevent worms and their larvae from development.
• Timely vaccination.
• Timely sowing of winter fodder crop as Berseem (Vardan, Maskavi, VL 10, VL 42 VL 43) and Oat (UP094, UPO 11, Pant Oat 3) in October to mid-November.

Source : ICAR Rabi Agro-Advisory for Farmers