DON BOSCO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

(Affiliated to Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore)

Sagayathottam, thakkolam, vellore Dt- 631 151

DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY

Theory Manual

AGR 302 AGRONOMY OF FIELD CROPS - II (1+1)

Course Teacher
Mr.N.Vijayaragavan
Dr.P.Puvila
Dr.A.Christopher Lourduraj
 Lec. 1 & 2

SUGARCANE

Saccharum officinarum

Importance

 62% world’s sugar is met from cane

 Sugar requirement is projected at 150 million tonnes for the world
 India alone requires 16-20 million t
 Sugar industry is the largest agro-based industry next only to textiles in India
 At present there are 450 sugar factories
 Average productivity is 14.2 million t (1998)
 Average sugar recovery of 11%

By products in sugarcane industry

 There are many end uses - probably more than 150

 But many of them are of negligible economic interest
 38 end-products are potentially important
 But four main byproducts of the sugarcane are:
o Cane tops
o Bagasse
o Filter mud / press mud and Spent Wash
o Molasses
 Cane tops
o Cane tops have no real market value
o They can be compared to fair quality fodder with an average feed value,
o when fresh, of about 2.8 MJ of metabolizable energy per kilo of dry
matter.
 o However cane tops should be collected and transported from the cane
fields to the feedlot
 Bagasse
o It is the fibrous residue of the cane stalk left after crushing and extraction
of the juice
 It consists of fibres, water and relatively small quantities of soluble
solids - mostly sugar
o Utilizations are:
 Electricity
 Particle board
 Paper
 Furfural
 It is a colorless, inflammable, volatile, aromatic liquid
 25 tonnes of bagasse to produce 1 tonne of furfural
 Furfural has many industrial uses:
 Selective solvent for the refining of lubricating oils
 As an intermediate in the production of nylon and resins
 Methane
 Filter mud / pressmud
o The precipitated impurities contained in the cane juice, after removal by
filtration, form a cake of varying moisture content called filter mud
o This cake contains much of the colloidal organic matter anions that
precipitate during clarification, as well as certain non-sugars occluded in
these precipitates
 Filter mud / pressmud…
o The use of filter mud
 As animal feed has not proved economically rewarding, the main
constraints being the magnitude of the drying process involved and
the low digestibility of the dried scums
 As soil nutrient there is limitations
  Higher values of C.O.D. and B.O.D .
 Wax percentage in substantial quantity which prevents
microbial action
 High concentration of various chemicals which are
detrimental to survival of beneficial microflora
 Bio-degradation being exothermic reaction survival of
microbes except thermophiles is difficult
 Due to above mentioned difficulties, bio-degradation of
pressmud and spent wash is a difficult process
 Molasses
o Molasses is the final effluent obtained in the preparation of sugar by repeated
crystallization
o It is the residual syrup from which no crystalline sucrose can be obtained by
simple means
o The yield of molasses is approximately 3.0 percent per tonne of cane
 but it is influenced by a number of factors (2.2 to 3.7 percent)
 The specific gravity varies between 1.39 and 1.49, with 1.43 as
indicative average
o The composition of molasses varies but, on average, would be as follows:
 Water 20%
 Other carbohydrates 4%
 Sucrose 35%
 Nitrogenous compounds 4.5%
 Fructose 9%
 Non-nitrogenous acids 5%
 Glucose 7%
 Ash 12%
 Other reducing sugars 3%
o For distillery industry
o Alcohol and related products
 o Export to some developed countries as raw materials
o It is an ingredient to animals feed

Origin

 India is considered as native to thin cane

 Tropical thick canes from larger islands of Oceana with New Guinea as possible
nucleus
o Brandes (1956) – three different movements
 Introduction to Solomon islands - 8000 BC
 Westerly direction to Indonesia and Philippines – 6000 BC
 Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook islands & Hawaii – 600-1100 AD
World Scenario (Area, production, productivity, in million ha, tonne and t/ha)

Country Area Production Productivity

Brazil 4.92 338.7 68.7
India 3.96 265.0 66.9
China 1.21 85.7 71.3
Pak 1.14 53.0 46.7
Asia 8.67 536.7 61.9
S. America 6.05 419.6 69.4
N. C. America 3.21 166.7 52.0
Africa 1.43 85.7 57.9
World 19.90 1254.9 63.1

Indian Scenario (Area, production, productivity, in million ha, tonne and t/ha)

State Area Production Productivity

UP 2.10 124.8 59.4
Maharashtra 0.52 41.8 81.0
TN 0.27 26.9 99.3
Karnataka 0.25 21.9 85.9
AP 0.20 14.9 75.1
Punjab 0.17 11.0 63.8
Gujarat 0.16 11.4 68.8
Haryana 0.16 9.0 55.0
Bihar 0.14 6.3 45.2
 MP 0.06 2.2 38.1
India 3.96 265.0 66.9

Species of sugarcane

 Cultivated
o Saccharum officinarum
o S. barberi
o S. sinense
 Wild species
o S. spontaneum
o S. robustum
The plant

 Grass family with tillering capacity

 Above ground parts are
o Stem of stalk with nodes and internodes
o Leaves
o Inflorescence
 Roots
o Sett roots developed from root primordial
o Shoot root , thicker branched
o Buttress roots, fibrous branched
Varieties

 After the introduction of hybridization programme in early 20th century many

improved varieties are available
 Varieties for region and season are available in plenty
 SBI, Coimbatore in collaboration with NARS has set up breeding programme
 Breeders of NARS will visit and at a specified period and carry materials
Seasons
  There are four main seasons in TN
o Early – Dec-Jan
o Mid-season – Feb-Mar
o Late – Apr – may
o Special season – June-July
 All India
o Spring – Feb-Mar
 Suru in Maharastra, Eksali in Gujarat & AP
o Autumn – Sep-Oct-
 13-15 months, supplies sugar for early crushing
o Adsali – July Aug
 16-18 months
 Increase in yield & sugar recovery
 Though advantageous area is declining due to water problem
o Late planting – beyond March, reduction in duration and yield
Soils

 Cultivated in wide range of soils

 Moderately heavy medium deep (1-2m) loams are better than
o Heavier and shallow soils
 The soil must be of good depth and drainage
 No salt and compaction
Seed bed

 Preparation of good seed bed is essential

o Since the same field is retained for 2-3 years
o Deep ploughing / sub-soiling is needed
 Field Layout
o In India - by adopting two systems viz.,
 Ridge and furrows system
 Flat system.
 o There are some special systems
 Trench system
 Deep Trench system
 Paired - row system
 Ring or pit system etc.
Planting materials

 Vegetative propagation
o Known as seed pieces or setts
o Buds on sugarcane germinate and give plants
o Planting materials may be
 Single bud sett or Chip bud
 Two budded setts
 Three budded
 Seedlings raised from nursery
 Seedlings raised by poly bags or
 Tissue cultured seedlings
o For sett planting
 Sugarcane setts are prepared from nursery cane
 Nursery cane is younger than (6-8 months) juice cane
Ideal cane sett

 Ultimate plant stand and yield depends on the type of seed material used. The
characteristics of good seed cane material are
o Free from disease and pest infestation
o Age of seed crop is around eight months
o Setts should have healthy buds without any damage in handling and
transport
o Buds with higher moisture content, adequate nutrients, higher amount of
reducing sugars
o Cane should be free from aerial roots and splits
 o Pure in quality
Preparation of setts

 Use of sharp knife to cut setts

 Treat the setts immediately with fungicide solution
 Machine cutting and mechanical planting is also followed in developed counties
 Seed rates & spacing
 Depends up on the spacing
 Spacing varies due to
o Climate
o Method of establishment
 In TN
o 50,000 three budded setts
o 75,000 two budded setts
o 187,500 single budded setts
 Row spacing may vary
o 0.9m to 1.5m and 2.4m
Method of planting

Flat Planting

 In this method, shallow (8-10 cm deep) furrows are opened with a local plough or
cultivator at a distance of 75 to 90 cm
 There should be adequate moisture in the field at the time of planting
 The setts are planted in them end to end
 Furrows are covered with 5-7 cm soil
 In most parts of northern India and some tracts of Maharastra, cane is planted by
this method
Furrow Planting

 In this method furrows are made with a sugarcane ridger about 10-15 cm deep in
northern India and about 20 cm in south India
 Setts are planted end to end
  The furrows are covered with 5-6 cm soil, leaving upper portion of furrows
unfilled
 Immediately after covering the setts water is let into furrows
 This method is practiced in parts of eastern UP and in Peninsular India,
particularly in heavy soils
Trench Method

 In some coastal areas as well as in other areas where the crop grows very tall and
the strong winds during rainy season cause lodging of cane, trench method is
adopted to save the crop from lodging
 Trenches at a distance of 75-90 cm are dug with the help of ridger or by manual
labour
 Trenches should be about 20-25 cm deep
 Fertilizers (NPK) are spread uniformly in the trenches and mixed thoroughly in
the soil
 The setts are planted end to end in trenches
 The tractor-drawn sugarcane planter is a very suitable device for planting cane in
trenches
Modified trench system

 Ridges and furrows are opened at 120 cm using a tractor drawn ridger
 The furrow bottom is widened
 As the crop grows while each manuring, only slight earthing up is done so that a
trough is maintained through the crop growth
o Here irrigation is given in the cane row itself
 The system has been found highly useful under :
o Saline water irrigated and saline soil conditions
o The salts are leached down from the root zone
o Higher cane yield compared to conventional ridges and furrows
o FYM or pressmud application and trash mulching in this system can
further improve cane yield
Special methods of establishment

Single bud direct planting

 In this system single bud setts are planted directly in the field in the furrows at 30-
45 cm spacing
 This method is highly economical and sowing of seed material.
 The buds should be healthy
Transplanting technique (STP technique)

 Seedlings are raised in a nursery bed using single bud setts.

 About 6 weeks old seedlings are transplanted
 Advantages by adopting this system are
o Saving in the seed cost
 Only about 2-3 t/ha against the normal 8-10 tonnes/ha.
o Synchronous tillering leading to uniformly maturity
o Sufficient time availability to prepare the main field
o Saving of 2-3 irrigations
o Possibility of increased cane yield
o Better weed management
o Efficient fertilizer management
Partha" method

 A technique developed by Mr. S.V. Parthasaradhy an eminent sugarcane scientist.

 Suggested for water logged or excess soil moisture conditions (coastal Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu during N-E monsoon period)
 In this method
o three eye budded setts are planted in a slanting position, 60° to the
vertical, in the wet furrow or half-way on the ridges
o Usually one eye bud is thrust into the soil and the remaining two will be
above, which will sprout
o Once the monsoon recedes, the in situ sprouted setts are pressed down into
the soil and made to lie horizontally
 o Soil is put to the base
o At this stage, the crop is manured
Measures to obtain higher germination

 Using disease free healthy setts

 Careful preparation of setts without damaging the buds or setts
 Planting freshly prepared and treated
 Trash mulching under
o moisture stress and hot weather and late planted conditions
 Seed treatment using a fungicide
Manures for Sugarcane

 Apply FYM / Compost during field preparation

 Inorganic fertilizers:
o For Coastal and flow irrigated areas
 270 : 112.5: 60 N: P2O5: K2O kg /ha
 N & K applied in three equal quantities at
 30, 60 and 90 DAG
 N may be coated with neem cake @20%
o For Lift irrigated areas
 225 : 112.5: 60 N: P2O5: K2O kg /ha
o For Jaggery producing areas
 175 : 112.5: 60 N: P2O5: K2O kg /ha
 For those soils deficient in …
o In iron : 100 kg ferrous sulphate /ha
o In Zinc : 37.5 kg Zinc sulphate
 Foliar application and drip fertigation can
o Reduce N dose
o Increase cane yield
o Save ground water pollution by fertilizers
 Azospirillum application can enhance the growth
  Band placement of fertilizer is another method by which losses can be minimized
Irrigation

 To support and sustain a vigorous nursery crop, irrigating at optimum levels in

important
 Any shortage in the irrigation would lead to reduced sett yield
 Moisture stress would pre-dispose the crop to the attack of some pests and
diseases
 Irrigation at IW/CPE ratio of 1.0 is ideal
o According to moisture depletion irrigating at 25% depletion of available
soil moisture (ASM) may be ideal
o This in practical terms means:
 Once in 6-7days in a loamy soil and
 At around 10-12 days in heavy day soil
Weed control

 A weed-free environment is absolutely essential

 Deep ploughing and removal of perennial weeds
 Pre-emergence application of
o Atrazine 1.75kg or Oxyflurofen 0.75 lit/ha on 3-4 days of planting using
knapsack sprayer
 Post-emergence application of
o Gramaxone 2.5 lit + 2-4,D Sodium salt 2.5 lit/ha as directed spray on 21
DAP
 Hand weeding before each manuring
 Other cultural operations and precautions
Cultural operations

 Important cultural operations in sugarcane in addition to weeding, manuring and

irrigation are
o Earthing up
o Detrashing
 o Propping and
o Flowering control
Earthing-Up

 This practice is followed where furrows are practiced

 Earthing up are 2-3times during crop period.
o The first earthing-up is known as "partial earthing-up and
 To cover the fertilizers
 To provide anchorage to root system
o The second operation is "full earthing-up".
 Full earthing-up is done after final manuring (90-120 days
coinciding with peak tillering)
 The soil from the ridge is thrown on both sides towards cane rows
and the furrows will become as ridges and ridges as furrows
 The furrows so formed are used for irrigation
Wet earthing up

 Done around 6months age of the crop

 The furrows are irrigated and the wet soil from furrows is taken and plaster the
ridges
o It checks late tillering and watery shoots
 Heavy earthing up is useful during floods
o When the flood water recedes, the excess water from earthed-up soil
drains out quickly thus providing aeration
Hoeing

 This operation is done where soil crust formation is very common

 In sub tropics hoeing is done after germination is over using a bullock drawn or a
tractor - drawn harrows
 While carrying out this operation some of the germinated setts may be uprooted
and they are pressed down manually
Detrashing
  On an average a stalk may produce30-35 leaves
 All are not useful for effective photosynthesis
o Only the top 8-10 leaves are sufficient
o Most of the bottom leaves are dried will not participate in photosynthesis
o At the same time they drain out the food materials which otherwise could
be used for stalk growth
 Therefore it is important to remove the dry and lower leaves
 This operation is known as detrashing
 Detrashing helps in clean cultivation
 Easy movement of air within the crop canopy
 Reduce certain pests like scales mealy bugs, white fly etc.,
 Easy entry into the field
 Avoids bud germination due to accumulation of water in the leaf sheath
 Easy to take up cultural operations including sprayings
 Easy to harvest, obtaining clean canes for milling
 Detrashed leaves can be used for
o Mulching in the furrows or
o Used for composting
o Infested leaves with pest or disease may be burnt out
Propping

 Tying the canes by using the lower bottom leaves to check lodging of cane
 Propping can be either done for each row or two rows can be brought together and
tied
 It is for:
o Prevention the lodging
o Extensively followed in coastal belt where cyclone effect is very severe
o Lodging also very common in
 Tall varieties
 Top growth is heavy and where the growth habit is not erect, and
 The varieties with less fibre content.
Lodging leads to several problems

 Cane breakage and thus loss of stalk number at harvest loss

 Lodged canes are easily infested by certain pests and diseases
 Damage by rats and rodents
 Bud sprouting leads to reduced cane quality
 Aerial root formation affects cane quality
 difficult to irrigate and harvest the cup
To prevent lodging

 Heavy earthing up
 Propping
 Paired row planting with earthing up
 Deep trench planting
 Selection of varieties resist lodging
 Raising wind breaks along the field borders
 Application of potassium
Removal of water shoots

 Water shoots are late formed tillers or side shoots which are robust and fast
growing.
 They originate mainly due to excess water supply, heavy and late manuring,
inadequate earthing up
 These water shoots contain lot of water, low sucrose and more of reducing sugars
 Water shoots affect the growth of adjacent stalks
 They harbor insect pests and when they are milled sugar recoveries are low
because of reduced juice quality
o Therefore removal of water shoots whenever they appear
o Water shoots can be used as cattle feed
Control of flowering
  In commercial sugarcane cultivation, flowering is not desirable
 Once the plant flowered the cane growth stops and starts ripening
 If not harvested immediately reversion of sugars, increase in fibre, pith formation,
cane breakage etc.
 The deterioration is much faster if it is summer
 Solution
o Non-flowering or shy flowering varieties can be used where flowering is a
severe problem
o Controlled irrigation
o Change of planting period
o Use of growth regulating substances
 Spraying of ethrel at 500ppm, twice or 1000ppm once at floral
initiation
Ratoon Management

 The crop raised from planting cane sett is called plant crop
 After the harvest of plant crop stubble sprouts and gives rise to succeeding crop
called as ratoon crop
 The practice of taking up ratoon crop is called ‘ratooning’
Ratooning ability

 Is generic, based upon ability ratoon varieties are classified as:

o Good or poor ratooner
o Co 1148, Co 419, Co 740 are some examples for good ratooners
 Ratooning has following advantages:
o Reduction in the cost of field preparation, planting material, operation cost
o Saving in field duration – ratoon matures earlier than plant crop
o Ratoon may give equal yield that of plant crop
Ratooning is common practice

 Number ratoon varies

o In Cuba 10-11 crops
 o South Africa & USA 4-6 crops
o Hawaii, Brazil and Australia 2-3
o In India ratoon yield is generally poor since
 Very little attention to manure ratoon
 30-40% area is under ratoon in India
 The average productivity is low
Ratoon management

 Select variety suitable during plant crop

 Plant crop should be harvested at right maturity
o Delayed harvest to be avoided
 Harvesting close to the ground with sharp cutting
o Stubble shaving to 4-6cm is recommended if no uniform cut at harvest
 Remove the trash but do not burn it
 Irrigated the field properly
 Shoulder breaking or off-barring to remove decayed stubbles
 Gap filling with sprouted setts or seedlings
 Ratoon is less efficient in N utilization hence 25% additional N from 5-7 days
after ratooning is desirable
 P & K should be judiciously
 Spraying of FeSO4 @ 2.5kg/ha in 150 litres on 15th day if chlorotic symptom is
noticed
o If persists repeat twice at 15 days interval
o In the last spray add 12.5kg urea
 After cultivation practices to be done more effectively
 Ratoon requires more plant protection
o Grassy shoot disease, ratoon stunting
Maturity and harvest

 Ripening of sugarcane refers to rapid synthesis and storage of sucrose in the stalk
 Accumulation of sugar in the stalk starts soon after completion of elongation
phase
 Glucose produced during photosynthesis is not utilized for conversion but stored
as sucrose
 When the concentration exceeds 16% in the juice and 85% purity the cane is said
to be matured
 As the crop advances in maturity:
o Water content decreases
o Sucrose content increases
o Reducing sugars decreases
 Both organic and inorganic non-sugars also decreases
o At peak maturity sucrose content is at maximum and non-sugars at
minimum
 Assessing maturity
o Use of hand refractometer - Brix reading
o Assess the maturity by HR meter survey – 18-25% indicates optimum
maturity
o When the reading between top and bottom is 1:1 – is right time to harvest
 If delayed
 Sucrose content decreases
 Non-sugars increases
 Fibre content increases
 Ripening is influenced by number of factors
o Climate
o Nutrition
o Variety
 Cool dry weather is the key factor
o Bright sunshine
o Day temp 28-30C
o Night temp 12-14C
 RTD (Relative temp disparity) decides
 Ripeners
 o Spray Sodium metasilicate 4kg in 750 litres /ha 6 months after planting
o Repeat at 8th & 10th months
 and not at declining phase
o Polaris and Ethrel are most extensively used in Hawaii
 Polaris @ 5 kg in 600 l /ha
Cropping systems

 Intercropping
o Since a slow grower during initial 2-3 months may be an intercrop raised
o The crop should not affect cane yield
o Marketability, ability and feasibility decides the short crops
o Pulses, potato, onion etc are some
 Sequential cropping - Rotations
o After sugarcane 1 or 2 or 3 crops
 Rice based cropping system for one year
 Wheat based
 Sugarcane-banana- rice based crop rotations
Jaggery :

1. The composition of cane jaggery

The jaggery contains approximately 60-85% sucrose, 5-15% glucose and fructose. Along
with 0.4% of protein, 0.1 g of fat and 0.6 to 1.0 g of minerals (8 mg of calcium, 4 mg of
phosphorus, and 11.4 mg of iron). It is also found to contain traces of vitamins and amino
acids. 100 g of jaggery gives 383 kcal of energy. In ayurveda, jaggery is considered as
the best base material for the preparation of medicines. In contrast, the white crystal sugar
contains only sucrose to the tune of 99.5% without any minerals.

2. What is an ideal juice clarificant for jaggery making?

The clarificant should meet the following requirements:

  Removal of all constituents of juice other than sucrose, reducing sugars,
inorganics (phosphates, iron and calcium) and organics (higher proteins and
fats).
 Control of undesirable colour development and inversion of sucrose during
boiling and concentration.
 Better crystallization.
 Prevention of overheating and charring.
 No adverse effect on jaggery taste and human health.
 Longer storage life of the product.
 Easy availability of clarifying agent.

3. What are the various vegetable clarificants that are used for jaggery
making?

Stem and root of green plant of Deola and Bhindi, Green bark of the Phalsa and Semul
trees, Dry bark of the Sukhlai plant, Seeds of castor, ground nut and soybean.The
quantity of clarificant is approximately 40 - 70 g per 100 Litres of cane juice.

4. What are the various chemical clarificants that are used for jaggery making?

Hydros (sodium hydrogen sulphite), Lime (Calcium oxide), Sodium carbonate,

Sodiumbicarbonate, Sajji (50%) sodium carbonate, 6.4% sodium sulphate, 4.5% sodium
chloride), Super phosphate and alum are used. Use of various chemicals as juice
clarificants during jaggery preparation results in presence of harmful chemicals like S02
in jaggery and also affects the taste and storability of such jaggery.

5. What are the varieties good for jaggery making?

 Andhra Pradesh: Co 6907, CoT 8201, Co 8013, Co 62175, Co 7219, Co

8014, CoR 8001
 Bihar: CoS 767, BO 91, Co 1148
 Gujarat: CoC 671, Co 7527, Co 62175, Co 8014, Co 740
 Haryana: Co7717, Co 1148, Co 1158, CoS 767
  Karnataka: Co 7704, Co 62175, Co 8014, Co 8011, CoC 671, Co 86032
 Madhya Pradesh: Co 775, Co 7314, Co 6304, Co 62175
 Maharashtra: Co 775, Co 7219, CoC 671, Co 740, Co 7257, Co 86032
 Orissa: Co 7704, Co 7219,Co 62175, Co 6304
 Punjab: CoJ 64, Co 1148, CoJ 81
 Rajasthan: 997, Co 419
 Tamilnadu: CoC 671, Co 62175, Co 7704, Co 6304, Co 8021, Co 86032,
CoC 92061
 Uttar Pradesh: CoS 687, CoJ 64, Co1148, CoS 767, CoS 802, CoS 7918,
Co 1158, CoS 8408, CoS 8432,BO 91, CoS 8315, CoS 8016, CoS 8118,
CoS 8119, BO 19, CoS 837
 West Bengal CoJ 64, Co 1148.

6. What are the methods of jaggery storage?

The following methods may be adopted for the storage of jaggery without much
deterioration in quality:

 Large quantities of jaggery may be stored in the go-downs provided with

moisture absorbing agents like calcium chloride or quick lime.
 Use sugarcane trash, fly ash, palmirah leaves, paddy husk etc, in between
layers of jaggery.
 Smoking of godown with paddy husk particularly during monsoon period.
 Storing of jaggery under low temperature maintains freshness in flavour
and no loss in sucrose content.
 Storing of jaggery in gunny lined with black polythene sheets.
 Drying of gur in shade during summer to a moisture content of less than 6%
and storage of dried gur in polythene lined gunny bags improves shelf life
of jaggery.
  Ordinary earthen pots painted from inside as well as outside, wooden
boxes, baskets made of palmirah leaves can be used for storing jaggery at
home.

7. What are the standard specification for cane jaggery grading?

S.No Characteristics Grade-1 Grade-2

1. Sucrose % (minimum) 80 70
2. Reducing sugars % (maximum) 10 20
3. Moisture % (maximum) 5 7
4. Water insoluble matter %(maximum) 1.5 2.0
5. Sulphated ash % (maximum) 3.5 5.0
6. Sulphur dioxide ppm (maximum) 50 50
7. Ash insoluble in dilute HC(maximum) 0.3 0.3
Source:Indian Standard (IS 12923):1990

8. How to make organic jaggery?

Many times the market jaggery has been found to contain excess quantities of harmful
chemicals like sulphur dioxide. Due to use of chemicals the taste and storability of such
jaggery is also affected. In this context growing of sugarcane naturally and with use of
organics and also preparation of jaggery with use of organic clarificants assumes
importance in order to produce quality jaggery. There is a growing demand for
organically produced jaggery both within the country and in the export market. For
preparation of organic jaggery, the sugarcane should be grown in a field free from any
residue of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides etc. from the previous crop. Follow
all the recommended techniques for growing the sugarcane by applying only organic
source of required nutrients, totally avoiding pesticides and herbicides. For controlling
the pest, bio-control methods may be adopted.
 9. How to prepare liquid jaggery?

Liquid jaggery is an intermediate product obtained during jaggery making. This contains
water, sugars, and non-sugars. Fructose and glucose are in equal proportions, with
proteins, organic acids, and minerals. After the juice is extracted, potassium alum crystals
added to the juice. This facilitates sedimentation of solid particles. The clear juice is
poured into a boiling pan. About 50 g of lime is added to bring the pH to 6.0. Bhendi
(ladies finger) mucilage is added and the first scum is removed when the temperature is
85oC. Chemical clarificants include phosphoric acid and super phosphate. Boiling is
continued and the second scum is removed at 98 oC. The strike point is 106oC and at this
stage the pan is removed and 0.04% of citric acid is added. Liquid jaggery is sweeter than
cane sugar and jaggery. After complete settling, liquid jaggery is filled in clean and
sterilized bottles. This can be stored for 1-1.5 years. It is necessary to add 0.1% citric acid
and 0.1 % sodium metabisulphite for better preservation.

10. What is value added jaggery?

Value addition to solid jaggery by inclusion of nutritive substances through puffed rice,
gram, sesame and various kinds of nuts (cashew, almond), vitamins, iron, and taste
enhancers like chocolate powder will increase demand for this kind of jaggery. The
nutritive value and palatability can be enhanced by preparing different kinds of jaggery
with the addition of puffed rice, gram and groundnut in different proportions of 1:0.75,
1:1, 1:1.25, 1:1.5, 1:1.75 (Jaggery patti), mixing with wheat flour in proportions 90:10,
80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60 (Jaggery-wheat flour extruded snacks) and mixing
with gram flour (Jaggery-besan snacks). The jaggery with 10% cocoa powder yielded a
product (chocolate) which was very much acceptable as a substitute for chocolate. Value
added jaggery will be a cheap source of nutrition to the poor and malnourished.

Source: http://www.sugarcane.res.in/index.php/faqs/crop-production/211?showall=1

Sugarcane Breeding Institute

Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, India, one of the pioneering Sugarcane
breeding institutes in the world was established in 1912, with the main objective of
evolving superior varieties of sugarcane suitable for various agro climatic zones in India.

The Institute is located at Coimbatore (77° E longitude and 11° N latitude) in Southern
India on the leeward side of Western Ghats at 427 metres above mean sea level.

The location is well suited for sugarcane breeding as the climate favours natural
flowering of sugarcane and good seed set.

The Institute, which was formerly under Government of India became part of the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research on April 1, 1969.
 Lec 3
SUGARBEET
Beta vulgaris spp. Vulgaris var altissima Doll

Importance of sugarbeet

 Tropical sugarbeet is a biennial sugar producing tuber crop, grown in temperate

countries
 This crop constitutes 30% of total world production and distributed in 45
countries.
 Now tropical sugarbeet hybrids are gaining momentum in tropical and sub
tropical countries including Tamil Nadu as a promising energy crop and
alternative raw materials for the production of ethanol.
 Apart from sugar production, the value added products like ethanol can also be
extracted from sugarbeet.
 The ethanol can be blended with petrol or diesel to the extent of 10% and used as
bio-fuel.
 The sugarbeet waste material viz., beet top used as green fodder, beet pulp used as
cattle feed and filter cake from industry used as organic manure.
Tropical sugarbeet now emerged as commercial field crop because of the favourable
characters like

 tropical sugarbeet hybrids suitable for Tamil Nadu

 Shorter duration of 5 to 6 months
  needs moderate water requirement of 60-80 cm.(iv) higher sugar content of 12 –
15% (v) improve soil conditions because of tuber crop and
 grow well in saline and alkali soil.
 The harvesting period of sugarbeet coincides with March – June, the human
resource of sugar factory in the off season may efficiently utilized for processing
of sugarbeet in the sugar mills, which helps in continuous functioning of sugar
mills.
Hybrids and duration

The tropical sugarbeet hybrids suitable for cultivation in Tamil Nadu are

 Cauvery,
 Indus and
 Shubhra.
 The duration of these tropical hybrids will be 5 to 6 months depending on climatic
conditions prevailing during crop growth period.
Climate and season

 Tropical sugarbeet require good sunshine during its growth period.

 The crop does not prefer high rainfall as high soil moisture or continuous heavy
rain may affect development of tuber and sugar synthesis.
 Tropical sugarbeet can be sown in September– November coincide with North
East monsoon with a rainfall of 300 – 350 mm well distributed across the growing
period which favours vegetative growth and base for root enlargement.
 The optimum temperature for germination is 20 – 250C,
 for growth and development 30 - 350C and
 for sugar accumulation in 25– 350C.
Season

 September to November and harvested during March and May.

Field preparation
  Well drained sandy loam and clayey loam soils having medium depth (45” cm)
with fairly good organic status are suitable.
 Tropical sugarbeet require deep ploughing (45 cm) and followed by 2 – 3
ploughing to obtain a good soil tilth condition for favorable seed germination.
 Ridges and furrows are formed at 50 cm apart.

Manures and Fertilizers

Manures and Basal Application Top dressing

Fertilizers
Manures 12.5 tonnes /ha -

Biofertilizers
Azospirillum
2 kg /acre (10 pockets) -
Phosphobacteria
2 kg /acre (10 pockets)

Fertilizers
Nitrogen
75kg /ha 37.5 kg / ha each at 25 & 50
Phosphorus DAS
75kg /ha
Potassium --
75kg /ha

Seeds and sowing

 Optimum population is 1,00,000-1,20,000 /ha.

 Use only pellated seeds 1,20,000 Nos /ha which require 6 pockets (3.6kg / ha.-
One pocket contains 20000 seeds (600 g)]
 The recommended spacing is 50 x 20 cm.
 The pellated seed is dibbled at 2 cm depth in the sides of ridges at 20 cm apart
Weeding and Earthing up

 The crops should be maintained weed free situation up to 75 days.

  Pretilachlor 50 EC @ 0.5 kg /ha or Pendimethalin @3.75lit /ha can be dissolved
in 300 litres of water and sprayed with hand operated sprayer on 0-2 day after
sowing,
 Followed by hand weeding on 25th day and 50th day after sowing.
 The earthing up operations coincides with top dressing of N fertilizer.
Irrigation

 Tropical sugarbeet is very sensitive to water stagnation in soil at all stages of crop
growth
 Irrigation should be based on soil type and climatic condition.
 Pre-sowing irrigation is essential since at the time of sowing, sufficient soil
moisture is must for proper irrigation.
 First irrigation is crucial for the early establishment of the crop.
 For loose textured sandy loam soil irrigation once in 5 to 7 days and for heavy
textured clay loam soil once in 8 – 10 days is recommended.
 The irrigation has to be stopped atleast 2 to 3 weeks before harvest.
 At the time of harvest if the soil is too dry and hard it is necessary to give pre
harvest irrigation for easy harvest. Light and frequent irrigation is recommended
for maintaining optimum soil moisture
Pest and diseases

 Pests - Aphids, Tobacco caterpillar and Flea beetles

Diseases

 Root and crown rot, Cercospora leaf spot and Root knot nematode
Integrated pest and disease management

 Seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g/kg of seed

 Summer ploughing and exposing the field to sunlight
 Crop rotation for 3 years with Marigold or gingelly or sunnhemp for root rot and
nematode
 Soil application of Trichoderma viride or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 2.5 kg/ha
mixed with 50 kg of FYM before planting
  Sow castor as trap crop around and within fields to attract adult Spodoptera
moth for egg laying
 Set up light traps (1 mercury / 5 ha) for monitoring Spodoptera litura
 Setting up pheromone -Pherodin SL @ 12/ha for Spodoptera litura
 Removal and destruction of Spodoptera egg masses, early stage larvae formed in
clusters
 Hand picking and destruction of grown up Spodoptera caterpillar
Need based

 Spraying Spodoptera nuclear polyhedrosis virus at 1.5 x 1012 POB/ha

 Spray NSKE 5% for aphids flea beetles and for early instar caterpillars
 Use of poison bait pellets prepared with rice bran 12.5 kg, jaggery 1.25 kg,
carbaryl 50% WP - 1.25 kg in 7.5 lit water for Spodoptera litura
 Spray any one of the following insecticides using a high volume sprayer covering
the foliage and soil surface
 Chlorpyriphos 20 EC - 2 ml / lit,Dichlorvos 76 WSC - 1 ml/lit, Fenitrothion 50
EC - 1 ml/lit, Spray malathion 50 EC (2 ml/lit) for flea beetle and leaf webber,
Spray Imidacloprid 200 SL (0.2 ml/lit) or methyl demeton 25 EC (2 ml/lit) or
dimethoate 30 EC (2 ml/lit) for aphids
 Applying neem cake @ 150 kg/ha for root rot
 Foliar spray of Mancozeb 2.5 g / lit or Chlorothalonil 2 g / litre of water for
Cercospora leaf spot
 Neem cake @ 1 t/ha or carbofuran @ 33 kg/ha as spot application on 30 days
after sowing for nematode management
Harvest and yield

 The Tropical sugarbeet crop matured in about 5 to 6 months. The yellowing of

lower leaf whirls of matured plant, Nitrogen deficiency and root brix reading of
15 to 18% indicate the maturity of beet root for harvest.
 The average root yield of tropical sugarbeet is 80 – 100 tonnes / ha.
 Harvesting should be timed so as the roots reach the factory within 48 hours for
processing.
  Till such time the roots should not be harvested.
***

Lec 4 and 5
COTTON
Gossipium sp-
________________________________________________________________________
 It is white gold
 Backbone of textile industry
 Contributes 7% of GDP
 Providing employment to 60 million people in India
 45% world’s fibre need is met from
 10% of world’s edible oil
Importance of cotton

 It is cultivated primarily for lint

 Raw cotton is also used for medical and surgical purpose
 Linters are used cushions, pillows etc
 Also used for high grade paper, rayon, films, explosives
 Stalk is a fuel
 Seed crushed for edible oil
 Cakes and meals are excellent cattle feed

Cotton – World production Scenario (1996-97)

Country Area -M ha Lint -M tonnes kg lint /ha

India 9.2 3.0 327
USA 5.2 4.1 792
China 4.7 4.2 890
Pak 3.2 1.6 497
Uzbekistan 1.5 1.0 689
World 33.8 19.4 574
+ Argentine, Turkey, Brazil, Turkmenistan, Greece, Australia, Egypt
Cotton – Indian Scenario (1996-97)

State Area -M ha Lint -M tonnes kg lint /ha

Maharashtra 3.10 Lint is 30% of 182
Kapas0.56
Gujarat 1.52 0.43 282
AP 1.01 0.48 477
Punjab 0.74 0.27 367
Karnataka 0.67 0.15 229
Haryana 0.65 0.23 354
Rajasthan 0.65 0.24 364
MP 0.53 0.32 605
TN 0.26 0.09 360
India 9.17 2.97 327
Note: Lint is around 30% of kapas

 Cotton is cultivated in 9 states in India

 Area is classified as:
 Northern – Punjab, Haryana, NW Rajasthan & W. UP (hirsutum-arboreum)
 Central – Maharastra, MP, Gujarat & S. rajasthan (herbaceum – arboreum-
hirsutum)
 Southern – Karnatak, AP & TN – (hirsutum- arboreum- herbaceum)
Origin

 Old world cotton with ‘A’ genome may be from Southern Ethiopia
 G. arboreum and G. harbaceum
 Called as ‘desi’ cotton
 New world cotton ‘D’ genome
 G. barbadense,(Egyptian) G hirsutm (American) are New world cotton

Cultivars and hybrids

 Lot of work on varietal improvement as early as 1900

  Hybrids are available at plenty
o Hirsutum varieties are famous
 MCU series
 MCU 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12
 LRA 5166
o Arboreum
 K 9, 10, 11
o Barbedense
 Suvin (Anjali), Surabi
o Hybrids
 Jayalakshmi, TCHB 213, HB 224,
The plant

 Root
o Tap root system
o Grows more than 1.6 m
 Shoot and branches
o Monopodium and sympodia
o It is similar in all except arboreum
 In arboreum growth continues in monopodium
 Leaf
o Spirally arranged on the main stem
 Fruiting structure
o Begins as flower bud or square
o After flowering t becomes a fruit called boll
Growth stages

 Germination phase -4-7 days

 Early vegetative phase
 Squaring- it may be from 35-70DAS depending upon
o The variety
 o Location and
o Management
 Flowering
o 20-35 days after first square formation
o It continues for 60-80 days
o However peak flowering is 70-100 DAS
 Boll development
o Within 15-18 days boll attains 90% size
o Mature size is attained within 25 days
o Cotton fibre develops from the outermost cells of the seed-coat
o Fibre elongation is complete by day 21-24
o Secondary wall thickening strengthens the fibre and continues up to 30-40
days after anthesis
Climate

 A mean average temp of <15°C for crop growth

 Optimum temp for vegetative growth is 21°C
 For fruiting a day temp of 27-30°C with large diurnal variation
 Frostless period of 180-200 days
 Well distributed seasonal rainfall
 Open sunny weather
Soils

 A soil to a depth of not less than 60cm

 Sandy, sandy loam, black soils
o When the rainfall is heavy - a coarse textured soil
o When moisture is problem then clay soil
Season

 North Zone
o 1st week of May
o For the new varieties 3rd week to 1st week of June
  Central zone
o 3rd week of June to 1st week of July
o Irrigated may start from March
 Southern zone
o June in Karnataka
o Jun / July in red soil of AP
o August in TN
Field preparation

 Fine tilth is not a pre-requisite

 Application of FYM / compost
 Chiseling may be to break hard pan
 Forming ridges and furrows is ideal
Spacing and seed rate

Variety / Hybrid Spacing Seed - Seed- Seed

Fuzz Delinted Naked
MCU5, 9, 11, SVPR 2, LRA 5166 75 x 30 15 7.5 -
KC 2 45 x 15 20 15 -
SUVIN 90 x 45 - - 6
Jayalakshmi, HB 224, TCHB 213 120 x 60 3.75 2.5 -
MUC 7, SVPR 1, ADT 1 60 x 30 15 7.5 -

Sowing

 Dibble the seeds at 3cm depth

 No of seeds
o Fuzzy seeds
 Hybrids - 2
 Varieties -3
o Delinted seeds
 Hybrids – 1
o Varieties - 2
In organic fertilizer – kg /ha

Variety / Hybrid N P2O5 K2O

MCU5, 9, 11, SVPR 2, LRA 5166 80 40 40
MUC 7, SVPR 1, ADT 1 60 30 30

SUVIN, Jayalakshmi, HB 224, TCHB 213 120 60 60

 P & K as per soil test

 Time of application for Group I & II
o ½ N + P+K basal
o ½ at 40-45 DAS
 For Group III
o N as three equal splits as basal, 40-45 and 60-65 DAS
 If the previous crop if heavily fertilized ( for crop like ragi) reduce N level by
25%
 If basal not applied fertilizer may be applied at 25th DAS
 Application of ‘azospirillum’ saves 25% N requirement
Weed management

 Herbicide application
o Pre-emergence application of
 Fluchloralin 1.0 kg
 Pendimethalin 1.0 kg
o Hand weeding at 30-45 DAS
Irrigation

 Cotton can be irrigated at

o 75% depletion available soil moisture in clay
o 50% ASM at sandy loam soils
 Early irrigation is important to have proper plant growth
 An mild stress before flowering is advantageous
 After flowering very crucial
o Deficit results in fruit abscission
 o Excess leads to excess vegetative growth
 Methods of irrigation
o Flooding through furrows
o Surge may be followed
o Drip fetigation is also possible
After cultivation

Thinning and gap filling

 Gap filling on 10th day

 Seedlings raised from by polyethylene bag may be useful
 Thin the seedlings to single plant on 15th day
Earthing up

o Digging and earthing up is essential for soil aeration

Nipping

o If monopodia continues more than 15 nodes

Harvesting

 Hand picking is usual practice

 Strippers – spindle or brush type is used in developed countries
o Periodical
o Early morning
o Without bracts or with minimum
 May be machinery
o Method of sowing needs change
o Varietals preference
o One time harvest
o Weather at maturity (RF) plays vital role
 Seed cotton should be collected from fully opened bolls
 After harvesting should be dried in clean threshing floor
 Should not be mixed with other varieties
  Hand picking and cleaving the pest infected kapas will enhance the quality
Quality parameters

 Ginning percentage
 Color
 Trash
 Fibre quality
 Fibre length
 Fibre fineness
 Fibre sterngth
 Spinning performance
 Oil content (14-26%) of the seed etc.
o Absence of gossypol, gossy purprin, gossy pulvin
Very Important management

 Pests and disease control

Cropping system

 Rainfed areas
o Mono cropped
o Mono with mixed crops
 Pulses, millets, groundnut
 Irrigated
o Cotton – wheat
o Cotton – pulse – millets
o Rice - cotton

Rainfed cotton
The productivity of rainfed cotton is around 210 kg/ha. The productivity of rainfed cotton
can be increased upto 1000 kg/ha with better management practices.

Varieties

   LRA 5166, MCU 10 (existing), KC2 (new variety) K10 and K11 in Karunganni tract;
Paiyur 1 in Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu.

Pre monsoon sowing

Sowing of hardened cotton seeds two weeks before onset of monsoon is done. The pre
monsoon sowing resulted in 20 to 30 per cent increase in seed cotton yield.

Rice fallow cotton

 It is cotton cultivated in rice fields immediately after the harvest of rice when the
field is in waxy condition when the season is optimum.
 No field preparation is needed to sow the crop.
 It may also be called minimum tillage crop.
 Management of previous rice crop including land leveling, P & K management,
weed management, water management, and height of harvest of rice stubbles etc
decides the efficiency and growth characters of cotton crop.
 Season
o Jan 15th – Feb 15th
 Field
o Immediately after the harvest of rice
o Sowing at waxy soil condition
 Season
o Jan 15th –Feb 15th
 Field
o Immediately after the harvest of rice
o Sowing at waxy soil condition
 Varieties
o MCU 7, SVPR 1, ADT 1 LRA 5166
 Spacing
o 60 x 30 and (75 X 30 for LRA)
 Fertilizers
o 60:30:30
 Gap filling and thinning
o Gap filling from 7th day onwards
o Thinning on 15th day
o Hand weeding around the plant
 From 15th day
 Digging the rows and earthing up
o From 21st day
 Irrigation
o After drying of the soil dug between the rows
 Fertilizer application
o Around 35th day
o Followed by 1st irrigation
 Earthing up
o Around 40th day after the moisture dried and soil loosened for second
time
 2nd irrigation may be around 50-60 DAS
 Plant protection
o As per the need

***
 Lec 6
JUTE
Corchorus capsularis, C. olitorius
_______________________________________________________________________

Importance
 Raw jute in the trade & industry refers both jute and meta
 It is one of the bast fibres in India
 Plays vital role in Economy
 Employment, industry, foreign exchange are three spheres
 States like WB, Bihar, Orissa & E. UP
o 4 million small and marginal farmers are engaged
o Labour intensive during processing
 It was tried an alternate to hemp
 Next to cotton
 Fibre for manufacture of packaging materials
o Package materials to food grains, sugar, cement, fertilizers, cotton, salt,
vegetables etc
 It is gaining importance again since there is awareness in eco-friendly
o Meaning discouraging synthetic materials
Area, Production, Productivity of allied fibres of Jute – World (Million ha, tonne & t/ha)

Country Area Production Productivity

India 0.96 1.66 1.73
Bangladesh 0.52 0.83 1.60
China 0.23 0.44 1.94
Thailand 0.09 0.13 1.45
Indonesia 0.01 0.01 1.00
World 1.93 3.27 1.69

Area, Production, Productivity of allied fibres of Jute – India (Million ha, tonne & t/ha)
 State Area Production Productivity
WB 0.57 1.192 2.10
Bihar 0.14 0.214 1.57
Assam 0.90 0.150 1.68
Orissa 0.01 0.002 1.58
India 0.96 1.660 1.73

Origin

 C. olitorius
o Primary origin – Africa
o Secondary origin – India
 C. capsularis
o Indo-Burma
Capsularis vs Olitoius

Characters Capsularis Olitorius

Height 5-12 feet tall 5-15feet
Waterlogging Can withstand Normally Cannot
Duration 3-5 months 4-5 months
Stem Cylindrical Cylindrical
Branches Branched or unbranched Branched but less vigorous
Capsule Rounded, 5 locular, seeds 7-10 Elongated, 5-6 locules, seeds 25-
in two rows in each locules, 40 in single row in locule, with
without transverse partitions, transverse partitions, 125-200
35-40 in each fruit seeds/pod
Seed wt 300 seeds/g 500seeds /g

Climate

 Hot and humid climate

o Temp 27 – 40°C
o Humidity 65-90%
 Short day and low temp leads to
 o premature flowering in olitorius
 Jute growing areas are divided into zones
o 9 Zones according to climate
Soils

 Well drained fertile light textured soil

o for olitorius
 Heavy soils and wetland soils
o for capsularis
o Alluvial is more suitable for capsularis
 All soils except sandy and heavy clay
Season

 Best season for higher fibre yield is:

o when the day is longer
o In Northern hemisphere Mar- Sep
 Winter season is less favourable for fibre
 Jute seeds are sown anytime between March - May
 The crop prefers a hot & humid climate and low laying areas
Field preparation

 Deep ploughing
 Dry seed bed
Methods of sowing

 Broadcasting
 Line sowing by seed drill

Seed rate, Spacing, Plants

Jute type Line sowing Broadcasting Spacing Plants/m2

(kg) (kg) (cm) (No)
Olitorius 5 7 25 x 5 80
 Capsularis 7 10 30 x 5 67

Varieties

Olitorius

o JRC 212, JRC 321, JRC 7447

Capsularis

o JRO 524, JRO 878, JRO 7835

Intercultural operations

 Raking
o Or harrowing twice for broadcast crop
 5-6cm height and a week later
o Raking improves tilth, reduces weed and thin the stand
 Hoeing
o May be wheel hoeing for row cropping
 Weeding
o 3-4 weeks after sowing, depending upon the intensity
o Fluchloralin 1.5kg/ha sprayed 3 DAS
Manures and fertilization

 5 t compost / FYM
 20:20:20 N, P2O5 & K2O kg /ha
 For traditional area
o N may be 40 kg in two splits
o Basal plus top at 3-4 weeks after germination

Irrigation

 Generally rainfed
 Irrigation is needed id sown in March
 o One pre-sowing irrigation
o Followed by 2-3 irrigations
Harvesting

 Any time between 100-150 days

 Better quality when harvested early
 Higher quantity if harvested later
 Ideal harvest when the crop is in small pod stage (120-135 days)
 The plants are cut close to ground with sickle
 Plants are cut from the bottom
 Leaves are stripped off from the top
 Accumulated in bundles
Retting

 Retting is the process of extraction of the fibre

 Bundles are then submerged in water for 7 to 10 days
 Retting takes place due to joint action of water, aquatic and plant surface
organisms, mostly bacteria
 The cambium and the cortex gets decomposed
Stripping

 The labourer holds the stem in one bunch and taps the rood end lightly with a
mallet.
 This frees the fibre at the foot of the stalk.
 The fibre is then grasped & by lashing & jerking the stem in the water the rest of
the fibre loosens and comes off
Drying

 Jute fibres are kept hanging on makeshift hangers for drying

 This process takes about 2 to 3 days
 Now the fibre is ready to be marketed. Here Grading becomes imperative
depending on the fineness, color, density, clearness etc, they are all score. Higher
the score the better the price.
Grading

 Jute is then brought to JCI godowns

 The bundles are scanned and jute fibres are categorized as per grades (TD1 to
TD7)
 Grade wise these are stocked at separate locations
Pressing

 Grade wise bundles are subjected to machine press to convert them in Bales
 Even the ropes used to tie the bales are prepared from the jute wastes
 The bales are finally stored in the warehouse as per their grades for sale
Cropping Systems

 Followed with rabi season winter crops

 Wheat, rice, millets, chickpea etc

***

Lec 7 - MESTA
Hibiscus cannabinus, H. sabdarffa var. altisima
_______________________________________________________________________
H. cannabinus (HC)-
– Also called Kenaf
H. Sabdariffa (HS)

– Roselle, Roselle hemp, Java jute, Thailand mesta

 In India both are called as Mesta
 Both are long vegetable fibre
 Closely allied to jute fibre
 HC Mesta
o Yields better quality fibre
o Sown in May
 HS Mesta
o Rainfed sown in June to July middle
o Sown in AP, Maharastra,, Karnataka & TN
Crop Management

 Almost same as that of jute

 Seed rate 18-20kg
 Spacing 30 cm between rows
 Broadcast application and laddering after sowing
 Thinning and removing the weeds by intercultural operations
 Can tolerate drought but not flood
 N may be up to 40 kg in 2 splits
 Harvest at 50% flowering for quality
 1.5 to 2.2 t / ha of fibre yields

Economic importance
Kenaf and roselle types are traditionally used in manufacture of twines,
ropes, sacs, fishing nets etc. The crop provides fibre, forage and paper pulp. Mesta
has two types of fibres namely the long bast fibres (soft wood) and short wood
fibre. Kenaf is now used in the manufacture of parts for car interiors like head
lines. It acts as natural fibre for fibre glass. Kenaf serves as raw materials for
automobile dash boards, carpet padding and kenaf particle boards. News paper
print is also manufactured from bast fibre.
It is an important forage crop and amenable for multiple cutting. As a
forage crop it should be cut 2 nodes above ground which will facilitate more
foliage from multiple cuts. Highly palatable foliage can be obtained from 3 cuts
with forage yield of 60 to 65 t/ha. Leaves and petioles contain 15 to 30 per cent
crude protein with high digestibility. Leaves are delicacy and used in sausages in
southern parts of India especially in Andhra Pradesh.
Kenaf seed has 17 to 22 per cent fatty oil and the oil cake has 8 to 10 per
cent oil with 24 to 26 per cent protein. The oil can be used as lubricant, paints or
varnishes. Mesta meal (deoiled) is an ideal animal food.
Fibre of kenaf / Roselle
The bast portion (25 to 35% of whole stalk) is comparable to soft wood
white the core portion could be compared with hard wood. Bast fibre is used for
preparation of specialty papers like cigarette paper, currency notes and lens paper.
To obtain bast fibre special operation called ‘ribboning’ (separation of phloem
tissue from xylem) is done.

Area, production and productivity

In India, mesta is grown in about 0.19 million ha of total area and 1.23
million bales of total production with average productivity of 1155 kg/ha. More
than 80 per cent area is under ‘roselle’ type (HS type). West Bengal, Bihar,
Assam, Tripura, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Karnataka are the important states where mesta is grown. The average yield
ranges from 1.4 to 2.0 bales.
            Among different states, Andhra Pradesh ranks first in total acreage (0.78
lakh ha) and total production (6.87 lakh bales) of mesta. But the average
productivity is highest in Tripura (1980 kg/ha).
Season
            Mesta / Roselle is grown as kharif crop. In India sowing can be taken up in
April / May by utilizing summer showers. April sowing is the best time but
adequate rainfall is required. June sowing results in drastic reduction in yield.
Varieties
            Roselle (H. subdariffa) type varieties are popular and termed as HS
varieties. HS 7910, HS 4288, AMV 1, AMV 2, AMV 3 (Surya) and Kalinga have
good yield potential. In Andhra Pradesh, Kalinga and Surya are popular varieties.
Under HC type, the popular varieties are Bimili 1, AMC 108 and HC 583.
Harvest
Kenaf (HC) matures earlier (120 to 130 days) than roselle types (HS) (160
to 180 days). The optimum time for harvesting for fibre purpose is when it has
just started flowering. The harvesting time coincides with second fortnight of
October for HC types and first fortnight of November for HS type. At this stage,
maximum bast fibre is present. It is cut to the ground level and staked for drying.
Yield: 
The yield of fresh stalk ranges from 15 to 25 tonnes ha-1. The dry ribbon
yield varies from 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes ha-1.
Retting
The cut plants are spread in thin layers, allowed to dry for 2 to 3 days and made
into small bundles. Urea @ 1.25 per cent is sprayed on the bundles and after 24
hrs., the bundles are steeped in clean water upright for 4 to 5 days. Then, they are
placed side by side horizontally for proper retting similar to that of Jute.

……………………………………..

Lec.8 SUNNHEMP (Crotalaria juncea)

Sunnhemp is also called as Bombay hemp or banaras hemp grown for bast fibre.
Economic importance
Sunnhemp contains the long bast fibres. It has important role in Indian economy
as raw material for indigenous industry and earns considerable quantity of foreign
exchange. There is increasing demand for this crop for manufacture of tissue paper
and currency papers since it contains high level of cellulose and low level of lignin.
Locally it is used for making ropes, twines, nets, matting, sacks etc. It is not used for
textile purposes unlike jute or mesta. The crop at flowering stage is also used as a
very good insitu green manure.

Area, production and productivity

Sunnhemp is indigenous to India and grown from very early times especially in
plains. It was introduced to other countries from India. The countries growing
sunnhemp are Russia, Romania, China, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Brazil, Chili and
Bangladesh.
In India, sunnhemp is cultivated in about 1.5 lakh ha with total production of
60,000 tonnes of fibre. It is mainly grown in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Orissa. Uttar Pradesh has the largest area followed by
Madhya Pradesh.

Season
            In Northen India, sunnhemp is grown as kharif crop. In southern parts, it is
cultivated through out the year.

Varieties
K 12: It produces good quality fibre. It is resistant to wilt. It is suitable for states like
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Orissa. It is yield potential of
6 to 10 quintals of fibre ha-1.
K 12 yellow: It is improvement over K 12 and superior to K 12 for fibre and seed
yield. Fibre is of good quality and luster. It produces yield of 14 quintals of fibre ha -1.
It is suitable for northern parts of the country.
Nalanda Sanni: It is most suitable for Bihar. It produces long, lustrous and white
fibre. It produces yield of 6 to 10 quintals of fibre ha-1.
M 19: It is early maturing variety, suitable for growing in light soils of Madhya
Pradesh. It produces good quality fibre. The yield potential is 10 to 12 quintals of
fibre ha-1
M 35: It is suitable for Madhya Pradesh. It produces good quality fibre. It is resistant
to shoot borer. Yield potential is 10 to 12 quintals of fibre ha-1.
ST 55: It is suitable for West Bengal. It produces good quality fibre.

Cropping system
            Sunnhemp is grown in rotation with wheat, potato and rabi oilseeds. As border
crop it is grown in pearlmillet, ragi and sorghum crops.

Harvest
            The best time for harvest of crop for fibre purpose is pod formation stage (120
to 140 days after sowing). At this stage, the fibres will have good colour and luster.
The plants are cut close to the ground using sickle. The leafy tops are chopped off and
used as fodder or green manure. After 2 to 3 days most of the leaves dried and the
plants are shaken to shed the leaves. Then the plants are tied into bundles of 50 to 100
plants in each bundle.

Extraction of fibre
            The extraction of sunnhemp fibre is difficult. The bundles are arranged side
by side to form a platform in water of ponds or streams for steeping. In some places,
they are covered with hyacinth, grass and the jak is weighed down 10 to 15 cm below
the surface of water by stone / concrete slabs or seasoned logs. It should not touch
bottom.
            Retting in slow running water is better than stagnant water. The period of
retting is 3 to 15 days depending upon the temperature of retting water and the month
of harvesting. The optimum temperature for retting is 21 to 27oC.
            The fibre is extracted single plant wise by breaking the lower ends of the
plants and then stripping upwards from the bottom. After extraction, the peeled fibre
should be washed thoroughly in clear water to remove the dirt and other adhering
materials. The fibres are squeezed to remove excess water and spread on bamboo
rafts to dry in mild sun for 2 – 3 days. After drying the fibre is bundled, graded and
marketed.

Yield
            Fibre content is 2 to 4 per cent on wet basis or 8 to 12 per cent on dry basis. It
gives 8 to 10 quintals fibre ha-1. A well managed crop can produce upto 1500 kg ha-1.

***

Forage - Grasses
Guinea Grass – Panicum maximum

 Season & varieties

o Thru’ year – CO 1
 Field preparation
o Well drained soil with ridges & furrows, not at heavy clay
o FYM 25t
 Seed rate
o 2.5 kg /ha, Slips - 66,000 nos.
 Spacing
o 50 x 30 cm
 Fertilizer
o 50-50-40 NPK
o 25 kg N at every cut
 Harvest
o First cut at 75 DAS or 45 DAP, then at 45days
o Green fodder 175 t from 8 cuts
o May be intercropped with Hedge Lucerne for nutritious fodder

Blou Buffel Grass / Anjan grass - Cenchrus glaucus

 Season & varieties

o NE Monsoon – CO 1 (Neela Kolukkattai)
 Field preparation
o Well drained soil high ca content with ridges & furrows
o FYM 25 t
 Seed rate
o 6-8 kg /ha
 Spacing
o 50 x 30 cm, sow at shallow depth, break seed dormancy
 Fertilizer
o 25-40-20 NPK
o 25 kg N at every cut
 Harvest
o First cut at 75 DAS, then 4-6 cuts depending upon growth
o Green fodder 40 t from 4 cuts

Bajra Nappier Hybrid

  Season & varieties
 Thru’ year – BN 2, NB 21, CO 1, CO 2
 Field preparation
o Well drained soil with ridges & furrows – not at heavy clay
o FYM 25t

 Seed rate
o 40,000 slips
 Spacing
o 50 x 50 cm
 Fertilizer
o 50-50-40 NPK
o 100 N kg after each cut
 Harvest
o Cut at 75-80 DAP subsequent at 45 days interval
o Green fodder 250 - 400 t

Deenanath Grass - Pennisetum pedicillatum

 Season & varieties

o Thru’ year – CO 1
 Field preparation
o Well drained soil with ridges & furrows
o Heavy clay or water logging not suitable
o FYM 25t
 Seed rate
o 2.5 kg
 Spacing
o 30cm solid row
 Fertilizer
o 40-60-40 NPK
o 20 N kg on 30th DAS
 Harvest
o 55-60 DAS
o Green fodder 40 - 45 t also as rainfed 20-25 t
Para grass / Water grass / Buffalo grass Brachiaria mutica

 Season & varieties

o Thru’ year
 Field preparation
o All type of soils more suited to moist and waterlogged soils
o FYM 25t
 Seed rate
o 40,000 slips
 Spacing
o 50 x 50 cm

 Fertilizer
o 20-40-0 NPK
o 20 N kg after each cut
 Harvest
o Cut at 60-90 DAP subsequent at 30-45 days interval
o Green fodder 200 - 240 t
Other grasses

Marvel grass - Dicanthium annulatum

Rhodes Grass - Chloris gayana

Elephant grass / Napier grass - Pennisetum purpureum

Johnson grass - Sorghum helepense

Sudan grass - Sorghum sudanense

 Lec 11 & 12

Forages - cereals

Fodder sorghum

 Season & varieties

o Irrigated (Jan-Feb & Apr-May) - CO 11, CO 27
o Rainfed (Jun-July & Sep -Oct ) - CO 11, CO 27, K 7, K 10
 Field preparation
o Beds & channels
 Seed rate
o Irrigated - 40 kg /ha
o Rainfed - 75 kg
 Spacing
o 30 x 15 cm
 Fertilizer
o Irrigated - 60-40-20 NPK (50% N at 30DAS)
o Rainfed – 30-20-20
 Harvest
o Single cut at 50% flowering
 Fodder yield
o Green matter - 30-40 t
o Dry matter 20-24t,
o Protein -9%
Fodder Pearlmillet

 Season & varieties

o Irrigated (Thru’ out the year) - CO 8
o Rainfed (Jun-July & Sep -Oct) - CO 8
 Field preparation
o Beds & channels
 Seed rate
o 10 kg /ha
 Spacing
o 25 x 10 cm
 Fertilizer
o 25-20-10 NPK (50% N at 25DAS)
 Harvest
o Single cut at foot leaf stage
o 30t green fodder
Fodder maize

 Season & varieties

o Irrigated - Ganga 5
o Rainfed - African Tall

 Field preparation
o Beds & channels or ridges at 30cm
 Seed rate
o 40 kg /ha
 Spacing
o 30 x 15 cm
 Fertilizer
o 25-20-10 NPK (50% N at 25DAS)
 Harvest
o Harvest when the cob is at milky stage
o Green fodder
 30t Ganga 5,
 40 t African Ttall
Fodder cereals

 Including teosinte are all cultivated

 These cereals may be intercropped with CO5 cowpea at 1:1 ratio
 Harvested together to get nutritious fodder
 Forage - Legumes

Lucerne - Medicago sativa

 Season & varieties

o Thru’ year , CO 1
o Not suitable for very hot and cold climate
 Field preparation
o Apply 12.5 t FYM
o Beds & channels 10- 20m-2
 Seed rate
o 20 kg /ha of cuscuta free seeds
 Spacing
o 25cm with solid row
 Fertilizer
o 25-120-40 NPK
 Harvest
o First cut at 75-80 DAS, subsequent cut at 25-30 days
o Green fodder
 70-80 t in 10 cuttings

Hedge Lucerne – Desmanthus virgatus (Velimasal)

 Season & varieties

o Thru’ year , Velimasal
 Field preparation
o Apply 12.5 t FYM
o Ridges & Furrows
 Seed rate
o 20 kg /ha
 Spacing
o 50cm with solid row
 Fertilizer
o 10-60-30 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
 Harvest
o First cut at 90 DAS at 50cm ht , subsequent cut at 45 days
o Green fodder
 125 t
Hedge Lucerne +Grasses

 Grasses suitable are Guinea and BN Hybrids

 Ratio - 3:1
 First cut at 50 DAS and further at 45 d
 Cutting height of velimasal is 50cm
 Additional fodder yield of 100-125t
 Nutritious proportion

Stylo – Stylosanthes scabra (Muyal masal)

 Season & varieties

o Jun, July to Sep, Oct, S. hamata annual & S. scabra perennial
 Field preparation
o Apply 12.5 t FYM
o Beds & channels
 Seed rate
o 6 kg /ha
 Spacing
o 30 x 15cm
 Fertilizer
o 20-60-15 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
 Harvest
o First cut at 75 DAS at flowering, subsequent cuts
o Green fodder
 First year low subsequent years 30 t/annum

Fodder Cowpea

 Season & varieties

o Jun, July – CO 5
 Field preparation
o Apply 12.5 t FYM
o Beds & channels
 Seed rate
o 40 kg /ha
 Spacing
 o 30 x 10 cm
 Fertilizer
o 25-40-20 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
 Harvest
o 50-55 days aftersowing(50% flowering)
o Green fodder
 18-20 t/ha

Leucaena leococephala

 Season & varieties

o Jun, July – Hawaiian giant, CO 1
o Sep-Oct – K8, Giant Ipil, CO1
 Field
o Ridges & furrows
o Spacing: 100 x 20 cm
 Seed rate
o 10 kg for fodder; 1.25 kg for fuel
 Nutrient
o 10-60-30 NPK all basal
 Harvest
o 6 months after sowing, repeated after 40-50 days
o Yield: 80-100 t of green fodder
 It can be mixed with NB hybrids for protein value

Sirrato - Macroptilium atropurpureum

 Drought tolerant pasture

 Compatibility with cereals & grass
 Native of C & S America
 Deep rooted perennial
 Trailing, hairy stems
 Can tolerate grazing pressure
 Can tolerate shade
 Wide range of soils

Other legume fodders

 Glycine
o Neonotonia javanica
 Centro / Butterfly pea
o Centrosema pubescens
  Calopo
o Calopogonium muconioides
 Red clover
o Trifolium pratense
 White clover
o Trifolium repens
 Sweet clover
o Meliotus alba
Lec. 13
Berseem and Desmodium – Economic importance, soil and climatic requirement,
varieties, cultural practices and yield
BERSEEM (Trifolium alexandrium)
Common name: Egyptian clover.
Plant characters:
It is considered as KING OF FODDER crops because of its nutritional qualities. It is
main fodder for horses, camels and donkeys. Annual bushy shrub and winter season
growing to a height of 0.9 to 1.0 m with upright and decumbent succulent stem
terminating in trifoliate leaves. Seed is pear shaped and yellowish brown colour and
crude protein is content 18-21% and it is good soil binder.
Origin and distribution :
Berseem is believed to be indigenous to Egypt. It is introduced in India from Egypt in
1904 and tried at various centers for its performance with such good results by 1916 it
was recognized as a widely adaptable and valuable addition to the forage crops of India.
Now it is the prominent fodder lugume in irrigated areas of Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and
Uttara Pradesh.
Climate and soil:
Grows in tropics, subtropics and temperate regions.Temperature range is 25-35˚C
optimum for seedling growth. 15-20˚C optimum for vegetative growth and branching.
35-37˚C optimum for flowering and seed setting. It cannot tolerate frost temperature
below 4-5 ˚C.Well drained deep loamy soils rich in lime, P, K with PH5.5-8.5 are
recommended. Do not perform well on sandy soils, water logging and acidic soils. Can
tolerate salinity, alkalinity and is thus useful for reclaiming brackish and alkaline lands.
Land preparation:
One MB ploughing followed by 4 - 5 harrowing are required to make a fine tilth . Fine
seed bed is prepared since the seed is small.

Varieties:
Mescavi: varieties under this group develop short side branches at the base of the stem in
advanced stage of its growth. When the plant is cut or harvested, these branches elongate
and produce new growth. Therefore it is possible to take 5-6 cuts per year from this
group.
Varities: Wardan, JB-1, JB-2, JB-3, UPB-103.
Fahl : develop small side branches in the upper portion of the stem very freely. They
donot produce branches at the base. Therefore there is no regeneration of these varities
after harvest. They give only one cut.
Saidi: They develop shoots for a short time. Develops branches at the upper portion less
freely than in Fahl. They give 2-3 cuts per year. Ex: Khandwari, Pusa giant, IGFRI-99-1,
IGFRI-54, Jawahar.
Season:
It is a rabi season crop. October to November sowing are adopted depending on
prevailing temperatures and vacation of kharif crop.
Seeds & sowing :
A seed rate of 10- 15 kg/ha in line sowing, 20-30 kg/ha in broadcasting would be
sufficient. Bright yellow, plump seeds should be used, discarding all the brown and
immature seeds.
Spacing: Inter row spacing of 25 - 30 cm is adopted in solid rows. If seed production is
taken intra rows spacing of 10 cm is maintained.
Seed treatment: Seed should be treated with 10% brine (salt) solution to remove the seeds
of chicory. Seeds scarification is recommended to soften the seed coat for better
germination. Seed is soaked in water for 10 - 12 hrs or in diluted H2SO4 for 2-3 minutes
and then rinsed with water 4-5 times.10% jaggery solution 1.25 kg with 1.25 litres of
water is prepared by boiling and cooling to the room temperature. Then mix with 1.25 kg
rhizobium bacterial culture. Sprinkle the culture on the seed uniformly and dry under
shade. Mix the seed with 10 kg soil and broadcasted or drilled in the field.
Methods of sowing:
Can be sown dry or wet. The land is divided into small plots of convenient size, irrigate
the plots to a depth of 5 cm. soak the seed in water overnight and broadcast it in the
standing water.

Manures & Fertilizer:

Berseem response well to manuring and need about 10 t FYM /ha, 25 – 30 kg N, 80 - 100
kg P2O5, 30-40 kg K20 kg /ha P is applied as SSP and K as MOP.½ N, total P and K as
basal and remaining ½ N should be applied 30 DAS. Micronutrient deficiencies are
common with regard to B, Mo, Fe and Zn and has to be corrected. Boron deficiency is
very common in coarse textured and leached out soils. Its deficiency causes several pale
yellow spots on the leaves which resemble the leaf hopper damage. Corrected by foliar
application of 0.1% borax or soil application of borax @10 kg/ha as basal And Mo as
Ammonium molybdate @1- 1.5 kg/ha.
Irrigation:
Water requirement is quite high. Initially irrigation is given at weekly interval later at 10-
12 days interval. Crop requires 140 cm of water in a year. In places where irrigation
water is not sufficient for bersee m, oat can be grown as an alternate crop.
Weeding :
Thorough weeding is required during initial stages. Chicorium intybus is associated
weed of berseem. Remedy is soaking in the 10% brine solution for 10-15 minute seeds
floating on the water are removed with supplemental hand weeding at 30 DAS. Do not
allow the weed to set seed. The seed live in the soil for a long time. Chemical treatment :
0.75 -1.0 kg a.i. /ha pendimethalin, as pre emergence herbicide is recommended.
Incidence of Cascuta is also noticed.
Harvesting:
The first cut can be taken at 55 - 60 DAS or at 50% flowering stage. Subsequent cuts are
obtained at 25-30 days interval. Mescavi types are good for fodder purpose as it gives 5-6
cuttings.
Yield: 35-55 tonnes/ha/year in / 4-6 cuttings.
Toxicities:
Bloat or Tympanitis: Occurs due to the presence of 4 - 5% cytoplasmic proteins which
act as foaming agent. Accumulation of gases is an important disorder due to fermentation
process.

Remedy:
1) Punching the stomach with an instrument called Tracer and canula.
2) Administration of Prolaxalin @ 10-20 g/kg body weight of animal.
3) Mixing the seed with linseed / mustard oil.
4) Early morning grazing on berseem should be avoided as dew fall on the berseem
accentuates the bloat problem in animals.

Cropping systems:
Berseem can be substituted with wheat in rice wheat sequence to minimize the
incidence of phalaris minor in wheat. Berseem can also be grown has inter crop with
Napier Bajra for sustained supply of forage for dairy units.
Maize + rice bean-berseem-sarson.

Grass leaf Desmodium - Desmodium tortuosum

o So palatable, nutritious “alfalfa” of the tropics

o There are two useful species for fodder
 Grass leaf desmodium – D. tortuosum
 Silver leaf desmodium – D. unciniatum
o Tortuosum
 Erect perennial legume
 Versatile in soil adoption & tolerant to acid condition
 They combine well with many grasses
 They fix atmospheric N
 Readily eaten by animals
 Propagation by seeds
 Suitable for coconut grooves
o Season & varieties
 Thru’ year – FD 275 from IGFRI
o Harvest
  As soon flowering starts

Lec. 14 & 15 Silage and hay making – green manure and green leaf manure crops
______________________________________________________________________

The supply of nutrients from grasslands and harvested forages is seasonal in most
of the regions of the world because of either low temperatures or drought. Thus the
preservation of harvested forages becomes an essential part of ruminant livestock feeding
systems because of following reasons.

1. In Kharif season, fodder supply is exceeding the demand due to favourable crop
season. The excess fodder can be preserved in green (silage) or dry (hay) form and
utilized in lean months (March-June).
2. Unexpected drought or cold or cyclones cannot affect the productivity of animals if
fodder is preserved in advance. It acts as insurance to the farmer.
3. Anti nutritional characters of the crop can be reduced due to changes in physical /
chemical / biological composition.
4. The palatability of the fodder can be improved by using preservatives and additives
during preservation.

The preservation of forages is broadly divided into two methods.

1. Silage making
2. Hay making
The objective of silage making is to preserve the harvested forage in green form by
anaerobic fermentation.
The objective of haymaking is to achieve a rapid moisture loss after cutting so the forage
can be preserved in dry form with minimum losses from weathering and microbial
degradation.
1. Silage making:
Silage : It is the process of preservation of green fodder under anaerobic conditions at
moisture content of 65-75 % in specialized structure called silo. The process is called
ensiling and the end product is called silage.
Wastelage: It is the process of preservation of organic waste (vegetable waste, slaughter
house water, organic waste of any industry) under anaerobic conditions at moisture
content of 65-75 %.
Haylage: It is the process of preservation of green fodder with moisture content of 30- 50
% under anaerobic conditions.
Wastelage / Haylage
1. The process of preservation of organic waste along with green fodder under anaerobic
conditions. Silage making from material with high dry matter content under anaerobic
conditions
2. Nutritional losses are less and only method to efficiently utilize. The organic wastes
Ex: Vegetable waste, slaughter house waste Nutritional losses are more hence not
recommended.
Ex : Maize, sorghum
3. Moisture content may be varying depending on the organic material to be ensiled
Moisture content is 30-50 %.
4. Organic waste may be agro based or industrial. Waste is mainly agro based with high
dry matter content

Advantages of ensiling
1. Surplus green fodder abundantly available in rainy season can be preserved as silage
for feeding during lean season.
2. Silage can be prepared in rainy season of humid climate where weather do not permit
for hay making.
3. Silage can be prepared from plants with a thick stem.
4. It is highly palatable and slightly laxative.
5. Ensiling increases voluntary intake of coarse forage.
6. Ensiling destroys the germination capacity of majority of weed seeds.
7. The organic acids produced during ensiling are easily digestible by ruminants.
8. There is lesser less of carotene in silage making than that of hay making.
9. Fire hazard is not there.
10. Green fodder can be stored for a very long period
11. Silage requires less space and accommodate 230-270 kg/cubic meter, Where as hay
can accommodate 66-67 kg/cubic meter.
Disadvantages:
 Transportation problem is generally experienced in silage than that of hay.
 Permanent structures for preparing silage are required.
 Wastage may be high due to affluent losses or otherwise, if it is not properly
made.
 Animals do not accept poorly prepared silages.
 Materials
Materials required: Green fodder, Chaff cutter, Silo pit, Rock salt, low –grade jaggery
(or) Molasses, urea. Tractor for compaction of the pit, Polythene sheet.
Types of silos:
I) Depending upon the type of material
i) Kaccha silos
ii) Pucca silos
i) Kaccha silos : Temporary silos and locally available material is used. Eg : coconut
leaves.
ii) Pucca silos: Constructed silos. Permanent depending upon the type of material they
are called as:
a) Cement silos
b) Stone silos
c) Brick silos
II) Based on shape / placement of silos:
a) Power silos / upright silos : Tower like structure, cylinder in shape above the ground
with dome shaped lid. Waterproof 5-8 15-18 13-16` 13-16’ airtight doors at different
heights. Fill the soils by machines. It is popular in advanced countries.
Draw back: There is possibility of damage to silage making process because of presence
of more doors as the air / water entry is possible.
2) Oxygen limiting silos : Silos having one door at bottom so that they can reduce the
entry of water and air.
3) Trench silo: The height of trench is 5-8 feet. The bottom is 13-16feet. Ramp is 15-18
feet. Trench silos are observed in all dairy units. The sides and bottom of trench are lined
with bricks, stone or cement. The ramp is provided on both sides for easy moving of
tractors for compaction.
4) Clamp silos: are fixed in the soil up to the 3/4th of silo. The silo is made up of copper
or Aluminum or earthen pots. It is covered with a dome shaped lid and kept airtight by
plastering with cow dung. It is used for high valued forage like Lucerne.
5) Bunker silos: The bunker silos are constructed below the soil or above the soil. 1 feet
Cement rings are coiled one over the other to form a bunker. The cement rings are
attached with cement. Depending upon the height of silo the cement rings are used.
Bunker silos are useful for small-scale silage making. They are semi permanent in nature
can be detached if not needed. Bunker silo Pit Silo
6) Pit Silo: It is a temporary structure made below the soils and lined with locally
available stones and soils. It is mostly practiced at farmers level, but losses are more in
this type of silo.
Crops suitable for silage : All cereal crops like maize, jowar, bajra are suitable for silage
making as they are rich in carbohydrates.
 Grasses or mixtures of grasses and clovers are good for silage making.
 Thick stemmed plants are suitable for silage making as chopping is done.
 Paragrass is not suitable because of high moisture content.
 Legumes are not suitable for silage making as they are rich in proteins, but we can
add 1/3 of the legumes to 2/3 of cereals to form balanced silage.
 First silage was done in year 1917 at Kansas Agricultural University, USA on
Lucerne crop.
  Best silage can be made from maize crop.
 Cereal crops like sorghum or ragi should be harvested for silage between
flowering and milk stages. If harvesting is delayed, Carotene losses occur.
 Miscellaneous crops and by products of crops like sugarcane tops, beet root tops,
sweet potato vines, peas and beans, surplus fruits and vegetables.

Selection of the site for silo pit:

 The site should be easily approachable from the forage field as well as dairy farm.
 Chaffing unit should be adjacent to the silo.
 Area should be high or elevated and ground water should be > 3 m depth.
 It should be 100 meters away from the cropped field as well as from FYM pits.
Method of filling of silo:
1) Harvesting of the crop: All the cereal crops should be harvested at dough stage. The
perennial crops like NB hybrid and guinea grass should be harvested at 65-70 % moisture
content.
2) Chaffing: All the harvested fodder should be cut into pieces of 2-3 cm in length by
using chaff cutter. Chaff cutter may be manually operated or machine operated. Chaffing
is an important practice in silage making. Without chaffing, the fodder compaction in the
silo is not perfect.
3) Lining of the sides and bottom walls of the silo pit:
The bottom and sidelines of the pit should be lined with paddy straw to avoid contact of
green material with the walls of the pit.
4) Chaffed green material is transferred to silo pit:
1 cubic feet of silo preserves 15 kg of green material. A silo pit having storing capacity of
< 250 kg is not economical.1 m3 of silo pit can preserve upto 230-270 kg of green
material.
5) Fill the silo pit layer by layer with a thickness of 15-20 cm/day:
Compaction should be followed each day after filling the pit. The compaction can be
done using manually operated stone rollers, bullock drawn stone rollers or by tractors.
Additives or preservatives are added at each layer.
Additives Preservatives
1. These are materials which improve anaerobic fermentation by increasing carbohydrate
content
These are materials, which improve keeping quality or longevity of the material.
2. They improve the nutritive quality of silage as they are rich in Carbohydrates Eg.
Molases @ 8-10 kg/ton of green fodder. They add taste and aroma to the silage but
nutritive value is not increased. Eg : Salt @ 1-2 kg/t of green fodder.
3. Cribbled grain flour @ 40-50 kg/ton of green fodder Na metabisulphite @ 3-5 kg/t of
green fodder or urea @ 3-5 kg/t of green fodder. Citrus pulp (or) orange pulp (@) 40-50
kg/t of green fodder.
Fill the silo pit layer by layer till it reaches the dome shape and 1 meter above the surface.
Cover the silo pit with a polythene sheet and keep it for 3 days. We can observe reduction
in height after 2-3 days by 40-50 cm due to compaction of the layers and to release of air
present in between the layers.
6) Permanent closing of the pit
Cover the silo pit with a thick polythene sheet and above that cover it with 5-10 cm layer
of soil (or) sand followed by plastering with cowdung paste. The silo pit is kept as it is
for 1-3 months with regular inspection for cracks. Cracks should be again closed with
cow dung paste. The silage is ready after 3 months and is used for animal feeding. For an
adult cow silage material can be given @ 3 kg / 100 kg body weight.
7) Opening of the pit: The silo pit should be opened at any one corner. After taking
silage material daily, it should be again closed with polythene sheet and kept airtight.
Never open the pit completely as it damages the silage material and silage becomes not
suitable for animal consumption. If silage material is not required, the silo pit can be
stored even up to 18-24 months with regular inspection for cracks.
Changes that occur in the silo
These changes are divided into 3 types
1) Physical changes
2) Chemical changes
3) Bacterial changes
All these three changes are divided into 4 phases.
I Phase
II Phase
III Phase
IV Phase
Phase I: Immediately after closing silo pit, some of the aerobic bacteria breaks down
into CO2 & H2O. C6 H12 O6 6 CO2 + H 2O Aerobic bacteria
2) Because of respiration, there is increase in CO2 content. This increase in CO2 increase
the temperature which causes break down of carotene into pheophytin.
3) With the increase in temperature and the absence of air, the aerobic bacteria
disintegrates and at the end of phase I, the anaerobic bacteria will start working.
4) The longevity of phase I dependent on compaction of the silo pit. If it is > 7 days, the
silage material is damaged and used by aerobic bacteria.
Phase II: In this phase, all the anaerobic bacteria like lactobacillus, clostridium,
streptomyces, E. coli are present. So at the end of phase II, Lactobacillus will become
dominant and start producing lactic acid. The favourable conditions for lactic acid.
fermentation are :
Temperature : 27-37oC
Moisture : 65-70 % + Lactobacillus
Lacto
C6 H12 O6 2 (C3 H6 O3)
Bacillus Lactic acid
The homofermentative lactic acid bacteria increase the amount of lactic acid where as
heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria increases the amount of minitol which gives
unpleasant small. At the end of phase II, the pH reaches 3.4 to 4.2 due to production of
lactic acid.
Phase III:
Only lacto bacillus species is active in this phase. Lactobacillus is active till the lactic
acid concentration is 1 % of the silage material on weight or volume basis. At the end of
phase III, lactic acid concentration become static and pH also stabilizes at 4.0.
Phase IV: It is a stable phase and can remain upto 18-24 months. But with entry of air
and water the lactic acid is further degraded into butyric acid which causes foul smell and
damages the silage.
Air+ water
2 (C3 H6 O3) C4 H8 O2 + 2 CO2 + 2H 2O
Clostridia
Favourable conditions for butyric acid fermentation
a) Entry of air and water into the pit
b) Inadequate degree of acidity (> 4) resulting in increased number of clostridium
bacteria.
Physical changes
Colour change from green to olive green because of increase in CO2 due to respiration.
Temperature of silo pit increase. The moisture cont ent in pit is also increased because of
oozing and the material becomes laxative.
Chemical changes
Respiration takes place by aerobic bacteria Carbohydrates break down by lactobacillus
into lactic acid.
Lactic acid fermentation
Lacto bacillus
C6 H12 O6 2 (C3 H6O3) lactic acid
Temp. 27oC – 37oC
Homofermentative bacteria - produce only lactic acid
Heterofermentative bacteria – produce acetic acid, butyric acid formic acid. Hence,
more homofermentative bacteria is congenial than heterofermentative bacteria.
Proteins are converted to amino acids and carbohydrates, fats are converted into simple
fatty acids. Because of this, silage is easily digestible by the animal and give instant
energy.
3) Butyric acid fermentation
It is a unfavourable fermentation. It occurs due to
 Entry of water and air.
 pH will not reach 4. moisture > 70 % pH > 4
  Lactic acid butyric acid
 2 (C3H6O3) C4H8O2 + CO2 + H2O
 Cause foul smell
5) Bacteriological changes
Phase II
Aerobic Anaerobic Dominant III Phase
Lactobacillus lacto bacillus Clostridium
Unfav. pH > 4 Conditions
(Butyric acid) Clostridium become dominant IV Phase

Losses during Silage Making:

1) Leaching loss: Nutritional loss due to oozing of cell sap from cells which reaches
bottom layers of silo pit. It Leads to corrosiveness and damage the root system of nearby
crops. It also has high polluting strength and they may create poisonous gasses when
come to contact with FYM pits.
2) Heated silage : If the moisture content of forage is < 60 – 65 %., the dry pieces of
forage do not compact properly and entrap air in between the pieces of forage. This
causes aerobic respiration for more tha n 10 days resulting in increasing temperature upto
45oC. This causes combusting or burning of the forage in the patches. This is called as
heated silage. The burn patches become unfit for animal consumption and gives foul
rotten smell.
3) Silo gases: Silo gr asses like CO2, NO2 are poisonous and increase the environmental
pollution and also in the soil.
4) Field losses: The losses, which occur after harvesting of crop till it is filled in silo pit
are field losses. If the crop is not ensiled or transferred to the silo pit on the same day the
losses may be 8-10 % due to loss in moisture considerable loss of dry matter may occur
due to shattering of leaves and during chaffing period.
Qualities of good silage
1) Colour : The colour should be olive green to golden ye llow colour with pleasant
aroma of lactic acid.
2) pH – pH should be 4 (acidic taste and odour).
3) It should be free from by butyric acid, moulds and burnt patches.
4) Ammonical Nitrogen is less than 10 % of the total Nitrogen.

HAY MAKING
Hay making is the Process of preservation of dry fodder under aerobic condition at a
moisture content of 9-10 %.
Materials required: Green dry fodder, Threshing floor, bamboo sticks, ropes.

Suitability of the crops for Hay making

1. Cyanodon dactylon or Doob grass (or) Bermuda grass: is preserved as best hay.
2. Thin stemmed succulent leaved plants are suitable for hay making process. eg:
Oats, barley,
3. multicut bajra, sorghum, maize etc.
4. Cereals are more suitable for the conservation of fodder as hay. Legumes loose
moisture
5. quickly and the leaves fall off easily.
6. Coarse leaved thick-stemmed grasses are not suitable for hay making. eg : NB
hybrid and guinea grass.
7. Paragrass is not preserved as hay. Though succulent at high moisture content (80-
90 %) it develops coarseness if it reduces the moisture content to 15 % and
becomes unpalatable.
8. Legumes like cowpea, berseem, Lucerne can be preserved as hay but care should
be taken to prevent shattering of leaves as leaves cont ain 75% of proteins and
total digestible nutrients and 90% carotene, hence shattering of leaves leads to
75% of loss of nutrients.
9. Legumes like sunnhemp and pillipesara can be preserved as hay in between the
layers of paddy straw.
10. S pear grass can be preserved as hay before flowering only. After flowering, it
develops awns in the spikelets.
11. In Anjan grass (Cenchurus ciliaris), harvesting of 2nd cut and after cuts are
suitable for hay making.
 12. Hay can also be prepared from leguminous crops but it needs a lot of skill and
experience so that the loss of leaves which are more nutritious is minimized.
13. The best way to prepare hay is to mix a portion of legume species with the cereal.
This will help in better aeration and uniform drying of the cereal fodder.
14. This mixture also provide a rational diet of legume and carbohydrate component
in 1:3 proportion for feeding the animals.
15. Lucerne is the best legume to prepare hay among different leguminous crops
because it will loose the moisture relatively at a quicker rate than the others.
Berseem looses its moisture slowly than the others.
Steps in preparation of Hay:
 Harvest the crop at 50 % flowering. This is the ideal stage to conserve the fodder
as hay because it contains maximum quantity of nutrients in the vegetative part.
 Harvesting should never be delayed until seed filling stage. If the harvesting is
delayed, the nutrients are translocated into the seed and the fodder becomes
fibrous, which is not palatable to the animals.
 Cut the fodder crop at about 1-2 inches above the ground level. In advanced
countries, movers are used to mow or cut the crop.
 The harvested crop is laid down on one side of the row. This is known as
`Windrow’. The harvested fodder is allowed to wilt for about 2-3 days. During
this period the leaves loose moisture more quickly than the stem. When the crop
reach about 40 % moisture, then bundle the fodder.
 Keep these bundles in an upright direction. These bundles are known as ’cocks’.
The leaves reabsorb the moisture from the atmosphere and become pliable. This
will minimize the risk of falling down of the leaves.
 After 2-3 days, loosen the bundles and heap the fodder on the floor. These heaps
are know n as ‘Swath’. Each swath is teddered with a tedder. This will fluff the
fodder material and help better circulation of air.
 After another 2-3 days, swath is inverted with the help of swath inverters. This
will help in uniform drying of the fodders in different layers. Once the moisture
content has come down to about 25 %, the fodder is baled with tractor drawn
equipment.
  After the moisture content of fodder reaches to 15 %., the heaps are bundled into
small bundles of convenient sizes for staking. These bundles are called “cocks”
and the cocks are transported to stalked area for stalking. Then the fodder is
stacked as hay for future use.

Stacking: is of two types.

i) Indoor
ii) Out door
Stacking area should be a high-elevated area. Ground water table should be > 5 m deep
and is perfectly levelled. Indoor staking provides protection against rain and sunshine,
hence leaching and bleaching losses are less. A trench of 1feet deep and 45 Cm width is
provided on both sides of the stack to collect rainwater and also to protect against
rodents. The dimensions of stack depends on availability of the fodder material optimum
is 15-18 feet height, 5-8 feet width.
Types of Hay Curing:
1. Floor curing
 The harvested fodder is spread uniformly in a thin layer on floor. This is allowed
to dry under sun.
 The fodder should be turned upside down frequently to give an equal chance of
drying to the lower layer.
 The fodder should be shifted to a safe place under the roof so that there is no
chance of direct contact of this fodder with the possible dewfall or drizzling.
 Again shift the material to the drying floor in the morning. Continue the process
until the moisture content is reduced to 15 %. Then stock the material where it is
desired to store for future use.
2. Tripod method
A tripod is made with the help of 3 bamboos, wooden poles or iron poles which are tied
horizontally with wooden or bamboo poles or iron rods. The fodder is tied to these
horizontal stalks with the help of strings.
3. Fence curing
The harvested fodder is tied with string to the iron fence on the boundaries of the farm or
they are spread over the live fence of the boundary. They are moved to a protected place
in the evening and tied again to the fence on the next day.
4. Bench curing: The fodder is spread in thin and uniform layers on the benches made of
wood or bamboo.

5. Barn curing
 Barns are the artificial heaters. They are made up of brick, cement, iron and steel.
They are highly expensive. The fodder is accommodated in the barn.
 Heated air is blown in through the bottom portion of the barn, which gets
circulated inside, dries the fodder and is blown out through an outlet provided at
the top.
 A temperature of 100oC is maintained while blowing the air inside with the help
of blow ers.
 Moisture content is reduce to very quickly.
 It should be taken out of the bran when the fodder reaches the desired moisture
content. This process is repeated.
Losses during Hay making:
Type of loss Material lost Reasons
1. Shattering of leaves TDN, minerals and vitamins Leaves contain 75 % of TDN and
minerals. Hence shattering of leaves causes major loss of nutrients
2. Bleaching Carotene, vitamin A Exposure to sunshine cause bleaching losses
3. Leaching TDN, minerals, vitamins and NFE (Nitrogen free extract). Such losses are
more when rainwater enter into stacked area.
4. Fermentation Starch, simple sugars, proteins which are oxidized to CO2 and H2O
When hay is stored at high moisture content, these losses occur.
5. Oxidation loss Sugars and starch When rainwater makes the hay to wet condition. The
oxidation of nutrients takes place.
Advantages
1. Method of doing haymaking is less expensive and easy which can be done easily at
farmers level.
2. The good quality legume hay may replace certain amount of concentrates in the ration
thus reducing the cost of milk production.
3.The fodder can be harvested at the stage where there is maximum accumulation of
nutrients in the plants.
4.It is easy to be practice in tropical countries like India where sunshine hours are plenty
5. One cubic meter space can accommodate 66-67 kg of hay.
6. It gives nutritious fodder during lean periods and the productivity of the animal is
maintained throughout the year.
7. The monetary returns to the farmers is uniform and there is continuous availability
milk and meat in the market.
Disadvantages
1. Hay making process can be done only in a particular season.
2. Weather interruption is common. Palatability of forage material is reduced.
3. Artificial curing is more costly.
4. There is possibility of fire hazard.
5. Leaching, bleaching and shattering looses may occur.
6. Weeds can mix-up during hay making process, which leads to less palatability and bad
odour to the hay.
7. It is difficult to make hay from thick stemmed and spiny nature of grasses etc.
 Green manures

Green manuring & Green leaf manuring

 Green manuring
o Growing of crop purposely and incorporating it in the soil for manuring
 Green leaf manuring
o Collecting green leaves from all available sources and using for manuring
Importance of green manuring

1. Leguminous green manure fix atmospheric nitrogen

1. Green leaf additions 20-40 kg N
2. Root fixes 5-20kg
3. There is saving in the N budget
2. They decompose easily without leaving much residue
1. Cattle manure leaves more humus than GM
3. Leguminous green manure fix atmospheric nitrogen
1. Green leaf additions 20-40 kg N
2. Root fixes 5-20kg
3. There is saving in the N budget
4. They decompose easily without leaving much residue
1. Cattle manure leaves more humus than GM
5. GM withdraws plant nutrients from lower layers and leaves on surface
6. Subsidiary objectives of GM are:
1. They are ‘catch crop’ to the nutrients being lost before next crop
2. Shade crop: to provide shade in young orchards besides adding N
 3. Cover crop: Clothing the soil with vegetative cover in hill slopes during
rainy season
1. Also to check wind erosion
4. Forage crop: few cuttings as fodder and then as GM
1. Pillipesara (Phaseolus trilobus) is broadcast in standing rice

Green manuring possibilities

 Rainfed dry lands

o Only hardy crops
o Or where there is high rainfall
 Irrigated dry lands
o It has to be fitted between two main crops
o GM crop should be quick growing and producning heavy foliage in short
period
o It should be leguminous crop
o Capable of raising with little cost
 Wetlands
o In between two rice if the period available is 40-60days
o After the rice but sown as rice fallow / self sown Tephrosia purpurea
o Before rice if rain is there under prepared field

Green manure suitable for S. India

Daincha - Sesbania aculeata

 Tolerant to drought, stands under flood

 Vigorous growth produces good biomass
 Can be incorporated within 45 days
 10-20 t of green matter
 Easy decomposition
  Seed rate 20 kg
Sesbania speciosa

 Resembles daincha
 Can be cultivated in the standing water
 Biomass production is higher than S. aculeata
 Seed rate 15 kg
 It can be even in the bunds
o To be used as GLM
o To have seed production

Sesbania rostrata

 As intercrop along rice

 As daincha it can be cultivated
 Germination requires seed scarification
 More suitable to summer
 Stem nodulating GM
 Seed rate 15-20 kg

Sunnhemp - Crotalaria juncea

 Vigorous growing
 Comes well in loamy soil under irrigation
 Seed rate 25-35 kg /ha
 Subject to complete defoliation by insects
 Susceptible to water logging

Kolunchi / wild indigo (Tephrosia purpurea)

 Suitable for sandy soil

  It is very hardy and drought tolerant
 Self sown crop is possible if sown 3-4 times
 Mature seeds remain dormant in the rice soil
 More suitable for single cropped wetlands
 Not graced by cattle
 Seed scarification is needed
 Seed rate 15-20 kg

Indigo / Avuri (Indigifera tinctoria)

 It is long duration crop resembles kolunchi

 It is more leafy
 Also a medicinal plant of today
 Comes up well in clayey soil
 One or two irrigations are needed
 Seed rate 15 kg

Pillipesara -Vigna trilobata

(Syn: Phaseolus trilobus)

 It is pulse crop
 Sown as rice fallow pulses in AP
 Early slow growth
 Graced by animals and then allowed to grow
 Green matter produced is 8 – 10t if allowed for six weeks
 Seed rate 10-15 kg

Sowing of Green manure crops

Done by different ways

  Broadcasting on standing crops (rice)
 Broadcasting after field preparation
 Drum seeding in rice inter rows
Seeds to be scarified, if hardy like Kolunchi or S. rostrata

o Hot water treatment

o Mixed with sand and pounding to abrade the seeds for germination

Green leaf manure - GLM

Leguminous trees

 Pungam
 Cassia
 Subabul
 Gliricidia
 Trees & shrubs
 Neem
 Calotropis
 Ipomoea
 Pungam - Pongamia glabra

Evergreen trees

 Can be grown in all the places

 Drought tolerant
 Seeds oil producing
 Medicinal value

Konnai – Cassia spp

  Establishes in all places
 Drought tolerant
Subabol - Luecaena leucocephala

 Forage cum GLM

 Live fencing
 Leguminous tree
 Bund, border, and waste lands

Glyricidia maculata

 Tree
 Bund and border crop
 Alley cropping
Kattamani -Ipomoea spp.

 Many spp
 Water loving
 Shrub
 Spread through water
 Propagation – plant material, seeds

Erukku - Calotropis gigantea

 Wasteland weeds
 Water loving
 Spread through canal bunds
 Seeds - source of propagation
Green manure N content

Green manure N content (%) N accumulation (kg/ha)

 Crotolaria juncea 2.8 – 3.2 80 – 130

Sesbania aculeata 2.6 – 3.2 130 – 185

S. rostrata 3.2 – 3.4 170 – 220

S. speciosa 2.3 – 3.1 115 – 160

Phaseolus trilobus 2.2 – 2.8 85 – 115

Tephrosia purpurea 2.9 – 3.2 70 – 115

Green leaf manure – N Content

Tree Botanical name N (%)

Pungam Pongania glabra 1.3 – 1.5

Neem Azardirachta indica 1.0 – 1.2

Konnai Cassia florida 1.4 – 1.6

Glyricidia Gliricidia maculata 2.3 – 2.8

Vahai Albizzia lebbek 1.1 – 1.4

Erukku Calotropis gigantea 1.4 – 1.5

Subabul Leucaena lucocephala 3.5 – 3.7

Green manuring

GM & GLM

 GM – part of cropping, requires all inputs

o GLM – it is an input, saves land and time
 GM – fixes nutrients and alters the position
o GLM – adds as external
 GM – not possible to all the crops
o GLM – possible to all the crops
 Lec 16
TOBACCO
Nicotiana tabacum
_______________________________________________________________________
_
Origin

 May be from America

 Christopher Columbus in 1492
o Carried some dried leaves to Spain?
 But some others believe
o 1560 a Spanish physician brought as medicine
 Jean Nicot, French Ambassador to Portugal introduced from Lisbon to French
 The botanical name Nicotine have been derived from his name
 In India introduced only in 17th Century

World Scenario (Figures in Million ha and tonne)

Country Area Production Productivity

China 1.44 2.52 1.75
India 0.45 0.64 1.42
USA 0.30 0.74 2.43
World 4.45 7.07 1.59
Indian Scenario - 1998–(Figures in Million ha and tonne)

State Area Production Productivity

AP 0.20 0.19 0.98
Gujarat 0.11 0.18 1.66
Karnataka 0.07 0.06 0.87
UP 0.02 0.15 6.83
Bihar 0.02 0.01 0.72
 WB 0.01 0.01 0.57
TN 0.005 0.008 1.46
India 0.45 0.64 1.42

 Classification
o Nocotiana is broadly classified in to three sub-groups
 rustica
 tabacum
 Petunioides
o In India tabacum is widely cultivated and discussed here
Type Area
1 FCV (Flue cured Virginia) AP, Karnataka
2 Bidi Gujarat, Karnataka,
3 Cigar & Cherrot TN, WB
4 Hookah Assam, WB, Bihar, UP, Punjab
5 Chewing & snuff TN, WB, Bihar, Assam, UP, Punjab
6 Natu, Burley, Lanka, HDBRG AP
7 Pikka Orissa

Tobacco varieties cultivated in TN

 Cigar & Binder

o Vellaivazhai (VV 2)
o Kuruvazhai (KV 1)
 Country cheroot
o Narrow leaf Oosikappal ((I 737)
o Broad leaf Oosikappal (OK 1)
 Chewing tobacco
o Sun cured
 Monnai (I 64)
 Vazhaikappal (I 115)
 Vaadamugam(VD 1)
 Vattakkappal (VKT 1)
 Vedaranyam (VR 2)
 o Smoke cured
 Periya vaadamugam (PV 7)
o Pit cured
 Vattakkappal (VTK 1), Vadamugam (VD 1)
Climate

 It is tropical in origin but successfully grown in temperate also

 100-120 day frost free days
 Average temp of 26°C
 Sensitive Waterlogging
 Rainfall / irrigation during active vegetative growth is essential
Season

 Rabi planting
o 1st Fortnight of October
o In Vedaranyam after 15th Dec
o In Andra Pradesh
 Mid Oct to Mid Nov
 Early sowing ends with heavy rain
Nursery

 Well drained soil / raised bed

 2.5m-2 for 1.0g seed
 1.0g seed contains 10,000 seeds
 Seeds to seedling is very wide (10 :1)
 To transplant 20,000 seedlings 200,000 seeds in 50m-2 is more than sufficient
 Farmers use more than this area and seed rate
 Rabbing the nursery soil to prevent pest and disease is essential
 Manuring the nursery
 Irrigation by rose can
 Seedling age
o 7 weeks old
 o Pull out seedlings are pencil thickness
o After pulling out selected seedlings top dress the remaining seedlings

Field preparation

 Soils of well drained

 Deep summer ploughing
 Ridges an furrows
 Apply heavy FYM 25 t/ha before last ploughing
Spacing

 Chewing tobacco
o 75 x 75 (17,777 plants/ha)
 Cigar tobacco
o 75 x 50 (26,666 plants/ha)
 Cheroot tobacco
o 60 x 45 (36,730 plants/ha)
Planting

 Transplant single seedlings of pencil thickness

 Irrigate the field prior to planting
 Make a hole and plant
 Cool hours or evening is preferable
 Gap filling within 7-10 days
Manuring

 N 100 kg/ha as Ammonium sulphate

o If brackish water restrict to 75kg
o 50% on 45th day and 50% 60 DAP
 Phosphorous
o 100 kg P2O5 as SSP at planting
  Potash
o Chewing – 50 kg K2O
o Cigar & Cheroot – 100 kg K2O
 In two splits along with N
Weeding and Intercultural operations

 Hand weeding three weeks after transplanting

 At 45 DAT soil mulching to make the ridge flat
 A week later deep furrowing to heavy irrigation at Grand growth period
Control of Orabanche

 Remove as and when shoot appear

 Removed shoots are to be burnt
 Trap crops
o Greengram, gingelly, sorghum
 Chemical weed control
o Fluchloralin @ 1.0 l/ha or
o Oxyflourfen 0.5 l/ha
o as pre-plant incorporation a week prior to planting
Toping

 Chewing tobacco: Top, leaving 10 leaves

Desuckering

 Removal of side shoots manually at weekly interval

 Application of neem oil emulsion at 35% after topping completely suppresses the
suckers
 Neem oil 1.75 l + sandivit 0.5 l + water 2.75 l is needed for 1000 plants
Maturity & harvest

 Bulging of the intervenial portions of the leaf

 Appearance of brown spot on the leaves
 Cut the plant in the afternoon and allow it to wilt overnight
Cropping systems

 Mono-cropping is discouraged
o Crop rotation helps to maintain the soil fertility
 Intercropping is possible
o Onion and coriander (greens) are more suitable

POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGY FOR TOBACCO

Tobacco curing methods

 Curing is a carefully controlled process used to achieve the texture, colour and
overall quality of a specific tobacco type. During the cure, leaf starch is converted
into sugar, the green colour vanishes and the tobacco goes through colour changes
from lemon to yellow to orange to brown like tree leaves in autumn. There are
four main curing methods.

Flue-cured Tobacco

 The most common curing process is known as flue-curing

 Used mainly in the manufacture of cigarettes, the most common type of flue-
cured tobacco is Virginia
 This tobacco is also known as 'bright tobacco' because the heat-drying process
gives the leaves a bright, golden colour
 Originally from the south-eastern U.S. state of the same name, it is today the most
grown tobacco variety in the world
 Flue-cured tobacco is dried in a closed building with furnace driven heat directed
from flues or pipes that extend from a furnace into the barn.
 The temperature of the furnace is gradually raised until the leaves and stems are
completely dried.
  Flue-curing takes about a week and fixes the natural sugar of the leaf, which has a
high sugar and a medium-to-high nicotine content.
 Today, many farmers find that bulk curing flue-cured tobacco is far more cost-
effective.
 Racks of tobacco are placed in bulk barns where heat and ventilation are
controlled while air is forced through the leaves.
 Flue-cured varieties require warm weather, humidity, light rainfall and a sandy,
loam soil for their four-month growing season.

Air-cured Tobacco

 Some tobacco leaves are air-cured following their harvest.

 Air-cured tobacco is traditionally cured hanging in structures with a roof, but with
open sides to allow air to freely circulate.
 As with flue-curing, the aim of air-curing is the timely removal of moisture from
tobacco leaves. This process takes four to eight weeks:
 If cured too fast, the leaf will become patchy, if cured too slowly, the leaf will rot
away.
 Commonly, air-cured tobacco is subdivided into dark air-cured and light air-cured
tobacco.
 Burley is the second most popular tobacco in the world, belonging to the light air-
cured variety.
 Burley, also known as White Burley tobacco, is primarily used to make cigarettes
and aromatic blends, whereas dark air-cured tobaccos are mainly used in the
production of chewing tobacco and snuff.
 Burley is a slightly smaller plant than the flue-cured Virginia type, but with
similarly broad leaves.
 Once picked, its leaves are dried naturally – or ‘air-cured' – without the use of
extra heat.
 This gives the leaves a light brown to mahogany appearance and very low sugar
content.
  Burley tobaccos are somewhat cigar-like in taste and appearance, lending
themselves to the production of flavoured, blended cigarettes commonly referred
to as "American".
 Burley tobacco can be grown in limestone soils and requires only light fertiliser.

Fire-cured Tobacco

 Although curing methods may vary, all fire-cured tobaccos are subjected to wood
smoke to dry the leaves. It is the type of wood used to smoke the tobacco leaves
and the amount of smoke exposure that gives fire-cured tobacco leaves their
distinctive flavours.
 Fire-cured tobacco, generally darker in colour, is used mostly for pipe tobacco
mixtures, snuff, and chewing tobacco and has a low sugar but high nicotine
content. Fire curing uses an enclosed barn similar to that used for flue-curing.
Small fires are built on the floor, and the leaves cure in a smoke-laden
atmosphere. Whereas flue-curing takes about a week, fire curing, using far lower
temperatures, may take from a few days up to 4 weeks.
 Fire-cured tobacco is dried with low-burning wood fires on the floors of closed
curing barns. The leaves have low sugar content but high nicotine content. Fire-
cured tobacco is a robust variety of tobacco used as a condimental for pipe blends,
cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff and strong-tasting cigars.

Sun-cured Tobacco

 A comparatively small amount of tobacco is sun-cured. Leaves are exposed to the

sun to remove most of their moisture before being air-cured to complete the
process. Of all sun-cured tobaccos, the best known are the so-called Oriental
tobaccos of Turkey , Greece , Yugoslavia , and Balkans.
 A more labour-intensive product to harvest, Oriental tobacco is characterised by
high aroma from small leaves, being low in both sugar and nicotine.
  The leaves are mostly sun-cured. Usually, the larger the leaf, the milder the
aroma. Hence Oriental tobacco is regarded as expensive to harvest by many
tobacco manufactures. Oriental tobaccos are often grown in poorer soils in
southern Europe and the Middle East.
Grading

 Whereas after other curing processes tobacco is exposed to air to standardise the
moisture content of the tobacco or “redry”, Oriental tobaccos are stored in bales
and allowed to ferment. After storage, moisture is added to this type of tobacco.
Pure – Turkish cigarettes contain 100% unblended Oriental tobacco – or blended,
Oriental tobacco is mostly used in cigarettes, cigars, pipe, snuff or chewing
tobacco.
 After curing, the farmer grades the leaves into different leaf positions, qualities
and colours and packs his grades into what is known as a farmer bale of 30-50kg.
He then takes his bales to a buying centre or auction for sale.

***END OF CLASS NOTES***