Pest management in hills
By C.L. Bhardwaj
HILL agriculture on the earth hemisphere comprises mostly undulating topography. The natural geophysical structure of hill has may advantages for economic, stable and diversified sustainable agriculture production.

Winter fodder species under threat
By Shashi Bhushan
A dreaded fungus — cytospo ra — has threatened the survival of cattle in the tribal valley of Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh following its severe attack on wild willow (salix), the only winter fodder tree of this cold desert.

Significance of bio-compost
By Sanjeev Sandal and Ashok Thakur
SOIL acts as a medium for plant growth. It contains millions of micro-organisms which help in the decomposition of organic matter, thereby increasing the availability of nutrients to growing plants.

New technique for erecting poly-house
By Parmod Bharti
SCIENTISTS of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Langroya (Nawanshahr), have developed an improved technique for erecting “poly-house” (A hut made of bamboos and ultra-violet stabilised polythene film for growing off-season vegetable nurseries).

Pest management in hills
By C.L. Bhardwaj

HILL agriculture on the earth hemisphere comprises mostly undulating topography. The natural geophysical structure of hill has may advantages for economic, stable and diversified sustainable agriculture production. Experimentally and intuitively two important resources — land utilisation pattern and water resource in the form of varied snow and rainfall precipitations — have proved advantageous for harnessing the potential of different short and long-duration crops from different utility perspectives.

Based on this, the whole vegetation component of agriculture in hills can simply be termed and defined as subtemperate and temperate cold “agro-horti-silvi-pastoral-forest” system, different than the subtropical and tropical hot “agro-horti-silvi-pastoral-forest” system of plains or their modifications. The systems contemplate different constraints for stability and sustainability of agriculture production under different agro-ecological boundaries. Besides many types of “abiotic stress factors” connected with resources and their utility, biotic stress factors” of different kinds commonly called as pests, have adequately been demonstrated to destabilise agriculture production since historical pre and post-modern agriculture periods. There exists a “boom and bust” cycle in the management of different pests through the use of different tools of comparative advantage and utility investigated through different wisdom envisaged innovative continuous research efforts.

Based on the principles of plant protection, the strategies for pest management include exploitation of non-host and host resistances, avoidance and quarantine legislations, chemical and biological pest management, diversification of crops and crop varieties, and judicious as well as timely use of effective and useful inputs in crop husbandry. The integration of different efficacious and useful components to manage specific pest (s) on different crops in an agro ecology is termed as “integrated pest management” (IPM) strategy. Integrated pest management is an integral part of crop husbandry operations. It varies among and between crops as well as among and between agroclimate boundaries. It is mainly known to be influenced by technological gaps and the socio-economic conditions of farmers from perspectives of achieving higher degree of stability of production over time and space.

Stability and sustainability of production are two faces of the same coin, the tail and the head, respectively. The former lays stress on stabilising production through use of presently available innovative technological tools and the later by achieving the higher ingress of production through research and development efforts by improving the efficiency of different new investigated resources at the upper limit. Keeping in view the effect of different resources of importance on the stability and sustainability production, the following integrated pest management strategies need to be prioritised and introspected both in the research and development arena:

To ensure delivery of vigorous and pest-free seed or propagating material of standard and hybrid varieties to the farmers by the domestic, public and private sectors.

To give impetus to diversification of crops and crop varieties, resistant or moderately resistant to economic vulnerable biotic stress factors in different agro-ecological niches possessive of characters of tolerance to major abiotic stress factors, drought and cold.

To lay emphasis on crop rotation with pest non-host crops, adoption of staggered and timely sowing of short-duration crops, adoption of mixed farming in rainfed areas to avoid risk of crop failures and generate early harvest by incorporating the crops amenable to the strategy in order to obtain early incomes during stipulated crop season, and adoption of cultivar blends according to marketing demand and crop raising feasibilities.

To integrate judiciously biological pesticides and need-based application of chemical pesticides along with other components of biological pest managements and crop husbandry practices for better effects of integrated pest management to stabilise economic crop production.

Winter fodder species under threat
By Shashi Bhushan

A dreaded fungus — cytospo ra — has threatened the survival of cattle in the tribal valley of Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh following its severe attack on wild willow (salix), the only winter fodder tree of this cold desert. Not only this , one more fodder flora of this valley and that of tribal district of Kinnaur, poplar (pahari pippal) is also infested with another fungus called cladosporium.

The incidence of cytosporal attack is so high in the Gondhla area that the disease (dieback) has assumed epidemic proportions, causing threat to the very existence of this plant species. Salix leaves are the only food of domestic animals of the snowbound Lahaul area in winters. Fodder is so scarce those days that the cattle eat up even the stem bark of the tree.

Wild willow, named as “shain” in local dialect, is a single stem tree. The stem is cut from the top to have branches only from there. These branches carry fodder leaves.

According to Dr R.C. Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, the fungus enters the stem from an injury, generally caused by the top cut or cattle bite.

Asked why dieback is playing havoc with wild willow, Dr Sharma quips that humid environment is probably the cause of eruption, reproduction and endurance of the dreaded fungus. In cold deserts, there are a number of places that bear not even a single blade of grass. Vegetation in such areas is, however, mostly near and along the river beds.

The other fungus — cladosporium — has attacked leaves of natural poplar trees in the valley. It caused leaf spots and blight. The incidence of the disease is alarmingly high in Kinnaur. Besides, kinner poplars are also infected from rust. Cladosporium and rust result in premature defoliation, causing fodder deficiency. And wild willow stem afflictions ultimately dry up the tree, adding to infestations and miseries of already agonised tribal people.

The incidence of cladosporal attack on poplar in the Shilly nursery, near Solan, is quite common, while fungoid growth is rarely observed on the main campus of the Parmar university at Nauni. It is because of the reason that the Shilly area is shady and has dampness, whereas Nauni campus is open to the sun.

Turning to control and remedial measures, Dr Sharma recommends application of copex- oxichloride paint at the wounded place at the time of “top cut “ and injury caused by cattle to wild willow trees. Besides, bags should be folded around the stem and the plants given thorny bush cover.

However, the best security cover is by means of a biological control (application of bio-control agents) as a chemical control is discouraged in forest environment, stresses Dr Sharma.

Significance of bio-compost
By Sanjeev Sandal and Ashok Thakur

SOIL acts as a medium for plant growth. It contains millions of micro-organisms which help in the decomposition of organic matter, thereby increasing the availability of nutrients to growing plants. With the reduction in subsidies on fertilisers, its less quantities are being added to soil. Further the use of organic fertilisers need to be encouraged.

Farmers often burn waste plant materials like straw of sugarcane, cotton, bajra, wheat, maize, etc which kills the soil micro-organisms. This practice should be discouraged and such materials could be used for preparation of bio-compost.

The bio-compost not only supplies essential plant nutrients but also maintains soil health by increasing soil productivity and its water holding capacity. It also supplies micro nutrients which are not generally being added by farmers through fertilisers. It prevents air and water pollution that otherwise is caused by inorganic fertilisers. The insect/pest attacks on field crops can also be minimised through the use of bio-compost. It also has prolonged residual effects.

In Himachal Pradesh and elsewhere, it is a common practice among farmers to keep the cow dung and farmyard manure at open places which is exposed to direct sun and rain for weeks and months.

For the efficient use of such materials, farmers should dig a pit of 2mx2mx1m size in a shady place. Soil inside the pit should be compacted so as to reduce seepage losses. The pit should be nearer to the animal shed so that urine of animals can reach the pit through a channel.

The plant residue and cow dung may be added in layers till the pit is filled. Some quantity of superphosphate can also be added. Add five to six buckets of water and seal the pit with a soil paste.

Generally it takes three to four months for the preparation of bio-compost. Scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hamirpur at Bara, organise training camps on bio-composting and demonstrate the construction of bio-compost pits at farmers’ fields.

Agricultural scientists have prepared different bio-culture for the preparation of bio-compost for different crops. For example, the rhizobium culture for pulses, azatobactor culture for vegetables, azospirallium culture for wheat and other foodgrain crops, blue-green algee for rice, etc. The rhizobium culture makes nodules at the roots of pulses which fixes atmospheric nitrogen, thereby reducing the doses of nitrogenous fertilisers to pulses. Experiments have shown that rhizobium culture has increased the yields of gram by 13 to 76 per cent, of arhar by 10 to 46 per cent, of moong by 9 to 95 per cent, of mash by 32 to 54 per cent and of lobia by 25 to 30 per cent.

New technique for erecting poly-house
By Parmod Bharti

SCIENTISTS of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Langroya (Nawanshahr), have developed an improved technique for erecting “poly-house” (A hut made of bamboos and ultra-violet stabilised polythene film for growing off-season vegetable nurseries). Under the new technology the poly-house is erected by using iron rods in place of bamboos, making the poly-house more durable and economical as the bamboos are prone to attacks by termite and strong winds and have to be replaced. The cost of erecting poly-house using iron rods is almost the same.

Dr Baldev Singh Sidhu, Deputy Director, KVK, while giving details said that the poly-house was very useful for the farmers especially small farmers who wanted to adopt vegetable cultivation for making their farm activities more diversified and lucrative.

If farmers want to earn profits from vegetable cultivation, they will have to grow off-season vegetables, and the poly-house technique enables them to raise vegetable nurseries.

Dr Sidhu said that this technique was very simple as it did not require any machinery or special training to raise a vegetable nursery which, if grown under field conditions, usually got delayed or sometimes damaged due to unfavourable climatic conditions like rain, cold, etc. The ultra-violet stabilised polythene film used in erecting poly-house protected the nursery form unfavourable climatic conditions and maintained the desired temperature in the poly-house. This technique was a boon for the farmers of the Kandi area, Dr Sidhu added.

The KVK has also organised a training camp for farmers to demonstrate the poly-house and the trainees were given practical knowledge of erecting poly-house and they were taught that the nurseries raised under poly-house takes much less time than the nurseries grown under field conditions.

Vegetables:

— Irrigate the standing vegetable crops once a week regularly. Pick up the fruits of bottlegourd, pumpkin, chilli, capsicum, longmelon, watermelon, squash-melon, wonga, vegetable merrow, muskmelon, brinjal, cucumber, cowpea, luffa and bhindi at the peak of development and edible state. Picking in the evening on alternate days in the case of cucurbit is more desirable because it causes less disturbance to the polinators. However, pick fruits of bottlegourd and ridgegourd in the morning since their flowers open in the evening.

— Harvest mature umbles of onion and carrot at a weekly intervals. Dry, thrash, clean and store the seed in a demp proof place. Harvesting is to be completed in three to four rounds as all the umbles do not mature at a time.

— Harvest the onion and garlic bulbs. Cure under shade and store them in a dry place. The garlic should be stored with stalks intact and after packing in small bundles. The onion stalk should be cut just two-three cm above the bulb before storage.

— Start sowing of N-53 or Agrifond dark red varieties of onion in nursery beds during the last week of this month. Sow 500 g seed per marla bed area and 5 kg seed for raising seedlings to plant in one acre. Apply water after three-four days to protect the seedings against hot water.

— Sow Pusa Chetki/Punjab Ageti varieties of radish.

— Tomato fruits are available in plenty and at throwaway prices. Prepare ketchup, juice, etc. for year round domestic use.

Vegetable pests and diseases:

— Fruit and shoot borer of brinjal should be controlled by spraying 100 ml Sumicidin 20 EC or 40 m Ambush 50 EC or 200 m Ripcord 10 EC or 160 ml decis 2.8 EC in 250 litres of water per acre. These chemicals can also be used for checking tomato fruit borer damage.

— Brinjal mite may also be checked by spraying 250 ml of metasystox 25 EC/Rogor 20 EC in 250 litres of water per acre.

— Red pumpkin beetle attack on young cucurbits can be avoided by spraying 75-150 g of Sevin/Hexavin 50 WP in 50-100 litres of water per acre.

— For the control of powdery mildew in curcurbit, spray the crop with Karathane 50-80 ml/acre at the appearance of powder on the leaves. Avoid spray of sulphur or copper-based fungicide on cucurbits.

— For the control of downy mildew, spray the crop with Indofil M 45 at the rate of 300 g in 100 litres of water. Repeat sprays at 4 to 7 days’ interval.

— Spray the onion crop with 600 g Indofil M 45 or 400 g of Difolatan mixed with 200 ml of Mathion and 200 m of Triton or linseed oil (as sticker) in 200 litres of water per acre for the control of purple blotch.

(Progressive Farming, PAU)