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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, December 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Chilli
a prospective crop for diversification Asias useful trees
and plants: Lingri Increasing
trend in food adulteration |
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Chilli a prospective crop
for diversification THE agriculture in Punjab has reached a level beyond which further growth, under present circumstances, appears to be limited. The rice-wheat rotation system is very common and successful. Moreover, it is facing a problem of plenty as the storage godowns are filled and market is flooded with wheat and rice in the open, leaving no room for the coming crop. The other problem arise with this system is that the watertable in Punjab soil is depleting day by day due to excessive use of water for rice cultivation. Despite the hardship being faced for nearly a decade, marginal farmers have been tilling by the free trade under the WTO. Out of the total 1,429 items for open trade, 825 belong to the agricultural sector. Indian agricultural commodities may not compete in international market due to high production cost, moderate quality of produce and phyto-sanitation restrictions. To bring stability in production system and to make agriculture remunerative, some basic changes have to be made. If we do not take immediate steps, the future of agriculture in Punjab will be dismal. Obviously, need of the hour is to find out some suitable crops which can replace rice and wheat. However, the area under these crops can be reduced gradually by adopting vegetables and other crops like agro-forestry, groundnut, pulses, sugarcane, maize, etc. Vegetables have great export potential provided adequate infrastructure is available. Among vegetables, there is need to select those vegetables having high-yield and export potential, easy for post-harvest handling, easy to process, easy to store, etc. In this respect chilli crop can be considered the best alternative. The fruit of this crop can be harvested at the green or red ripe stage or dried according to the requirement of the market and the prevailing price. Dried fruit can be easily stored for longer period as such or by making chilli powder. As regards area and production, India is one of the major chilli producing countries in the world occupying an area of 840.6 thousand hectares with an annual production of 870.1 thousand metric tonnes during 1997-98. In spite of the huge production of chilli in the country the volume of international trade is small (only 5 per cent of the total volume is exported). During 1998-99, India exported near about 55,750 tonnes of dry chilli worth Rs 210.3 crore to 20 countries. In Punjab, only marginal area of 1.3 lakh hectares is under vegetables out of which 15,000 hectares approximately us under chilli crop. With the evolution of chilli hybrid CH-1 by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, chilli cultivation in Punjab has been revolutionised. Area under chilli crop increased three times and yield almost doubled during the past about five years. Farmers are able to get 100 quintals of red ripe fruit yield and 200 quintals of green fruit yield from one acre and can earn a profit between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000. Progressive chilli growers on an average, are producing a yield of 2.5 to 3 tonnes of dry fruit yield per acre as compared to 0.4 tonnes per acre average yield of the country. Now 80 per cent chilli area is covered by CH-1 in the Punjab. Its cultivation is also spread over Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and MP. Hybrid seed of CH-1 is abundant in Punjab. About 100 farmers are producing seed of CH-1 on commercial scale after getting training at PAU regarding hybrid seed production technology. Recently, PAU has also released another chilli hybrid CH-3 which has edge over CH-1 in earliness, fruit size, red colouring matter and less pungency which has great export potential. Chilli crop is grown from March to October in Punjab. It can be rotated with peas or potato which are cultivated from October-March. Both these crops are of high value and profit from this rotation may go up to Rs 80,000 per acre. Rice could easily be replaced by chilli crop but area under chilli crop needs to be increased tremendously which is only possible by providing proper marketing and processing facilities in the state. It can be concluded that with a large-scale production of chilli, there will be the possibility that market glut of the produce may arise. So the large-scale adoption needs strong support of planners for developing market infrastructure, including the establishment of chilli processing units. To stabilise chilli production, it is essential to fix a floor price for crop well in advance of sowing season as in sugarcane. The state trading organisations should also step in for purchases during glut in the market. As chillies are subject to high freight rates due to the volume it occupies, the government should consider giving freight subsidy for this commodity for export to distant countries such as the USA, Canada, Western Europe, etc. |
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Asias useful trees and plants:
Lingri NATURE is full of millions of plants. Thousands of them have been identified and studied by scientists in detail. Lakhs of them yet remain to be identified and studied. Lingri is one such plant of the main type ferns which has been identified but not studied in sufficient detail. Locally named as lingri or lingar or lungdu et all., it belongs to the fern family pteridiaceae of Himalayan ferns. It specific name is pteridium aquilinum. Lingri grows in shady pockets in nullahs in the hills at an altitude varying from 1000 to 3000 metres. It is deep green-coloured plant like a compound leaf of plants of the leguminaceae family. The main plant grows to a size of nearly 30 to 50 cm while the central stalk grows from nearly 60 to 80 cm. The stalk is covered with greyish hair. The tip coils around itself like a snake coils itself in self-defence. Lingri starts showing itself in its natural habitat from early spring. It keeps growing till autumn. The villagers collect its tender stalk and use it as a vegetable. While these can be so used a culinary substitute throughout its growing season, its preparation tastes better during the period April to June. In areas where lingri is found in abundance, the people even picklise and use it throughout the year. For cooking lingri does not require any special technique. The village women wish the stalks thoroughly in fresh water and cut these into small pieces like any other fresh vegetable. The pieces are then boiled in water. The hill folk collect tender stalks of lingri and use these as a vegetable, especially during April to June. For making pickle the lingri stalks are treated and cooked along with spices usually added to pickles of other vegetable. A small quantity of citric juice is added for making the preparation suitably sour and vinegar as a preservative. Some housewives even put a little gur in the pickle being son made as per individual family liking. And, finding the village folk using lingri for making so high and tasty a broth, the town folks, especially those at Shimla, appear to have developed a good taste buds of this fern. Accordingly, fresh bundles of the brackens are now sold like hot cakes in local vegetable market. The vegetable vender buy the fern from the villagers, especially children coming to schools, at a rate of about Rs 5 to 7 per kg. They then sell these to knowledgeable consumers at a rate of Rs 10 per kg approximately. Lastly, as the Himalayan tracts have plenty of fern rhizomes in the sub-soil and a lot of scope for systematic and domesticated cultivation of the fern, it is highly desirable that research scholars take up this section of natural vegetation for detailed study for economic cultivation and optimum utilisation of this humble yet important resource. |
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Increasing
trend in food adulteration WHILE an increasing trend has been seen in food adulteration in Haryana, the rate of conviction in such cases has decreased which indicates weak defence, lack of evidence and deficient, incorrect methology for sample collection. As the collection and analysis of samples declined, there was a significant increase in the rate of adulteration from 12 to 19 per cent during 1995-1999 in Haryana. The percentage of adulteration in milk increased from 31 to 50, edible oil fats vanaspati 3 to 25, butter ghee, icecream and other milk products from 19 to 24 and beverages from 25 to 47. As prescribed in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, the maximum period for analysing food samples by food laboratories is 40 days. This time gap provided the manufacturers wholesale retailer an opportunity to sell the entire stock of adulterated food by the time the result of test report was available. A specific provision in the Act, according to report of the comptroller and Auditor-General of India for the Haryana Government for the year ending March 31, 2000, is required for seizure of the adulterated food items immediately on receipt from public analyst. The government did nothing to prevent the sale of adulterated food items while samples are taken for analysis. The Act lays down that the government food inspector may seize and carry away or keep in safe custody of such articles which appear to be adulterated or misbranded. These power are only discretionary and the inspectors failed to seize even a single adulterated stock in the entire state during 1995-2000. In fact, the adulterated stocks were not seized even where the persons were convicted under the Act. The total number of outstanding cases, according to the CAG report, increased from 3, 569 at the beginning of 1995 to 4, 091 in 1999 (July, 1999). Of the 3, 569 cases, 1, 584 cases (44 per cent) were decided during this period and 1, 985 cases had been pending for more than five years. Further in various courts during this period 2, 006 cases were added which was more than the cases decided (i.e. 1584). Considering the increase in the number of prosecution cases launched every year and the fewer cases decided by courts, the deterrence through prosecution was ineffective. Of the total 1, 584 cases decided by courts in 1995-1999 (July, 1999), 1, 026 cases (65 per cent) ended in acquittal. Out of 1, 026 cases, 437 cases were from the districts of Bhiwani, Gurgeon, Hisar, Karnal and Rohtak. In 17 cases of milk samples, the milk was not stirred properly as required. In another six cases of milk samples, fats and solids in milk taken together met the prescribed standards, in four cases the laboratory reports did not declare the food stuffs unit for human consumption, food standards were not prescribed in the rules of the Act and in other cases lack of evidence, etc. The state government violated the provision of the Act and did not notify any instructions for 27, 145 private medical practitioners in Haryana (upto March, 1999) to report case of food poisoning as no such case was reported to the Civil Surgeon or the Director-General, Health Services, by any medical practitioner during 1995-2000. From government hospitals, the civil surgeons reported to the Directorate of Health Services 12 cases of food poisoning during 1999. Action, if any, taken in the matter was not intimated to audit. The Act provides that the court, on the request of the accused (whose food samples was declared as adulterated by the state food laboratory can send the sample under its own seal to the Director, Central Food Laboratory (CFL), Pune, who shall thereupon send a certificate to the court in the prescribed form within one month specifying the results of analysis. Certificate issued by the CFL shall supersede the report given by the state laboratory. It was noticed that in four of the five districts (Bhiwani did not furnish the information) test-checked out of 261 samples sent by the courts of the CFL for re-testing, 112 samples (43 samples) were found to be unadulterated on re-testing. However, the government conducted no investigations for improper and misleading results by the State Food Laboratory. Based on the number of available inspectors and the prescribed norms, 6, 360 to 7, 560 food samples were to be collected every year against which 2, 085 to 4, 511 samples were collected, thus, shortfall was 40 to 67 per cent. There was no system for taking food samples to cover all manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers of food articles. During 1995 to 1999, the inspectors took food samples from units arbitrarily. Against the capacity of 5,000 and 1,500 samples, samples received in the State Food Laboratory, Chandigarh, declined from 4,175 to 3,791 (9 per cent) during 1995-97, whereas in Karnal laboratory samples declined from 1,185 to 824 (30 per cent) in 1995-99. As a result the capacity of the laboratories was
underutilised. |
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Farm operations for December WHEAT: For the control of loose smut of wheat, treat the seed with Bavistin/Agrozim/Derosal/Benor/J.K. Stein/Sten 50/Provax @ 2.5 g/kg or Raxil @ 1g/kg seed or with Vitavas @ 2 g/kg seed. For the control of root rot, foot rot, seedling blight, black tip and black spot of glumes, treat the seed with Captan or Thiram @ 3g/kg seed. Captan and Thiram treatment should not be done earlier than one month of sowing as it affects seed germination. For the control of earcockle disease put wheat seed in ordinary water and agitate vigorously for a few minutes. Earcockle galls will float to the surface. These may be skimmed off with an ordinary sieve and burnt. Phalaris minor and wild oats can also be controlled by spraying Isoproturon herbicide 2 to 4 days before first irrigation. On heavy textured soil, use Isoproturon 75 WP @ 500 g/acre. In case of medium textured soils, isoproturon 75 WP can be used @ 400 g/acre. In case of light textured soils, the dose can be reduced to 300 g/acre of isoproturon 75 WP. For control of phalaris minor in addition to the recommended herbicides, Metoxuron 80 WP @ 70 g/acre (commercial), illoxan 28 EC @ 1.25 l/acre or Graps 10 EC (Tralkoxydim) @ 1.4 l/acre can also be applied 30-40 days after sowing i.e. after first irrigation when the field permits walking. For control of mixed infestation pf phalaris minor and certain hardy broadleaf weeds, 2, 4-D @ 250 g/acre can be tank mixed with Isoproturon. Wild oats, another serious problem of wheat can also be controlled with spray of illoxan 28 EC @ 1.25 L/acre of Grasp 10 EC @ 1.4 L/acre of Metoxuron 80 WP @ 450 g/acre (commercial) in 200 litres of water after first irrigation. Illoxan 28 EC and Grasp 10 EC can also be used in barely for control of weeds like Phalaris and wild oats. For the control of Isoproturon-resistant biotype of phalaris in rice-wheat cropping system, use Topik 15 WP (Clodinafop) @ 160 g/acre or Pumasuper 10 EC (Fenoxapropethyl) @ 400 m,/acre or Leader 75 WG (Sulfosulfuron) @ 13 g/acre. Spray either of the herbicide in 100-120 litres of water after 30-35 days of sowing wheat by using flat fan nozzle. For control of broadleaf weeds only, use 2, 4-D @ 250 g/acre at 35-40 days after sowing in case of normal sown (October-November sown) and 45-55 days after sowing for late sown wheat (December sown). Apply 20 WP (metsulfuron) @ 10 g/acre can also be used for control of
kandia wali palak and other hardy weeds and its time of application is 30-40 days after sowing. Wheat crop requiring first irrigation should be irrigated after four weeks of sowing. On light-textured soils or kallar soils, first irrigation should be advanced by one week. Apply second dose of 55 kg urea per acre to wheat before first irrigation. If the wheat is to follow potato only 27 kg urea/acre may be drilled at the time of sowing. In case wheat is yet to be sown, drill 40 kg of urea and 155 kg of superphosphate per acre at the time of sowing. Twenty kg of muriate of potash may be applied if the soil test is low in available potash. Progressive Farming, PAU |
