Srinagar, Nov 19: Amid a dip in temperature, the Agro field unit Srinagar, agro unit SKUAST-K and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) have issued a new advisory for saffron, vegetable, apple trees, poultry, sericulture, fisheries and appealed to farmers to take precautionary measures.
The advisory issued on November 18 for a week in view of a dip in temperature and possible snowfall in Kashmir advised farmers to maintain proper drainage channels in the field to avoid water stagnation in case of rabi crops like wheat, oat, pea, lentil, etc.
Regarding saffron, the advisory suggested picking unopened saffron flowers in the early morning hours while pistils should be separated hours before flower picking followed by quick drying.
“Cut the pouch and immediately place it in the burrow after ensuring that a certain amount of moisture is present where the pouch is kept. Maintain drainage channels in and around the field to avoid water stagnation,” it said.
For apples, it said that in case of heavy snowfall, shake the trees to remove snow immediately from the branches and crotches besides providing proper support to the limbs/plants which are not strong enough to withstand the load of snow.
“Avoid tilting of fruit trees, reduce the canopy load by pruning and provide support. If the trees get partially uprooted, slowly pull back the trees to the original position after heavy pruning,” it said.
Regarding cattle, the advisory suggested farmers take extra care in maintaining the proper temperature in animal sheds.
During hot hours of the day, animals should be housed in sufficiently capacious well ventilated sheds or in open shaded places with ad-lib availability of clean and cold water.
“Dairy cattle should be fed high-quality forage and feed added with minerals especially sodium, potassium and magnesium along with supplementary fat,” the advisory said.
It mentioned that animals showing heat stress symptoms like increased respiratory rate, anorexia, and restlessness should be managed by providing a cold congenial atmosphere through the shade, proper airflow and sprinkling of cold water on the skin of the animal.
Regarding lumpy skin disease, it suggested to farmers to restrict the movement of healthy animals, quarantine diseased animals, vector control mosquitoes, ticks, and flies by ectparacidal drugs and disinfection of premises with bleach, phenol and iodine.
“The diseased animal is to be symptomatically treated by giving analgesic for controlling temperature, antibiotics to check secondary infection, antihistaminics, anorectic medicine, antioxidants plus vitamins A and E,” it said.
About sheep and goats, the advisory suggested proper sanitation in and around the paddocks/sheds while the night stay premises of animals should be kept clean and dry.
“Avoid mixing of flocks to prevent the spread of diseases. Supplement concentrates/feeds to livestock over and above the normal grazing on available pastures. Proper anthelmintic dosing should be carried out as per the needs of the area. Take extra care in maintaining the proper temperature in animal sheds,” it said.
Regarding poultry, the advisory said that while maintaining the temperature, ventilation should also be proper. The following temperatures have to be maintained in broiler farms: 1st week 95 degrees, 2nd week 90 degrees, 3rd week 85 degrees, fourth week 80 degrees and in the fifth week 75 degrees.
“Leakage of exhaust pipes of sawdust bukharis should be checked otherwise smoke leaking into the house will course suffocation. Maintain proper litter conditions by regularly turning and racking the litter and adding/replacing the litter materials,” it said.
About floriculture, it suggested maintenance of proper drainage channels in the field to avoid water stagnation while planting of spring flowering bulbs like tulips may be continued.
“Transplanting of winter flowering annuals may be continued. Prune the trees and shrubs to avoid damage by heavy snow during winter. Make preparations for the protection of house plants during the winter season,” it added.
Since the second commercial silkworm rearing has ended farmers are advised to ensure complete disinfection of rearing rooms and rearing appliances.
Farmers are advised to dismantle low-cost rearing huts and preserve the various accessories of the hut under the well-roofed shed for future use.
“Complete sun drying of cocoons should be ensured before storage to avoid any fungal damage to the cocoons. Sorting of the cocoons should be ensured before marketing to fetch the maximum market price. The cocoon preservation should be done in gunny bags by hanging them under tin roofs or at dry places to avoid any damage by the rodents,” it said.
Regarding mushroom cultivation, it suggested to pinheads of mushrooms generally start after 18 to 21 days after casing.
“Mushrooms are picked up by twisting mushroom gently clockwise and then anticlockwise and afterward it is pulled up very softly. After harvesting of mushrooms, casing material should be added and pressed gently to level the holes formed due to harvesting of mushroom,” it said.
Regarding fisheries, the advisory said that currently temperature is touching minus degrees and the water temperature is also going down to freezing, the fish either stops feeding or accepts a very less quantity of feed for maintenance.
“It is advised to store the feed for trout/carp in a well-ventilated and cool place to avoid the shortage during snowfall according to MeT department predictions,” it said.
The advisory also said that in case of any mortality or sign of sickness in the fish stock reduce stocking density and quarantine the morbid fish and seek fish health experts.
Regarding forestry, it said that weeding and hoeing operations have to be done in agro-forestry systems/models while forest nurseries need to be irrigated during early morning and evening hours to avoid desiccation/stress due to heat.
“Avoid irrigation in nurseries, if rain is predicted in the forecast on that day. Diseased seedlings in the nursery should be immediately isolated from the healthy ones and treated separately with the recommended fungicides. Massive outbreak of disease/insect damage must be reported to the concerned scientist/expert for remedial measures,” the advisory said.
