Srinagar, Nov 03: As the sowing season is underway in the valley, Directorate of Extension S.K. University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Tuesday issued guidelines for Rabi crops, Rabi pulses and vegetable seed crops.
Regarding Rabi crops, the advisory said that if the crops are not sown in the previous month then it should be sown as soon as possible as delay in sowing leads to poor yield and delayed maturity.
“Sowing should be done in rows keeping row to row distance of 23 cm and at a depth of 4-5 cm to ensure proper germination. Seed rate should be increased up to 120 kg/ha. In timely sown crop if pre-emergence herbicide are not applied then weeds can be controlled by application of post-emergence herbicides,” it said.
About Rabi Pulses, the advisory said that sowing of field pea can be done up to ending November while the delay sowing leads to yield reduction.
“Recommended varieties are Shalimar Pea-1, Rachna and Prakash etc. For pea cultivation 2-3 ploughings accompanied by planking will be sufficient to obtain desired seed bed. Apply well decomposed compost and it should be incorporated in the soil at the time of land preparation,” the advisory stated.
Regarding vegetable seed crops, it said farmers should select disease-free fruits for seed extraction and wash extracted seeds thoroughly and sundry followed by proper storage.
With regards to sowing of vegetables, the advisory said that sowing of garlic and pran may be continued in November while precautions need to be taken to ensure quality produce.
“Avoid diseased and damaged cloves. Cloves should be planted deep to avoid frost injury/bird damage. Cloves may be treated with proper fungicides before sowing as prophylactic measure against fungal disease,” it said.
Regarding packaging of walnuts the advisory suggested to use plastic woven sacks for bulk packaging and not to use gunny bags adding that use of gunny bags lead to quality deterioration and microbial infection of walnuts. “Do not wash the walnuts before extraction of kernels,” it said.
