Agriculture diversification in HP’s dry temperate zone
C. L. Bhardwaj
In Himachal Pradesh, agriculture under dry temperate zone comprises the district of Lahaul and Spiti as well as parts of Kinnaur and Chamba districts. Over-time and space raising of specific winter and wet season crop varieties of different kind, categories, utility and adaptability during the summer season from mid-April to October is the main feature of agriculture and related activity in most of the cultivable valley areas.

Animal health and poultry

Agriculture diversification in HP’s dry temperate zone
C. L. Bhardwaj

In Himachal Pradesh, agriculture under dry temperate zone comprises the district of Lahaul and Spiti as well as parts of Kinnaur and Chamba districts. Over-time and space raising of specific winter and wet season crop varieties of different kind, categories, utility and adaptability during the summer season from mid-April to October is the main feature of agriculture and related activity in most of the cultivable valley areas. The geophysical and altitudinal ranges above mean sea level of an agroecology determine the potential of raising of economic food, horticultural, ornamental, medicinal, vegetable, industrial and forest crop species vis-a-vis vegetation. Occurrence of heavy snowfall and very low temperature towards the start of winters after mid-September limits the period of raising crops and growth of vegetation during the remaining winter months. Precipitations in the form of periodic snowfall at high mountains and scanty mild rainfall constitute the major source of irrigation or water for raising and maintaining the crops. The soil texture is mostly sandy to sandy loam, and is prone to high wind velocity and snow melting natural processes of soil erosions, including faulty methods of irrigation and ploughing or cultural methods of raising the crops. The short crop raising season accounts for raising of either single premium earning crop or rarely two crops of short duration.

Historically during pre and post-independence period up to the 1970s cultivation of wheat (triticum aestivum) and barley (hordeum vulgare) of summer and winter types, buckwheat (fagopyrum esculentum and F. tataricum) and amaranthus strains of small grain crops (amaranthus paniculatus) dominated the agriculture production. This was followed by planting of apple, apricot, almond, walnut, grapes and pistachio orchards among horticultural activity under specific agro-ecological niches as well as raising of seed potato under suitable agro-ecological niches including scattered cultivation of industrial crops like, hops and manu, medicinal value crop kuth and pulse crop rajmash as an initiative to agriculture development in these tribal areas. Presently the raising of pea crop has dominated the land holding by replacement over seed potato production under sizeable area. Over-time and space this trend of adoption of short duration agricultural crops by tribal farmers has no doubt attributed to spatial diversification of agriculture but the trend has remained towards monoculture of crops or cropping systems governed by economic basis after the 1970s.

Moreover, no considerable development has taken place on other parameters of diversity such as management of grasslands or pastures as well as systematic introduction of agro-forestry in spite of a considerable change in the adoption of improved cross breeds of Jersey cows and sheep over churu and yalk or their crossbreeds is easily identifiable in different areas. Similarly, initiative to develop the area for vegetable seed production of temperate origin is lacking, besides production of vegetables as kitchen gardens or polyhouses in order to stabilise economy at household level. There also seems to be lack of indigenous knowledge on the identification and utility of most of medicinal plant species of temperate origin entailing industrial value as well as their production technology, including many other related aspects on the subject.

Monoculture adoption of crops and vegetation relegates to many negative effects on the production and economic systems both at the individual and corporate farm levels after some time. Vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stress factors, including the price instability factors of several kinds, are important disadvantages of monoculture. Hence bringing about diversity in crop varieties vis-a-vis vegetation between and among ecologies is of prime importance not in sustaining biological system to a greater extent but also important in reducing environment pollution of several kinds.

Therefore, in achieving the goal of maintaining biodiversity and bringing about diversity in agriculture system of dry temperate areas of Himachal Pradesh, the following points need to be given priority in the research and development arena of different agroecological niches:

¬Bringing about biodiversity in economic crops, viz. barley, potato, peas and rajmash by templating varietal biodiversity through identification and development of resistant/tolerant varieties to economic stress factors coupled with high-yield potential and low responsiveness to fertility.

¬Provide impetus to the production of seed of standard vegetable crops of temperate origin in identified agroecologies and linking production with seed industry at national and international levels for heavy returns.

¬Linking production of hops, kuth and manu crops with biorefineries for which technical knowhow already exists with farmers. Research efforts need to be concentrated on identification and production technology of new medicinal varieties such as bankari (podophyllum hexandrum), kukum/suranjan (colchicum luteum), memeri/morri (delphinium roylei), saffron/kesar (crocus sativum) and kalazira (bunium persicum syn. carum bulbocastanum) and other species of utility as well as dissemination of the knowledge on their cultivation and utility among farming community including gathering of indigenous/local knowledge with local folk on the subject.

¬Proper development and maintenance of grasslands and pastures through introduction of Leguminous forage crops amenable to adaptability under natural agro-climatic conditions in order to harvest the maximum biomass per unit area as well as train farming community on the preparation of silage production to maintain health of animal wealth.

¬Popularisation of agro-forestry by introducing suitable varieties of robinia (robinai spp.). Popular (populus ciliata), willows (salix spp.) and seabuck thorn (haippophae salieifolia) at suitable sites in different agro-ecologies and also by establishing biorefineries of different kinds and utility.

‘Killer’ creeper devours green cover
Bipin Bhardwaj

Casuda — a deadly creeper — has been playing havoc with the green cover in Panchkula and its nearby areas for the past several years.

Called amar bel in common parlance, the creeper has spread over almost all vegetation and plantations over the road dividers in different sectors of the township. Plants, saplings and shrubs have been overpowered by this parasite, thus endangering the ecological balance.

The parasite has gripped shrubs planted on the road dividers by the Haryana Horticulture Department. A majority of the vegetation has started withering as the ‘killer’ bel has sucked the liquid food from the twigs and leafs of these plants and shrubs.

Spreading of this bel has not only started engulfing the green cover but also resulted into road accidents in different parts of the township.

Sources in the Horticulture Department said the plants and shrubs had been planted on the road dividers to avoid accidents at night. After gaining height the plants used to be helpful in defending the high beams of vehicles coming from opposite direction at night.

Apart from posing a threat to the environment, spreading of the creeper has become a cause of accidents, residents complained.

Mr Ravinder Bhardwaj, a resident of Sector 7, complained that HUDA has recently organised the Spring Fest but had hardly done anything to save plants in various parts of the township which have been dying a slow death due to this ‘killer’ parasite. Earlier, the parasite had spread over hedges and other fully grown plants in the outskirts of the town but for the past three to four years, it has gripped a majority of the green cover in almost all sectors, he alleged.

This parasite known to be fast and best destroyer, was used by farmers to destroy the crops of their rivals. “But now-a-days mischievous children and school students just test the process of the spread of the parasite. They pluck pieces of the creeper and throw these on healthy plants and shrubs”, said Mr Jagdev Sharma, a local resident.

Experts in the Horticulture Department confirm that this creeper has the capacity to remain alive for days without food, it grows roots in the outer skin of the plants at the places where it comes in contact with a healthy plant. The best way to get rid of this parasite is to cut the ‘affected’ portion of the plant, and burning of the infected plants along with the parasite gives the best results, claimed experts.

Mr Yogi Ram, Executive Engineer of the Haryana Horticulture Department, said the department had trimmed a majority of the infected shrubs planted on the road dividing Sectors 10 and 11 last year.

He added that the department would trim the infected plants and shrubs after the rains. ‘‘If we trim the infected plants, they will not bud in the absence of rains and the plants may die. So we have decided to trim them in July,’’ he said. 

Animal health and poultry

Dairy
— Since green fodder is available in abundance so the oil cake can be reduced upto 5 per cent in the concentrate ratio. Do not feed green sprouted, rotton or solid potatoes to dairy animals.

— This is the calving season for cows. So adequate care should be given towards pregnant animals. Separate them in a comfortable well-bedded pen 15 days before the expected date of calving and given laxative diet along with green fodder.

— Take proper care of calves. Feed colostrum @ 10 per cent of body weight within one hour of birth.

— Get your animals examined after three, six and nine months of mating/artificial insemination for routine pregnancy check up and foetus welfare.

— Make sure that all the animals are vaccinated against the FMD, if still not, then get them vaccinated immediately, keep their record and repeat after six months. There are reports of haemorrhagic septicaemia (gal ghotu) outbreak in the field. So, all the animals should be got vaccinated against this disease immediately.

— Regularly deworm the calves with piperazine liquid (4 ml/kg body weight) first at 10 days of age, then 15 days and then monthly up to three months of age and then three monthly up to one year of age.

Poultry
— It is the best time for raising chicks. Purchase the chicks from a reputed hatchery. Prepare the brooders and brooder house before arrival of chicks.

— Clean and disinfect the sheds properly before the arrival of chicks.

— Maintain the 95°F temperature under brooder on first week and reduce it 5°F every week.

— Allow the maximum sunshine in the sheds to keep the litter dry.

— Chicks should be got vaccinated for Marek’s disease at the hatchery. Vaccinate with vaccine F3B against Ranikhet disease at 6 to 8 weeks of age and fowl pox vaccinate at 10 to 12 weeks.

— Cull the uneconomical birds from the flock regularly to save feed cost and provide enough floor space for other birds.

— Do not use infected grains for feed formulation and do not store the compound feed more than 15 days.

Reclamation of salt-affected soils
Get the soil tested for reclamation purpose. After levelling the barren salt-affected soil and preparing strong bunds field may be given heavy irrigation. When the soil comes in “watter”, gypsum may be broadcast uniformly according to soil test report.

The gypsum should be mixed by shallow ploughing. Dhaincha may be sown after irrigating the soil. Seventyfive kg of superphosphate per acre may be applied at the time of sowing dhaincha for green manuring if the soil test is low in phosphorus. If the fields are free, dhaincha may be sown for green manuring in the second fortnight of this month.

Bee keeping
This is the ideal time for starting beekeeping. Brood rearing by the colonies is at full swing during this month and hence the colonies grow rapidly. So this period is also very suitable for multiplication of our existing stock of the bee colonies.

The colonies may be multiplied by dividing the colonies or through mass producing the queen bees. The migratory beekeepers who have not extracted brassica honey should extract the same before migrating the colonies to eucalyptus plantation.

If colonies are overpopulated, provide more space by giving raised combs/comb foundations and super chambers. Manage the colonies to check swarming. Control ectoparasitic mite by dusting powdered sulphur (i.e. 1g/frame) on the top bars of the bee frames.
— Progressive Farming, PAU