Pak basmati in Punjab
P. P. S. Gill
AS an ordinary pilgrim, Surinder Singh had accompanied the SGPC ‘jatha’ to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan in 1998. Just two years before that, his brother Kuldip Singh, too, had visited gurdwaras in that country.


The lip-smacking tamarind
K.L. Noatay
TAMARIND, popularly known as imli, is a large, broad-leaved nearly evergreen tree. With the scientific name Tamarindus indica, it is from the family Leguminosae Caesalpinieae. "Tamarind" is from Arabic "tamar-ul-Hind", meaning, "the date palm of India". Apart from imli, among its other regional names are ambilis, amli, tintiri tintul, titri, and teteli.

Credit societies to get cheaper loans
NEW DELHI: In a major boost to the agriculture sector, the Central government last week decided to provide crop loans to the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies at a reduced interest rate.

GRAPHIC: INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE

Micronutrients need attention in Haryana
S.P. Gupta and S.S. Dahiya

INTENSIVE cultivation, increased use of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) fertilisers and decreased recycling of crop residue and animal manure have lead to imbalance not only of macro but also micronutrients in soil.

Owing to widespread deficiency of zinc in different parts of the country, the yields have become dependent upon zinc application as much as on N, P and K, and Haryana is no exception in this regard. According to an estimate, about 54 per cent soils in Haryana are deficient in zinc. Lands deficient in iron, manganese and copper are 21, 4.4 and 2.6 per cent, respectively (see table for district-wise data). The deficiency of both zinc and iron is estimated in about 8 per cent soils and that of Zn+Fe+Mn in less than 1 per cent.

Haryana is divided into two zones, north-eastern (NE) and south-western (SW). The NE zone comprises Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panipat, Karnal, Sonepat, Faridabad, Rohtak and parts of Jind, Jhajjar and Gurgaon districts. The SW zone comprises Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh, Rewari and parts of Jind, Jhajjar and Gurgaon districts.

Greater part of the SW zone is coarse in texture with low organic matter, calcareous and has alkaline pH as compared to coarse to fine texture, medium organic matter and neutral to alkaline pH of the NE zone.

The soils of the SW zone are more prone to zinc and iron deficiency. Analysis of soil samples from the NE zone show that in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat and Yamuna Nagar districts the deficiency of zinc is consistently decreasing, due to the use of zinc fertilisers, particularly in paddy. As per an estimate, zinc sulphate consumption in the NE zone is more than three and half times that in the SW zone.

By and large, the soils of the state are rich in copper and manganese and do not need their application, except under specific conditions. However, a recent estimation of 600 soil samples from the rice-wheat system of Kaithal district showed that manganese deficiency is on the increase and 18 per cent soil samples were found deficient in it. This means that manganese deficiency in the rice-wheat system on percolating alkaline soil after seven-eight years may be a serious problem.

Critical levels

As critical levels of micronutrients in plants vary with age and crop, it is important to establish the critical levels of soil for better planning of micronutrient fertilisation before sowing. In general, soils with DTPA (diethylene triamine penta acetic acid) extractable zinc, iron, manganese and copper less than 0.6, 4.5, 3.0 and 0.2 mg/kg soil, respectively, will require the application of that particular nutrient to sustain production. Similarly, plants having zinc, iron, manganese and copper levels (dry-weight basis) less than 20, 50, 20 and 4 mg/kg, respectively, will require that nutrient for healthy growth.

Amelioration

Zinc: The best method to ameliorate zinc deficiency is soil application of zinc sulphate before sowing. Field trials have shown that in paddy, the application of 2.5 kg zinc sulphate/ha gave the highest average response of 580 kg/ha. The magnitude was similar in mustard and wheat—380 and 350 kg/ha, respectively—while in cotton it was 220 kg/ha. Crops such as barley, pearl-millet, sorghum gram and clusterbean were found more resistant to zinc deficiency than other crops.

If zinc deficiency appears in a standing crop, then foliar spray should be done. For that, dissolve 500 gm zinc sulphate in 100 litres of water and add 250 gm unslaked lime or 2 kg urea. Generally 400 litres of this solution is sufficient for foliar spray of one hectare. Two to three sprays at an interval of 10-12 days are sufficient.

In case soil application is done, then there is no need to apply zinc sulphate in the subsequent crop. It is estimated that a rupee spent on zinc sulphate may give an additional income of Rs 3.50 or Rs 20. The return is much higher than a rupee spent on N, P and K, but both macro and micronutrients, i.e., NPK and Zn, together are necessary for obtaining optimum yields.

Iron: The best method to ameliorate iron deficiency is foliar spray of ferrous sulphate. It is better than soil application. For that, 2-3 foliar sprays of 0.5% ferrous sulphate at an interval of 10-15 days are recommended. The crops affected by iron deficiency are sugarcane, paddy nursery, sorghum, groundnut, bajra, gram and fruit trees.

Manganese: As in iron, the best method to control manganese deficiency is through foliar spray of 0.5% manganese sulphate. About 200 litre of manganese sulphate solution per acre is sufficient.

As far as the efficacy of multimicronutrients is concerned, it is believed that at present there is no scope for such formulations in Haryana as there are only specific deficiencies of particular nutrients and only those need to be mitigated.

Keeping in view the emerging deficiencies of micronutrients and crop responses to added micronutrients, it is important to apply balanced fertilisers to sustain crop production. The concept and content of balanced fertilisation should no longer be confined to NPK application alone, but also include zinc and iron.

It is estimated that on the basis of area under important crops and keeping in view the 54 per cent zinc deficient soils, if 50 per cent area gets zinc sulphate once a year, then Haryana needs approximately 25000-27000 tonnes of zinc sulphate per year. The present consumption is 9000 tonnes.

Pak basmati in Punjab
P. P. S. Gill

Surinder Singh, instrumental in ‘import’ of basmati variety

AS an ordinary pilgrim, Surinder Singh had accompanied the SGPC ‘jatha’ to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan in 1998. Just two years before that, his brother Kuldip Singh, too, had visited gurdwaras in that country.

Having listened to the ‘kirtan’ and gone around the place, Surinder Singh went to ration and grocery shops in the vicinity of the gurdwara. The farmer in him caught scent of quality rice. How could he have missed the aroma of basmati rice that wafted through the air? Inquiries with local shopkeepers revealed that it was the Super Basmati.

Unable to resist the temptation, he wanted to know from where could he get Super Basmati seed, even if just a fistful. A helpful shopkeeper suggested that Surinder Singh visit the grain market. To his good luck, a commission agent there gladly gave him 2 kg of Super Basmati rice— all free as a goodwill gesture to a "neighbourly" farmer.

As he recalls that incident, Surinder Singh also reveals that in 1996 his brother had come across yet another basmati variety, Kernal. However, back home, in their native village Barindpur in Kapurthala, 17 km from Jalandhar on the Sultanpur Lodhi road, the variety did not do well.

The Super Basmati that Surinder Singh procured turned out to be promising. The two brothers set to sow the seeds and multiply them on their farm. Word went out to the Punjab Agricultural University’s (PAU) Krishi Vigyan Kendra as several villagers and relatives, who were given small quantities of the seed, had also sown it. The Director of PAU Extension Education, Dr J. S. Kolar, visited Barindpur in 1999 and was given 5 kg of the seed for the PAU in 2000.

At the PAU, under the guidance of the Director of Research, Dr G. S. Nanda, plant breeders worked on the Super Basmati seed for three years. Through scientific selection and screening, it was "purified." Satisfied with the selection and trials, the PAU distributed it among farmers at the campus "kisan mela" earlier this year. It now covers over 1,200 hectares in the state.

Surinder Singh claims that Super Basmati gave a yield of 45 quintals per hectare. This performance is even better than the PAU’s own basmati, B-386 or B-370, which yield around 30 quintals per hectare. Surinder Singh says that this B-386 was, in fact, "Pakistani Basmati". Farmers have been sowing this "Pakistani Basmati" for quite some time in large tracts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts.

Similarity in agro-climatic conditions, remunerative returns, consumer demand and physical proximity often tempt Punjabi farmers to somehow procure seeds of high-yielding crops sown on the other side of the border.

Dr Nanda says that apart from breeders, farmers often introduce crop varieties or seeds on their own initiative. But they find it hard to compete with the recommended and approved varieties that are developed under national or international crop-breeding programmes.

PAU breeders say that despite the estranged relations between India and Pakistan, there is scope for a contact between the two at the grassroots levels by forging formal coordinated crop-breeding programmes. Talking of "export" of varieties, Dr Nanda says the PAU’s wheat variety, WL 711, was cultivated extensively in Pakistan in the seventies. Recently, Pakistan scientists used its seed to make a new wheat variety, Inqlab. Even a sugarcane variety, CoJ 84, developed at the PAU, was adopted in Pakistan in 1995. Today it covers a sizeable area there.

Though susceptible to blight, PAU gram C-235 has struck roots in Australia under the name Tyson, and Farah in the USA. Dr Nanda says cotton and wheat are the crops that have good scope for India and Pakistan to share their experience on. "Pakistan cotton is better in quality and yield," he points out.

Punjab has embarked on an ambitious programme to promote basmati, both through the creation of an agriculture-export zone (AEZ) and contract farming. When contacted, the Director of Agriculture, Mr Ajmer Singh, said the districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr were covered by the AEZ programme.

Under contract farming, basmati has been introduced by the Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation through private companies in Moga, Faridkot, Muktsar and Bathinda districts, covering 20,000 hectares.

The lip-smacking tamarind
K.L. Noatay

TAMARIND, popularly known as imli, is a large, broad-leaved nearly evergreen tree. With the scientific name Tamarindus indica, it is from the family Leguminosae Caesalpinieae. "Tamarind" is from Arabic "tamar-ul-Hind", meaning, "the date palm of India". Apart from imli, among its other regional names are ambilis, amli, tintiri tintul, titri, and teteli.

Distribution: Except for extremely cold tracts, tamarind comes up naturally all over Asia from the sea level to about 500 m. Botanists, however, have declared it to be a native of Central Africa. Anyhow, in the Indian sub-continent, it is grown from Burma to Afghanistan – more so in central and southern India.

Legend has it that long ago Chetanya Maha Prabhu went on a pilgrimage from his native place in Nabadweep to Vrindavan. There he found a very old tamarind tree in a thick forest. People believed it to be a contemporary of Lord Krishna. The tree is still standing and highly revered. In the place of the forest a pilgrimage city with a large number of temples has come up. There is another story attached to imli. During the 13th century, while sant Madhavacharya was still a child, a family creditor insisted upon the return of a loan. His father was not at home. The child picked up two seeds of imli and gave them to the creditor. These became gold beads and the loan was settled.

Phenology: Tamarind has 1-2 cm thick dark-grey bark with longitudinal fissures. The leaves are pinnate compound with 5-10 cm long rachis. Each leaf has 10-20 pairs of opposite leaflets. The texture is sub-coriaceous and appearance glabrescent. The canopy is beautiful, umbrella like and the foliage dense.

Tamarind bears reddish brown inflorescence in sub-terminal racemes during May-June. The fruit pods, 5-8 cm long, 2-4 mm thick, appear during August-September and ripen by March- April.

Silviculture: This is a highly sun-loving plant of warm open areas experiencing maximum temperatures between 35`BA and 48`BA C and the minimum from 0`BA to 18`BA C. It progresses best in humid tracts. Annual rainfall of around 75-190 cm is ideal for this tree and draught is injurious.

Tamarind is not so demanding about the quality of soil. It, however, does very well in deep sandy loam soil and tolerates limited salinity.

The wood: Tamarind wood, weighing about 20-25 kg per cubic foot, is somewhat hard to work. It is also not very durable in outdoor structures exposed to weather. In interior decorative work, however, it is quite durable. It is commonly used for making cartwheels, mallets, rollers for oil and sugar mills, etc.

Tamarind is a multipurpose plant. Its tender leaves, flowers, and even seedlings, make a tasty broth. The foliage is good for cattle fodder. It is also used as mulch for tender plants and it composts into good manure.

The tamarind fruit, also called imli, is the best-known part. The pulp is used for making sauces, curries and beverages. It cures dysentery and boils on human skin. A preparation from the seed is useful for sizing cotton, woollens and jute fabrics and dying silk. The seed oil serves as a varnish for toys, dolls, idols, etc.

Regeneration: Tamarind seeds well and every year. The fruit is dispersed widely because of its taste. Wild animals, especially monkeys, are very helpful in this regard. Once the seed reaches the soil, it is germinates very well.

Tamarind being so useful as a shady plant, a timber species, etc., it is widely cultivated. The stock is raised in nurseries. One-year-old saplings are transplanted to fields, roadsides as also open spaces in residential areas.

Credit societies to get cheaper loans

NEW DELHI: In a major boost to the agriculture sector, the Central government last week decided to provide crop loans to the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies at a reduced interest rate.

The Union Cabinet allowed the NABARD to re-finance District Central Cooperative Banks directly, which would in turn refinance the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies.

The move would reduce one tier in the State Cooperative Credit System and subsequently reduce the rate of interest on crop loans.

A Bill to this effect would be introduced in the current session of Parliament. — UNI