Agronomical Practices for Major Crops

1. Agronomical Practices for Major
Crops
Dr. Paritosh Murmu
Scientist (Agronomy)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nabarangpur

2. Crop plants may be classified on basis of a morphological
similarity of plants. From the agronomic stand point they may be
classified on basis of use, but some crops have several different
uses.
Classification of crop plants

3. Economic importance:
• Cereal or grain crops
• Legumes for seed
• Forage crops
• Fiber crops
• Sugar crops
• Oil crops

4. • Cereal or grain crops:
Cereals are grasses grown for their edible
seeds, the term cereal being applied either to
the grain or to the plant itself. They include
wheat, rice, maize, barley and other.

5. • Legumes for seed:
The chief legumes grown for
their seeds are field beans, chick
pea, lentil and other crops

6. • Forage crops:
Forage refers to vegetable matter,
fresh or preserved utilized as food
for animal. Forage crops include
grasses, alfalfa, clover and other
crops.

7. • Fiber crops:
The fiber crops include cotton, flax and rami
• Sugar crops:
The sugar beet, sugar cane are grown for their
sweet parts from which sucrose is extracted
and crystallized.
• Oil crops:
The oil crops include peanut, soybeans,
sunflower, sesame, the seeds of which contain
useful oils.

8. II- Special purpose classification:
• Cover crops: cover crops are those seeded to provide a cover
for the soil.
• Catch crop: catch crop are substitute crops planted too late
for regular crops or after the regular crop has failed. Clover
are often used for this purpose.
• Silage crops: crops which cultivated for silage such
as sorghums.

9. III- Classification as to growth habit:
• Annuals: is the plant which its life cycle is completed in one
season as corn, wheat and rice
• Biennials plant that require two seasons to attain full
development, mature seed and die are biennials. Red clover is
a biennial plant.
• Perennials: some plant live for several years. They may
produce seed each year but they do not die with seed
production. Perennials plant are usually the trees.

10. IV- Classification as to growth season.
• Kharif Crops: The crops which are sown in the rainy
season are called kharif crop. The rainy season in India is
from June to September.
For Example- Paddy, maize, soyabean, groundnut, cotton,
etc.
• Rabi Crops: The crops grown in the winter season are rabi
crops. Their time Period is generally from October to
March.
For Example- Wheat, gram, pea ,mustard, and linseed.

11. Basic Principles.....
 Soil amendmends
 Manures application
 Variety selection
 Seed treatment
 Nursery management (poly house/pro-tray/open)
 Drainage facility
 Fertiliser management
 Management of diseases & pests
 Water management
 weed control
 inter-culture operations
 Foliar applications (hormone, micro nutrients,
amino acids etc.)
 Harvesting

12. Method Of Rice Cultivation
Aerobic
rice
Ground cover rice
production system
Deep water rice
Cultivation
through drip
irrigation
SRI
Up-land
cultivation
Low land rice
1
2
SRI

13. Selection of Varieties-Short duration to medium duration var.
Seed rate- for hybrid 20 kg/ha, short duration-60kg/ha, medium duration-
40kg/ha, long duration-30kg/ha
 Seed treatment-any systemic fungicide, Seed treatment with
Azospirillum @30g/kg seed and Phosphobacteria @ 30g/kg of seed
 Spacing- 20 cm X10 cm
Nutrient management
FYM @ 10-15 ton/ ha before 15 days of final land preperation
N,P, K @150:50:50 kg/ha
BGA flake @10 kg/ha at 10 DAT
Azolla @ 30kg/ha at 3-5 DAT
Azospirillum 2kg + Phosphobacteria2 kg/ha (inoculate with 25 kg soil +
25 kg FYM)
25 kg ZnSO4
Transplanted Rice cultivation

14. Major Weed flora in Rice
1. Echinochloa colonum
2. Echinochloa crusgali
Weed Management

15. 1. Cyperus iria
2. Eclipta alba

16. Application of Pyrazosulfuron (sathi)-80g/acre as pre-emergence i.e 0-3
DAT followed by Bispyribac sodium @ 80 ml/acre as post-emergence i.e 25
DAT
Or
Almix @8 g/acre at 15-20 DAT
Or
Pretilachlor-500ml/acre
Weed management

17. Maize Cultivation
Climate:
A moderate temperature, adequate moisture are basic need of Maize crop.
However, the crop is susceptive to water logging condition, which needs to be
avoided. The most suitable temperature for germination is 21˚C and for growth
32˚C.
Soil:
Maize is best adapted to well drained sandy loam to silty loam soils. Water
stagnation is extremely harmful to the crop, therefore, proper drainage is a must
for the success of the crop especially during kharif season. It can be grown
successfully in soils whose pH ranges from 5.5 to 7.5
. Selection of seed:
Seed should be free from weed seed insect pest and disease . It should be
purchased from reliable sources. It should be high germination percentage.For
getting the highest yield it is necessary to use new hybrid seed every year.
b. Seed treatment:
To protect the maize crop from seed and major soil borne diseases and insect-
pests, seed treatment with fungicides and insecticides before sowing is
advisable/ recommended as per the below given details.

18. Disease/insect-pest Fungicide/Pesticid Rate ofapplication
(g kg-1seed)
Turcicum Leaf Blight,, Banded
Leaf and Sheath Blight,
Maydis Leaf Blight
Bavistin + Captan in 1:1 ratio 2.0
Pythium Stalk Rot Captan 2.5
Termite and shoot fly Imidachloprid 4.0
Season Optimum time of sowing
Kharif Last week of June to first
fortnight of July
Rabi Last week of October for inter
cropping and up to15th of
November for sole crop
Spring First week of February
Sowing time:

19. Seed rate and plant geometry:
Seed rate(Kg/ha) Spacing (cm)
Grain 20 60 x 20
75 x 20
Sweet corn 8 75 x 25
75 x 30
Baby corn 25 60 x 20
60 x 15
Fodder 50 30 x 10

20. Nutrient management:
Manures and fertilisers both play important role in the maize cultivation. Add 10 to 15 tonnes of
FYM or compost before ploughing. Fertlisers to be applied based on soil test value, however,
as a general recommendation, one could apply 120 kg N,60 kg P2O5, 60 kg K2O per
hectare for hybrids and 80 kg N, 30kg P2O5, and 20 kg K2O per hectare for composites. As
soil of Nabarangpur district is deficient in Zinc,it is advisable to apply 20-25 kg Zinc
sulphate per hectare before sowing.
Time of application :
Time of fertiliser application is as much important as the quantity applied. In
general, it would be advisable to apply the total quantity of Phosphorus(P) and
Potassium(K) as basal and Nitrogen to be applied as given below.
Sr. No. Crop stage Nitrogen rate (%)
1. Basal (at sowing) 20
2. V4 (four leaf stage) 25
3. V8 (eight leaf stage) 30
4. VT (tasseling stage) 20
5. GF (grain filling stage) 5

21. Water management:
Maize is very susceptible both to excess water and moisture stress. Never allow water to
stand in maize field at any stage of its growth. Water stagnation even for six hours
continuously and sufficiently damage the crop.Tasselling to silking stage is critical.

22. Major Weed flora in Maize
Cynodon dactylon
Cyperus rotundus

23. Sorghum helepanse
Elusine indica

24. Celosia argentia
Commelina benghalensis

25. Phylanthus niruri
Portulaca oleracea

26. Solanum nigrum
Amaranthus viridis

27. Weed Management
•Apply Topramezone 336g/l (w/v)SC @ 30 ml/acre at 2-5 leaf stage of weedes as
early post emergent.
•Tembotrione 34.4% (w/w) SC @ 115 ml/acre at 3-5 leaf stages of weed.
Plant protections:
Maize stalk rot
Control :Pyraclostrobin 133 g/l +Epoxiconazole 50 g/l (w/v) SE @300
ml/acre
Stem borer: These borers feed on leaves in the earlier stages. Later on they bore into the
stem and cobs, rendering the plant unproductive.
Control : Emamectin Benzoate 10g + Deltamethrin 20g mix in 15 lit. Of water and spray.
Fall Army Worm :Severe Incidence of Fall Army Worm observed remarkably in
Nabarangpur,Malkangiri,Koraput, Kalahandi district from last year.
Control :
•Spinetoram 11.7% SC @ 180 ml/acre
•Chlorantraniliprole 18.5%(w/w) SC @ 60 ml/acre
•Apply 5% active ingredient of Azadiractin, release 20,000 Trichograma chilonis parasite 4-5
days in a week interval.
•Apply Beauveria bassiana @ 400g/acre. Apply 1.5% Chloropyriphus dust thickly in the field
bund for avoiding migrating from one field to another field.

28. Soil
•Black gram does well on heavier soils such as black cotton
soils which retain moisture in a better way.
•It can be grown in all types of soils ranging from sandy
loam to heavy clay, except the alkaline and saline soils.
•Loam or slightly heavy soils with neutral pH are best
suited for urdbean.
•Soil should be well drained and having good water
holding capacity.
•Waterlogged, saline and alkaline soil should be
avoided.
Black gram

29. Land Preparation
•Land should be ploughed in summer followed by two to three
harrowing at pre-monsoon for kharif season.
• Land should be well levelled.
•Collect the weeds, previous crops stubbles, stones and clean the field
for sowing.
•If necessary, one pre-sowing irrigation should be given.

30. Sowing
• Sowing should be done in line by drilling method.
•Seeds should not be sown more than 5 to 6 cm
depth.
Time of sowing
•Middle of June to middle of July is the proper time for
black gram sowing in kharif season.
•For summer, sowing should be done from middle of
February to middle of March.
• Late sowing should be avoided.

31. Seed treatment
• Rhizobium 200 gm + PSB 250 gm /10kg of seed. Seed
treatment with (Carbendazim 1 gm+ Thiram 1.5 gm) per
kg of seed.
• Greengram blackgram under intensive cropping should
be treated with Carbofuran @ 0.2% one week before
Rhizobium treatment against Root knot and Reniform
nematode.
• Black gram fixes 57-105 kg/ha nitrogen

32. Seed rate and spacing
• Kharif -> 12 to 15 kg / ha*seeds with spacing of 30 X 10 cm
• Summer -> 20 to 25 kg / ha*seeds with spacing of 20-25 X 10 cm
• *Kharif season crop requires lesser seed rate and wider spacing
because of very profuse plant growth but summer season crops
need closer spacing and thereby a higher seed rate is required.

33. Varieties
• The powdery mildew - resistant variety LBG 17 is
suitable for rabi in southern zone, and varieties PDU 1
and Mash 414 are suitable for spring season.
Use of resistant varieties is recommended as follows:
• Yellow Mosaic Virus (YMV) resistant varieties : Pant U -
19, Pant U - 30 Sarala, Jawahar urd - 2, Teja (LBG - 20),
ADT - 4
• Powdery Mildew (PM) resistant varieties : TAU - 2 , IPU
02 - 43
• Stem fly resistant varieties : KBG - 512
• Cercospora leaf spot resistant varieties : Jawahar urd -
2, Jawahar urd - 3 .

34. Fertilizer management
• 20:40:40 NPK kg/ha along with 20 kg S/ha greatly increases
yield of pulses and also benefit the succeeding crop.
• Among the micro nutrients Zn is the most deficient nutrient.
So the application of Zn @ 25 kg/ha as basal gives very
promising results.
• Boron and Molybdenum gives better results in acid soil.
• Foliar spray of 2% DAP and 2% KCl at Pre flowering
stage enhances the yield.

35. Irrigation management
• Kharif season crop is generally given one pre-monsoon at the
time of seed bed preparation to ensure good germination but
thereafter it does not need any irrigation until an drought occurs,
but in summer season irrigation should be given as per critical
stages and availability of irrigation water.
• Number and frequency of irrigation depend upon the soil type and
weather. The crop should get irrigation at an interval of 10-15
days.
• From flowering to pod development stage, there is need of
sufficient moisture in the field.

36. Weed management
Pre-emergence application of Pendimethlin or
Fluchoralin @1 kg a.i/ha at 1-3 DAS followed by
Shaked (Propaquizafop + Imazethapyr) @ 40 ml/15
lit of water at 25 DAS

37. Solanaceous vegetables
Chilli – Utkal Ava, Utkal Ragini, Arka Neelachal Prabha,
VNR 305, Samhot (seminis)
Brinjal – Utkal Anusree, Utkal Tarini, Utkal Maduri,
Utkal Kesari, Arka Neelachal Shyama, Tarini (Seminis)
Capsicum – California Wonder, Ganag (East West), Bharat
(IAHS)
Tomato – Utkal Shrawani, Utkal Pragyan, Arka Rakshat,
Swarna Sambat, Pusa Hybrid 1, Laksmi
Cole Crops
Cabbage – Konark (Century hybrid), Hare Krishna (Toketa),
Equitorian, Summer Queen (Syngenta)
Cauliflower – Barkha Megha (Seminis), Noble Julee
(Noble), Pusa Early Synthetic, Snow Ball 16

38. Cucurbits
Watermelon – Sugar Baby, Black Magic (Seminis), Augusta (Syngenta)
Cucumber – Bakhra (Annapurna), Barapatta (Kisan), Sapta Sri (Kiran),
Chaithali (Sreemaa)
Pumkin – Guamal, Baydya Bati, Pusa Viswesh, Arjun (East West)
Bitter gourd – Nakhara Local, Chamman (Nunhems), Kumud (VNR)
Bottle gourd – PSPL, Pusa Hybrid 3, Pusa Santusti
Onion
Nasik Red, N 53, Agrifound Light Red, Agrifound Dark Red, Arka
Niketan
Okra
Utkal Gaurav

39. Spine gourd
Arka Neelachal Sree
Yield/plant: 2-4 kg

40. Pointed gourd
Arka Neelachal Kirti
Yield/plant : 8-10 kg
Swarna Alaukik
Yield/plant: 8-10 kg
Ivy gourd
Arka Neelachal Kunki
Yield : 15-20 kg
Arka Neelachal Sabuja
Yield : 25-30kg

41. Raised Bed Plug/ pro-tray
• Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and
performance of vegetable crops

42. • Raise nursery in well tilled soil by making beds
0.8-1.0 m wide and 15 cm height
• Add Five kgs of well rotten FYM, 100g of
15:15:15 complex fertilizer along with 2.5g
carbofuran per m2
• Seed treatment
• Cole crops - Seeds dipped in HgCl2 1 gm/lit/kg
seeds for control soft rot and black rot

43. Sowing
Sow seeds thinly in rows 10 cm apart and 0.5 cm deep

44. Covering & Drenching
Cover beds thinly with compost before mulching with dry
straw or grass and drench with Captan (2g/l) or copper
oxychloride (4g/l)

45. Hoeing & Thinning
After the appearance of first true leaf, seedlings are
thinned out
On 20th day monocrotophos (1.5ml/l.), and on 25th day
Zineb (2g/l) are sprayed
During the last week in the nursery, the seedlings may be
hardened by slightly withholding water

46. Mulching
• Organic –
– Straw, Chopped leaves
– Wood chips, Grass clippings
• Inorganic
– Plastic - Mulch film of 1.2m
width and 30 micron thickness
• Benefits
– Weed suppression
– Temperature moderation
– Soil moisture moderation
– Sanitation

47. Fertilizer management
• Schedule fertigation once in 3 days starting from 21 days and
ending at 130 days after transplanting for a 5 month duration
crop, thus requiring 37 fertigations
• Brinjal
– 0-20 days: No fertigation
– 21-36 days: 2.0 kg of 19-19-19/fertigation (6 fertigations)
– 39-57 days: 3.0 kg of 19-19-19 +1.0 kg KNO3 +1.0 kg CaNO3/
fertigation (7 fertigations)
– 60-129 days: 5.0 kg of 19-19-19 +1.5 kg KNO3 + 2.5 kg
CaNO3/fertigation (24 fertigations)
• Give foliar sprays @ 5g/litre using foliar spray grade fertilizers
containing Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, B, Cu, Zn three times starting from 45
days after transplanting at an interval of 15 days

48. Pollination
2 to 3 hives per acre for cucurbits
Teasle gourd, pumpkin - Hand
pollination
Ivy gourd – parthenocarpic devt

49. Off-season vegetables cultivation
 Tomato (Arka Rakshyak, Arka Samrat)

50. Off-season vegetables cultivation
 Onion (Agri found dark red, Bhima super, Line 883)

51. Rice based vegetables cultivation

53. Grafted Brinjal......

54. Result Yield (q/ha) Parameters to be recorded Net Income
(Rs./ha)
BC Ratio
FP 58.5 No. of Cobs/ha-71,745,Cob length(cm)-18.5
Cob girth(cm)-15.15
39,750 1.83
FLD Maize-55.25
Cowpea-4
No. of Cobs/ha-65,345,Cob length(cm)-18.4
Cob girth(cm)-14.25
LER (%) = 1.44
46,375 1.97
Demonstration on Intercropping of Cowpea in Maize
Farmers Practice Recommended practice
Monoculture of Maize 2 rows of cowpea(30 cm X 30 cm) with 2 row of
maize(30cmX 30cm) Cowpea var Utkal manika ( Bushy
var). Maize var – Hycel
Maize based vegetable cultivation

55. Vegetable cultivation for enterpreneurship development
 Drumstick (PKM-1, PKM-2
 Papaya (Red Lady, Sapna)
Result Yield
(q/ha)
%
change
in Yield
Parameter % change in
Parameter
Net Income
(Rs./ha)
BC Ratio
FP 500 ------ Fruit weight (gm) -340, No.
of fruit/ plant- 21nos.
---- 2,70,000/- 1.9
FLD 650 ------ Fruit weight (gm) -400,
No. of fruit/ plant -30nos.
----- 3,40,000/- 2.4
Demonstration on Papaya variety Red Lady
Farmers Practice (T1) Recommended Practice (T2)
Cultivation of local variety
Seedling raising : April last week , Transplanting:,2nd
week of June, spacing : 1.8mx1.8m, plant/acre:1200-
1700,200gmN+500gmP2O5+500gmK2O/plant/annum
along with FYM@5 t/ha`

56. 1. Select right crop, season and variety
2. Healthy seeds/seedlings/planting material
3. Provide good environment for growth
4. Good soil fertility, pH, plant population
5. Mulch –Organic/Plastics – weed control &
soil moisture conservation
6. Water
7. Pollination
8. Proper harvest timing
Conclusions….