Farmer Information Section

Weather Report:

Weather is expected to be good at the starting of the month mostly sunny very good for sowing seeds and rain fall is expected later this month.There is always chances that the rain fall may exceed normal and may lead into floods so advice to farmers is make suitable arrangements protection from crop.

Soil Health

All farmers are advised to go for soil testing which is done for free of cost by government.Write to us to know about the nearest soil testing center as soil health is critical in deciding fertilizer requirement and selection.Visit http://www.soilhealth.dac.gov.in/ for soil card related information and post the information in farmers blog.

HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING IN AGRICULTURE

Spectral imaging is the detection of light reflected by the crop with the use of specialized sensors. It is measured in spectral bands. The higher the number of bands the higher the accuracy, the flexibility and information content. Spectral imaging is widely used now in agriculture and precision farming.

Currently satellites and drone fitted cameras are using multispectral imaging technology. Multispectral technology (5-7 bands) can offer a good overview of crop such as overall growth and NDVI, but fails to do so in an integrated scalable way and to tackle more complex problems such as weeds, pests, diseases and PK deficiency. Hyperspectral technology used by Gamaya, with its higher detection capabilities due to higher number of spectral bands can develop solutions for almost any problem encountered in the field. Hyperspectral imaging in agriculture allows to significantly extend the range of farming issues and applications that can be addressed using remote sensing.

Sensors in Plant Disease Detection

The large variety of sensor systems available to plant pathologists provides high resolution data of agricultural crop stands and can constitute the basis for early detection and identification of plant diseases. The great deal of progress in developing these technologies over the past 40 to 50 years and introducing them to agriculture and plant disease detection is impressive (Brenchley 1964; Jackson and Wallen 1975; Seelan et al. 2003; Nilsson 1995; West et al. 2003). Due to advances in precision agriculture and plant phenotyping, new and specific solutions for plant and crop science have been developed (Cobb et al. 2013; Fiorani et al. 2012; Furbank and Tester 2011; Steddom et al. 2005). The most successful sensors currently are being used for noninvasive evaluation of crop nutrition status in the field. The development of new low-cost sensor solutions with satisfying performance available on the market is an important development for future practical applications in agriculture (Grieve et al. 2015; Paulus et al. 2014). However, to the best of my knowledge, sensors that can be used to specifically detect plant diseases are still not available on the market. The full potential of sensor based disease detection has still not been exploited. Instruments and technological solutions for field, greenhouse, and for phenotyping are available. However, these are highly specific and tailored prototypes and cannot be used on a broad scale
Field systems. Some advanced systems with potential applications in the field are the imaging platform for the detection of tulip breaking virus (TBV) infected tulip bulbs from Polder et al. (2014) or a prototype of a hyperspectral imaging platform for the detection of yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis) in wheat by Bravo et al. (2003). Polder et al. (2014) developed a robot with multispectral cameras and an online machine vision analysis pipeline. This research was motivated by a limited availability of technical experts for rating tulip bulbs. They were able to adjust and optimize this system to attain a level of accuracy equivalent to that obtained by experienced rating experts. With the hyperspectral imaging ‘buggy’ of Bravo et al. (2003), it was possible to detect and classify yellow rust diseased patches in wheat fields with a success rate of 96% under ambient light conditions. Their results are very encouraging for the development of costeffective optical sensor platforms for an early and accurate detection of plant diseases in different crops

Figure: . Disease detection of fungal plant diseases based on hyperspectral images. A, Supervised classification (spectral angle mapper) of Cercospora leaf spot on sugar beet. The green color denotes healthy leaf tissue, the yellow color the border of Cercospora leaf spot and the red color the necrotic center of Cercospora leaf spot. B, Spikelets, diseased by Fusarium head blight, can be visualized by calculation of the normalized difference vegetation index.

Resistance screening. For plant phenotyping, different technical systems have been developed. The developments started with investigations of single plants under controlled conditions (Chaerle et al. 2007; Jansen et al. 2009). More recently, advanced field platforms have become more robust, enabling a holistic characterization of plant performance in multiple plots or of the entire canopy (Walter et al. 2015). It has been shown that the level of susceptibility and/or resistance of different genotypes and varieties to a specific disease can be evaluated by optical sensors. Chaerle et al. (2007) were able to identify sugar beet lines with different levels of susceptibility to C. beticola by multispectral and fluorescence imaging. In addition, they were  some of the first researchers to use automatized platforms for screening entire plants with sensors mounted on an xyz-robot system. Sugar beets were tested on different scales from small leaf discs, over detached leaf parts to entire leaves, fixed in a measuring grid. The attached leaf assay proved to be superior in revealing early, previsual symptoms by chlorophyll fluorescence and in discriminating between lines with different levels of susceptibility to C. beticola compared with detached leaf assays and in vitro tests. With the aim of high-throughput capacity, Rousseau et al. (2013) developed a thresholding approach based on the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fv/Fm on image pixels to evaluate symptoms caused by Xanthomonas fuscans subsp. fuscans on Phaseolus vulgaris. Visual observations by trained raters were reproducible and a modeling of the Fv/Fm distribution as a mixture of Gaussian distributions enabled a discrimination of various stages of symptom development. In this study, chlorophyll fluorescence underlined its potential to detect presymptomatic areas and could be an important tool for assessing quantitative resistance. Recent developments, such as the HyperART system for simultaneous measurements of leaf reflectance and transmission, were also invented

Figure: Monitoring of rose leaf colonization by Peronospora sparsa and symptom development of downy mildew in early stages (5 and 7 days after inoculation) of the disease by thermographic imaging.

Digital Agriculture

Over the last few decades massive technological

development and opportunities have transformed

people’s lives. However, these opportunities have

not benefited the agriculture sector in a significant

way. Farmers and various other actors along the

agriculture value chain need significant amounts

of information. Information and Communication

Technologies (ICTs) will play a key role in knowledge

exchange, targeted recommendations, market

integration and access to finance to make agriculture

a profitable enterprise and attractive for youth.

Digital Agriculture is “ICT and data ecosystems to

support the development and delivery of timely,

targeted information and services to make farming

profitable and sustainable while delivering safe

nutritious and affordable food for ALL.”

Information About Cultivation Of Crops:

1.For Karif Crops

The kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton etc

Rice:
The method of cultivation of rice in a particular region depends largely on factors such as situation of land, type of soils, irrigation facilities, availability of labourers intensity and distribution of rainfalls. The crop of rice is grown with the following methods :- (i) Dry or Semi-dry upland cultivation (a) Broadcasting the seed (b) Sowing the seed behind the plough or drilling. (ii) Wet or lowland cultivation (a) Transplanting in puddled fields. (b) Broadcasting sprouted seeds in puddled fields.
Selection of Seeds The use of quality seeds in cultivation of rice is an important factor to get better crop yield. Therefore, proper care has to be taken in selecting seeds of the best quality. Much of the success in raising the healthy seedlings depends on the quality of seed. Seeds intended for sowing should satisfy the following requirements :- 
a. The seed should belong to the proper variety, which is proposed to be grown. 
b. The seed should be clean and free from obvious mixtures of other seeds. 
c. The seed should be mature, well developed and plump in size.
d. The seed should be free from obvious signs of age or bad storage
e. The seed should have a high germinating capacity. 
Before sowing the seed should be treated with fungicides which protects the seed against soil-born fungi and also give a boost to the seedlings. 
Methods of Nursery Raising
There are three major methods of raising nursery - viz. i. The dry nursery where the dry seed is sown in dry soil. This method is practiced in areas where water is not sufficient to grow seedlings in wet nursery ii. Wet nursery where sprouted seed is sown on the moist puddled soil. Wet nurseries are preferred under irrigated condition iii. And the "dapog" method. This method of raising nursery has been introduced in India from Philippines. "Dapog" method is commonly prevalent in Philippines. The essential feature of this method is to have a very thick stand of the nursery seedlings without any contact with the soil. Generally, seedlings become ready for transplanting in 12 to 14 days. 
Seed Rate
The seed rate naturally influences the growth of the seedlings. Thin sowing gives strong and tillered seedlings, whereas thick sowing provides thin and tall seedlings without tillers. Thin sowing in nurseries is always better and it will produce strong and sturdy seedlings, which can withstand adverse climatic conditions better and produce better yields. Therefore, 40 to 60 grams of seed per square metre should be sown in the nursery beds. About 500 square metre area of nursery is sufficient to transplant one hectare area. In case of late sowing of nursery, the nursery area should be increased to 750-1000 square metre. 
Transplanting
Before transplanting, field should be puddled properly with bullock or tractor drawn puddlers. Puddling is a very important operation in transplanted rice. Puddling helps to kill the weeds and buries them in puddled soils. It also suppresses the germination of weeds in subsequent growing period of crop. Puddling keeps the soil surface in a more even condition, besides creating beneficial physical, biological and chemical conditions for rice plant growth. Transplanting should be done with proper age of seedlings. In case of short duration varieties, the seedlings should be uprooted from the nursery beds for transplanting , when it is three to four weeks old. In case of medium and long duration varieties, four to five weeks old seedlings should be transplanted. Always healthy seedlings should be used for transplanting at the four to five leaf stage or when they are about 15-20 cms. high. As far as possible, delayed transplanting should be avoided because it leads to poor tillerings, early flowering of the main tillers and resulting in reduction in yield. In alkaline soils aged seedlings of 45 days old should be transplanted because old seedlings establish better than young seedlings of 25 days age or so. 
Spacing
Under good management and adequate nitrogen levels, the optimum spacing for varieties like IR-8 should be around 20x10 cms both for kharif and rabi crops. With excellent cultural practices, the spacing may be slightly wider, say 20x15 cms but under sub-normal conditions, the spacing should be slightly narrower, say 15x10 cms. 
Number of Seedlings per Hill
Transplanting two to three seedlings per hill under normal conditions is enough. The use of more seedlings per hill, besides not being any additional advantage, involves an extra expense on seedlings. In case of transplanting with old seedlings, the number of seedlings per hill can be increased. 
Depth of Planting and Directions of Rows
Depth of planting has assumed considerable importance after the introduction of high yielding varieties. The high yielding varieties are characterized with high tillering capacity. The high tillering potential of these varieties is, however, best expressed with shallow planting. The tiller buds formed at the basal node are not suppressed in case of shallow plantings . Therefore, the seedlings should be transplanted at 2 to 3 cm depth. Shallow planting gives better yields. The deeper planting results in an increased height of the plants besides delays and inhibits tillering. The crop planted with rows running in the north-south direction generally gives better yield particularly in rabi season. The adoption of this practice is worthwhile, since it does not involve any extra expenditure. 7.9 Practices in the Direct-Seeded Crops The success of the direct seeded rice depends entirely on the monsoon rains, besides proper stand of crop. If sowing is done in a properly prepared land, proper stand of crop can be achieved. A field with fine tilth facilitates the seed to come in contact with the soil moisture after drilling and enables the seed to germinate quickly and uniformly. Thus, an ideal preparation of the land will help to achieve a uniform stand, facilitate weeding and fertilizer practices. Therefore, with number of ploughings of the field and timely sowing, the direct seeded crop generally gives better yield.   
Different Methods of Seeding
Seeding is done in three different ways - viz. (i) drilling i.e. sowing in the furrow behind a plough, (ii) dibbling and (iii) broadcasting. The light soils which generally come into conditions quickly, any method can be adopted. Seeding with drilling method has got a greater advantage over other methods, because of the uniformity of the stand and the control of the population of the plants per unit area. Heavy soils which do not come in conditions quickly, other methods except broadcasting are not feasible. It has been found that drilling or dibbling always gives considerably better yields than broadcasting system.  '
Broadcasting Sprouted Seeds in Puddled Land
This method is adopted in an area where agricultural laborers are not easily available for transplanting or some time laborers are very expensive. In this method field is prepared and puddled just like in the case of transplanting. About 100 kg seed is required for one hectare area. In the puddled field sprouted seeds with radical length of one to two millimeter are uniformly broadcast by hand. 
Manure and Fertilizer Application
Organic manures are as much as important for rice cultivation as inorganic fertilizers. In case of upland rice cultivation, the use of bulky organic manure is very much desirable in order to maintain the physical condition of the soil and also to increase the water holding capacity of the soil for maximum utilization of rain water. In upland fields 10-15 tonnes of well rotted Farm Yard Manure or compost should be applied in one hectare area preferably 4 to 6 weeks before sowing. Organic manures should be spread evenly on the upper surface of the soil and ploughed in to get it well mixed in the soil.  
Application of chemical fertilizers depends basically upon (i) fertility states of the field and (ii) previous crop grown and amount of organic manure applied. Before deciding the fertilizer dose, soil is required to be got tested to know the status of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil. After testing the soil, fertilizer dose should be calculated accordingly. Soil fertility status varies in different agroclimatic zones to a considerable extent. Therefore, common fertilizer dose can not be recommended for all regions.  A series of reactions-physical, chemical and biological take place in transplanted rice fields due to presence of excess water in the field. In the root zone anaerobic environment is formed from aerobic condition due to depletion of oxygen in the soil profile, which is responsible for gaseous loss of nitrogen fertilizer due to de-nitrification process. This anaerobic environment also affects the behavior of phosphorus and micronutrients specially iron and manganese. 
The soil in the transplanted rice fields
After puddling develops two zones in water logged conditions. The upper layer of soils (1 to 10 milli metre thick) generally receives Oxygen periodically from fresh supplies of irrigation water and turns in to brown colour called "Oxidised zone" and reacts like an unflooded upland soil. The remaining lower portion of puddled soil without oxygen is called "reduced zone". When ammonical nitrogen fertilizer is applied in such soils, it gets oxidised to nitrate (NO3 ) form in the oxidised zone (upper surface layer of the soil). Afterwards nitrate nitrogen is leached down to the reduced zone and further gets denitrified to gaseous nitrogen. This gaseous nitrogen is lost. If ammonical nitrogen is incorporated in to the reduced zone of the soil, where it is held, the loss can be prevented. Fertilizers containing nitrogen in the nitrate form are more susceptible to loss of nitrogen through leaching and de-nitrification process. Therefore, ammonical form of nitrogen is found more beneficial for rice crop. 
Due to variations in soil fertility, rainfall and climatic condition, a common dose of fertilizer can not be recommended for all regions. However, in general a level of 30 to 40 kg of nitrogen per hectare in kharif and 60 to 80 kg of nitrogen per hectare in rabi appears to be the optimum dose for the tall indicas and double that level for the high yielding varieties on soils of average fertility in the southern and eastern regions. In the northern region, where sunshine is available for longer hours, higher dose of nitrogen is beneficial in the kharif season. 7.12.6 The maximum efficiency can be obtained in the direct seeded upland rice by applying 50 per cent nitrogen dose, three weeks after seeding, 30 per cent at 45 days age and the rest at the boot-leaf stage. In order to obtain better results, full dose of phosphorus, potash and half dose of nitrogen should be applied before last puddling. Remaining half dose of nitrogen should be applied in two equal doses, first at tillering stage and second dose at panicle initiation stage.  
Water Management
The water requirement of rice crop is comparatively higher than any other crop of the similar duration. Assured and timely supply of irrigation water has a considerable influence on the yield of the crop. During the crop growth period, the water requirement is generally high at the initial seedling 30 establishment stage. After the transplanting , water should be allowed to stand in the field at a depth of two to five centimeters till the seedlings are well established. The second, the most important critical stage is tillering to flowering and in this period the crop should not be subjected to soil moisture stress. The water supply should be ensured in required amount during panicle initiation to flowering stage. About five centimeters depth of water should be maintained in the field up to the dough stage of the crop. Before harvesting, water should be drained out from the field to allow quick and uniform maturity of grain. 
Harvesting and Threshing
The maximum quantity and better quality paddy and rice depend on the harvesting of the crop at the correct maturity stage. Therefore, it is of the paramount importance to harvest the crop at suitable time. Harvesting of the crop when it is not fully matured might result in loss of yield with poor quality grains. If harvesting is delayed, grain may be lost due to damage by rats, birds, insects, shattering and lodging. Thus, timely harvesting ensures better yield, good quality of grains, consumer acceptance and less breakage when milled. The right stage for harvesting as commonly understood by laymen is when panicles turn into golden yellow and the grains contain about 20 percent moisture. When the moisture in the paddy grains reaches 16-17 percent in the standing crop in the fields, the crop sustains a heavy loss owing to shattering and damage by birds and rodents. Extensive studies have been carried out on specifying the optimum time of harvesting. Based on the results of the various studies, in general, three criteria are taken into consideration to specify the right time of harvesting viz. (i) the moisture content of the grains, (ii) the number of days after planting or flowering and (iii) the dry matter of the plant or seed. The most common and old methods of threshing of paddy is trampling by bullocks or lifting the bundles and striking them on the raised wooden platform. Now pedal threshers are being used. Power driven stationary threshers are also used for quick threshing.
Source:
1.http://farmer.gov.in/imagedefault/pestanddiseasescrops/rice.pdf
2.http://knowledgebank.irri.org/images/docs/12-Steps-Required-for-Successful-Rice-Production.pdf
3.http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/2805rice_412982BFD8BCD.pdf
4.http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c10/e1-05a-15-00.pdf
 




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2.For Rabi Crops

The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.
Wheat:
 Sowing of crop 
(i) Different method of sowings : Wheat is sown by four methods: 
1. Drilling: In this method seed is sown by seed drill or ferti-seed drill. With the help of this implement seeds drop at uniform depth and results in uniform germination and regular stand. Seed bed should be fine and well leveled free from clods and weeds for the use of seed drill or ferti-seed drill. 
2. Behind Local Plough:-This method consist of dropping the seeds by hand into the furrows that have been opened with local plough. When seeds is dropped in furrows by hand, it is called Kera method and when it is dropped through a Pora or Nai or Hazara a special attachment with local/desi plough it is called Pora method. In this method seeds are dropped at a depth of 5- 6 cm and germination is satisfactory. 
3. Dibbling: This method is used in case where supply of seed is limited. Sowing is done the help of a small implement known as Dibbler It is a wooden or Iron frame with pegs. The frame is pressed in the field and lifted and then one or two seeds are dropped by hand in each of the hole. It is not a common method because it is a very time consuming process. 
 4. Broadcast Method: In this method the seeds are broadcast and then worked in by harrowing in order to cover them. However, the seeds are not uniformly distributed in the field. This method of sowing is very insufficient and should not be encouraged. Germination of broadcast seed is relatively oor and the plant stand is often irregular. Wastage of seed also results because most of the seed is left on the surface where they cannot germinate and may, therefore, be picked up and eaten by birds.
(ii) Land preparation by use of different technologies like RCT :
 As a general rule wheat crop requires a well pulverized but compact seed-bed for good and uniform germination . In irrigated areas wheat is usually sown after Kharif crops like, maize, Jowar, Bajara, Paddy, Urd, Moong(Green gram) etc.. After the harvest of previous crop, the field should be ploughed with disc or mould board plough. Where tractor is available one deep ploughing followed by two or three harrowing with disc or times and 2-3 planking should be given to prepare a well pulverized seed bed. Where bullock are the source of power, deep ploughing followed by two to three harrowings or four to five inter-cross ploughing with local plough should be done. Planking should be done after each ploughing. Avoid powdery seed bed. One pre-sowing irrigation 7-10 days before seeding is necessary to ensure good germination. In case where previous crop was sugarcane, toria, tur etc., the pre- sowing irrigation for wheat may be given in the previous standing crop so that field may become available for its preparation and sowing, soon after the harvest of the previous crop. One light cultivation and leveling is required before sowing. Delay in sowing because drastic reduction in yield in late sown wheat. In certain areas crops are attacked by white ants and gujhia weevil. To protect young seedlings from white ants and gujhia weevil mix Aldrin 5% dust in soil at the rate of 25 kg per ha at the time of ploughing. 60 In rainfed areas field preparation should be done with great care as conservation of moisture is dependent on it. Field are usually prepared by giving one deep ploughng with iron plough followed by two or three times local plough and planking. In these areas ploughings should be done in the evening time and furrows should be kept open whole night to absorb some moisture from dew. Planking should be done after each ploughing early in the morning. All the possible efforts should be made to conserve moisture for the sowing of wheat crop.
Seeding technologies-time seed rate, distance, depth, plant population : 61 Seed 
Selection of Seed :
Only healthy seeds of right variety suitable for a particular locality should be selected for sowing. There should not be any mixture of seeds of other varieties of weeds. The seed should be purchased from a reliable source. Always use certified seed . If seed is not treated ,treat with vitavax, thiram @ 2.5 g/kg of seed. Time of sowing: Time of sowing is one of the important aspects in obtaining good yields of wheat. It has a marked influence on the yield of wheat. The time of sowing varies widely over the wheat growing areas. It depends mostly on soil temperature, irrigation, facilities and duration of wheat varieties. Rainfed wheat generally sown in the 2nd fortnight of October and beginning of November. The normal time for sowing of high yielding dwarf varieties in irrigated areas starts in the beginning of November. Long and medium duration varieties should be sown in the 1st fortnight of November and short duration varieties should be sown in the 2nd fortnight of November. If a variety is sown later than its normal time of sowing there is adverse effect on its yield. Under specific circumstances wheat is sown in the month of December too. In late sown wheat only, short duration varieties should be sown because there is comparatively less reduction in their yields as compared to late and medium duration varieties. When wheat is sown in the month of December there is a drastic reduction in yield( table-1).November onwards delay is sowing by each day causes reduction of 56 kg per ha per day.
Fertilizer management The time and placement of fertilizer is another area where significant progress was made. It was demonstrated that 120 kg nitrogen, 60 kg phosphorus and 30 kg potash per hectare were required for optimum productivity. The N was to be applied in two split doses of 60 kg as basal and the remaining 60 kg at first irrigation and full phosphorus and potash to be applied as basal. Recently, the new wheat varieties have responded up to 180 kg N/ha with optima dose around 150 kg/ha. In the Indo-Gangetic plains, application of zinc @ 25kg/ha in rice-wheat system was found to increase the yield substantially. Recently, the use of sulphur has been found beneficial for enhancing the productivity as well as the grain protein content of wheat. Response to Mn (pockets in the Indo-Gangetic plains) and boron (eastern and far eastern region) has also been realized.
Nutrient management 
With intensive agriculture, deficiency of essential nutrients has also become wide spread. The work conducted under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Micronutrient in Crops and Soils, has shown wide spread deficiency of zinc in soils in India. At the national level, the deficiency level in micro nutrients is Zn: 46 %, B: 17 %, Mo: 12 %, Fe: 11 % and Cu: 5%. The deficiency of sulphur has also been reported across a wide range of soils (38%).The yield response to sulphur has been obtained in more than 40 crops including cereal, millets, oilseeds and pulses etc. To realize the potential yield, strategies may include: • Site specific nutrient management for targeted yields • Integration of crop residues, bio fertilizers etc with inorganic fertilization • Tillage techniques like FIRBS for increasing nutrient use efficiencies.
The following schedule of irrigation should be followed for dwarf varieties of wheat: In case of dwarf high yielding varieties ,a pre-sowing irrigation should be given and crop sown when the field becomes fit for operation. 1st irrigation: The 1st irrigation to the standing crop should be given 20-25 DAS(CRI stage). In cooler regions like hilly tracts and in late sown wheat ,it is desirable to apply 1s irrigation approximately 25-30 DAS. Delay in giving this irrigation should be avoided as it would result in upsetting the synchronous tillering in dwarf high yielding wheat varieties, abnormal heads, poor root system and finally poor grain yield. It is the most crucial stage for irrigation. 2nd Irrigation: At tillering stage, within 40-45 DAS. 3rd irrigation: At late jointing stage , within 70-75 DAS. 4th irrigation: At flowering stage ,within 90-95 DAS. Irrigation at this stage is also important because during this period plants suffer most from soil moisture deficiency . The grain number and grain size are reduced considerable. 5th irrigation: At dough stage, within 110-115 DAS. The total number o irrigations required will very depending upon soil type, winter rainfall, amount of water applied per irrigation. Under limited supply of water the following schedule of irrigation should be adopted for best utilization of available quantity of water 
 
1. Where only one irrigation is possible, give it at crown root initiation (CRI) stage (20-25 DAS).
 2. Where two irrigations are available, 1st irrigation should be given at CRI stage and 2nd at flowering stage.
 3. Where three irrigations are a possible, 1st irrigation should be given at CRI stage and 2nd at lte jointing (boot) and 3rd at milking stage. 

These recommendations strongly stress the importance of irrigation at CRI stage. It has been found that each week delay in 1st irrigation from CRI stage results in yield reduction of 200-300 kg per hectare.
Weed Management Practices
 In Wheat Various practices of weed management can be grouped into three broad categories namely cultural and preventive; physical or mechanical; and chemical weed control. These practices are discussed below; 
Cultural and Preventive Cultural practices such as time and method of sowing, crop density and geometry, crop varieties, dose, method and time of fertilizer application, time and method of irrigation have pronounced effect on crop-weed interference. Some of these factors are listed below: Use clean wheat seed that is free from weed seeds. Go in for early sowing of wheat (before 15 Nov.).Adopt closer row spacing (18 cm).Adopt criss-cross sowing to increase population density of the wheat plants. Place basal dose of fertilizer 2-3 cm below the seed. Sowing of wheat on FIRBS reduces weed population. Pull out weeds before seed setting. Keep blinds & irrigation channels free from weeds. Introduce either berseem or oat for fodder, as a crop rotation, sown once in three years. Stimulate emergence of Phalaris by giving light irrigation followed by weed control with non-selective herbicides like glyphosate or cultivation followed by sowing of wheat. Zero tillage offer a way to manage Phalaris but continuously practising zero tillage invites problem from other weeds. Grow fast growing and robust varieties of wheat. 
Mechanical Control It involves the removal of weeds by various tools & implements including hand weeding & pulling. It is not feasible where weeds resemble morphologically to crop ego P. minor & Avena ludoviciana before flowering in wheat. Also, mechanical weed control becomes difficult in broadcast sown wheat. However, mechanical control can be practiced effectively when wheat is sown on FIRBS as this system facilitates tractor mounted implements usage.
Possible Diseases:
Leaf Rust /Brown Rust( Puccinia recondita tritici.) 
Distribution: Throughout wheat growing regions of India. Development: Pathogen over-summers in low and mid altitudes of Himalayas and Nilgiris. Primary infections develop fromwind deposited urediospores in eastern Indo-gangetic plains in middle of January where it multiplies and moves westwards by March. Temperatures of 20 :t 5° C with free moisture (rain or dew) cause epidemics. Severe infection causes upto 30 percent yield losses.
Management: The presently recommended varieties in most of the wheat growing zones are rust resistant.
Stripe Rust /Yellow Rust (Puccinia striiformis tritici) 
Distribution: Hills, foothills and plains of north western India and southern hills zone (Nilgiri hills of Tamilnadu). Development: Spreads through air-borne urediospores, when temperature are 1020°C but the spread is checked above 25°c. Pathogen survives in the cool temperatures of hills and the primary infection takes places by middle of January in the foot hills and sub mountainous parts of north western India. Also, infection comes from across the western border, hence the probability of evolution of new races increases in this area. Yellow rust from Nilgiri hills cannot come out of the zone due to high temperatures in the Peninsular and Central India. 
Management: Most of the presently recommended varieties are resistant. Major emphasis is on host resistance and cultivation of resistant varieties is the main strategy of management.
Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe graminis tritici) 
Distribution: Mainly in the cooler areas and hilly region; foot hills and plains of north - western India and the southern hills (Nilgiris). Development: Powdery mildew can easily be diagnosed by the white, powdery patches that form on the upper surface of leaves and stem. With age, the patches turn dull dirty white and may have small black specks embedded. This disease can spread to all above ground parts of the plant, including earhead and awns. The disease infects plants during periods of high humidity (not necessarily rain) and cool to moderate temperatures. Low light intensity, which accompanies dry weather and a dense crop canopy favours this disease. 
Management: Present day varieties are not resistant to powdery mildew. Hence, the disease severity is more in some pockets. Avoid excessively dense, stands by using adequate seed. For chemical control, one spray of propi-conazole (Tilt [email protected] 0.1 %) on disease appearance (which usually occurs during early March in northern plains) is highly effective.
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Harvesting , threshing & storage:
 harvesting and threshing methods (manual/mechanical), storage-moisture content , drying, chemical used for storage pests. Harvesting and threshing: High yielding dwarf varieties of wheat should be harvested when the leaves and stems turn yellow and become fairly dry. To avoid loss in yield crop should be harvested before it is dead ripe. when harvest is not done in time, grain may be lost die to damage by rain, birds, insects, shattering and lodging. Timely harvesting ensures optimum grain quality and consumer acceptance. The right stage for harvesting is when there is about 25-30% moisture in grains. Harvesting is normally done with serrate edge sickles by hand. Bullock driven reapers are also used occasionally . Combines are also available which can be harvesting, threshing and winnowing wheat crop in single operation . After harvesting the crop by hand, it is dried and three to four days on the threshing floor and then threshing is done by trampling bullocks or thresher attached to bullocks. Now-a-days power driven stationary threshers are becoming more popular because these are easy in operation and hasten the process.
For more information:-
1.http://farmer.gov.in/imagedefault/pestanddiseasescrops/wheat.pdf
2.http://www.nebraskawheat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/WheatProductionHandbook.pdf
3.http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/gagrains/documents/2012_13WheatProductionGuideComplete.pdf











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Secondary Farming :

idea:The idea of secondary farming is to get profit using the  roots, tubers or non-significant parts of major crop.As well as the vegetable cultivation will be helpful in nutrient cycle in the soil as well as act as a good economic factor as it generates money at significant intervals before the actual crop yield,which is very helpful in livelihood of many farmers.Here we have 4 major ideas that can be done as secondary farming:

1. Vegetable cultivation:small piece of land is used to raise vegetable crops using the resources of major crops.

2. Sericulture or bee keeping:If the crop involves flowering like sunflower then honey will be easily generated.

3.Mushroom Cultivation:After taking grains from grass type crops those plants can be used to grow mushrooms.

4.Animal husbandry:After separating grain from the harvest remaining crop can be fed to cattle for milk.

Silos For Storage:

The silos would be built on a public-private partnership basis at market yards controlled by the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC).Grains such as rice, wheat, soyabeans, sorghum (jowar) and sugar would be stored in silos. Surplus land belonging to the APMC would be used for this exercise..When grains are stored in traditional warehouses, there is a lot of wastage due to pest attacks so steel silos have become the answer. The suggestion to the farmers that contact nearest agriculture center to know further information about silos and storage.