Crops of Rabi Season

Crops of Rabi Season

Main crops of Rabi (post â€'monsoon) season are wheat, barley and gram

Wheat

In terms of production, wheat occupies the first place among the crops in the world . In India, it is the second most important food crops, next only to rice. The Indo Gangetic plains form the most important wheat area. The cool winters and hot summers are conductive to a good crop of wheat. Well â€'drained loams and clayey loams are considered good soils for the cultivation of wheat. However, good crops of wheat can be raised in sandy loams and block soils also.

Wheat crop requires a wellpulverized but compact seedbed for good and uniform germination. Under irrigated conditions, the first fortnight of November is considered the optimum time for sowing the medium to longduration wheat 9e.g. the ‘Kalyanason.

For a short duration wheats (e.g., the ‘Sonali optimum time of sowing. In eastern India, wheat is sown in the third week of December due to

the late harvesting of paddy. In northwestern India also, wheat sowings get delayed due to the late harvesting of paddy, sugarcane or potato.

For wheat sown under irrigated conditions, four to six irrigations are required. The first irrigation should be given at the stage of initiation of the crown root, i.e., about 20252 days after sowing. Two or three extra irrigations may be required in case of very light or sandy soils.

The crop is harvested when the grains harden and the straw becomes dry and brittle. The harvesting time varies in different regions. In the peninsular region, harvesting starts in the latter half of February and is over in the first week of March. In the central zone, the peak season for harvesting is in the month of March. In the northwestern zone, the peak season for harvesting is in the month of March. In the northwestern zone, the peak harvesting period is the latter half of April. In the eastern zone, harvesting is over by mid April. However, in the hills, the wheat crop is harvested in the months of May and June.

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal together grow wheat over an area exceeding 70 per cent of the total area of wheat crop for the country. These states also produce 76 percent of the total what production of India and have extensive irrigation system covering from 85 per cent of the area in Punjab to 51 per cent in Bihar.

Barley

Barley (jau) is an important rabi crop ranking next only to wheat. The total area under this crop is about 3.0 Mha, producing nearly 3 million tones of grain. Main barley growing states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar which together grow barley over an area which is about 80 per cent of total barley growing area.

This crop can be grown successfully on all soils which are suitable for wheat cultivation Barley crop needs less water and is tolerant to salinity. Recent experiments indicate that this crop can be grown on coastal saline soils of Sunderbans in West Bengal and on saline soils in areas of north Karnataka irrigated by canals.

The normal sowing season for barley extends from middle of October to the middle of November, but it can be sown as late as the first week of January. Barley is grown either on conserved moisture or under restricted irrigation. Generally, it needs two to three irrigations. On highly alkaline or saline soils, frequent light irrigations are given.

Harvesting period for barley is between midMarch to midApril. Harvesting starts in the month of February in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. In the foothills of the Himalayas, harvesting time varies from the end of April to the end of May. The average grain yield of the ‘dry’ crop 1000khg/haisaboutwhereas that700ofthe irrigated crop is about twice as much.

Gram

Gram (Chana) is the most important pulse which accounts for more than a third of the pulse growing area and about 40 per cent of the production of pulses in India. The average annual area and production of gram are about 78 Mha and about 45 million tones of grain respectively. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh together grow gram over an area exceeding 6 Mha.

In North India, gram is grown on light alluvial soils which are less suitable for wheat. In

south India, gram is cultivated on clay loams and black cotton soils, ‘Kabuligram’ howe requires soil better than light alluvial soils. Gram is generally grown as a dry crop in the Rabi season.

The preparation of land for gram is similar to that for wheat. The seeds are sown in rows from the middle of October to the beginning of November. The crop matures in about 150 days in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and in 120 days in south India.