Strategy for Availability of Vegetables during Rainy Season April 2015 Dr Daljit Singh Gill Horticulture Development Officer, Cum Project Officer Centre of Excellence for Vegetables, Kartarpur (Jalandhar), Punjab 1

PRESENTATION OUTLINE Potential & Constraints for Vegetable Crops Selection of suitable Vegetable -Varieties / Hybrids Protected Cultivation during Summers and Rainy Season Scenario in Punjab Transplanting of seedlings instead of direct sowing Raised Bed Cultivation Control of Insect-Pest and Diseases Storage of Vegetables STRATEGIESSTRATEGIES Opportunities for Growers 2

Scenario of Punjab Total Population of Punjab2,77,04,236 Geographical Area50.36 Lakh Hectare Net Area Sown41.84 Lakh Hectare Total Cropped Area78.70 % Irrigated Area98 % Area under Horticultural Crops2.67 (3.4% of Cropped Area) Total Area under Vegetable Crops 2 Lakh Hectares Production of Vegetable Crops40 Lakh tonnes Average Productivity of Vegetable Crops 20 tonnes per hectare 3

Hot SeasonApril to JuneHighest Temperature C and C (Recorded in the month of June) Rainy SeasonJuly to September (75% of Rainfall recorded in the month of July to September) Mean Annual Rain Fall 705 mm (Varies from 1200mm at Pathankot to 300mm at Abhohar) Winter SeasonOctober to MarchLowest Temperature 0 to C (Recorded in the month of December) Soil TypeSandy loam with pH range , therefore it has good potential for cultivation of various horticultural crops 4 Scenario of Punjab (...Contd)

Potential & Constraints for Vegetable Crops ParticularsPotentialConstraints Total Area under Vegetable Crops 2 Lakh Hectares > 4 Lakh Hectare Insecure Marketing Fixed Support Price of wheat/ paddy No support price for vegetables Productivity of Vegetable Crops 40 Lakh MT> 80 Lakh MTShortage of High yielding, resistant cultivars Average Productivity of Vegetable Crops 20 MT per hectare MT per hectare Traditional methods of cultivation which needs to be replaced with raised bed cultivation & drip irrigation. Knowledge gap between researchers and stakeholders. Cropping Pattern/ Crop Rotation Wheat – Paddy Rotation Area under paddy can be reduced Farmers are interested for paddy crop instead of vegetables because ensured income of paddy... Contd 5

Potential & Constraints for Vegetable Crops (Contd..) ParticularsPotentialConstraints Labour requirement & Production Cost Double than Cereal Crops Mechanization & Irrigation/ Fertigation Higher Labour requirements & Capital intensive production. Post Harvest Management & Marketing Post Harvest Loses % Can be Reduced upto 90% Area should be sown according to demand & region specific with new methods Insecure marketing (Middleman takes big share – 50%) Lack of Storage, Processing, Market Chain. RainfallAnnual Rainfall 300 – 1200 mm (75% during July to September) Protective Cultivation & Raised bed cultivation with drip irrigation in open fields also Stagnation of water Weed problem More insect/ Pest & Diseases 6

Strategy - I Selection of Suitable Vegetable Crops Sr. NoCropsCommon Varieties *Crop Period 1Bottle GaurdPunjab KomalMay – June to September – October 2Bitter GaurdPunjab-14May – June to September – October 3Squash MelonS- 48May – June to September – October 4PumpkinPunjab SmratMay – June to September – October 5Ash GaurdPunjab Ash GaurdMay – June to September – October 6Spong GaurdPSG-9May – June to September – October 7OkraPunjab 8May – June to September – October 8TomatoVarsha, UpharJuly – August to October – November 9BrinjalPBH-1, PBH-2, PBH-3May – June to September – October 10RadishPussa ChetkiMay – June to September – October 11ChillyCH-1. CH-3May – June to September – October 12CucumberPB-NaveenMay – June to September – October 13CowpeasS263May – June to September – October 14BeansMithi PhaliMay – June to September – October * Hybrids of private companies are available 7

During Rainy Season, Transplanting of Seedling should be preferred instead of Direct Sowing. Crop Mature one month earlier than Direct Sowing Less attack of Insect-pest (Red Pumpkin Beetle) & Diseases (Damping Off) during initial stages. Better establishment of seedling plants. Strategy – II Transplanting of Seedlings instead of Direct Sowing 8

Protective structure is a facility to protect crop from biotic and abiotic stress Structure for protected cultivation include Poly- green House, Net House/Shade Net and Tunnels. Poly house structure helps in protecting crops otherwise which are affected by excessive rainfall. Net house & Shade Net cultivation provide better Micro Climate specially during summer in minimising high temperature effect. Strategy - III Protected Cultivation during Summer & Rainy Season 9

Raised bed To avoid damage from rain water stagnation raised bed cultivation technique should be adopted Drip Irrigation System Saving water 30-50% Considerable saving in water, increase growth, development and yield of vegetable and control of weed Saving of labour Mulching It improve yield and quality, suppression of weed growth, fertilizer use efficiency Reflective mulches also minimise incidence of virus disease Stacking To avoid direct contact of vegetable fruit with soil and rain water Improve aeration,use of vertical space, high density plantation, also increased photosynthetic activities. Better fruit quality, Easy Harvesting, Easy field operations Protect crop from sun-scald, insect-pest & diseases. Strategy – IV Raised Bed Cultivation (Drip Irrigation, Mulching & Stacking) 10

Major Threats – Red Pumpkin beetle, Aphids, mites, Fruit Fly, Fruit & shoot borer. – Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew, Crown/Stem rot, and Virus Diseases Protection – Use of Resistant cultivars – Integrated Pest Management Technique should be adopted – New techniques of Cultivation Strategy - V Control of Insect-Pest and Diseases 11

To avoid Shortage of Vegetable during rainy season, produce can be stored when there is glut in market (April-May). Requirement of Multi-purpose Cold Store for different vegetable storage. Small Pack-house Units including Pre-cooling/ cold store at farmer’s field should be adopted to avoid post-harvest losses. Strategy - VI Storage of Vegetables 12

Opportunities for Growers Permanent Vegetable production system indeed may be an option to improve vegetable production system All stakeholders should collectively decide to sow area on demand specific and region specific. Protected cultivation in Plastic Houses/ Net Houses/ Tunnels could improve production and yield however because of insecure marketing conditions, farmers are reluctant to invest in protected cultivation. Mulching reduces (i) The Leaching of nutrients; (ii) Soil surface erosion; and (iii) Labour demand for weed control while at same time preventing soil surface compaction. An opportunity therefore to design, test and implement innovative vegetable production system. In order to improve the bargaining power of farmers/ producers with collectors, wholesalers or retailers, growers would need to able to offer their product in large quantity and on regular, planned basis. The knowledge gap between the experts and the farmers should be reduced. This will need strong extension efforts. Special efforts need to be made in reducing the gap between potential yield and the actual yield obtained at present at the farmers’ field, reducing intra-regional and inter-regional yield variations. Efforts should also be made to cover more area under hybrids where ever possible. Farmers participation in commercial cooperation and producer’s organization would be an option to achieve this goal. 13

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