During the visit to the adopted villages, farmers showed mix reaction towards mixed cropping of wheat with mustard. Some farmers prefered this traditional practice of intercropping as they get an additional crop for oil to be used at house hold level while other treat mustard as weed and want to get rid of it.
One farmer showed the field of gram which was almost ruined due to excess plant population of mustard as weed during field visit.
Weed Lathyrus spp. is reported to be competing with wheat and affecting the productivity and hence increasing the cost of cultivation due to less profit per acre of wheat field.
Agronomist Dr. Raghuraj Kishore Tiwari tells ‘As a farmer controls Lathyrus spp. with 2-4-D Ethyl Ester it damages the plant of mustard also. And if this weedicide is not used mustard affects the productivity of wheat thus affecting the profit.
If farmers want to grow the additional crop of mustard he should grow the crop as intercropping with wheat and not as mixed cropping. This will help the farmers in following way:
Advantage of Intercropping of wheat with mustard:
1. Nutrient Management and Plant Protection practices will be easier for both the crops. Best use of resources can be done.
2. Harvesting of both the crop will be easier. Cost cutting can be done.
3. Cleaning, grading and storage will be better and can be done according to the crop. Labour saving.
What should be done:
In such following steps can be taken:
1. Spray 2-4-D Ethyl Ester when mustard plants are small to finish this weed and Lathyrus spp.
2. Cut the mustard plant or uproot the plant before flowering for at least 2 consecutive years or till the weed does not grow again.
3. Intercropping of wheat with mustard should be practiced.
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ReplyDelete- Anand