|
|
|
AGRONOMY OF LATE PLANTING
In western Uttar Pradesh state of north India about 70 percent of cane planting is done after wheat harvesting in April-May which results in very low yield of plant crop. For obtaining better yield from such a late planted crop, the following agronomic practices should be followed:
1. Selection of a suitable variety: Out of the newly developed varieties, Co.S 88230 has proved to be the best variety for late planting.
2. Use of 25% higher seed rate than the recommended one.
3. Seed treatment with Emisan– an organo-mercurial fungicide to hasten and improve germination.
4. Soil application of Lindane/Chloropyriphos/Confidor/Regent insecticides at the time of planting to control termites and shoot borer.
5. Application of recommended N,P,K fertilizers at planting time below the seed cuttings.
6. To avoid late planting after wheat crop, autumn planting with wheat intercrop should be adopted with 90 cm inter-row spacing between the cane rows. Recent experiments conducted at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow have shown that winter planting of sugarcane in November-December and sowing of wheat together gives good cane yield besides normal yield of wheat crop. In this technology, the cane germinates in February-March in the standing wheat crop and gets a good start after wheat harvesting to give normal yield as compared to very low yield from cane planted after wheat harvesting.
The yield of the first ratoon crop from late planted crop after wheat harvesting is however very good due to development of water shoots which are more vigorous and contribute to higher yield.
|