INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE IN COTTON

P.PRASHANTH PhD SCHOLAR, 1st yr Department of Agricultural Extension

Land Preparation and Sowing

y Increasing yield of cotton by application of salt mixed with y y

manure(Surendranagar, Gujarat) Ratooning of kharif cotton (Pimpri village of Dhule districts of Maharastra) For delinting cotton seeds, the seed with wet cow dung and dried for 30 minutes and then slightly rub against a stone and clean. Coating the cotton seeds with red soil and sun drying them before sowing to ensure good germination and to make the dibbling easy. Cotton seeds are coated with cow dung before dibbling. This helps in intacting the fuzz in the seeds and set ease to dibble the seeds.

y Cotton seeds are mixed with required quantity of rice

y y

potridge with cow dung before sowing. An hour of shade drying is done for the purpose of separating the seeds during sowing period Cotton seeds weighing 5 kgs are mixed with litre butter milk and cow dung kg . the purpose is to remove the fuzz from cotton seeds and also to improve germination. Mixing one kg of cotton seeds with 200ml. of neem oil and pasting it with fresh cow dung and then drying this over night before sowing to avoid pests & it gives 10% more yield. Dry Sowing Of Cotton Seeding is generally done 10-12 days before the anticipated date of onset of monsoon.(Dhule district of Maharastra)

y Direct seeding of cotton (Medur village in Coimbatore) y Cotton is sown through dibbling by hand without any ploughing

after harvest of crops such as finger millet, pearl millet with one time irrigation. About 80-100 farmers are adopting this practice for the last 10-20 years.

Plant protection 1. Cultural practices/Agronomic measures

y Prevention of shedding of boll of cotton by use of castor

oil-(Bharuch, Gujarat) y Flowers and young bolls are often shed in cotton crop due to high temperature. To minimize this problem, farmers pour castor oil approximately 50 ml.) near the stem in the soil believing that it would cool the soil. y Use of magha rain water as growth promoter (Rajkot, Gujarat) y Farmers store rain water received during the magha in the monsoon for future use . They believe that it works as growth promoter on the standing crop. According to them the stored water does not get spoiled.

y Pruning for higher boll formation- vegetative y

y y y

growth (Surendranagar, Gujrat) Farmers cut the top branch of the plant which checks the erect growth of the plant. It is believed that such practice imparts good flowering and retards vegetative growth. Minimizing the effect of frost in cotton by fumigation (Mehsana, Gujrat) Fumigation is done by cow dung cake, used engine oil or waste grass. Immersing of calotrophis plants in water channelaphids (Banaskantha, Gujarat)

y Growing of sorghum plants in scattered manner in cotton

field (Jalagaon, Nadurbar, Dhule district -Maharashtra) y In rain fed cotton, sorghum plants are sown in scattered manner, which provide avenue for birds to perch and eat larvae. This is one of the method of controlling cotton boll worm. The idea is that the sorghum plants attract the birds to eat grains and when they come for eating grains, they also pick the larvae on the cotton crop. y Raising castor as a border crop y Around 100 plants of castor per acre are grown on the field bunds in the spodoptera affected field crops, because of its broad leaves Spodoptera lays eggs on castor rather than on field crop leaves and skelletinize the leaves. These leaves are removed from the field.

2. Physical & Mechanical methods

y Papers pasted with castor oil /grease are hung at 5-6 places in cotton y

y y y

fieldwhite fly Concentrated solution of sugar (500grams in a litre of water) is prepared and allowed to ferment and adding of 1 or 2 drops edible oil, placing of open dishes in the rows of cotton -reduce adult population Spraying of kerosene oil on the cotton crop at night to control soil born pests Adding of castor oil during irrigation in the water channel- aphids Tribal farmers of Nandurbar and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra spray cow urine in cotton. In tribal areas of some farmers also spray kerosene +soap mixture on cotton crop white fly attack

3. Biological control methods

y Mixture of tobacco leaves (250g.) hirakasi (300g.)+and citric acid by

y y y

y y

boiling in 1-2 liters of water and filtered- control of pest complex in cotton Adding of tobacco powder @ 30 g per 15 litres with insecticide white fly Use of okra as a sacrifice crop for pest control 2-3 rows of okra surrounding the cotton field 20-25 kgs onions in a jute bag crush them using a wooden mallet and this bag is kept in water channels during irrigation- control of talkadi insect soil pest. Dilute butter milk with water and sprinkle it on the crop red spots in leaves Use of fermented pearl millet flour is mixed in water to control helicoverpa

ITK s in Warangal district of AndhraPradesh

y Deep ploughing in summer y Use of bonfires/light traps y Spraying of Tobacco decoction control larvae of Heliothis y y y y y

armigera Nipping of terminal buds to destroy eggs and larvae of spotted boll worm Spraying of 5% NSKE-control of cotton boll worm, aphids Jaggery solution-1 kg dissolved in 10 -12 litres of water- 5-6 litres of solution per acre white fly control Chilly garlic spray Spraying of cattle dung and urine

Harvesting and Post Harvest Management

y Store food grains in bins for a long time in good condition

without any incidence of storage pests. After sun drying of the grains, it is stored in bins made of bomboo and cotton sticks and covered with mud and cow dung slurry so as make the bin air tight. In some areas neem leaves are also mixed with grains while string. (Jalagaon, Nadurbar, Ahmedabad, Dhule district -Maharashtra)