Pearlmillet Cultivation (English)-II

v  Irrigation-

F Pearl millet required five irrigation -

(1)  Sowing time  (2)  Tillering  (3)  Panicle initiation (4) Flowering

(5) Dough stage

v  Weed Management-

F 1-2 deep weeding should be done 4-5 cm deep with the help of Khurpi / Cultivator.

F Atrazine 0.5 kg / ha as a pre-emergence, spray the solution in 800-1000 litters of water.

F After the first weeding, prune the plants and keep a distance of 10-15 cm.

v  Plant Protection-

v  Green Ear disease of Bajra - Caused by Sclerospora graminicola fungus.

F Seed and soil borne disease.

F Control: - Apron SD @6g/kg seed treatment

F Mencozeb 2kg/hac spray.

v  Urgot of Bajra (चिपका रोग)-

F Caused by claviceps fusiformis fungus.

F A sticky substance like honey sticks on the seeds

F It is seed borne disease.

F Control: - Seed treatment by thiram/captan@3g/kg seed.

F Follow 3-4 year crop cycle

v  Smut Disease (कंड रोग)-

F Caused by Tolysporium pennisileri

F Soil Borne disease

F Control: - Vitavax @0.25% spray

F It causes direct loss of grain by replacing them with smut sori, and yield losses of up to 30% have been reported.

v  Rust Disease (गरुई रोग)-

F Disease caused by Puccinia substriata fungi

F Rust causing fungi develop on many grass-weeds.

F These weeds help in spreading the disease to pearl millet crop.

F So, good weed control practice help reduce the rust disease in pearl millet.

F Control: -Spray by Dithen Z-78 @ 0.15% Solution

v  Insect Management

v  Termite (Odentotermis obesus)-Termite damage starts soon after sowing and continues till the growing stage.

F The leaves of damaged plants droop down.

F Such plants are uprooted.

F Where the pest is of regular occurrence the soil should be mixed with endosulfan or quinolphos 1.5 or chlorpyriphos @ 35 kg/ha at the time of sowing.

F if Pest is noticed in standing crop. then dilute 2.5 L of endosulphan 35 EC or chlorpyriphos 20EC in 5 L of water and mix it with 50 kg of soil and broabcast even in 1 ha or by light irrigation.

v  Shoot Fly (Atherigona soccata Rondani)-It attacks the crop both in seedlings and boot leaf stage.  It causes dead hearts in young plants and chaffy grains in the mature crop. Control: - At sowing time use Forat @ 15 kg/hac Or Furadon 25 kg/hac Or 1.25 lit. Thiodon Mix in 800 lit. Water and Spray

v  Stem borer (Chillo partellus) तना बेधक कीट-

F The larvae of the Stem Borer attack the leaves and leaf tips of millet.

F The larvae bore holes into the stem and carve it out, which leads ultimately to death.

F The fully grown larva is about 20 mm long and has a reddish-brown head and a white body which can also be black-spotted.

v  Yield-

F In irrigated area: - 35-50 qua. /hac.

F In Rainfed area: - 20-30 qua. /hac.