AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

PULSES

A number of pulses are grown in Amravati district, the chief among them being tur, mug, gram and udid. The minor ones such as math, chavali, horse-gram, lakh and watana are also grown. The pulses covered an area of 61754.400 hectares (1,52,480 acres) during 1960-61. Table No. 15 gives acreage under pulses in Amravati district in 1958-59, 1959-60 and 1960-61.

TABLE No. 15

AREA UNDER PULSES (TALUKA-WISE) IN AMRAVATI DISTRICT IN 1958-59, 1959-60 AND 1960-61

(In hectares)

¹ Figures in brackets indicate area in acres.

*Note.-Also includes the acreage under horse gram, masur, math, val, chavali, watana, lakh and such other minor pulses.

Tur.

Tur is grown all over the district. It covered an area of 36062.415 hectares (89,043 acres) in 1960-61. Its cultivation was prominent in Amravati taluka which claimed 8915.670 hectares (22,014 acres) or nearly 25 per cent of the total acreage under the crop. Chandur 7627.770 hectares (18,834 acres) and Achalpur 7088.715 hectares (17,503 acres) talukas ranked next in order. Tur cultivation in Melghat taluka 1009.665 hectares (2,493 acres) was negligible. Tur is always grown mixed with other crops as a line crop. Rows of tur can be seen in cropped cotton and groundnut crops. Thus the types of soil on which the crop is raised varies with the requirements of the crops with which it is mixed. But generally it is grown on all types of soil, from heavy to light soils. It is sown in June-July and harvested in January-February.

The Department of Agriculture had introduced improved varieties like the Hyderabad and E.B. 38 in the district, which were becoming popular amongst the cultivators.

Mug.

Mug (green gram) covered an area of 10298.340 hectares (25,428 acres) of land in Amravati district in 1960-61. The acreage under mug in Amravati and Chandur talukas together amounted to 5815.395 hectares (14,359 acres) or 56 per cent of the total area under mug. It was also grown in the rest of the talukas. It is produced as a kharif crop and is sown in July. It is seldom taken as a single crop and is always mixed with jowar. Recently, as a result of the recommendations of the Agriculture Department, a variety known as Kopergaon mug was taken as a sole crop. This was an early maturing variety and required only 60 days to mature. It served as a good green manure crop. After the mug crop is taken in kharif season a second crop of wheat is taken on the same land.

Gram.

Gram (harbara) covered an area of 7507.485 hectares (18,537 acres) in 1960-61 and was grown throughout the district. Melghat taluka was in the forefront in its cultivation 2376.945 hectares (5,869 acres) followed by Daryapur 1945.215 hectares (4,803 acres) and Amravati talukas 1520.370 hectares (3,754 acres). It is always produced as a rabi crop and is grown on heavy and medium soils. No irrigation is generally given to the crop. It is sown in October and harvested in the month of January. The Agriculture Department had introduced improved strain of gram No. 28' in the district.

Minor Pulses.

Besides these, there were quite a number of minor pulses grown in the district such as math (matki), udid (black gram), kulith (horse gram), chavali, watana, val, lakh, etc. Of these, udid, math, kulith and chavali are grown in kharif season. These are sown in June-July and harvested in October-November. Lakh, watana and at times chavali are grown in rabi season. These are sown in October and reaped in December. Lakh is grown only in Daryapur taluka which occupied an area of 670.680 hectares (1,656 acres) in 1960-61. Watana, though produced throughout the district, claimed only 228 acres of land during the same year. All these minor pulses together accounted for 7967.160 hectares (19,672 acres)-pulse-wise acreage: Udid 3391.470 hectares (8,374 acres); Math 2002.320 hectares (4.944 acres); Masur 1265.625 hectares (3,125 acres); Lakh 670.680  hectares (1,656 acres); Chavali 253.530 hectares (626 acres); other pulses 242.190 (598 acres); Vatana 92.340 hectares (228 acres); Val 39.295 hectares (97 acres) and Kulith 9.720 hectares (24 acres) of land in Amravati district in 1960-61. The cultivation of math was prominent in Chandur and Amravati talukas which together accounted for 1,178.955 hectares (2,911 acres) or 59 per cent of the total area under math. Udid which occupied 3391.470 hectares (8,374 acres) was mainly cultivated in Melghat 1359.585 hectares (3.357 acres) and Achalpur 974.430 hectares (2,406 acres) talukas which together accounted for 2334.015 hectares (5,763 acres) or 68.8 per cent of the total acreage under udid.

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