AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

CEREALS

Table No. 7 below shows tahsilwise area under cereals in Bhandara district during 1961-62, 1965-66, 1969-70 and 1971-72. The table reveals that the area under all the cereal crops except rice, wheat and jowar was negligible in the district.

The net area sown in Bhandara district amounted to 3,90,420 hectares in 1971-72. Of this, cereals accounted for 3,52,326 hectares. The important cereals cultivated in the district comprise rice, wheat and jowar. Other cereals such as maize, ragi, barley, etc., are grown on a small scale in the district.

Table No. 8 on page 240 gives outturn of cereals in Bhandara district during 1961-62, 1965-66, 1969-70 and 1971-72.

TABLE No. 7

AREA UNDER CEREALS (TAHSIL-WISE) IN BHANDARA DISTRICT FOR THE YEARS 1961-62, 1965-66, 1969-70 AND 1971-72.

Note.—Figures for the years 1961-62and 1965-66 are in acres and for 1969-70 and 1971-72 are in hectares.

TABLE No. 8

OUTTURN OF PRINCIPAL CROPS IN BHANDARA DISTRICT IN 1961-62, 1965-66, 1969-70 AND 1971-72.

Note.—Figures for 1961-62 and 1965-66 are in tons, and for 1969-70 and 1971-72 are in Metric tonnes.

Rice.—Paddy (rice, dhan) is the staple food crop of the district. It occupied the highest area of 2,77,586 hectares out of 3,90,420 hectares of the net area sown during 1971-72. Rice is grown in all the tahsils of the district. However, Gondia tahsil accounted for 1,12,671 hectares, Sakoli tahsil 99,817 hectares and Bhandara tahsil 65,098 hectares during 1971-72. The following extract from the Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Bhandara District [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Bhandara District,pp. 81—85. ] gives some interesting details about rice cultivation.

Rice Varieties

"By far the most important crop in the district is rice. The cultivators recognise about 70 different varieties of rice, and will give slight differences in the method of cultivating each. Curious derivations are sometimes given for the names of different kinds. For instance pisso rice is said to be so-called because the grain closely resembles the insect of that name. Samudarsok is variously explained as requiring much water for cultivation, requiring much water to boil it, and having been imported from the seaside. The best variety grown is chinnur and the village of Raipur in Kamtha Zamindari is said to be well known for its chinnur rice. This variety sells at a substantially higher rate than the others. For practical purposes rice may be classed as light and heavy. The light kinds require less water, and ripen earlier; the heavy ones require much water and ripen late.

Transplanted Rice

There are two principal methods of cultivating rice, by transplantation, and by sowing broadcast.  Transplanting rice (rohna or parha) is perhaps the most elaborate method of cultivation in the Province. As its name implies the seed is sown in one place and the seedlings after they have grown a little are transplanted to another. The place in which the seed is sown is known as the "nursery" (Khar). It is prepared for sowing by being ploughed twice at least, once with the nagar or deep plough and once with the bakhar or paring plough. It is also heavily manured. The seed is sown broadcast but very thick on the ground. The amount of course varies from 15 to 20 kilograms for an acre. This requires five cart-loads of manure per acre. Besides, chemical fertilizers such as Nitrate, Sulphate and Urea are required for high yielding as well as local varieties. The seed may be sown in dry earth or after the rains have begun but the latter is much the more usual method, as the seeds do not germinate until there has been a fair amount of rain. The seedlings should remain in the nursery for about 30 to 40 days, but they cannot be transplanted until conditions are suitable, and if the transplantation is much delayed the outturn of the crop suffers. The next operation is transplantation. The rice is transplanted into small fields (bandhis), with embankments, usually low. It is of great importance that the surface of the embanked fields should be levelled so that a low embankment will keep an equal depth of water all over the field. On sloping ground the surface of each field is levelled by digging out earth at the top and putting it on the lower end. Embankments are not usually more than 18 inches to 2 feet high, though they may occasionally be found on sloping ground not yet levelled as high as three or even four feet. The preparation of the embanked fields is an elaborate process. The object is to reduce the ground to a depth of some inches to a fine liquid mud. This is done by ploughing twice and then harrowing twice, then again ploughing once to four times according to the character of the soil, and finally harrowing again. Before this preparation heavy rain or ample irrigation is an absolute necessity. The first ploughing cannot be done till the ground is covered with some inches of water. When the above operation is complete, the rice seedlings in the nursery are pulled up and tied into bundles of perhaps 50 to 100. These are carried over to the embanked field and stacked on the embankment. The workers take a bundle each and separate it and plant four or five seedlings together; between each group of seedlings they leave an interval of from six inches to a foot. The seedlings from 3 to 4 gunthas of land are sufficient for transplantation over an acre of land. Women are preferred to men for the work of transplantation and are said to work faster and more effectively. The seedlings lie flat for a day or two and then take root and stand erect. Dry weather is required for a few days after transplantation and then a certain amount of rain. Very heavy rain, however, beats them down to the ground where they remain stunted and fail to ear. Practically no weeding is required for the rice after it has been transplanted. The subsequent operations of reaping and threshing are the same for both kinds of rice and will be described below. "

" For transplanted rice, ample amount of water either from rain or from irrigation is required, thrice, viz., first, at the time of sowing in the nurseries; second, at the time of transplantation; and third, when the grain is ripening in October. Irrigation required is given to this crop from tanks and wells in the district.

Broadcast Rice (boatia)

Transplanted rice, in spite of the large amount of labour involved, is much the most profitable method of  sowing rice. A cultivator will always transplant if he can. Sometimes he is unable. The heavy black soil of the south-west of the district cannot be worked by cattle in the way described, and rice there is always sown broadcast. Scanty early rain, want of labour, want of capital, and a desire for an early crop, are among the reasons which induce a cultivator to sow broadcast. The soil is usually ploughed up for broadcast rice in the hot weather, but red soil cannot be so prepared unless there is a timely fall of rain. The seed is scattered by hand, whether sown before or after the rains break, and is covered in either by ploughing with the bakhar or by harrowing with the paththa, any large clods being broken subsequently by hand. If the rice has not been sown before the rains break, and the rains are so continuous as to prevent the land being prepared, the seed is sometimes put in water until it begins to sprout, and in this state is thrown into the mud. This method of sowing is called kawdak. It has often been believed that a great deal more seed is used in broadcast than in transplanted rice. As a consequence the Chhattisgarh practice of biasi or thinning the crop with a plough, is most uncommon; and is I believe, confined to the zamindaris on the east, where many of the cultivators have come from Chhattisgarh. Weeding twice or thrice is, however, needed if the crop is to be a good one and this is done by hand.

Harvesting and threshing

The harvesting of light rice begins early in September, and reaping of different kinds goes on more or less continuously until early in December. Usually the better the class of rice, the later it is reaped. Much, however, depends on the character of the late rainfall. Reaping is a slow and primitive business, done by hand with a sickle; in the present scarcity of agricultural labour a cheap reaping machine adapted to small fields would be a great boon, but there seems to be no machine on the market in the least suitable for rice. After being cut the crop lies for two or three days on the grounds to dry, and is then stacked on the threshing floor, which is usually one of the drier fields stamped hard. Each cultivator has his own threshing floor, and keeps his produce rigorously separate from every one else. The threshing is done by bullocks. ' The treading out the corn' is probably similar to the method described in the Old Testament, and the cultivators certainly heed the precept about not muzzling the ox. A row of bullocks are tethered to a post in the centre round which they walk in an irregular line, and under much urging by their owners. During the threshing and winnowing operations the grain lies on the threshing floor, and though watched at night, forms a tempting object of theft. When these operations are complete it is stored at home. "

Recently, some improved early, medium and late maturing varieties of rice have been introduced in the district, viz., R-2-Sultu; Goramatia; Bhoudu X Parva-116; R-12 Banaspatri; R-15 Chinoor; etc.

Japanese method of paddy cultivation.—It may be noted that the Japanese method of paddy cultivation has now attracted the attention of farmers. Farm demonstrations and publicity programmes are organised by the Department of Agriculture to popularise this method. The main features of this method may briefly be mentioned as under: —

(1) raised bed nurseries for seedlings,

(2) low seed rate for nurseries,

(3) heavy manuring of the crop both in nurseries and in the field,

(4) transplanting of fewer seedlings per bunch, and

(5) adequate interculturing and proper weeding.

The rich yield of paddy depends as much upon the plentiful and constant supply of water as upon the character of the soil. With a view to accelerating the adoption of the method by farmers a pilot scheme of intensive agricultural district programme commonly known as " Package Programme " has been in operation in the district since the Kharif season of 1963. Special staff is also appointed to demonstrate the method in each village included in the block. It is hoped that this will serve the twin object of bringing sufficient acreage under this method and of increasing the yield of dhan (paddy) per acre.

Under the scheme of crop campaigns the following works were undertaken during the year 1964-65 for paddy cultivation in Bhandara district.

Opening of hard land in paddy fields: Due to the continuous paddy cultivation without any rotation and low organic content of the soil, paddy land becomes very hard after the harvest of paddy. If these lands were opened immediately after harvest the further operations in the paddy fields become easier and this also helps in destructing the weeds and in controlling pests and diseases. Efforts were, therefore, made to induce the cultivators in paddy growing areas to open out their paddy fields earlier in the season (during summer season) and the area covered under this item was 39,158 hectares.

Supply of paddy seedling : In case of paddy cultivation cultivators were advised to use improved seed, to lower the seed rate and raise the seedlings on raised seed-beds. With a view to supplying paddy seedlings to needy cultivators, it was decided to establish one paddy nursery of 0.40 hectare in each Gram-panchayat. The cost of seed, fertilizer, etc., required for this purpose was borne by the Department. The concerned Gramsevak and Grampanchayat were instructed to raise the seedlings and distribute the same. The target for supply of seedlings was 20,235. hectares against which 11,718 hectares were covered.

Jowar (juar) is the second important cereal crop widely grown in the district. It forms the staple food of the cultivators while the fodder known as kadbi serves as the best cattle fodder. It occupied an area of 36,100 hectares in 1971-72. Jowar is grown in all the tahsils of the district. Bhandara, Sakoli and Gondia tahsils accounted for 29,716, 1,192 and 5,192 hectares of the area under jowar, respectively, in the district in 1971-72. It can be taken as a kharif as well as rabi crop, but mainly during rabi season. An area of 34,506 hectares was under rabi jowar in 1971-72. There are numerous varieties some of which belong to the early and others to the late maturing varieties. Early maturing varieties are sown in light soils while late varieties are sown in deep black and irrigated lands. Kharif jowar is sown in June-July and harvested from November onwards, whereas rabi jowar is sown in September-October and harvested in February-March. Rabi jowar requires five to ten cart-loads of manure per acre. It also requires chemical fertilizers such as Ammonium Sulphate, Nitrate, Urea, etc. The chief and improved rabi variety of jowar, viz., M-35-1 is more popular in the district. The fodder of rabi jowar is of better quality as compared to kharif jowar and fetches good price in the market. Jowar is largely consumed by the poorest classes in the district.

"An important crop in the district is juar. Of this there are two varieties, one an autumn and the other a spring or cold weather crop. The preparation of the land for juar is simple, consisting of one or two ploughings and one harrowing. The cost of seed-grain is very small. It is usually grown in light and high-lying soil, and is regarded as of very little importance compared with rice. It is very liable to be stunted by excessive rain, and a year in which rice does well will be a bad one for juar. The area under it has naturally increased in the recent dry years. Along the banks of the Wainganga, however, juar is sown as a principal crop, and does extremely well, often growing to ten feet or more in height. The cold weather variety is generally sown in combination with some other crop. A single holding not infrequently contains (1) wheat and juar, (2) gram and juar, (3) linseed and juar, (4) wheat and gram, (5) wheat alone to the annoyance of the patwari, and the confounding of an inspecting officer. The spring crop variety runs small, seldom over four feet high with a comparatively thin stalk. The grain of juar is very largely used for food, the more valuable rice being sold. The stalks are used as fodder, and are most valuable in the hot weather when natural fodder fails. Reaping is a laborious business, each ear being cut separately as it is ripe. For the rains crop variety the harvest begins in November or the beginning of December and continues till well into February. For the cold weather crop called ringni juar, it begins at the end of March and ends about the end of April. Watching the fields at the time the grain is ripening puts a severe tax on the people. Juar has many enemies, both birds and animals delighting in it. In consequence, the crop has to be watched day and night. A small platform is built in the middle of the field on which some one sits all day and all night, and every possible device is used to scare away marauders. In the day time slings are often used, and long strings are run from the platform and connected with clappers of various kinds situated all over the field. But the principal weapon, especially at night, is the human voice, and the night is made hideous by a series of long-drawn howls which it is difficult at first to believe come from a human throat." [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Bhandara District, pp. 85-86.]

Wheat.— Wheat (gahu) as a crop next to the jowar crop covered an area of 32,563 hectares in 1971-72. Wheat is chiefly grown in the Pauni block of Bhandara tahsil. Bhandara tahsil accounted for 14,875 hectares or nearly 45.68 per cent of the total area under wheat during 1971-72. Gondia and Sakoli tahsils accounted for 6,911 and 10,777 hectares during 1971-72. Wheat is produced as a cold weather crop and is sown in the months of October - November and harvested in March - April. Wheat crop is generally taken after the harvesting of paddy crop in the district. It is generally grown as an unirrigated crop in the district. Land is ploughed twice up the depth of 5" to 6" and harrowed, and manured, if possible, with farm-yard manure. Five cartloads of farm-yard manure is required for unirrigated crop while 10 to 15 cartloads for irrigated crop where the irrigation facilities are available. Besides, chemical fertilizers are also given to this crop. Sowing is done by a three coultered drill (tifan), which sows three furrows at once. Threshing is done by a pair of bullocks or by an implement locally known as belan. About 30 to 40 kilograms of Mexican variety of seed is required for sowing of an acre of land, while 25 to 30 kilograms of seed per acre is required in respect of other varieties. First irrigation is given after 20 to 25 days after sowing, second after 50 to 60 days and third after 60 to 75 days. Wheat generally requires three or four months to ripen and is harvested in the month of March or April. The Agriculture Department has introduced the improved variety, viz., Hy-65-4 for intensive cultivation in the district. Hy-65-4 wheat variety is a rust resistant variety which yields higher when grown under irrigation.

Other Cereals.—Maize occupied a considerable area in 1971-72 in the district. Of this, Gondia tahsil accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the total area under maize crop, while Bhandara and Sakoli tahsils together accounted for the remaining area under the crop in the same year. It is generally sown as an irrigated crop in the month of June and is harvested in September. Sometimes it is sown in the month of February and harvested in May. The green heads (bhutas) are usually eaten parched or boiled and the ripe grain is parched and made into lahi. The ripe grain is also used in preparing bread after being ground into flour.

Among other cereals kutki occupied larger area in 1971-72. The crop requires one ploughing and the lighter and inferior soils are used for its cultivation. The crop ripens quickly and costs very little to sow. The poorer classes of people in the district use it as their staple food. Many fields in the district, which once grew irrigated rice, are now abandoned to kodan.

Other cereals grown on stray patches or combind with other cereals include ragi, Italian millets, common millets, sava, barley and kodra. The total area under these crops was 6,077 hectares in 1971-72.

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