AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fruits.—The common fruits grown in this district are banana (kele) : mango (amba) : guava (peru); citrus (mosambi), oranges and lime; grapes (drakshe); custard apple (sitaphal): papaya; pomegranate (dalimb); bullocks-heart (ramphal) etc. The table No. 22 gives the tahsilwise area under fruits in the district for some years from 1956-57 to 1967-68

TABLE No. 22

AREA UNDER FRUITS IN BULDHANA DISTRICT.

[In Acres]

Banana: The banana is grown on a small scale in the district mainly in Malkapur tahsil. The banana thrives best in rainfall ranging between 2,286 and 2,540 mm (90 and 100 inches). It also does well with liberal irrigation. It is a purely irrigated fruit crop in this district and occupied an area of 1,400 acres in 1967-68.

The banana crop grows very well in soft spongy soils. It also requires medium light soil having good drainage. The field is required to be thoroughly ploughed, pulverised and harrowed. It is then manured. Bold seedlings (suckers) are planted in June, in rows at a distance of about 1.372 metres (four and a half feet) from one another. The rows are first marked with shallow furrows. After planting two harrowings are given to remove weeds. Irrigation beds arc repaired three times during the life of the crop. The crop requires frequent irrigations, viz., twice a week in the dry season.

The basarai variety, also known as Bhusawal green, is mainly planted in this district. The crop is not easily affected by pests or diseases. It, however, requires very intensive efforts in respect of preparing the soil, manuring, irrigation and cutting the leaves. Top dressing of oil-cake and ammonium sulphate in the fourth and the seventh months from planting is necessary; alongwith which earthing up is also done.

Flowering starts after about 9 months and continues for 3 to 4 months. It takes 18 to 20 months after planting for the whole crop to come to maturity.

The banana plantation could be allowed to multiply in the same field. But basarai bananas degenerate if allowed to grow in this manner. Hence they are always grown on a fresh piece of land which has been fallow or cultivated under dry crops.

Banana is harvested when fruits get rounded and the dry petals drop from the end of fruits. An acre of banana orchard contains about 2,000 plants. Each plant yields one bunch containing six to twelve dozens of bananas.

Guava: The guava (peru) flourishes on a wide range of soils. It is propagated from seed as well as from grafts of the best quality plant. After thorough tillage to the field, pits are dug and filled up with farmyard manure and soil. Planting is done 7.62 mm apart, each way. The field is then laid out for irrigation. Frequent irrigation is essential in dry season. Inter crops, such as vegetables, are usually allowed for a couple of years between the rows of guava trees. Generally guava starts blossoming after about three years. Fruit-bearing trees are given heavy doses of manure.

In February-March, the soil is dug up and the roots laid bare for a fortnight. Before the trees shed leaves, the beds are manured and irrigated. The beds are frequently pulverised. Fruits are plucked when they turn yellowish. There are two seasons of this fruit, viz., one in August-September and another in November-December. The area under this crop was 196 acres or 11.60 per cent of the area under fruits in 1964-65 in the district.

Mango : Mango (amba) is an important fruit crop in this district with Chikhli, Mehkar and Malkapur tahsils heing its biggest producers. Besides the mango groves, the trees also flourish on field boundaries. Most of the mango crop produced in the district is of non-descript varieties and cannot be compared with alphonso mangoes.

Seedlings raised from mango stones are planted in the pits filled with good soil and manure on bunds alongwith the border of the fields. Two seedlings are planted in a pit, but only one is retained at a later stage. One year old seedlings raised in kundis (earthen pots), are also planted. The mango trees bear fruits after about 5-6 years and continue to bear for well over fifty years.

Cloudy weather and strong winds cause florescence to shed and reduce the yield considerably. Ripe mangoes are used for preparing ambaras (juice); while raw mangoes (kairi) are used for preparing pickles, chutney, drinks etc.

Pomegranate: Pomegranate (dalimb) is grown in dry soil with light rainfall. It thrives well in short winters and long summers. It flourishes quite well on medium to lighter type of soils. The varieties produced are local and are available from November till the end of May.

Seedlings are raised from seeds of quality fruits and get ready for transplantation after one year. They are planted in pits filled with soil and farmyard manure. The plants usually bear fruits 3 years after transplantation. Fruit borer and insects ruin the crop. They can be controlled by spraying wettable D.D.T. The fruit is nourishing and used for table purpose.

Custard apple: Custard apple (sitaphal) flourishes best in dry and hot climate. It requires light soil and is generally grown on the slope of hills. The plants are raised from seeds and bear fruit in about 3 to 4 years. The plant flowers from April to May and bears fruit between August and November. It is mainly grown in forest areas in the district.

Bullocks heart: Bullocks heart (ramphal) requires better soil than the one where custard apple could be grown and needs watering in dry climate. It ripens generally in the latter part of the cold season, mostly between January and February.

Kagdi Limbu: Kagdi limbu does not require any special type of climate or soil. It is propagated by seeds or by budding.

Mosambi: Mosambi requires more or less dry and hot climate and loose and loamy, very well drained but not sticky soil.

Seedlings of mosambi are raised for about a year in nursery beds and budded in the fair weather after transplanting in rows in the nursery. After buds have successfully established, the plants are planted in their fixed places. Pits are prepared and filled with soil mixed with farmyard manure of bonemeal. Watering is given regularly till harvesting. Winter crops like vegetables can he taken during the early years till fruiting starts.

In well managed plantations trees start bearing fruits when three years old. Plantation yields maximum after 10—20 years. The tree starts flowering in January-February and fruits are ready for harvest in August-September.

Orange: Oranges occupied an area of 100 acres in 1967-68 in the district. They are grown in medium black and loamy soil with a mixture of lime nodules.

The seedlings of oranges are primarily grown in nurseries. They are planted during the rains and are liberally manured. Planting is done in straight rows. It is generally grown as a single crop. But during the first four years after plantation, the cultivators take catch crops like cotton, jowar, banana and vegetables in the space between the rows. The cultivators favour the soil conditions created by the catch crop of banana as conducive to the growth of orange plants.

Frequency of irrigation is a very important factor in the cultivation of oranges. The plants are manured with cowdung before and at the end of rainy season.

The trees begin to hear fruits from the fifth year and are in full bearing from the seventh year. The tree bears fruits for about 30 years. There are two orange seasons in a year, one between October and December, and the second between February and April. The first is known as ambia bahar and the latter is known as mrug bahar. The oranges of the latter season are better in taste. One good tree yields from 500 to 1,000 fruits at which rate the trees in an area of one acre together yield about 67,000 ro 70.000 fruits. The area under orange crop was 63 acres in 1961-62 in the district.

Vegetables.—The principal vegetables in this district are onion, brinjal. sweet potato, cabbage, tomato, lady's finger, carrot, radish. wal and chuka ; and ambadi, shepu, rajgira, methi, kardi, palak, karle, dudia and chikka bhopla, being the other vegetables. Vegetables occupied an area of 3,000 acres in the district in 1967-68.

The table No. 23 gives tahsilwise area under vegetables for some yeare from 1956-57 to 1967-68 in the district.

TABLE No. 23

TAHSILWISE AREA UNDER VEGETABLES IN BULDHANA DISTRICT.

[In Acres]

The vegetable production in this district is limited to meet only the local demand and there is no exportable surplus of vegetables. There are marked seasonal variations in vegetables supply which is ample during the period between October and March.

Union: Onion (kanda), a tuber vegetable, is grown all over the district and occupied an area of 1,000 acres in 1967-68. It is grown in medium soils both in kharif and rabi seasons. But it is mainly taken as a garden crop.

The land is ploughed and pulverised thoroughly. Onion seeds are sown on raised seed-beds and are transplanted in flat-beds after four or five weeks. Before transplanting the soil is irrigated. This crop requires very liberal manuring. Rotten cow-dung and phosphate are preferred. Six cartloads of manure is applied per acre and watering is given every ten or twelve days. In Buldhana district both red and white varieties are grown. Its green leaves are used as vegetable.

The onion bulbs are ready for harvesting in about three months from plantation. The average yield of onions ranges from 2,600 kg. to 3.730 kg. per acre under ideal conditions.

Sweet Potato: Sweet potato (ratale), a root vegetable occupied an area of 100 acres in 1967-68 in the district. Cuttings or sets with three nodes are planted on both the sides of the ridges. The crop needs about six cartloads of manure per acre and frequent irrigation. It thrives well in rich black soil. It is ready for harvest in about six month's time. Ratalis are eaten raw, boiled or roasted. The leaves are used as a green fodder for cattle.

Brinjal : Brinjal (vange) is one of the most important vegetable crops and occupied an area of 500 acres in the district in 1967-68. If is grown all over the district. It is sometimes grown as a rain-fed crop though it is mainly an irrigated vegetable crop. It grows well on medium brown soil and also in rich soils, often on river banks and in gardens. In the garden it can be grown in any season.

Brinjal seeds are sown in seed-beds in the beginning of June and transplanted during July. It begins to bear fruits generally four months after plantation.

In the district brinjals are grown on a large scale mainly as irrigated crop: though at some places it is also taken in the kharif season. The variety of brinjals grown is small in size with pink and white stripes. It is used very often as a vegetable at home and at community feasts.

Tomato: Tomato can be grown both as a rabi and kharif crop. It is mainly grown as a winter crop in the district. It grows extremely well in medium black soil.

It requires deep ploughing and about 10 cartloads of farmyard manure per acre. Seeds are first sown in nursery-beds and then seedlings are transplanted after three or four weeks. Two seedlings are planted together. Irrigation is given immediately after transplanting and at intervals of 8 to 10 days; when there is no rain. Earthing-up is done before flowering. The crop gets ready for harvesting in 2½ to 3 months. Green tomatoes are used as a vegetable, while the ripe ones are either eaten as a table fruit or used in preparation of salad.

Sometimes tomatoes are grown as a mixed crop along with chillis and brinjals. Ammonium sulphate and groundnut cake are highly beneficial to the crop.

Radish: Radish (mula) is grown in the district along with irrigated crops. It is grown as a mixed crop or as an inter-crop. Though it could be grown in any season, winter crop is the main one. The winter radish are more tasty, crisp and fully grown. Fairly rich but loose soil is required for the good growth of the crop. Radish is sown by propagating the seed either on bare soil or mixed with other crops. It requires frequent irrigation at an interval of five to six days. The roots (mula) get ready for har-vesting after 4 to 5 weeks.

The variety grown is of a fairly large size in the district. Mula as well as its leaves are used as vegetable and in the preparation of salad.

Cabbage: Cabbage (kobi) is known as gadda kobi and cauliflower is known as a phulkobi. They are grown on a small scale as rabi vegetable in sandy and clay-loams. The field is left fallow in kharif season and is ploughed in September. Intensive manuring and irrigation are of extreme importance for cabbage cultivation. Top dressing of oil cake and ammonium stdphate is usually given one month after the plantation.

The seed is first sown in nursery-beds in August and the seedlings are transplanted in September. The crop comes to maturity after 3 to 3½ months when it is harvested. The cabbage heads are used as vegetables whereas leaves are fed to cattle.

Carrot: Carrot (gajar) is grown on medium black soil in both kharif and rabi seasons. It is grown on irrigated lands in rabi season by sowing the seeds directly on ridges or in flat-beds The crop is ready for picking within three months of sowing. The root (gajar) is eaten raw or boiled and is also used as a concentrate for cattle.

Chuka: Chuka (ambatchuka) is the most popular amongst the leafy vegetables. Although it can be grown in gardens at any time of the year, it is taken mainly as a kharif crop in the district. It is ready for use in a month after sowing. The sour leaves and tender stems are used as a vegetable.

Shepu: It is grown in garden lands, usually in cold season. Its leaves are used as a vegetable.

Ambadi, rajgira, methi, kardi, palak are the other leafy vegetables grown extensively in the district. The other minor vegetables are alu, kothimbir, pudina, ghol and tandula among the leafy vegetables.

Bitter gourd: Bitter gourd (karle) is grown either as a rainy season vegetable or in garden lands at any time of the year. It requires medium type of soil. Seeds are sown in hasins and fruits appear after 2 months. It is produced as a mixed vegetable in beds on builds and hedges. It is used when raw as a vegetable. It- is bitter in taste, and has medicinal values.

Bottle gourd: Bottle gourd (dudhia, kaddu) is commonly cultivated in garden lands and is grown as a mixed crop in flat-beds on bunds and hedges. Only the long variety is grown in the district. Seeds are dibbled in basins. The fruit is used as a vegetable.

Ridge gourd: It is very largely grown mixed with kharif crop on bunds and hedges. The crop requires medium type of soil. The land is first ploughed and harrowed and basins are prepared with manure mixture. Seeds are sown in these basins. Flowering starts and fruits begin to appear within a fortnight.

Red pumpkin: It is generally grown round edges of garden lands in anv season. It requires medium to light soil. Fruits get neady after 3 to 4 months and are harvested when fully ripe. It is then used as a vegetable. It is grown mostly in kharif season.

The fruit weighs about 28 to 40 kg.

Cucumber: Cucumber (kakadi or valuk) is grown in garden lands as a kharif or a hot weather crop. Three or four varieties are grown in the district, viz., (i) elongated and ridged; (ii) short thick but green; (iii) medium long but thick and whitish green; (iv) shortest with white colour.

Cluster beans: Gavari is grown both as pure and mixed crop. The seeds are dibbled on both the sides of ridges. The land is ploughed and harrowed before farmyard manure is applied. Gavari begins to bear pods in three months. The pod is used as vegetable while the seed is utilised as cattle feed.'

Lady's finger: Lady's finger (bhendi) is grown on a considerable scale and occupied an area of 300 acres in 1967-68 in the district. It is produced as a mixed crop with cotton or sugarcane. Five to six waterings are given in summer at an interval of 6 to 8 days. Seeds are dibbled on both the sides of the ridges in rows. Sowing is done in July or in February. Only tender fruits are harvested after six weeks. The green pods are used as a vegetable.

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