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AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION
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DRUGS AND NARCOTICS
The following table gives the area under drugs and narcotics in each taluka of Jalgaon district in 1956-57: —
TABLE No. 23
AREA (TALUKAWISE) UNDER DRUGS AND NARCOTICS IN
JALGAON DISTRICT, 1956-57.
(In acres) |
Taluka or peta |
Tobacco |
Betel leaves |
Ajwan |
Other Drugs and Narcotics |
Total Drugs and Narcotics | |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) | |
Amalner |
7 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
8 | |
Bhadgaon |
101 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
101 | |
Bhusawal |
3 |
32 |
4 |
-- |
39 | |
Chalisgaon |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
28 | |
Chopda |
36 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
36 | |
Edlabad |
28 |
7 |
-- |
-- |
35 | |
Erandol |
115 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
115 | |
Jalgaon |
79 |
133 |
-- |
23 |
235 | |
Jamner |
25 |
92 |
-- |
-- |
117 | |
Pachora |
6 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
12 | |
Parola |
18 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
19 | |
Raver |
24 |
3 |
-- |
-- |
27 | |
Yawal |
26 |
8 |
-- |
-- |
34 | |
District Total |
496 |
283 |
4 |
23 |
806 |
Tambakhu.
Tambakhu (tobacco) is taken on a small scale. About half the acreage is in Bhadgaon and Erandol talukas taken together. Fields are ploughed in April or May and are harrowed three or four times. Usually, a sufiicient quantity of farm yard manure is also applied to the soil before the advent of monsoon. The sowing season lasts from June to August; sometimes it is delayed even till October. Tobacco seed is sown in seed-beds. Watering is seldom done, though manuring is necessary. Harvesting time is spread over November-February (i.e. about five and a half months from the time of sowing). The plant is not allowed to flower and all buds and branches are ripped off as they appear, only eight to ten leaves being allowed to remain. The plant is cut about four inches above the ground and spread in the sun for drying, when water mixed with cow-urine is sprinkled over them. The damp plants are then mixed with surad grass and closely packed in a pit or stacked under weights for about eight days during which period the process of fermentation is practically over. The leaves are then bundled together and are ready for sale. The crop is grown for the sake of its leaves which are used after curing. This exerts a mild narcotic and soothing effect on the human system. The leaf of tobacco plant is used in the manufacture of bidis. The stalks of the plant are used for fuel or manure.
Nagvel.
Nagvel (betel-leaf) is obtained from a creeper cultivated for the sake of its leaves. The crop needs abundant water-supply and, therefore, these gardens are found in the vicinity of rivers and streams. Irrigation by well water is also done. The garden is protected from wind and sun by high hedges or screens of grass or mats. The garden is planted with cuttings obtained from the best shoots of the older plants. In order to support the vines, numerous trees are planted e.g. shevri (sesbania aegyptiaca), pan-gara (erythrina indica). hadga (sesbania grandiflora) and shevga (moringa pterylosperma). as they grow quickly. The young vines are trained to support themselves on these trees. They begin to bear in the third year: they are at their best between the fourth and the thirteenth years, though in exceptional cases, some continue to yield up to the twentieth year. Tn March, April and May every year, the upper half of the vines is netted and the lower half is coiled and buried above the root under fresh earth and manure. The garden is compartmentalised for this purpose and the compartments are treated in rotation. In this way compartments from which cutting was done first are ready to bear before cutting is done from the last one.
The cultivation of betel vine is very costly and it cannot be carried out without adequate capital. It also requires careful attention throughout the year in respect of weeding, watering, picking and killing of insects and pests.
The betel leaf is used as a masticatory together with areca-nut. The leaf is said to possess digestive properties and is also known to sweeten the breath. It is supposed to be rich in vitamins B and C.
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