AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

SEED SUPPLY

Progressive cultivators pick up selected ear-heads from healthy and vigorous plants at the time of harvesting and preserve them till the next sowing season. The common practice is, however, to obtain seed either from local merchants or from big cultivators who procure their stocks from places renowned for quality seed. Rabi jowar seed is obtained from Katapur and Saidapur in Koregaon and Satara talukas respectively, bajra seed from Khatwad and Wyankul in Khatav taluka and Humdi jowar seed from Devapur, Mhaswad and Lodhawade in Man taluka. Local vegetable seeds are procured by merchants from progressive cultivators. Seeds of foreign vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, knol-khol, etc. are ordered from outside the district. The Government Agricultural School at Borgaon has been engaged in popularising vegetable seeds among cultivators since 1952-53. The Community Development Project in the district also does a similar operation. Fruit trees are generally propagated by grafts and seedlings obtained mostly from Poona district. The Government Agricultural School at Borgaon raises grafts of lemon, sweet orange and orange. The banana suckers of basrai variety can be had from the Government Agricultural Schools at Satara and Borgaon. Sugar-cane sets are obtained from old plantations in the locality and, when the seed is changed after four or five years, these are obtained from the Sugar-cane Research Station, Padegaon. Potato seed is ordered from Khed and Manchar in Poona district and, in small quantities, from Simla.

The Agriculture Department propagates improved strains of paddy, jowar, gram and wheat evolved at the departmental research stations. The nucleus seed obtained from Government farms is multiplied at the farms of registered seed growers, and sold to the department at a premium of 50 nave Paise per Bengali maund over the current local prices. The following statement gives the details of improved seeds distributed by the department from 1951-52 to 1958-59:―

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