AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

OIL SEEDS

Sesamum.

Among oil-seeds both edible and non-edible, sesamum is the principal one grown in the Wardha District and in 1965-66 covered an area of 20,696 acres. Most of the area (19,441 acres) under til lies in Hinganghat tahsil where it is taken as a pure crop in rabi season. In other parts of the district it is taken both as a rabi and kharif crop, the latter being mostly grown as a mixed crop. The field is brought to fine tilth by ploughing and giving two harrowings. As a single crop it is sown with the aid of a tifan, ash or powder of cow-dung cake being mixed with seed to obtain uniform distribution. Two to three lbs. of seed suffice to sow an acre. In Wardha, mainly two varieties are grown, dhauri or whiteseeded til which is a rain crop, and magheli or boria or red-seeded til which is sown in August or September and ripens in the cold weather, being called magheli because it is harvested in the month of Magh. The former or the kharif crops are sown in poor soils at the end of June or beginning of July and harvested in October. It is of little importance in Wardha, magheli til being usually sown. Magheli is principally sown in the rabi season in the last week of August or the beginning of September and harvested in January. This is no doubt a profitable crop but requires favourable weather at the sowing time, for if it rains heavily at this time the seed cannot be sown or may be washed out of the ground resulting in stunted plant growth. When the crop is well established it can do with very little rain. The crop is cut two to three inches close to the ground and after drying it up for sometime is beaten against the threshing ground to separate the seeds. Oil extracted from this til is in great demand. It is used in the preparation of pickles and other cooking purposes, while the cake serves as an excellent cattle feed. It may be added that though the area under til cultivation has considerably fallen since 1906, in recent years it has shown a favourable and steady upward trend.

Linseed.

Linseed is a rabi crop and occupied an area of 15,486 acres in 1965-66 of which Hinganghat tahsil alone accounted for 10,235 acres. The old Wardha District Gazetteer has the following to say about the cultivation of linseed in the district. " Linseed (Linum usitatissimum) became a popular crop during the decade ending 1890, the area under it being over 1,40,000 acres at the time of the last settlement. Since then it has to some extent been supplanted by til which is now also in good demand for export and is a safer crop to grow. In spite of the high prices which have been obtained for linseed since 1891 its acreage had declined to 60,000 in 1904-05." [ Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District, Vol. A, 1906, p. 107,] Over the years the acreage under linseed has shown erratic variations as the accompanying table will indicate. From 39,376 acres in 1959-60 it fell to 15,486 in 1965-66.

Linseed grows well in deep black and retentive soils, the method of cultivation being more or less the same as for wheat with the difference that for linseed the field need not be prepared so carefully. There are two varieties locally known as haura and kathia, respectively. While the former has a white seed with white flower the latter has a copper coloured seed with blue flower. Though both these varieties are usually grown mixed, the white one commands a better price in the market. Being a rabi crop it is sown in the last week of September or the beginning of October and harvested by pulling up the plants by the roots either by the end of January or the beginning of February. At the threshing floor the pods are pounded by a wooden mallet to separate the seed. When once the crop is sown hardly any expense has to be incurred unless otherwise it is invaded by pests and diseases. However, in the cold season, the plants are liable to great injury from damp and cloudy weather. The crop is also liable to be destroyed by a virulent red rust bordering on brilliant scarlet. The plants are also sometimes attacked by a small green insect at the time of flowering. When once the plants have successfully germinated they require less moisture than wheat, and a good rainfall in September followed by a dry cold spell is very congenial for linseed cultivation. Care should however, be taken to see that linseed is not sown twice in succession on the same as the crop is very exhausting to the soil. If a field is cropped continuously with it a parasitic weed appears which resembles the agia plant (Striga lutia). Linseed oil is used in cooking by many a cultivator and its cake not only serves as a very good manure but also as the best food for milch cattle.

Groundnut.

Groundnut, though an important edible oil-seed, does not seem to have received much attention in the district. In 1965-66 it covered only 7,833 acres most of which lay in the two tahsils of Wardha and Arvi, the area in Hinganghat being a mere 89 acres. There is immense scope for bringing large tracts under this crop especially when it serves as an important soil renovating crop. But the major deterrent besides availability of finance seems to be the laborious process involved in its harvesting.

Groundnut is a kharif crop and is mostly taken single, though sometimes taking it mixed with jowar is not altogether unknown. It thrives well in light sandy soil, well drained sandy loams and good alluvial loam. For this crop the land is prepared by giving two to three bakharings, one before the monsoon and two at the break of the monsoon. If the land has been ploughed in summer one more bakharing becomes necessary to break the clods. Sowing is done by the end of June or early July by using a four-coultered drill. To keep the crop free from weeds two weed-ings are necessary. After about 20 days of sowing the first interculture operation is performed and is followed by two more just before the flowering stage which comes in about two months' time. The crop is ready for harvest by October. Harvesting operation which is very laborious is done by employing manual labour to uproot the plants and collect the pods after cleaning. The plants are dried and fed to cattle as also the cake which is left after oil extraction. The cake also serves as a fine manure for sugar-cane, bananas and oranges. Its oil is widely used in cooking and the nut eaten raw, parched or boiled. The shell is put to a variety of uses. Of late improved varieties like AK-12-24 and small Japan have become popular.

In addition to the above noted oil-seeds the district grows many others like mustard, safflower, niger and castor but the area under these is very negligible. Castor covered a mere 136 acres in 1965-66. Many cultivators grow a small patch of it in one corner of their fields, and use its oil both as a medicine and as a lubricant for the wheels and axles of bullock-carts. Formerly castor oil was commonly used in lighting but today it has been supplanted either by kerosene or electricity. It is sometimes grown as a regular crop in villages that border on the jungle as the wild animals do not eat it, the oil exercising the same disagreeable effects upon them as on human beings.

Tables No. 11 and 12 give tahsil-wise area and out-turn of oilseeds in Wardha District.

TABLE No. 11.

TAHSIL-WISE AREA [Area in acres.] UNDER OIL-SEEDS IN WARDHA DISTRICT, 1957-58 to 1965-66

**NA = Not Available.

TABLE No. 12

TAHSIL-WISE OUT-TURN [Out-tum in tons.] OF OIL-SEEDS IN WARDHA DISTRICT, 1957-58 TO 1965-66

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