4 THE WHEATS OF BALUCHISTAN 



Generally speaking, the methods of irrigation practised are extremely 

 wastefid and nothing is more surprising insnch an arid region than to see how 

 little care and thought have been expended by the inhabitants in conserving 

 ai\d using to the best advantage the small amount of Avater available. 



The Cultivation of Wheat. 



^^^leat is the principal crop of the uplands, while in the plains of Sibi 

 and Kalat the A7m'/-*/ crops are more important. The crop is gi-own under irri- 

 gation and on rainfall only. Irrigated wheat is generally sown from October 

 to December. Usually the land is watered and the seed sown broadcast, 

 after which, it is ploughed in and covered with the beam. In some cases, 

 the seed is sown in the dry ground and watered afterwards. The number of 

 subsequent waterings varies with the locality but is generally considerable 

 and mav be as many as seven. In January and February, the crop is grazed. 

 Harvest extends from May to July, according to the altitude. The grain is 

 trodden out by bullocks, often assisted by a threshing frame. 0\nng to the 

 prevalence of wind, separation is easy and is generally carried out by a four- 

 pronged wooden fork. The grain heap is sealed with earthen seals until the 

 division can be cariied out. The revenue in some Districts is still taken in 

 kind. 



Rain-fed wheat is often drilled, both in embanked fields which have been 

 flooded and also in land moistened by rain only. The yield depends on the 

 spring storms. The crop is generally a very small one, never yielding moie 

 than 5 or G maunds to the acre. 



Irrigated wheat is generally heavily manured in the neighbourhood of 

 towns and villages, while rain-fed wheat is always unmanured. Land being so 

 much more plentiful than water, an extensive system of fallowing is practised. 

 Irrigated wheat land is always fallowed for at least a year ; sometimes if the 

 land is very poor for as long as ten years. Rain-crop land, on the other hand, 

 is not fallowed. It is probable that the real effect of the fallow is to aerate 

 the soil, which is very poor in hunuis and which, after the constant irrigation 

 under a strong sun, bakes into a cement-like mass. In the neighbourhood of 

 Quetta, wheat s'^ldom ripens normally and does not develop the proper amount 

 of r(»lonr in the chaff and grain. It withers rather than ripens and the grain 

 is always shrivelled. This is due to the fact that during the ripening period, 

 when the tem])erature rapidly rises, moisture is quickly lost from the baked 

 surface while air can no longer penetrate to the roots of the plant. Under 

 such circiunstauces, the wheat dries up rather than matures. 



