10 STI'IIIKS IN IXHIAN KIHKK PLANTS. 



it Bimlipafaiii in the Vizagapatam District and another mill has 

 r<vontly been oponod at Kilori' in tlio Krishna District. Besides 

 its use as a fibre crop the young k>aves and shoots are sometimes 

 fjit^'n as a vegetable.' In liombay and the Central Provinces 

 it is grown to a considerable extent, usually as a mixed crop, while 

 on the alluvium of the Indo-Gangetic plain in Bihar, the United 

 Provinces and the Punjab it is conniionly seen in the kharlf only 

 on the borders of fields. 



The first condition for the successful cultivation of this crop 

 in the alluvium is a well-drained and well-cultivated soil. In the 

 growth of this plant at Piisa during the past four years the effect 

 of local waterlogging has been most marked. In such situations 

 the plants remain stunted and usually die before forming flowers 

 and seeds. The leaves are small and narrow and the root deve- 

 lopment is exceedingly poor. Want of aeration of the soil has a 

 -iniilar ill-effect to that of waterlogging. This is particularly 

 noticeable at the end of the monsoon when crops which have done 

 well up to this time often show signs of wilting. In such cases 

 unless the .soil is immediately cidtivated the plants die off. On 

 the other hand they immediately revive when the soil is aerated. 

 Under favourable conditions and especially when grown on high- 

 lying freely draining soils which have been stirred from time to 

 time the crop is tall and vigorous and large crops of good fibre 

 are obtained. It is possible that the extreme sensitiveness of 

 this crop to local waterlogging and want of aeration in the 

 alluvium is the reason why it is grown as a border plant on the 

 edges of fields where the soil is sightly raised and better di-ained 

 than the rest of the land. If the cultivation of this crop is ever 

 taken up in the plains on a large scale for fibre purposes water- 

 logging must be prevented and the necessity of fretiuent cultiva- 

 tion, especially after the monsoon, must be insisted on. Except 

 for the.se two points the cidtivation is simple and the best results 



• lloxl.nrgh, Coromantlrl Plinitt, Vol. II, |.. 4«. 



