PENNISETUM 



THK SI'IKKh MIL! MOIDEUM 



Cultivation 



i N< -'i i, tun/ iii'ifiiiH) or some of the pulses. In the K*rnil dkiri 

 thrives best on a sandy soil, and is thinly sown after tho first rainfall, 

 i with tin- SI-.M! of some small pulse. In Kohat it is sown between 

 April and August, and is the principal khanf crop on the barani (.. TT-TT-- . 

 mi irrigated) lands of tin- diMrict. Th-- orop H general!) i< in October. 

 In the Hannu district it is largely grown on the stiftW thai soils. 1 

 sown at the rate of 2 to 5 seers per acre from the middle of March to 

 end of .July. The first-sown crops ripen about tho middle of August, 

 and ears are plucked as they ripen till early in December. [Cf. Di*t. < 

 I'linjtili ; Settl. Kepis. Panfdb.] 



Bombay and Sind. The area in 1905-6 was 4,354,437 acres in Bombay Bombay. 

 ;uid 867,406 acres in Sind. In Bombay the largest areas were : Ahmad- AMM. 

 nagar, 904,590 acres; Nasik, 808,469 acres; Poona, 681,413 acres; 

 K. 1 ui ndesh, 583,686 acres ; Satara, 366,940 acres ; Bijapur, 340,560 acres ; 

 Kaira, 218,159 acres. In Sind, Thar and Parkar, with 406,033 acres, and 

 Hyderabad with 338,221 acres, are the chief localities. 



Mollison says it is entirely a rain crop, occupying the lighter descrip- 8oib - 

 tion of soils in all districts of moderate rainfall. The crop does best when 

 t lie climate is moderately dry and when the monsoon comes in downpours, 

 with plenty of sunshine between the showers. Except in parts of Khandesh 

 it is always a mixed crop, and as such may be grown continuously on the 

 same land. But rotation is also frequent. In the lighter soils of Khandesh 

 it is considered a good preparation for varddi cotton. In the sandy soils 

 of Kaira, Ahmadabad, etc., it is rotated with kodra (I'tis/nifmit >,,,,///- 

 cnlattun), sundhia (Suri/lmm hi ml or), judr (Sortjluini i-ti/</n //-), etc. CulOT * u " 

 In the light soils of the Deccan it is rotated with judr, niger-seed, etc. In 

 the Deccan the subordinate crops with bdjra ( bdjri in Bombay) are, 

 separate rows of tur (('tijmuts imlicim) and a sprinkling of udid 

 (I'/Kisco/us MtitHjo. Linn.), math (/'. acnniti/'oliiis), kulthi (/W/V//0-. 

 hi/torus), ambddi (Hibiscus <-<inn<ihiniis), etc. In Gujarat the most 

 common subordinate mixture is perennial rozi cotton in rows and math in 

 amongst the bajri, but two or more of the following may also form sub- 

 ordinate crops, viz. mag (rimm-ohm rtufintns. Linn), chola (t'ii/im 

 ('(itj<iti{/), guvdr, tur or tuver (I'ajaims imfinis), sesamum and sheria 

 ( Hibiscus c(uinabinns). 



In Gujarat the land should be ploughed two or three times after the nougtitnp. 

 first fall of rain, then left for some time. The field should again be ploughed 

 shortly before sowing. Sowing takes place between 1st and 15th of July. 

 The seed-rate mixture recommended is as follows : bajri, 6 Ib. per acre ; 

 </>irdr, 1 Ib. ; math, 1 Ib. ; mag, \ Ib. ; sesamum, J Ib. ; ambddi or sheria, 

 \ Ib. ; tuver, 1J to 2 Ib. All are mixed together before sowing, except 

 tuver, which is sown separately in every fourth row. The seed is drilled DHU Sown, 

 in rows about 15 inches apart, and the surface then levelled. When the 

 seedlings are about 6 inches high, the crop is bullock-hoed and hand- 

 ueeded, and again when 2 feet high. A crop sown in early .Inly will be 

 ripe the beginning of October. It is reaped with a sickle close to the 

 ground, left lying in the field for several days, and then stacked. 



Mollison gives the following outturn (grain, seed or by-product) from 

 a well-managed field in the Kaira district : bajri, 900 Ib. ; math, 120 Ib. ; 

 guvdr, 80 Ib. ; sesamum, 60 Ib. ; sheria, fibre. The cost of cultivation he 

 estimates at Rs. 26-la. per acre. [Cf. Crop. Exper. Bomb. Pres. ; Mollison, 

 Textbook Ind. Agri., 1901, iii., 18-23.] 



871 



