HOUGH DM 



ROTATION AND MIXED CULTIVATION VUUIAHE 



Oultivatio* 



t may be added that sines the abov* was published in T4* Amim*** 

 Ledger, Maxwell-Lefroy has given many useful particulars recording the Moth- 

 borers found in the Sugar-cane, Maise and Sorghum iAgXTjiZ*. Imt 

 pt. n 97-113; also Mem. Dtpt. Agn. Ind. 1007. i., N.i. 2). .Vo on* ha* ~ 



V 



however, written a complete account of the disease* *n4 past* of iKM 

 crop for the whole of India. t>ut Barber ( >***. Lund fise. <uU Aft Jsfs*. B*U.. 

 1904. ii.. No. 49) gives a review of the available information so far IK. 

 Southern Presidency is concerned. He there deals with the subtoU of H 

 Shredding of the Leaves, Wet Weather Mould, Reddening of the leaves, Rust. 

 Mites, Red-spot Disease, Insect and Other A 



Hunt Bugs, Weevils in the stored grain. ff*Hw, etc. An miscasting amount 

 of the fungal disease caused by >fr**r<i V r MM .,ir*i (Uu dssrribrd by 

 Barber, I.e. 278) is given by Butler (A/em. Deft. Ag'> ,. C 



13-4). [Cf. Watt, Agn. Ledg 20, 2W ; and Barclay. 378. ST 



Rotation. The advantage of sowing mixed with the bushy pulse tor (*--. RotAtUm. 

 <..</ ) turns very largely on the protection afforded from severe drought* and 

 destructive winds. The action of leguminous crops on the soil is. however. 

 valuable, and a mixed crop may on that account serve part of the purpose of * 

 rotation. The rotations most frequently seen are cotton, and /no> * tad j 



cotton, jitdr, til ; cotton. juAr, tan hemp (the last often ploughed in as a 



manure) ; or cotton, judr, fallow. JuAr is supposed to participate in the manurs 

 and cultivation bestowed on the cotton. Farm experiment* have proved the 

 three rotations distinctly preferable. The special value of the us* of til (* 

 in Km ) lies in the fact that being a late crop it allows of the land being thoroughly 

 ploughed every third year. Besides the plants mentioned many other* are usid, 

 but as these may now and again be referred to in the observation* below, nothing 

 further need be added to the scheme of rotation just indicated. 



CULTIVATION. Bombay and Sind. There are usually 5J to 8 Bombay. 

 million acres under this crop in Bombay, and about half to three-quarters 

 of a million in Sind. But this may be more fully exemplified thus : In 

 1905-6 the total area in Bombay was 6,570,339 acres, and the chief districts AIM. 

 within the area were Bijapur, 1,209,066 acres; Sholapur, 1,313,423 

 acres; Ahmadnagar, 662,918 acres; Poona, 681,413 acres; Satara. 600,097 

 acres; Belgaum, 583,184 acres; Dharwar, 667,091 acres; Khandesh, 

 432,638 acres ; Nasik, 74,541 acres ; Ahmadabad, 249,881 acres, etc. In 

 the Season and Crop Report, published by the Department of Agriculture, 

 the area in 1906-7 is stated to have been 5,643,000 acres in Bombay, 

 and 630,000 acres in Sind. Mention has already been made of the large 

 number of recognisable forms of the plant in this Presidency. Discussing 

 the merits of those grown at the Surat Experimental Farm, the 8up< 

 tendent, in his Report for 1902-3, speaks of 23 having been found superior 

 grain varieties, and then adds that 269 forms have been under experin 



Stress may be laid on the relatively greater importance of the roW judr * 

 crop in Bombay than in the other provinces of India. It follows accord- 

 ingly that a larger percentage of the Bombay forms of the plant might be 

 looked for as belonging to the group with open feathery panicles and 

 saccharine stems. Many valuable reports and special publications have 

 appeared, such as those in connection with the Experimental Farms and 

 the Crop Experiments. Mollison tells us that judr is the staple grain 

 crop where black and mixed black soils predominate, provided the rainfall 

 is moderate and well distributed. Where rainfall is excessive, it gives 

 place to rice, and on sandy loams and shallow soils to bajro. 

 then refers his account of this cereal to the sections shown in the following 



(a) The Kharif Juar of the Deccan. The land should be ready '<* * 

 by the end of June : later sowings are not so satisfactory. The amoui 

 to be used depends to a large extent on the land cultivated. Large-head* 

 require more space. But the ordinary rate of seed is fl to 8 



it.:;;, 



