AGROMET ADVISORY BULLETIN FOR FATEHGARH SAHIB Weather summary of the Succeeding week: Qualitative Weather forecast: Light to moderate rain/thundershowers would occur at few places during next 48 hrs and would decrease afterwards. Intensity of rainfall would be moderate in districts adjoining foothills. Parameters/Date Rainfall (mm) 2 2 6 8 16 3 Temp (°C) Max 31 31 30 28 31 Min 24 24 24 24 24 8 8 8 8 7 Mor 82 83 86 83 83 Eve 60 57 58 58 60 Wind Speed (kmph) 9 6 12 3 6 Wind Direction (deg.) 117 112 132 184 174 Cloud (octa) Outlook for subsequent two days: Isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers. Humidity (%) 12 13 14 15 Agro advisory for the coming week: Main Crops Stage Pest/ Diseases Agricultural Advisories: Rice Leaf Blight Stem Borer Leaf folder Leaf hopper Sheath blight Kharif pulses Weeds Maize Sugarcane Maydis Leaf blight Maize borer To the rice crop, irrigation should be given two days after the ponded water has infiltrated into the soil but fields should not be allowed to develop cracks. Last dose of nitrogen (37 kg urea/acre) may be applied if already not given. Spray with any chemical will not be helpful to control this disease. Do not pond water in the field. Addition of nitrogen will further increase the disease. The larvae bore into the stems of young plants and produce dead hearts. The fields showing more than 5 per cent dead hearts should be sprayed with 20 ml Fame 480 SC or 170g Mortar 75 SG or 350 ml of Sutathion or 560 ml of Monocil 36 SL or one litre of Coroban/Dursban/Lethal/Chlorguard/Durmet/Classic/Force 20 EC in 100 litres of water per acre. The larvae of this insect fold the leaves, eat out the green tissues and produce white streaks. Control this pest when the leaf damage reaches 10 per cent (ETL) by spraying 20 ml Fame 480 SC or 170g Mortar 75 SG or 350 ml of Sutathion or one litre of Coroban/Durmet/Force 20 EC or 560 ml of Monocil 36 SL in 100 litres of water per acre. Application of Ferterra 0.4 GR @ 4kg /Padan/Caldan/Kritap/Sanvex/Nidan 4 G @ 10 kg or Regent 0.3 G @ 6 kg or Dursban 10 G @ 4 kg/acre recommended for control of stem borer in basmati rice also control leaf folder. These insects can be controlled by spraying the crop with 40 ml Confidor or Crocodile 17.8 SL or 800 ml of Ekalux/Quinguard 25 EC or one litre Coroban/Dursban 20 EC in 100 litres of water. For better results direct the spray towards the base of the plant. Keep the bunds clean, if symptoms of sheath blight observed then spray 200 ml of Tilt or Monceren or Folicur in 200 litre of water per acre. Check weeds in mash, moong and arhar by giving one or two hoeings. Alternatively in moong, use Stomp 30 EC (pendimethalin) @ 1 litre/acre preemergence application or Basalin 45 EC (fluchloralin) @ 600 ml/acre or Treflan 48 EC (Trifluralin) @ 800 ml/acre as pre-plant application. Stomp 30 EC can be used for controlling weeds in Mash. Maize hybrid (PMH 1or PMH 2) can be sown during the second fortnight of this month in rows 60 cm apart and plant to plant distance of 20 cm. Treat the seed before sowing with Bavistin @ 3 g per kg seed. The yield of maize sown during this month is higher than the crop sown in June. To control leaf blight, spray the crop with Indofil M 45 @ 200 g in 100 litres of water after about a fortnight of sowing. Give two more sprays at 10 day intervals. The attack of maize borer can be checked by spraying 40 ml of Sumicidin 20 EC/Ripcord 10 EC or 80 ml of Decis 2.8 EC in 60 litres of water per acre. Bioagent Trichogramma can also be used to controls this pest. Iron deficiency is observed both in the ratoon and plant crop on light textured and calcareous soils. To correct this deficiency, 1 % ferrous sulphate solution (one kg ferrous sulphate in 100 litres of water per acre) may be sprayed 2-3 times at weekly intervals soon after the symptoms appear. Borer attack Fodder Vegetable Borer attack Horticulture Animal Husbandry Collect and destroy the infected shoots affected with different borers particularly that of Gurdaspur borer at weekly interval regularly to prevent further infestation of the healthy canes. Sow leguminous and non-leguminous crops in mixture to improve the nutritive value of the fodder i.e. maize + cowpea, sorghum + guara. For controlling itsit/chaupatti in maize, sorghum, bajra, spray Atrataf 50 WP (atrazine) preemergence @ 800 g, 400 g and 200 g per acre, respectively, before 15th August. Late application will have residual toxicity effect on the succeeding crops like wheat, berseem etc. Sow 250 g seed of mid season varieties in one marla bed area. Irrigate the nursery beds with a watering can daily in the beginning and thrice a week there after. Treat the seed with 3 g Captan or Thiram per kg of seed before sowing. Spray 100 ml Sumicidin 20 EC or 200 ml Ripcord 10 EC or 160 ml Decis 2.8 EC or 800 ml Ekalux 25 EC or 500 ml triazophos in 100-125 litres of water against fruit and shoot borer of brinjal. During this month start planting kharif onion crop both with bulbsets as well as seedlings. Apply 45 kg urea, 125 kg single superphosphate and 35 kg muriate of potash per acre before planting. Weather in this month is very suitable for the establishment of evergreen fruit plants like citrus, mango, guava, Amla, litchi, loquat and sapota. The pathological and physiological fruit drop in citrus can be checked by spraying Ziram 27 SC (1250 ml)+ 2,4-D sodium salt of Horticultural grade (5g) or propicanazole 25 EC (500 ml)+ 2,4-D (5g) or Bavistin 50 WP (500 g) +2,4-D(5g) in 500 litres of water/acre. Drain out excess water from the orchards. Fix fruit fly traps in guava orchards if required to check infestation of fruit fly. Dairy: separate the pregnant animal two weeks before expected calving and observe the animal daily for normal calving. Feed wheat dalia @ 1 kg after boiling and mixing with half kg of gur twice daily for first 3-4 days to the mother after calving. Supplement the feed with mineral mixture to save the animal from milk fever. If the animal has a wound, protect it from flies so that maggots do not develop into it. . This month is hot, humid during which flies, lice and ticks are very common. These suck blood, cause skin irritation and spread diseases. To check these, spray Asuntol 0.05%, Butox 0.02% and Taktic(12.5%) 0.02 % on the animals as well as on the sheds and repeat the spray after 10-15 days. Do not spray animals below 6 months of age Poultry: Feed the birds with ration rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Damp litter and high temperature are good media for the growth of protozoa which cause Coccidiosis in the chicken so avoid dampness in the deep litter house by stirring the litter 2-3 times in a week. Place the nests inside the sheds, 1-2 weeks prior to the start of egg production. Do not store the compound feed for more than 15 days to avoid aflatoxins