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Agro-techniques of Ashwagandha
Author: Shailesh Kumar
PLANT PART USED: The market demand of root of this crop is growing, the alkaloid present in the root also decide the quality of produce and seed also used for medicinal purpose.
SOIL AND CLIMATE: Ashwagandha grows well in sandy loam or light red soil, having pH 7.5-8.0 with good drainage. The semi-tropical areas receiving 500-750 mm rainfall are suitable for cultivation of this rained crop. The crop requires dry season during its growing period. The scientific name of ashwagandha is Withania somnifera (linn.) belongs to family solanaceae
FIELD PREPARATION: The soil of the field is well pulverized by ploughing, disking and/or harrowing. The field may be then leveled with help of leveller.
NURSERY PREPARATION AND TRANSPLANTING: 700 to 800 g seeds are sufficient for one hectare of land. Seeds are sown in nursery in the month of June as it is kharif season crop, one month after sowing seedlings are transplanted in main field maintaining 60X60 cm spacing between plant and row.
THINNING AND WEEDING: The plant population of 5.5 to 6 lakks/ha are recommended for higher yield. And one manual weeding during early growth of seedling is sufficient for this crop.
MANURES AND PESTICIDES: Application of organic manure like FYM, vermi-compost, green manure etc is sufficient for crop growth and root yield. For plant protection bio pesticides are better option for this crop.
IRRIGATION REQUIREMENT: First light irrigation is given after transplantation, excess water or stagnation of rain water in field is harmful for crop. Only life saving irrigation is required after establishment of crop in field.
HARVESTING AND POST HARVESTING PROCESSING: The entire plant is uprooted after maturity, plant mature 6 months after sowing and leaves start drying and red berries get yellow indicate crop is ready for harvest. The roots are then either cut transversely into small pieces (7 to 10 cm) or dried as it is in the sun. The berries are dried and crushed to take out the seeds. Roots are cleaned and lateral roots are removed.
YIELD: 5 quintal dried root and 60 to 70 kg seeds can be obtained from one hectare of land under proper cultivation practices followed.
Address of author: Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)Email- shailesh_agri@yahoo.com
Improved Varieties and Health Benefits of Tulsi
Author: Shailesh Kumar
Introduction:
Tulsi is one of the most sacred herbs of India, and is an integral part of ancient Hindu traditions. Plant is originated in India and is distributed and cultivated throughout the country. Genus Ocimum has varies species like Ocimum sanctum L (Tulsi), O. gratissimum (Ram Tulsi), O. canum (Dulal Tulsi), O. bascilicum (Ban Tulsi), O. kilimandschricum, O. americanum, O. camphora and O. micranthum. They are cultivated in different parts of the world and are widely known for their medicinal properties. Ocimums are important groups of aromatic and medicinal plants which yield many essential oils and aroma chemicals and find diverse uses in perfumery, cosmetic industries and also in indigenous systems of medicine. In view of great diversity, various species are classified into two broad groups, viz., basilicum and sanctum groups, In India mainly two types of O. sanctum are used for cultivation; the green type – Sri tulsi (Ram tulsi) is the most common; the second type, Krishna tulsi bears purple leaves and is preferred in the trade for its higher potency of drug as it is rich in alkaloids. There are almost 160 species of Ocimum genus in the tropical regions of Asia.
Chemical composition
Some of the important alkaloids are constituents of tulsi are oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, eugenol, carvacrol, linalool, β-caryophyllene (about 8%). Tulsi essential oil consists mostly of eugenol (~70%) βelemene (~11.0%), β-caryophyllene (~8%) and germacrene (~2%), with the balance being made up of various trace compounds, mostly terpenes.
Traditional uses and health benefits
Tulsi is a common herb grown in many households with a wide range of therapeutic properties. Tulsi has many traditional health uses, including treatment of common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, eczema, psoriasis and aging effects. It is also used as an antibiotic, an immune system booster, an anti-inflammatory and a stress reducer. Insect repellent: For centuries, the dried leaves have been mixed with stored grains to repel insects. Traditionally, Tulsi is taken in many forms: as an herbal tea, dried powder, fresh leaf, or mixed with Honey or Ghee.
Improved verities
Released from CSIR-CIMAP- CIM-Ayu, CIM-Angna, CIM-Saumya, CIM-Snigdha, CIM-Surabhi.
Address of author:
Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)
Agro-techniques of Sarpgandha Cultivation for Higher Root Yield
Author: Shailesh Kumar, Sweta Mishra and A K Singh
Inroduction: Sarpgandha, belongs to family apocynaceae, scientific name of this crop is Rauvolfia serpentine. One of theimportant medicinal herbs, it has been used in Indian indigenous system of medicine from very old time. A large number of active phtochemicals/ alkaloids have been isolated from the roots of this plant such as ajmalicine, ajmaline, ajmalinine, rescinamine, reserpine, serpentine, serpentinine etc.
Plant part used for medicinal purpose: mainly grown for root as root is main source of alkaloids.
Agro-techniques for cultivation of Sarpgandha
Soil and climate
The plant requires slightly acidic to neutral soils for good growth with medium to deep well drained fertile soils. Clay-loam to silt-loam soils, rich in organic content are suitable for its commercial cultivation. It grows well in frost-free tropical to subtropical situations under irrigation.
Propagation: The propagation crop can be possible through seed, stem cutting and root cuttings. Seed propagation is the best method for raising commercial plantation, however By root cutting: Nearly 5 cm long root cutting are planted during spring season closely in nursery beds containing well matured FYM, sand and saw-dust. The beds are kept moist through watering. The cuttings begin to sprout within 3 weeks. These can be planted in field during rainy season after 8 to 10 cm rains are received; the seedlings are transplanted at 40 cm row to row and 30 cm plant to plant distance. In this manner, an estimated 100 kg of root cuttings are found sufficient for planting one hectare area.
Nursery preparation: Seed sowing in nursery start in 1st week of May, approximately 8 kg of seed is required for one hectare plantation. About 500 sq m seed bed area is sufficient for raising seedlings enough for planting one hectare land. The seeds sown, 2-3 cm apart in rows in shallow furrows during. The furrows are then covered with a fine mixture of soil and FYM. Keep the beds just moist by light irrigation. Seedlings are ready by mid-July for transplanting. Immediate irrigation is required for better stand of crop. Rauvolfia is long duration (18 months) and slow growing crop particularly in the initial stage; thus different intercrops have been tried.
Manures, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides: The medicinal plants have to be grown without chemical fertilizers and use of pesticides. Organic manures like, 15 tonnes/ha Farm Yard Manure (FYM). To prevent diseases, several plant based extract can be used as bio-pesticides which could be prepared (either single or mixture) from Neem (kernel, seeds & leaves), Chitrakmool, Dhatura, Cow’s urine etc.
Irrigation: During monsoon or rainy season no need of irrigation, however irrigation after interval of 20-25 days in summer and 30 days after in winter is recommended. Total 15 to 17 irrigation is required during cropping seasons of this crop, high rainfall area is suitable for this crop.
Weeding and hoeing: Weeding is also required during early growth stage, so initial 2-3 manual weedings and 2-3 hoeings in the first year is must for good harvest.
Harvesting and post-harvesting processing: for higher yield the harvesting or digging of roots is done after 18 months when shedding of leaves start, the concentration of active phytochemicals in root also remain high during this stage in root. The active principles or bioactive compound present in root and the concentration of alkaloid decide the quality and market price of root. After digging the roots are cleaned, washed and cut into small pieces (15 cm pieces) for convenience in drying and storage. The dry roots possess upto 8-10 per cent of moisture. The dried roots are stored in polythene lined gunny bags in cool dry place to protect it from mould.
Yield: The yield of root vary from 20 to 25q/ha under standard cultivation practices and management.
Address of author:
Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)
Dr. A K Singh (Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India) Dr. Sweta Mishra (Associate Professor, COB, SVPUA&T, Meerut-250110
DNA Barcoding for Varietal Identification
Author: Sweta Mishra, Shailesh Kumar and A K Singh
Crop varieties are the fundamental input in agriculture. Maintenance of varietal purity is a significant component of crop improvement. High demand for some of the crop varieties often gives rise to certain level of adulteration in the seed supply chain that lead to the sale of spurious seed. This ultimately leads to yield loss and compensatory issues on legal grounds. The issues of compensation have become a problem with the release of many similar-looking varieties that are genetically very close, and hence, are difficult to differentiate.
The purity of crop varieties needs to be safeguarded without any ambiguity in the context of seed marketing. It is difficult to differentiate seeds of various crop varieties accurately based on visual observations alone. The morphological descriptors that are used for varietal identification are influenced by environment. The morphological observations need to be recorded throughout the crop growth season. Recent scenario of development of a number of morphologically and genetically more identical varieties has made the task of identifying a variety unambiguously more complicated. These environmental limitations demand supplemental support of a new technique which shall be environmentally independent, quick and reliable.
DNA barcoding uses specific regions of DNA in order to identify species. Initiatives are taking place around the world to generate DNA barcodes for all groups of living organisms and to make these data publically available in order to help understand, conserve, and utilize the world’s biodiversity. It can be used to identify and discriminate at any developmental stage from which DNA can be extracted. DNA barcode helps in the identification of varieties and germplasm characterization with high precision, which is stable, unaltered by the influence of environment, epistatic interactions and pleiotropic effects.
India is one of the major producer and consumer of many horticultural, medicinal, vegetable, cereal, pulse and oilseed crops which are being cultivated in different agro-climatic zones. Some of these crops hold enormous potential to be utilized as value added products, thereby providing higher economic return to small and marginal farmers. Characterization of the varieties and the landraces of these crops is a prerequisite for understanding the extent of diversity, identification of valuable traits required for their improvement and defining the conservation needs leading to cataloguing of these crop varieties.
The establishment of genome and transcriptome sequencing projects for many crops has led to generation of a huge wealth of sequence information that could find much use in identification of crop species and their varieties. Prompt and accurate varietal identification has become universal necessity due too rapid globalization of trade, escalating influence of climate change and urgent need for biodiversity conservation. DNA barcoding of crop varieties will provide ready access to information on their biology, ecology, and socio-economic significance.
DNA barcoding is both an important research and science education tool. It is a powerful tool to empower, engage, and educate students in the scientific method while conducting productive and creative research. In this time of major biodiversity loss, there is a necessity to identify and catalogue crop varieties to establish the baseline biodiversity in agriculture, counteract the disappearance of cultivars, discover marketplace replacements and enhance crop productivity. Genetic marketplace monitoring can become a promising tool for detecting fraudulent. It will lead to technological revolution in agriculture sector in India.
DNA barcoding will not just foster vibrant, innovative and impact driven research, and will also lead to academic excellence. The DNA barcode library can be used by all the existing National bureaus to tag, catalogue and conserve all the existing germplasm. DNA barcoding will revolutionize man’s relationship with crop diversity.
Authors:
Dr. Sweta Mishra (Associate Professor, COB, SVPUA&T, Meeurt-250110)
Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India
Dr. A K Singh (Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa)
Cultivation technology of Kalmegh
Introduction: Kalmegh or Hara-chiretta also known kings of bitters, belongs to family acanthaceae and scientific name is Andrographis paniculata. Kalmegh is a bitter annual herb, erect, 50 cm to 1m in height, stem quadrangular, much branched; leaves opposite, short petioled; flowers in racemes. It is widely distributed throughout Indian plains. Whole plant is used for medicinal purpose. The market value of this plant is due to presence of bioactive compound andrographaloid. its importance as a medicinal plant is growing up substantially with increasing and stronger reports in support of its multifarious therapeutic uses. The Andrographis paniculata, is a traditional remedy for fever and various infections, employs various immunological applications. The plant is beneficial in treating cardiovascular disease and in preventing liver toxicity
Soil and climate: Cultivation can be practiced on wide range of soils from loam to lateritic soils with moderate fertility. The climatic requirement of the plant is hot and humid conditions with ample sunshine. With the onset of monsoon, plant grows luxuriantly and starts flowering with the moderation in temperature during September.
Propagation: Mainly through seeds, in special case vegetative propagation is also possible
Nursery raising and transplanting: Seeds are small, sown in nursery during month of May, seed bed covered with mulch and irrigated regularly to maintain proper moisture. Germination start in 6-7 days after sowing and then mulch removed immediately. Transplanting of seedling is done in second fortnight of June at a spacing of 30X45 cm. First irrigation is recommended just after transplanting.
Weeding and Thinning: One or two weeding/hoeing are essential during early stage of growth to get the crop established. After establishment, crop grows well during monsoon and does not face any competition with weed.
Manures, fertilisers and pesticides: application of 15 t FYM/ha + 45:25:25 kg NPK/ha + 1 kg Azospirillum/ha recorded highest growth parameters, nutrient uptake, yield and andrographaloid content. To prevent diseases, bio-pesticides could be prepared (either single or mixture) from Neem (kernel, seeds & leaves), Chitrakmool, Dhatura, Cow’s urine etc.
Irrigation: Rainfall during monsoon is sufficient to raise annual crop in Northern states. But prior to rain 2-3 irrigations are required.
Harvesting and post harvesting processing: The presence of active principles or bioactive compound decides the quality of crop and it was reported that the concentration of active phytochemicals was high during flowering stage. Therefore the harvesting process should be start by the end of September as flowering process start in the month of September and it remain continue by the end of December especially when planting is done in month of May. The active phytochemicals or active principles andrographolide present in whole plants. Therefore, after harvest of whole plant it is dried in shade and can be stored in powdered form. During flowering stage the content of active principles higher in leaves.
Yield: 4 to 4. 5 tonns per hectare dried herbage can be obtained from monsoon grown crop.
Address of author:
Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)
Email- shailesh_agri@yahoo.com
Cultivation technology of shatavari: An important medicinal plant
Introduction:
The plant commonly known as satamauli, satavar, shatavari etc, scientific name is Asparagus racemosus belongs to family Liliaceae. Plant is a perennial, hardy, prickly climber excessively branched found throughout the tropical & subtropical parts of India. Recently the demand of shatavari root has increased in market as it is used in number of ayurvedic formulations. The powder forms of roots are also being sold in market under different brand name. The ayurvedic leading companies like Dabur, Patanjali, etc purchase the roots of shatavari for ayurvedic formulation. The demand and rate of nepali shatavari is high compare to other shatavari. Farmers can earn in lakhs by adopting the cultivation of this crop. The root is used for medicinal or ayurvedic formulations. The roots are dugout collected and cleared after 16 months or after maturation. The quality of root and presence of active ingredients decide the market value of this crop. It is found throughout India and also cultivated both for medicinal & decorative purpose. Plant part used for medicinal purpose: Tuberous Root, the active ingredient present in root are main source of drug, dried root powder are also used directly for cure of several diseases. The crude drug also used for increasing the secretion of milk and improving appetite in lactating women. The major bioactive constituents of Asparagus are a group of steroidal saponins. The powdered roots contain 2.95% protein, 5.44% saponins, 52.89% carbohydrate, 17.93% crude fiber, 4.18% inorganic matter, and 5% oil.
Soil and climate
Crop can be grown in variety of soils including medium black, lateritic, loamy soils, rocky soils etc with adequate drainage facility. It can be easily grown in sub-tropical & Sub-temperate agroclimatic regions.
Soil preparation:- Deep ploughing (30cm) followed by 2-3 harrowings are required, land is cleaned and leveled. The ridge (40 cm broad) and furrow are prepared for planting. Planting is done on ridge and furrow is used for irrigation.
Propagation: – Through Seeds, 400-500g seeds required for one acre.
Nursery preparation and transplanting: Seed sowing in nursery start in month of April, nursery raised seedlings were planted on ridge at plant to plant distance of 60 cm. Crop mature in 16 months, due to climbing nature of crop some support is needed when plant attained a height of 50cm. Vegetative propagation is by division of rhizomatous disc present at the base of the aerial stem.
Weed removal: – Manual weeding during months of early growth stage is required especially during monsoon season. 2-3 weeding in a month required.
Irrigation requirement: First irrigation must be given just after transplantation of seedlings. No need of irrigation during month of rainy season, the rate of two irrigations in winter season and one per month in summer season.
Manures, fertilizers and plant protection: Generally biofertilizers are recommended for growth of shatavari. The use FYM, vermicompost and other green manure are recommended for cultivation of this crop. Manure is mixed with soil during field preparation. Inorganic fertilizer can be used for cultivation og this crop. Biopesticide preparation from Neem (kernel, seeds & leaves), Chitrakmool, Dhatura, Cow’s urine etc can be used as preventive measure. As such no major disease attack was observed.
Harvesting and Post Harvest management: The plants are harvested after 16 months or after maturity. The roots are dugout collected and cleared. The roots are peeled off immediately after harvesting, cut into small pieces and dried in shade. It is observed that in case the roots are not peeled off within a few days, it is a bit difficult to remove the skin as such. In such a condition the roots are kept in boiling water for about 10 minutes, followed by cold-water treatment to facilitate peeling.
Yield: After mature the plants we can obtain 12000 to 15000 kg. fresh roots/acre.
Address of authors:
Dr. Shailesh Kumar (Assistant Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)
Dr. A K Singh (Professor, CBS&H, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar-848125, India)
Dr. Sweta Mishra (Associate Professor, COB, SVPUA&T, Meerut-250110
Scientific cultivation of Tulsi for higher income
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Agricultural Science Articles 