Black Gram Cultivation: Pest management & sowing key

Urad dal is very popular among the people of South India, because it is used in making dishes from medu vada to idli, dosa. It is rich in protein, along with calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins are also found in it. Although it is good to include urad dal in the diet, but people who want to lose weight or who have weak digestion should avoid it, because it is not digested quickly. Let us know how farmers can earn good money from urad cultivation.

Sowing of improved varieties of urad

To get good income from urad crop, farmers should sow its improved varieties, which are not only disease resistant but also give good production. V.B.G-04-008, V.B.N-6, Mash-114, Co.-06, Mash-479, Pant Urd-31, I.P.U-02-43, Vaban-1, A.D.T-4 and 5, L.B.G-20 are the spotted disease resistant varieties. If you cultivate it in Kharif season, then KU-309, KU-99-21, Madhura Minimu-217, A.K.U-15 varieties will be suitable. For Rabi season, KU-301, AKU-4, TU-94-2, Azad Urd-1, Maas-414, LBG-402, Shekhar-2 are good varieties. If you want to harvest early, then plant Prasad, Pant Urd-40 and VBN-5, as they mature early.

Soil and climate in urad cultivation

Urad cultivation requires moist and warm weather. Urad plants need a temperature of 25 to 30 degrees centigrade to grow. Light sandy or loamy soil is good for its cultivation. There should be proper drainage system in the field. The pH balance of the soil should be 7-8. Sowing before the onset of rains leads to good growth of the crop.

When and how to sow

Rainy season is suitable for sowing urad. In such a situation, urad should be sown after rain in the last week of June in the Kharif season. Keep the distance in mind while sowing. The distance between one row and the other should be 30 cm and the distance between the plants should be 10 cm. While sowing the seeds at a depth of 4-6 cm.

If you want to cultivate urad in the summer season, then sowing can be done from the third week of February to the first week of April. 6-8 kg of seeds should be used per acre for sowing. Also, before sowing, organic seed treatment is necessary. For this, add 5-6 grams of Trichoderma fungicide per kg of seed or add 3 grams of thiram or 2.5 grams of Dithane M 45 per kg.

Manure and fertilizers

8-12 kg of nitrogen, 20-24 kg of phosphorus and 10 kg of potash should be added per acre. Apart from this, aromatic fertilizers like single super phosphate, ammonia sulfate, gympus should be used.

Irrigation and weeding

Although the urad crop grown in the rainy season does not require irrigation, but if there is not enough moisture in the field at the time of flowering and grain formation, then one irrigation should be done. On the other hand, the crop grown in the summer season requires 3 to 4 irrigations. After sowing urad, remove the weeds by hoeing with a hoe after about 15-20 days. If you want to use chemicals for this, then mix one kg of fluchlorine in 800-1000 liters of water and spray it in about one hectare area.

Pest management in urad crop

Urad crop suffers a lot from pests. About 15 types of pests attack it, which causes 17 to 38 percent damage to the crops.

Flea beetle – This is a dangerous pest in the urad crop, which can eat new plants and leaves at night. More than 10 holes are formed in the leaves. These insects hide in the soil during the day. These insects enter the roots of the crop and eat the beans and damage the glands.

Caterpillar- These are green in colour and their head is yellow. They bend the leaves from the upper end towards the middle and live in them and eat the green part of the leaves. Due to which the leaves start turning yellow and white.

White fly- This insect is harmful in both the larva and adult stage. Their colour is white. These insects damage the plants by sucking the juice of the leaves. Yellow mosaic disease occurs due to this insect. The plants suffering from this disease should be uprooted and thrown away.

Pod borer- This is the most dangerous insect of the urad crop. The caterpillar of this insect first eats the leaves and later makes holes in the beans and eats the developing grains.

Bihar hairy caterpillar- These insects live in groups in the small stage and eat the leaves. When they grow up, hairs appear on the body of these caterpillars, hence they are called blanket insects. Due to these, the crop grains are small and the yield is also less.

Use of Pesticides

Use Qualenalphos for pod beetle, Bihar hairy and caterpillar pests and Hymethoate 30 EC for white fly. Always prepare the pesticide solution in a mug and mix it with water in the sprayer tank. Never put pesticide in the tank. For pest control, change the pesticide in every season and spray it in the morning.