Kathiya Wheat Farming: Adopt Kathiya wheat varieties for more income

Wheat is one of the major crops of India. Two varieties of wheat are cultivated in the country – Samanya and Kathiya. While regular wheat cultivation is more popular in irrigated areas, Kathiya wheat is prevalent in non-irrigated and partially irrigated areas. It has drought-resistant ability. Apart from this, there is no particular need for weeding and weeding in Kathiya wheat farming, and the possibility of getting diseases is also significantly less. Thus, the cost of cultivation of Kathiya wheat is quite economical.

Kathiya wheat has abundant nutrients in comparison to traditional varieties. In addition to 12 to 14 percent protein, it contains abundant beta-carotene. Beta carotene is the element from which vitamin A is made. On the other hand, beta-carotene is not found in common varieties of wheat. Due to the presence of beta carotene, the demand for Kathiya wheat is increasing rapidly among health-conscious people.

According to agriculture experts, farmers also get a fair price for Kathiya wheat products in the market due to high demand. In this way, Kathiya wheat plays an essential role in reducing the problem of malnutrition apart from making its producer farmers economically strong. That’s why the trend of farmers is also increasing daily towards Kathiya wheat cultivation.

Kathiya Wheat is drought tolerant

Dull wheat is commonly grown in drought-prone areas because of its lack of irrigation and ability to tolerate high heat. Its cultivation is mainly done in dry and less water availability areas of Central India and South India such as Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, and Bundelkhand areas of Uttar Pradesh. But looking at the economic benefits present in Kathiya wheat, more and more farmers want that if they grow wheat, so they should give priority to the Kathiya wheat variety only. Due to the drought resistance of Kathiya wheat, this crop is also proving to be a useful option for farmers because of climate change.

Area and Yield of Kathiya Wheat in India

There are still immense possibilities in the country in terms of adopting the cultivation of Kathiya wheat. Even though India is the second largest wheat-producing country in the world after China, but in spite of all the merits, the cultivation of Kathiya wheat in the country cannot be considered encouraging. At present, wheat is being cultivated on about 342 lakh hectares of land in the country. But the area under Kathiya wheat cultivation is about 15 lakh hectares. It occupies only about four and a half percent of the total area under wheat cultivation.

In terms of production, the production of wheat in the country is about 11 million tones, while the production of Kathiya wheat is only about 35 lakh tones. This means that out of the total wheat produced in the country, the normal type or ‘beta carotene free’ wheat is about 97 percent, while the Kathiya wheat is only about 3 percent. Buckwheat wheat is widely used in making nutritious and digestible foods like porridge, semolina, pizza, spaghetti, vermicelli, noodles.

India’s rank in global Wheat Production

Wheat has an important place in providing food security to more than 8 billion population of the world. China is on top in wheat production with a yield of about 140 million tones, while India is second by producing about 110 million tones of wheat. Cultivation of wheat as a cereal grain plays a vital role in the nutrition of India’s 140 crore population and in the economic stability of the country.

Before the Green Revolution, India had to import wheat several times to feed its population. Till now, the production of wheat in the country has increased almost one thousand times. Now India has become an exporter of wheat. However, the world’s largest wheat exporter is Russia. Russia is the third largest wheat producer in the world with a production of about 90 million tones. America is in fourth place and its production is about 50 million tones.

Production Technology of Kathiya Wheat

Field preparation: Deep plowing should be done to make the soil fine and friable. If there is no moisture before sowing, irrigation is necessary for uniformity of germination.

Seed rate and Seed treatment: Seed rate of 40 kg per acre is required for Kathiya wheat sowing. Before sowing, the seed should be treated with Vitavax (Carboxin 37.5% Thiram 37.5%) at the rate of 2-3 grams per kg of seed to make it safe from soil borne diseases.

Fertilizers: Get the soil tested before using fertilizers and then apply fertilizers as per the recommendations of the test report. For high fertility soil, it is sufficient to give 120 kg nitrogen, 60 kg phosphorus, 40 kg potash per hectare. In this, the total quantity of Phosphorus and Potash should be given at the time of sowing and half the quantity of Nitrogen. 1/4th of remaining nitrogen should be given before first irrigation and remaining 1/4th before second irrigation. If available, using cow dung manure at the rate of 10 to 15 tones per hectare also proves to be very useful.

Sowing Time: To get optimum yield, sowing at the right time is very important. It should be sown from the last week of October to the first week of November in non-irrigated conditions. In irrigated condition, second and third week of November is the suitable time. In non-irrigated and semi-irrigated conditions, moisture in the field at the time of sowing because soil moisture is directly related to good and timely germination of seeds.

Irrigation: The right time for first irrigation is 25-30 days after sowing when the crop is in fresh condition. Second irrigation should be given 60-70 days after sowing when the crop is in milk stage. The time for third irrigation comes after 90-100 days of sowing when the grains start forming in the crop. Sufficient level of moisture in the field at the time of ripening is very beneficial for shiny grains.

Crop Protection

Weed control: There is no special need for weeding in Kathiya wheat. Still, if weeds are seen more then weed-killer can be used. For simultaneous control of both narrow and broad leaf weeds, pendimethalin 30 percent EC should be sprayed at the rate of 3.30 liters per hectare, dissolved in 500-600 liters of water within 3 days of sowing, with a flat fan nozzle per hectare or spray Sulfosulfuron 75% + Met Sulfosulfuron Methyl 5% WG 400 grams (2.50 units) within 20 to 30 days after sowing. It is necessary to have moisture in the field at the time of using weedicide.

Disease control: Kathiya wheat is considered to be less prone to disease. Still, the outbreak of epidemic like Gerui or Ruta in Kathia wheat can be less or more according to the temperature. But their outbreak can be reduced by sowing new disease resistant varieties. Apart from this, blighted wheat seeds should be treated with Vitavax or Bavistin at the rate of 2.5 gm per kg before sowing.

Termite Prevention: Termite is a social insect. They live in the soil by forming colonies and prove to be extremely harmful by eating the roots of the plant. For the prevention of lamp, neem cake should be used at the rate of 10 quintals per hectare in the affected area of ​​the field. In case of termite infestation in standing crop, use Chlorpyriphos 20 EC at the rate of two to three liters per hectare with irrigation water or mixed with sand. Mix 2 kg of Beauveria Vesiana with 20 kg of well decomposed cow dung and keep it under shade for 10 days and sow it by adding it to the manure at the time of sowing.

Production and Storage

There is a possibility of fall of Kathiya wheat when the crop is ripe. This is why harvesting and threshing should be done at the right time during the ripening period. For safe storage of Kathiya wheat, its grains should have 10-12 percent moisture. Its place should be cleaned thoroughly before storage. For pest-control in the storage room, aluminum pellet should be fumigated at the rate of 3 grams per ton.

Yield

The average production of Kathiya species in irrigated condition is 50 to 60 quintals per hectare and in non-irrigated and semi-irrigated condition its production is 30 to 35 quintals per hectare.

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