KRISHAK CORNER

French bean also known as rajma (Hindi) or haricot bean or kidney bean or common bean or snap bean, navy bean. It is valued for its protein rich (23%) seeds. Seeds are also rich in calcium, phosphorus and iron. The fresh pods and green leaves are used as vegetable. The antimetabolites of dry beans needs removal by cooking and soaking in water. Origin French beans have evolved in the highlands of middle America and Ander from a wild vine over a period of 7000-8000 years.The primary and Peruvian-Ecquadrion-Bolvian region of South America as the secondary center of French bean. Geographic Distribution Globally French bean is cultivated on about 28 m ha with a production of 19 million tonnes. Brazil is the leading producer of French beans. Columbia, USA, Canada, Ethiopia, China and Turkey are other leading countries producing French bean. In India, it is grown on an area of about 1 lakh ha mainly in the states of Maharashtra , Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh H...

Principles and practices of using cover crops in weed management systems - John. R. Teasdale INTRODUCTION Cover crops are plant species that are introduced into crop rotations to provide beneficial services to the agro-ecosystem. Some of the most important environmental services provided by cover crops include soil protection from erosion, capture and prevention of soil nutrient losses, fixation of nitrogen by legumes, increase in soil carbon and associated improvements in soil physical and chemical characteristics, decrease in soil temperature, increase in biological diversity including beneficial organisms, and suppression of weeds and pests (Sustainable Agriculture Network, 1998). This chapter will focus on weed suppression by cover crops, but the need to manage cover crops to optimize the totality of impacts on the ecosystem will be emphasized at the conclusion. Cover crops can be grouped into two categories: 1) annuals that are grown during an off-season or period of the year t...

Weed management in vegetables - C. Zaragoza INTRODUCTION Vegetable growing imposes a particular weed-management approach. Vegetable areas are usually small, but produce high-value crops that are commercially and gastronomically appreciated. Fruit and leaf crops provide important income for farmers and workers at local or regional levels. Providing evidence of small surfaces used for growing vegetables, in Spain for the year 1999 the area covered 395 300 ha, with a production of about 12 million tonnes. Irrigation is another typical characteristic of these crops in Mediterranean or arid areas. The type of irrigation used also conditions weed management because of the many systems available: traditional irrigation through flooding or by furrows, and the more modern sprinkling, drip and infiltration irrigation. Herbicides have different behaviour. Their incorporation is affected by water and crop selectivity can thus be substantially reduced. Traditional vegetable-growing areas are...

Progress on water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) management - Maricela Martínez Jiménez INTRODUCTION Brazil is the most likely place of origin of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, (C. Martius) Solmn-Laubach, with a natural extension to other areas on the South American continent. The beauty of its flower led to the plant’s introduction into other tropical countries as a decorative plant (Barret and Forno, 1982), and finally its conversion into a weed in response to the high level of nutrients in the urban, industrial and municipal wastewater. International experience (Harley, 1990; Gutiérrez et al. 1994;) shows that the plant’s reproductive capacity, adaptability, nutritional requirements and resistance to adverse environments make it impossible to eradicate, and difficult to control. A variety of methods have been tried to curb the growth of the weed. Herbicides are used most often, because they provide an immediate action tool, although, they are costly and may have toxic eff...

OFF-SEASON GRAFTED TOMATO TECHNOLOGY FOR OFF-SEASON PRODUCTION in the Philippines Technology Description: Social conditions The adopters and potential adopters of the technology are farmers with small landholdings and who have limited capacity for big farm investment and yet has the initiative and interest to participate in the program and dedicate their labor resource. Technical considerations During the early part of the introduction of the grafted tomato technology in Luzon , 365 farmers participated and completed the season-long training on “Integrated Crop Management on Grafted Tomato”. Since grafted tomato is a precision technology prospective adopters must be properly trained to equip them with adequate decision-making background during the commercialization stage of the technology. Current adopters are farmers who have participated in Farmer Field Schools conducted and implemented jointly by the Research, Extension and Training of the Central Luzon State University an...

PAPAYA (Carica papaya) Family: Caricaceae Papaya produces fruits throughout the year. It requires less area for tree, comes to fruiting in a year, is easy to cultivate and provides good income. It has a high nutritive and medicinal value. Papain prepared from dried latex of its immature fruits is used in meat tenderizing, manufacture of chewing gum, cosmetics, for degumming natural silk and to give shrink resistance to wool. Besides, it is also used in pharmaceutical industries, textile and garment cleaning paper and adhesive manufacture, sewage disposal, etc. Climate and soil Papaya is a tropical fruit. However, it also grows well in the mild subtropical regions in India up to1, 000 m above mean sea level. Temperature is one of the most important climatic factors which determine the success of papaya cultivation. Night temperature below 12`-14`C for several hours during winter season affects its growth and production severely. It is very much sensitive to frost, str...