UTTAR BANGA KRISHI VISWAVIDYALAYA PUNDIBARI, COOCHBEHAR, WEST BENGAL-736165

Our Location UBKV, COOCHBEHAR, WB

Districtwise Agri-features and Institutional Presence of UBKV in North Bengal

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF NORTH BENGAL Geographical Area: 21541 sq km Population : 1.87 crores Rural – 86% SC / ST population – 40% Small and Marginal Farmers – 88% Soil Light textured, deficient in macro and micronutrient Low soil pH, high water table High humidity (Max.: 87-97%; Min: 43-65%) Rainfall – 1485 mm (Malda) to 3508mm (Jalpaiguri) Poor irrigation facility, 38% (Malda) to 16% (Coochbehar); State average: 42.8%

Area, Production and Productivity of Wheat in West Bengal Year Area (‘000ha.) Production (‘000 ton) Productivity (kg/ha.) 2001-02 426.0 1058.6 2485 2002-03 405.4 887.4 2189 2003-04 425.7 985.7 2315 2004-05 400.1 841.5 2103 2005-06 367.0 774.0 2109 2006-07 351.0 799.0 2281 2007-08 353.0 917.0 2602 2008-09 316.0 765.0 2490 2009-10 307.0 847.0 2680 Source: Economic Review, Govt. of W.B

Major Cropping sequence - Old – Alluvial Zone Winter rice - Fallow Winter rice - Summer rice Maize - winter rice - Potato / wheat / vegetable (emerging) - Terai Zone Jute / Maize – winter rice – Potato / vegetable

Intervening Areas for Wheat Area expansion - Old – Alluvial Zone Replacement of summer rice by wheat Expansion of wheat area through covering fallow and utilizing excess water from boro-paddy for supplementary use -Terai Zone Expansion of area through covering fallow utilizing residual soil moisture Application of supplementary irrigation at critical growth stage through decreasing potato area.

Major constraints of wheat production in West Bengal Late transplanting of paddy after jute coupled with long duration varieties like Swarna Late sowing of wheat - Loss / problem in harvesting due to occurrence of pre-monsoon rain - Suffering from terminal heat during panical / ripening stage - Non-availability of good late sown variety - Micronutrient deficiency such as boron cause spikelet sterility in wheat - Occurrence of foliar blight diseases like Zonate Eye Spot, Leaf Blight, Tan Spot, Spot Blotch Spikelet sterility Preharvest sprouting Foliar blight

Technologies Generated from CIMMYT Collaborated Programmes

SPOT BLOTCH RESISTANT GENOTYPE BASED ON AUDPC 2 ENTRY No. CROSS NAMES AUDPC1 AUDPC2 6746 ELVIRA//INQALAB 91*2/KUKUNA 83.33 148.15 6702 TILHI/4/CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (213)//PGO/3/CMH81.38/2*KAUZ 108.02 169.75 6739 PBW343/HUITES/4/YAR/AE. SQUARROSA (783)//MILAN/3/BAV92 101.85 197.53 6726 INQALAB 91*2/KUKUNA//2*KRONSTAD F2004 129.63 216.05 6731 SERI.1B*2/3/KAUZ*2/BOW//KAUZ*2/5/CNO79//PF70354/MUS/3/PASTOR/4/BAV92 157.41 6742 PBW343*2/KUKUNA//PBW343*2/KUKUNA/3/PBW343 166.67 231.48 6719 WHEAR/3/PBW343/PASTOR//ATTILA/3*BCN 182.10 246.91 6729 CNDO/R143//ENTE/MEXI_2/3/AEGILOPS SQUARROSA TAUS)/4/WEAVER…… 154.32 262.35 6749 185.19 287.04 6751 LOCAL CHECK 188.27 6710 CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (205)//KAUZ/3/SASIA/4/TROST 191.36 293.21 6738 WAXWING*2/CIRCUS 6707 299.38 6714 SERI.1B*2/3/KAUZ*2/BOW//KAUZ*2/4/KRONSTAD F2004 302.47

Selection of stress tolerant wheat Selection of terminal heat tolerant varieties for late (15th December) and very late (30th December) sown conditions Late Sown- Francolin (4.05 t/ha), and NW 2036 (3.40 t/ha) Very Late Sown- Francolin (3.24 t/ha), and NW 2036 (2.84 t/ha) Selection of genotypes for tolerance to Boron Defficiency UBW 5 (BD(JAM)208-IJE-OJE-OJE……..), UBW 6 (CMSS 93Y02712T-40Y………….), UBW 7 (TNMU/3/ALD/COC/URES)

ZERO-TILLAGE WHEAT (Conservation Agriculture Approach) Use varieties suitable for late sowing To utilize residual soil moisture Area expansion of wheat for high ecological land use. To combat weed problem Minimize disease occurrence Varietal Performance HD 2733, DBW 39 (Timely Sown) NW 2036, Francolin (Late Sown) 12

VARIETAL SELECTION FOR ZERO TILLAGE CONDITIONS Sl. No. Variety Yield (t/h) Foliar blight ZT CT 1 Francolin 5.20 5.25 55 75 2 Ruby 3.36 4.58 54 3 Agrim 2.90 2.39 77 4 HD 2827 3.80 3.97 5 Sarpat 3.91 3.14 6 DBW 17 3.40 7 DBW 39 5.30 5.17 8 DBW 38 3.85 4.65 9 Munal 4.20 3.95 10 Ko 307 4.72 4.50 74 11 Raj 4120 3.60 3.76 12 HD 2687 3.84 3.50 13 HD 2985 3.59 3.70 14 HD 2733 5.35 15 PBW 621 4.10 4.23 16 Sonalika 3.78 79

Weed- A major problem for NEPZ Polygonum pensylvanicum Polygonum persicaria Polygonum hydropiper Weed pressure in wheat at Coochbehar

Hydrocotyl ranunculoides, Solanum niagrum, Zero tillage had considerably reduced weed pressure, however, it caused shifting of weed flora from Polygonum and Stellaria media to Hydrocotyl ranunculoides, Solanum niagrum, New species of Polygonum (?) Ageratum conyzoides Stellaria acquatica 15

DISEASE SCENARIO Zonate Eye Spot Spot Blotch 16

Development of system approach adopting conservation measure : - Zero tillage sowing for all the crops - Introduction of medium duration paddy varieties ( 130 days) - Direct seeded rice based on weather forecasting - Unpuddled transplanted rice – through manually / transportation - Inclusion of legume in crop rotation / mix cropping during prekharif / rabi season - Bio-priming of seeds / application of bio-fertilizers - Crop residue management

ZT-Jute On Wheat Direct Seeded Rice with Brown Manuring ZT-cowpea Efforts Our ZT-Maize Residue With ZT-Jute On Wheat Zt-Wheat Rice Direct Seeded Rice with Brown Manuring ZT-cowpea ZT-mung Bio-priming

Problems and Opportunities 1.Soil constraints i) Widespread deficiency of micronutrients (Zn and B) ii) Low soil organic matter iii) Acidic pH iv) Sandy to sandy loam texture v) Fragmented land 2.Use of low productive varieties 3.Imbalance in nutrient management 4.Disease incidence at epidemic level 5.Aggressive growth of weeds Increase area under cultivation by converting fallow land into cropped area Soil crop residue management green manuring through surface mulching reduced or zero tillage efficient utilization of nutrients (using bio-fertilizers) Soil Health Assessment Microbial Activity Carbon pool assessment Physico-chemical attributes Disease Study of disease dynamics Biological management of residue Weeds Weed dynamics and shifting Weed management Varietal Development Suited to ZT condition, Boron deficiency tolerant Late heat tolerant