The ICAR- Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad organized sunflower and summer Sesame Field Day under TSP 2023-24 in aspirational district of Adilabad in Keslapur village on 06/03/2024.
Traditionally, farmers in Adilabad district cultivate cotton, soybean, redgram, greengram blackgram during kharif in black cotton soils. Farmers with access to irrigation during rabi cultivate Bengal gram, fodder sorghum and wheat. sunflower as rabi crop provides an opportunity for the tribal farmers with access to one or two irrigations in black cotton soils both as sole crop, inter crop and border crop in targeted villages. Similarly, summer sesame provides an opportunity as second crop after cotton. Castor can be promoted as border crop for cotton crop during kharif and as pure crop during rabi under limited irrigation in black soils. During 2023-24, demonstrations of castor (25 acres) during kharif; safflower ( 25 acres) during rabi ; sesame during summer (50 acres) were take up in 100 acres. Improved seed material of sunflower (ISF-764) and sesame (YLM-66) were supplied.
During the field day the team of scientists led by Dr. R.K. Mathur, Director, IIOR visited the fields of Sri Sedamathi Krishna, Keslapur village who was cultivating variety of crops in his 10 acre farm viz., cereals (wheat, maize); millets (sorghum-desi and hybrid) chili and mixed cropping of various leafy vegetables and beans. The farmer was also encouraged to take up oilseed crops (niger, groundnut, and summer sesame). It was inspiring for others as the farmer demonstrated and was able to fallow crop diversification and make use of the crop residues/waste farm material convert it into valuable manure ex-situ in and and reuse effectively for enhancing soil fertility.
In two demonstration plots of Sri. Kenaku Seku and Sri.Marappa Thulsiram with inter cropping of sunflower +chickpea (1:10) ; the chickpea crop was just harvested and farmers realized average yield of 6-7 q/acre with addition of legume crop residue as mulch material/ livestock feed. sunflower was found to be irrigated under sprinkler irrigation.
Earler, Sri. Athram Sitharam farmer with 5 acres of podu land was growing Jowar/cotton during kharif . The construction of new farm pond provided him an opportunity to rise second and third crop and with the efforts of IIOR he had successfully cultivated and demonstrated sole crop of sunflower (ISF-764) and sesame (YLM-66) in one acre each under sprinkler irrigation.
Read more: https://www.icar-iior.org.in/sites/default/files/2024-03/safflower-sesame-field-day.pdf
Original link: https://www.icar-iior.org.in
