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AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION Agriculture is the
mainstay of the bulk of population (86%) of the Jind District. Rapid advances
have been made in this field after the formation of the Haryana in 1966. With
the provision of better irrigational and other facilities, the primitive
agricultural practices are fast yielding place to modern mechanised farming
and agricultural production is continually increasing.. AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is the
chief occupation of the people of the district. After Independence, most of
the area fit for cultivation has been brought under the plough. The district
made remarkable progress in agriculture after the formation of Haryana in
November 1966. The production of
foodgrains has increased form 278.30 thousand tones in 74-75 to 954 thousand
tones in year 96-97. SOILS-The soils of the Jind district according to physical
characteristics, may be divided as
below: Sandy- This soil locally called retili dharti, is found
in all the blocks of the district.
Bajra and gram crops are mostly grown in these soils. Clay. - This soil locally called Dakar is found in parts of
Safidon, Kalayat and Rajaund blocks. If properly managed, these soils are
highly suitable for the cultivation of paddy, which is fast becoming an
important crop of the district. Kallar or Rehi- This soil is found in
Safidon and Kalayat blocks of the district. The general appearance of
landscape of this soil is just a white floor with brownish-black background
having alkaline salts of 2 to 4 inches depth over the surface. In
general, there is a deficiency of nitrogen and organic matter in the soils, but
the phosphorus content ranges from low to medium. It is, therefore, evident
that, for obtaining good yields, the soils need heavy manuring with
nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers soils. CROPS- There are two well-defined
crops, Kharif and Rabi. The major Kharif crops (locally called samni are
sugarcane, cotton jowar, bajra and rice while major Rabi crops (locally
called sadhi are wheat, gram, barley, and oil seeds. Potatoes, onions,
chillies, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane are the main cash crops of the
district. Foodgrain Crops
Rice (Paddy) : There has been a considerable increase in the
cultivation of paddy in the district. The area of Rice crops has increased to
71,300 hect in 96-97 as compared to 12,000 hect in 1974-75 due to development
of irrigation facilities. The production augmented to 2,15,000 tonnes in
1996-97 from 20,000 tonnes of 73-74. High yielding variety of Rice grown is
Jaya, PR-106, HKR-130, HKR-126, IR-64, Pausa-33, and Gobind etc. In Basmati
group, Basmati-370, Haryana Basmati no. 1, HBc-19 is grown. Bajra- A bajra
is one of the major crops of this district. It constitutes an important item
of food during the winter season. The area under bajra dropped to 36,000 hect
1996-97 due to diversion of area to rice crops consequent upon development of
irrigation facilities. Popular variety of Hybird bajra are HHb-60, 67,68,50,
Nandi and composite variety are HC-4, WCC-75. Wheat- It is
the principal Rabi food grain crop of the district. It is mostly grown under
irrigated conditions. Area of this crop increased
to 1,71,400 hect in 95-96 and production reached to 7,21,000 tonnes. The main
variety grown is WH-283, WH-542, HD-2285, PBW-343, UP-2338, HD-2329, and
Raj-3765 etc. Gram- Gram constitutes a major Rabi food grain crop of
the district next to wheat. Its importance lies in the fact that it forms a
good diet both for human beings and cattle. It is consumed right from the
germination to the grain development stage and is used for variety of
purposes The area under this crop
reduced to 7200 hect. In 95-96 due to sifting the area to wheat crop due to
availability of more irrigation facilities. The varieties of gram are H-208,
G-24, C-235, and And HC-! Gora Hisar L-1444 and Gorav etc. Pulses- Besides gram,
moong, mash (urd) and masur (massar) are the three other pulses grown in the
district. Commercial Crops Sugarcane- It is an important cash crop of the district and
is mostly grown under irrigated conditions. The
area under the crop covered during 96-97 was 12000 hect. With a production of
65000 tonnes. The popular varieties grown are CO-1717, COJ-64, COH-99,
CO1148, and COH-35 etc. Cotton- It is another
important cash crop of the district. The crop has two varieties, viz Desi and
American. The Desi variety is grown in most of the area under crop. The
area under American cotton and Desi Cotton in the year 19 95-96 was 54.7
thousands hect & 12.7 thousands hectare respectively in comparision to
total 19.7 thousands hect in 1974-75 Oilseeds Toria and Sarson- (Rape and mustard) are the main oilseed
crops of the district; til (sesame) and linseed crop are grown on small
patches of the land. Groundnut is not sown in any part of the district, as
the agro-climatic conditions prevailing in the district do not suit the
cultivation of this crop. Potatoes,
chilies, onions and vegetables are among the minor crops of the district.
Chilies are grown in Jind and Safidon blocks of the district. The area under oilseed crop
in 1995-96 has been reduced to 13,000 hect due to diversion of area to wheat
crop. Fodder crops
The district has about 10 % of its total cropped
area under fodder crops. The important among the fodder crops are Jowar,
gawar and berseem; the stalks of Jowar and bajra and the chaff of wheat, gram
and minor cereals are used as animal feed. Fruits Crops And Gardens
The important fruits grown in the district are
grapes and mangoes, which are grown in Jind, Narwana and Safidon. There is a
wide scope for the extension of the area under fruits with the availability
of water facilities and loans from the government for the cultivaiton of
grapes. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS Improvement
in agricultural implements is the pre-requisite of any improvement in
agriculture. Farmers are adopting modern implements according to their
purchasing power and the suitability of the implements for their use. A
description of agricultural implements in common use in the district is given
below: Plough- It may be made of wood or iron, but the one in
common use is made of kikar wood, manufactured by the village carpenter. It
merely scratches the soil upto 4 or 5 inches. The chief defect in it lies in
one fact that it leaves ridges of unploughed land between the V-shaped
furrows which it makes. The plough also fails to eradicate weeds properly.
However, a sturdy and intelligent farmer makes full and efficient use of the
plough with a strong pair of oxen. Still, in the small landholdings and
fragmented and non-contiguous plots, the plough is very much suited and it
does not disturb the level of the land. It consists of a wooden beam (Ral), a
small piece of wood (chou) carrying a pali (an iron plough share) any yoke
for bullocks. Bullock-Cart- It is generally used by the farmers for carrying
loads from one place to another, e.g. for carrying the farm produce to the
threshing ground, grains to the homestead and to the market, and for other
transportation needs, The carts are mostly locally manufactured. There is
little difference between the type and price of cart manufactured in
different parts of the district. Wheels made exclusively of iron are fast
replacing the wooden ones. Cane Crusher- It is an important implement for crushing the
sugarcane. It is mostly used on a co-operative basis. The steel crushers have
replaced the old wooden crushers. Most of the cane crushed is for, the
manufacture of gur and khandam. Other Implements- A number of other tools and implements such as
spade, kasola (hoe), pors (seed drill), kuhari and dranti also used in the
district. Despite the small size of land holding modern implements are being
generally adopted by the farmers better use and higher agriculture
production. SEEDS : Good seeds considerably enhance the agricultural production.
Much publicity and efforts are made by the Agriculture Department to
popularize the use of improved seeds among the farmers. The departments also
undertake the multiplication and distribution of improved seeds to the
farmers. Haryana
seeds Development Corporation undertakes the multiplication &
distribution of improved seeds to the farmers. The high yielding varieties
the seeds being popularized are as under: - Wheat: -Local improved C-306 Exotic High Yielding Varieties: Wh-283, 542,Hd-2285 PBW-343, UP-2338, HD-2329 etc. Rice: Basmati Group-Basmati-370, Haryana Basmati no. 1
HBC-19 High yielding variety, Jaya, PR-106, HKR-120,
126,Gobind etc. Gram: C-235,
Gorav, L-144, and G-24 Barley: C-164,
BG-125, BH-75, And BG-105 Sugarcane: CO-1148,
1158,COJ-767, CO? H-99, COH-35 etc Bajra: Hybird-HHB-50, 60,67,68
Composite-HC-4, WCC-75 Sugarcane: Co L-29, Co.J-88, Co.L-46, Co.1148 and Co. 945 Jowar : J.S.20, J.S. 263 and J.S. 29/1
FERTILIZERS In recent year, the use of manure and fertilizers
has considerably increased, since along with improved seeds they constitute
the lifeblood of the new agricultural strategy. With the change of social and
economic attitudes, the farmers use not only chemical fertilizers but also
compost of dung and other wastes useful as land manure for improving the
fertility of the soil. Green manuring has been found to be quite cheap and
the chemical fertilizers applied with it, give better results. Chemical Fertilizers- Since the soil of the district is deficient in
organic matter and nitrogen; chemical fertilizers are essential for
increasing crop yields. These are used alone or in combination with organic
manures. The district wholesale
co-operative society distributes the fertilizers to the marketing societies
and sub-depots. Urban Compost. Urban wastes are useful as plant food ingredients. Over the past
five years, efforts have been made to conserve these wastes for manorial
purposes. The municipalities of Jind Narwana, Safidon and Uchana have been
preparing compost in the district. Rural Compost- Rural compost is prepared from the dung
and other waste material. The extension workers in the village guide the
farmers in the preparation of the compost.
The government is popularizing Gobar Gas plants, which serve the twin
purpose of providing manure as well as fuel for cooking. Green Manuring- Green manuring is very useful for raising the
fertility of the soil as it directly adds nitrogen to the soil. It also
improves the texture of the soil by the addition of organic matter. The
addition of organic matter improves both heavy and sandy soils for it has a
binding effect on the loose particles of sandy soil and make the tough and
heavy soil friable. It creates better conditions for the increase of useful
bacteria in the soil. AGRICULTURAL PESTS AND DISEASES The various pests and diseases, which damage the
foodgrain and commercial crops, fruits and vegetables in the district, are
given below: - (1)
Crop, pests and diseases (a)
Sugarcane top-borer (b)
Sugarcane
stem-borer (c)
Sugarcane pyrilla (d)
Gurdaspur borer (e)
Rice bug (f)
Cotton jassid (g)
Sarson aphis (h)
Maiza top borer (i)
Rustss of wheat 2.
Fruit pests and diseases (a)
Mango hopper (b)
Mango mealy bug (c)
Citrus canker (d)
Lemon cater-pillar 3.
Vegetables pests: (a)
Potato and bhindi
jassid (b)
Singhara beetle (c)
Brinjal hadda (d)
Red pumpkin beetle 4.
Stored grain pests (a)
Dhora (b)
Susri (c)
Kapra 5.
Miscellaneous pests: (a)
Field rats (b)
Jackals 6.
Obnoxious Weeds (a) Bathua, Pohli, Piazi, Mena, etc. IRRIGATION The rainfall in
the district is seasonal, scanty and subject to frequent variations. The
development of irrigation remained almost stagnant during the pre-independence
period. It has been reported that at the Settlement of 1897, 82% of area of
whole of the Jind state was wholly
dependent upon rain. The sub-soil water in major part of the district is
brackish and is not conducive to the development of irrigation by wells or
tube-wells. Canal water is the
major source of irrigation to the dry and parched land of the district. At
some places canal water is mixed with the tube-well water to reduce the
latter’s salinity. Of the total net irrigated area of the district,
irrigation by canal constitutes as much as 85%. Average rainfall in
district is as below: -
In 1995, total 99.6 cm rainfall took place
which caused flood in the district thereby reducing the net area sown to
2,41,000 hect as compared to 2,51,000 hect in 1988-89. The percentage of net
area irrigated to net area sown increased to 90.2% from 58% of 1974-75, thus
exhibiting the vast development of irrigation facility in district. Total net area
irrigated has increased to 2,21,000 hect. in 1996-97 as compared to 1,63,000
hect. in 1994-95 due to development of irrigation facility. Out of it,
1,37,000 hect is irrigated by canal 74,000 hect. by tubewells and 10,000
hect. by other means in 96-97. Gross irrigated area
of the district has reached to 3,99,000 hect in 96-97 which is 90.3% to the
total cropped area. Wells and Tubewells- In the beginning of the present century the area under well irrigation was
insignificant and only a few gardens were irrigated from wells and that too
in towns only. The area irrigated by tubewells has
increased from 24,000 in 1974-75 to 74,000 hect in 1996-97 which shows the
development of tubewells in district. Last Revised on 14/02/2001 Top of the Document
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