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. ~~Extension Bulletin No. m

VEGETABLES SCENARIO INCOLD DESERT LADAKH

C,,\

Narendra Singh, Pal Murugan M.,Manish Bhoyar, Dorjey Angchok

and RB. Srivastava

Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR)Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)

LEH (Ladakh)-194101 (J&K) India

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Introduction

Ladakh is a high altitude cold arid region of India. Human settlement hereis found from 2400-4200 meter above mean sea level in the region. Theclimatic and geographic differentiation segregates the region from rest ofthe world. Therefore, the agro-techniques for the vegetable productionbeing employed elsewhere are not suitable for this region. Specific agro-techniques are required forthis harsh region.

Due to requirement of intensive operation in production there is a need forstandard package of practices for different vegetables. Defence Instituteof High Altitude Research (DIHAR) of Defence Research & DevelopmentOrganization (ORDO) has been working on various aspects ofvegetables since five decades in the region. Intensive research trialswere carried out on various vegetable crops and suitable vegetables andtheir varieties/hybrids and cultivation practices for the region are listedbelow.

Table 1 : Suitable Vegetables and package of cultivation Practices

S. Group Vegetables Vartety/Hybrids Seed Spacing (cm) Day to Har- Yield q/I

No. rate Kg! Row Plant vesting (App) haha

II. Cole Cabbage Gonzales 0.5 60 45 75 450, Crops

2. Cauliflower Amazing 0.4 60 45 75 250.t

Knol Khol White Vienna I, 3. 1.0 30 30 70 200

Ij 4. Chinese Cab- WongBoko 0.5 45 20 70 200

bage I

11 5. Broccoli Packmen 0.5 60 45 75 180 I,6. Brussels Sprout Hills Ideal 0.6 60 45 90 50n7. Kale Red Russian 0.4 60 45 90 250

! 8. Karam Sag Kashmir 0.7 30 20 70 100 I9. Romanasco Bejo Sheetal 0.4 60 45 75 250I

\. 10. Red Cabbage Red Acre 0.5 60 45 75 450

11.Root Carrot Nantes 4.0 30 10 70 250 I

·1Crops

12. Radish Pusa Himani 10.0 10 10 65 300

\3. Turnip Purple Top white3.0 30 10 60 350

Globe

r 14. Beet Root Detroit Dark Red 10.0 30 10 75 250

U' o=Jswede1

FRL selection I 3.5 I 30 I 10 90 I 200 I

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16. BulbCrops Onion Brown Spanish 8.0 30 10 120 250

17. Bunching onion

18. Garlic Agrifound Parvati 400 20 10 150 60

19. Leek Suttind Leek 6.0 15 10 120 100

20. Tuber Potato KufriJyoti 2000 50 20 120 350

21. Artichoke Jeruslum 1600 50 20 120 225

22. Pulses Pea Pusa Pragati 100 25 05 90 75

23. Snow Pea Toledo 80 30 05 80 125

24. French Bean Pusa Parvati 80 30 10 80 80

25. Broad Bean Sindhu Bramaha 100 30 10 90 160

26. Gram BG-361 80 30 15 70 60

27. Lab Beans CoI2,CoI3 40 45 30 110 IQ

28. Cowpea Pusa Komal 50 30 15 105 30

29. Cluster Bean Pusa mausami 10 30 15 100 50

30. Moth Bean C-2M-2 50 30 15 120 20

31. Soyabean Bragg 50 30 15 90 15

32. Solanaceou Tomato Sultan 0.5 60 45 90 550

33. Capsicum KTCH 0.7 60 45 100 60

34. BrinjaJ Raveena (Green) 0.5 60 45 90 100

35. Chilli Pusa Jwala 0.5 60 45 90 50

36. Salad Lettuce Great Lake 0.8 30 10 45 75

37. Parsley Masscurled 0.4 45 15 80 150

38. Celery Trimmuf 0.25 30 20 80 200

39. Coriander Con-I 30 20 0.5 50 80

40. Mint FRL selection 15 05 45 90

41. Beet Leaf Mongol 18 30 10 50 120

42. Spinach Sporter 30 30 05 50 80

43. Swiss Chard Red Petiole 15 30 08 45 150

44. Veg. Musturd Aru-Black 0.6 30 IQ 45 70

45. Amaranth Red & Green 0.6 30 IQ 60 60

46. Chenopodium PusaRed 0.25 30 15 60 50

47. Fenugreek Kasuri 10 30 03 70 100

48. Orich (Ustak) Sindhu Green 04 45 15 70 60

49. Packchoy Sindhu Early 0.8 30 15 50 80

50. Chicory Local, Pluto 01 30 15 60 70

51. Endive Bossa 0.5 45 20 70 75

52. Cress Cresida - 0.6 30 IQ 75 40

53. Portulaca S-4

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Nursery raising

Some of the vegetable crops are transplanted ~ ;~~through seedlings. To make the timely availabilityof seedlings, nursery of the vegetables should beraised in protected conditions (various type ofgreenhouses). The nursery beds should be wellprepared. The beds should have 1:1 ratio of soiland well decomposed organic manure.

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54. Spices Turmeric BSR-I, Rorna 2000 45 15 240 3000

55. Ginger Himgri, Maran, 2000 45 15 240 1200

56. Cucurbitacoous Pumkin Pusa Vishwas 06 400 200 90 250

57. bottle Guard Pusa Naveeu 04 300 150 90 150

58. Summer Squash Pusa Alnkaar 08 150 75 60 300

59. Cucumber Pusa Sanyog 2.5 150 100 70 80

60. Long melon TarGreen 2.5 150 100 70 120

61. Watermelon Asahi Yamato 2.5 150 100 90 160

62. Musk melon Punjab Hybrid No·1 2.0 150 100 85 120

63. 2.0 150 100 90I

Sarda melon Sindbu Sweet 150

64. Ridge gourd Pusa Nasdhar 2.5 150 100 95 60

65. Sponge gourd Pusa Chkini 2.5 200 100 80 75

66. Bitter gourd ArkaHarit 2.5 150 100 90 40

67. Round melon Arka Tinda 2.0 I SO lOO 90 50

68. Wax gourd Mah-! 2.5 300 200 110 150

69. Snap melon FRL Sel 2.0 150 100 80 120

70. Buffalo gourd FRLSel 2.5 300 150 110 20

71. Other crops Okra Varsa 12 45 20 75 40

72. BabyCom G-5406 60 45 20 80 80

73. LocalVegetabl<sKabra Local 45 45 70

74. Shantgso Local 25 30 15 45 80

75. Shoma Local 50 30 15 60 200

76. Khala Local 25 30 10 60 90

77. Lamanchu Local 60 30 10

78. Lachu Local 10 60 60 60 250

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The seed should be sown at 10cm row to row distance and 2-3 cm deep.The nursery of various vegetables are raised from March-April andtransplanted in April-May, when the seedlings attained 10-12 cm height.Irrigation should be stopped 5-8 days before transplanting to hardening ofthe seedlings. According to the weather condition the nursery should beopen from protected condition before transplanting to get hardening ofthe seedlings.

AGRO-TECHNIQUES

Soil preparation

The vegetable can be grown in almost all the cultivable fields in Ladakh.The field should be ploughed once or twice before onset of winter andonce or twice at least 15 to 20 days before sowing/transplanting of thevegetable crops. The field should be firm and leveled.

Organic manure

To produce organic vegetables 2-4 Kg per square mtr (depending on thecrop and kind of manure) well decomposed organic manure should beapplied during last ploughing of the field before sowing/transplanting ofthe crop. In addition to the above dose, 1-2 Kg per square mtr welldecomposed organic manure should be given after 30-50 days(depending upon the crop) of sowing/transplanting of the crop.

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Yield may be increased withapplication of chemical

~;i;~4.:. fertilizers e.g. Nitrogen,Phosphorus and Potassiumespecially to the crops whichrequired heavy dose of theabove nutrients.

~. . " ., ~"< ,eo 0 i Sowing/transplantingi<..~-. o";~":~~~t ~.!The sowing or transplanting

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done in the month of April-May depending on the crop,weather condition and

altitude. To facilitate germination, the seeds should be sown at optimummoisture level. A light irrigation should be given just after transplantationof the seedlings. Seed rate and spacing for the sowing the seed ortransplanting ofthe seedlings are given in table 2.

Mulching

Mulching is the process to cover the soil surface by different bio andsynthetic agents between the plants. The mulching technology usingdifferent type of ploythene sheets is developed and upgraded to suitecold desert, as water for irrigation and low temperature is a limiting factorin the region. Crop like cucurbits, cole crops, solanaceous, leafy crops,potato and even groundnut respond well to the mulching in respect ofincreased yield and water use efficiency.

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Weeding and hoeing: The field should be free from weeds. Generally, 2-3 weeding and hoeing are required in all the vegetable crops.

lnsect-pestcontrol

There are three major insects damage to the vegetable crops in theregion. Cabbage butterfly caterpillars and aphids generally damage thecrops belonging to brassica family e.g. cole crops, mustard, turnip etc.Another major insect is cutworm which damages the crop like tomato,brinjal, capsicum, onion, potato, radish etc. Under organic system of thefarming the crops can be protected from the above insects by spraying of2% Biolep (Biological insecticides) and 2% Neem Gold (Herbalinsecticide). Depending upon the insect population, the spray may berepeated at 7-10 days interval.

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Table 2 : Extra Large size of vegetable : Maximum size/weight ofsome of the vegetables recorded at DIHAR, DRDO, Leh, Ladakh, isgiven below:

Vegetable Weight (g) Normal Wight (g)

Potato 1100 100-150

Onion 750 80-100

Turnip 4300 150-200

Cabbage 14200 1000-1500

Cauliflower 5100 1000·1500

Knol- khol 3200 500-750

Broccoli 1500 500-750

Long melon 2000 300-600

Pumpkin 35000 4000-5000

For Further Details Contact:DIRECTOR

DEFENCE INSTITUTE OF HIGH ALTITUDE RESEARCHoo ssAPO

Telefax: 01982-252096

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