Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Black gram (Vigna mungo) Seed Production

The seed material is an important item in any production of agricultural commodities. Farmers generally purchase seed from co farmers or from dealers in the market for raising crops. Production of crops by farmers is for their own use and what ever is extra over and above their own consumption will be sold to others or in the market.

While purchasing seed from co farmers one has to observe: Whether the seed crop is thoroughly rouged or not. What is the yielding capacity of the variety? Whether the variety is free from pests and diseases etc. If the farmer is fully satisfied then only that seed has to be procured.

Precaution to be taken while purchasing seed from the market:












Purchase seed from reliable source only Purchase from authorized/licensed dealer. Take receipt. Check MRP (Maximum Retail Price) before purchase. Price should not exceed MRP. Check whether the seal of bag or container is intact or not If seal is broken don’t purchase, select another good one. Check germination percentage before sowing at the house/farm. It can be easily done. Count 100 seeds. Sow these seeds @ 10/line in 10 lines. Give light watering regularly every day till germination takes place in about a week’s time. Observe number of seedlings germinated , so that the germination percentage is known in advance of sowing If the germination percentage is less than 80% extra seed has to be sown to compensate for loss in germination percentage Preserve the bill, bag and Tag till the end of the season i.e., harvest of the crop.

If there is poor germination it has to be reported to the local agriculture officer concerned in writing. The Director of Research of Agricultural University will nominate a scientist to visit the field along with Agricultural Departmental Officials, to check seed plots and ascertain whether there www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

are defects in seed or not. If the seed is defective farmer has to file a case against the seed company in the consumer forum to get compensation. If defects are noticed in the middle of the season like no flowering in the crop; admixtures in the variety; even then farmer has to report to the local agricultural officer in writing about the defects in the variety supplied. He has to produce proof of purchase namely bill, bag or container. The team will give a report. Based on the report if the defect in the variety is confirmed farmer can go to consumer forum to get compensation.

Where ever farmers produce seed on large scale it has to be sold to others. Production of black gram seed by farmers is mainly of two types: Seed production with out certification (for self consumption and local selling) and with certification (for selling in far away places at production centres i.e. for growing over a wide area. Uncertified seed is mainly meant for growing in nearby or local area. It may be in the same village or surrounding villages, or where popularity exists for such uncertified seed based on faith.

Uncertified seed:
Uncertified seed is mainly meant for growing in nearby or local area.
It may be in the same village or surrounding villages, or where popularity exists for such uncertified seed based on faith.
Procurement of seed required for seed production can be from farmers own seed or procured from public or private organisations.
Identify vigorously growing healthy plants, free from insect pests and diseases.
Harvest seed from them and use for producing seed.
Following Isolation requirement, periodical rouging before/during flowering and during pod development helps in improving quality and also market value of seed produced from it compared to not following all these practices.
All cultivation practices are similar to certified seed. But there is neither registration with certifying agency nor buy back agreement with any private/public organisation.
Seed produced in this manner will be sold to persons having faith on the producer.
To such seed producers it is advised to procure foundation seed from organisations like Agricultural University/ICAR research stations for producing certified seed.
Clean cultivation along with timely rouging and harvesting is to be done.
Threshing and cleaning can be taken up individually.
Processing packing marketing etc can be done individually or through farmer’s societies.
Registration with seed cortication agency of the state concerned like Andhra Pradesh State Seed Certification Agency (APSSCA) for AP can be done individually or as a group in a contiguous area. Thus farmers can get 20-50% more income in seed production compared to commercial cultivation of black gram. Certified seed is mainly meant for growing over a wide area even throughout globe. Certified seed production details are given here.

Cultivation: www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Black gram Cultivation

Soil Requirement: Black gram can be grown in all types of soils except saline, saline alkaline and soils with poor drainage which are not suitable. Compared to black gram, black gram withstands more soil moisture. Where green gram can not be grown in soils with high moisture retentivity such as black soils, black gram can be taken. Where ever commercial crop of black gram is possible to produce well, such areas are also suitable to produce seed, provided isolation is taken care of and land must be free from volunteer black gram plants.

Isolation requirement: Black gram is classified as self pollinated crop. Pollen shedding takes place long before petal opening. Isolation requirement for foundation seed: 10 metres certified seed: 5 m is required from fields of other black gram varieties and of the same variety not confirming to varietal purity requirements of certification.

Land preparation: Preparation of field by bullock or tractor drawn cultivator (Gorru) followed by planking (Guntaka) to remove weeds is required before sowing.

Sowing time / season Black gram comes up well in kharif. It can also be sown in February to April in North India. In south India it can even be grown in rabi. In rice fallows it can be sown in November to I week of December or February and March. Earlier the sowings in February-March better will be the yield of black gram in AP.

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Seed source: Obtain higher grade seed (to produce certified seed, foundation seed is to be obtained) from source approved by the concerned state seed certification agency. If seed production is for private company then that company will supply seed.

Seed treatment: Treat seed with Pseudomonas fluorescence @ 10 g/kg seed. Bio control agents are compatible with bio fertilizers. First treat seed with bio control agents and then with Rhizobium.
Treat with Rhizobial culture
One packet of 200 g Rhizobial culture is sufficient for treating seed required for one acre. In rice fallows 200 g culture/8 kg seed is needed.
Bacterial culture slurry may be prepared with rice gruel (ganji) or jaggery solution.
Dry bacterial culture treated seed in shade for 15 minutes before sowing.

Method of sowing: Sowing is done either with seed cum fertiliser drill or dropped in plough furrow. Spacing & Seed rate : Spacing & Seed rate for different situations are given here. Kharif: June-July sown : 8-10 kg/Ac Spacing 30x10 cm Rabi: October sown (rain fed) : 8-10 kg/Ac 30x10 cm Summer February sown (irrigated) :10-12 kg/Ac 22.5x10 cm Rice fallows broadcasted, November sown:16 kg/Ac Rice fallows broadcasted, March sown :16-18 kg/Ac

Manuring & Fertilisation:

Application of 2.0 tonnes of well decomposed FYM/compost/Ac or 0.8 to 1.2 tonnes of vermi compost mixed with 2 kg PSB (phosphate solubulizing bacteria)/Ac is needed during last tilling. Addition of 5-10 quintal neem leaf manure is beneficial not only in terms of increased nutrient supply, but also in terms of reduced problem of soil borne pathogens and nematodes. Apply 8 kg N + 20 kg P205 (50 kg DAP or 20 kg urea + 125 kg SSP)/Ac as basal application and incorporate before sowing seed. Otherwise use seed cum fertiliser drill at sowing. Apply 200 litres of Sanjeevak or Jeevamrut/Ac at the time of sowing or immediately after, for ready availability of micro-organisms to improve soil fertility. Spraying 10 to 15 g urea/litre of water at initial reproductive stage of crop is beneficial for increasing yield in rain fed drought conditions. At any time concentration should not exceed 20 g/litre of water. Application of phosphate solubulizing bacteria (PSB) for release of fixed P205 in the soil is an effective bio fertilizer.

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Good Growth of Black Gram

Irrigation:

Irrigation

In seed production, irrigating when moisture deficit occurs, will improve yield and profits greatly. Irrigation during dry spells in kharif; and at moisture deficit periods during rabi and frequent irrigations during summer are essential to obtain good yields.

Weed Management & Interculture: Interculture operations should be done at 20-25 days after sowing to keep the field weed free and to preserve soil moisture and to improve microbial activity. One or two weedings or hoeings are to be done at about 20 and 25 DAS depending on weed growth. www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Spraying of chemical weedicide like Pendimethalin 30% @ 1.3 to 1.6 litres/Ac or Alachlor 50% @ 1 litre/Ac immediately after sowing or within 24 hrs after sowing is recommended.

Important pests and diseases: Important insect pests of black gram include stem fly, spotted pod borer (Maruca), white flies, flea beetles, thrips, and tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera).

Stem fly: Due to entry and feeding of caterpillar into stem plant dies. It mainly occurs in kharif. For control, spray @ 1 g Acephate/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.

Maruca (Spotted) pod borer: This pest attacks at bud formation, flowering and pod formation stages. For control, spray @ 2.5 ml chlorpyriphos or 2.0 ml quinalphos 25 EC and 1 ml dichlorvos 76 EC/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.
As a preventive measure, spray NSKE 5% (50 g crushed neem seed/litre water) at flower bud initiation stage.

White flies: They suck sap from leaves. Also spread yellow mosaic virus. To control, spray @ 2 ml methyl-o-demeton or 2 ml triazophos/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.

Flea beetles: Attack black gram at 2-leaf stage and make holes on leaves. When there is a severe attack of this pest, if not controlled immediately, about 80% of plants will die. To control, spray @ 2.5 ml chlorpyriphos/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.

Thrips: This pest sucks leaf sap from young leaves, which may lead to spread of leaf curl virus. About 15-20% damage to crop may occur. To control, spray @ 1 g Acephate or 2 ml dimethoate/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.

Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura): Leaves turn yellow when these insects scratch green matter and eat it. Holes will be made in leaves. They even eat away complete leaves. They will also eat flowers and pods. They feed more during nights and hide at plant base or in crevices of soil during day. Practice integrated pest management.

Details: * Pick egg masses and destroy. * Leaves attacked by this pest will become like a sieve. Pick such leaves along with caterpillars and destroy. www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

* Release 30,000 Trichogramma parasites 2 times at weekly interval. * Install 4 pheromone traps/Ac & observe for pest incidence. * Spray NPV 200 LE/Ac during evening. *If attack is severe, poison baiting is to be done with 500 ml chlorpyriphos or 500 g carbaryl + 5 kg rice bran + 0.5 kg jaggery + sufficient quantity of water to prepare it into small balls. Spread it on soil during evening. * Finally spray @ 2.5 ml chlorpyriphos/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required.

Important diseases include corynespora leaf spot at 35-40 DAS, powdery mildew at 45-50 DAS, and rust at 60-65 DAS, wilt, anthracnose, leaf crinkle and yellow mosaic virus Corynespora leaf spot: At the time when crop reaches flowering i.e. about 35-40 DAS specially during rabi, when humidity is more small light brown spots appear. Under favourable conditions, spots become bigger, leaves dry & fall down. Carbendazim should not be used to control this disease. To control, spray @ 2.5 g mancozeb or 3 g COC (copper oxy chloride)/litre water. Spray 2 times at an interval of 10 days. Change chemical each time. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. Spay on field bunds also.

Powdery mildew : At 45-50 DAS when humidity is more, ash type powder will form on old leaves. It spreads to branches & pods. To control, spray @ 1 g carbendazim or 1 g thiophanate-methyl or 1 ml karathane or 2 ml hexaconazole or 1 ml tridemorph/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. Total 2 sprays at an interval of 10-15 days are required. Change chemical each time.

Rust: Symptoms of rust appears during flowering. Initially small, round, light yellow spots appear on upper surface of leaves. Later they become rusty spots. To control, spray @ 3 g mancozeb + 1 ml dinocap or 1 ml tridemorph or 1 g bitalan/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. Total 2 sprays at an interval of 10 days are required. Change chemical in each spray.

Important note: In rice fallow situations during rabi, diseases like corynespora leaf spot occurring at 35-40 DAS, powdery mildew occurring at 45-50 DAS, wilt occurring at 60-65 DAS can be controlled effectively by taking up spraying as detailed below: At 30-35 DAS spray @ 2.5 g mancozeb or 3 g COC (copper oxy chloride) At 50 DAS spray @ 3 g mancozeb + 1 ml dinocap At 60-65 DAS spray @ 3 g mancozeb + 1 ml dinocap or 1 ml calixin or 1 g bitalan/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. There is no use of spraying many days after attack of the disease. Based on weather conditions, if the disease is expected to come, it is better to take up spraying immediately. www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

Wilt: Attacked plants will dry up. Heavy loss may take place. It spreads through soil born pathogens. Controlling the disease by spraying chemicals on plants may not be profitable. *Drain out water from field. *Don’t grow same crop years together. Change crop.

Anthracnose: Affected plant leaves show light brown spots with light yellow borders. To control, spray @ 3 g COC/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. Total 2 sprays at an interval of 10 days are required. Leaf crinkle: This virus disease spreads through seed as well as aphids. Leaves become thick and crinkled. Plants will not flower or even if it flowers, they will be less. Yield will be very low. To control thrips, spray @ 1 g Acephate or 2 ml dimethoate/litre water. Remove affected plants and burn. Collect seed from unaffected plants.

Yellow mosaic virus: Spreads through white flies. To control white flies, spray @ 1 g acephate or 2 ml dimethoate or 2 ml phosphamidon or 2 ml methyl-o-demeton or 2 ml triazophos/litre water. 200 litre spray fluid/Ac is required. Remove & burn affected plants. Spray at an interval of 7-10 days till control is achieved. Change chemical in each spray.

Cuscuta parasite: It is golden twine like parasitic weed, which sucks sap from plants. Remove cuscuta along with affected plants immediately. If incidence is more, at 20 DAS, spray @ 200 ml imazethapyr (Pursuit) in 200 litre water/Ac. Later spray @ 10 g urea/litre water within 5-7 days for recovery of black gram from bad effect of imazethapyr (Pursuit). If cuscuta is not controlled in time, it spreads to whole crop and reduce yield. It occurs every year by multiplication through seed.

Roguing: Rogue off type and diseased plants in seed field from time to time. Minimum number of 2 field inspections will be done by certification agency first before flowering and second during flowering and pod developmental stage.

Harvesting, threshing & cleaning: www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

In rainy season, generally pods are picked, dried and then threshed. During non rainy season i.e. rabi or summer, total plants are cut to the base, dried and threshed. Seed separated dried and preserved.

Yield: Yield varies from 6-10 q/Ac in irrigated crop. Storing:
Graded seed should be further dried to 9% moisture.
For storing seed in dry places up to six months, they should be packed in fresh thick cloth or gunny bags.
For storing in humid areas and for long term (1-2 years) storage; they should be packed in moisture-vapour-proof container like polythene bags of 700 gauge.
These bags should be filled with seed leaving only sufficient space to close their opening by perfectly heat-sealing to make it air tight.
They should be stitched and closed.
These bags may in turn be covered by gunny bags and closed before stocking to prevent slipping.
Store seed bags on racks or wooden pallets in a dry storage room.
Another method treating seed with halogen mixture (containing pure CaOC1, CaCO3 and arappu leaf powder in 5:5:1 ratio @ 3g/kg) and store in 700 gauge poly bags to maintain high germination for more than 10 months. Care must be taken to prevent mechanical admixture during sowing, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, drying, bagging, storing etc.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Black gram cultivation should be done only in well drained soils. Weed free field preparation needed. Use quality higher grade seed to produce quality lower grade seed. Use optimum seed rate and sow in time. Follow effective control measures in pest and disease control. Avoid moisture stress before flowering and seed development stage. Take up soil and moisture conservation measures for rain fed crop. Foliar spray @ 10-15 g urea/litre water at the initial reproductive stage is beneficial for increasing yield in rain fed drought condition.

Don’ts 1.

Don’t take up black gram seed production in saline or water logged soils as they are not suitable for its cultivation. 2. Don’t cultivate black gram crop in soils with poor drainage. www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

3. Don’t mix bio agents like Trichoderma viridae or Rhizobium with chemical pesticides

Seed certification procedures are given in annexure ANNXURE Seed Certification Procedures Phases of Seed Certification Certification shall be completed in six broad phases listed under • Receipt and scrutiny of application. • Verification of seed source, class and other requirements of the seed used for raising the seed crop. • Field inspections to verify conformity of the standing crop to the prescribed field standards. • Supervision at post-harvest stages including processing and packaging; • Seed sampling and analysis, including genetic purity test and / or seed health test, if any, in order to verify conformity to the prescribed standards and • Grant of certificate and certification tags, bagging and sealing.

Seed Certification Procedures _ All the seed material to be used for seed production programme is subject to verification by the Agency. The seed producer should submit to the Agency relevant evidence such as certification tags, seals, labels, seed containers, purchase records, sales records etc, as may be demanded by the Agency during scrutiny of the application and/or during the first inspection of the seed crop in order to confirm that the seed used for raising the crop has been obtained from a source approved by the Agency and conforms to the class of seed required for seed production. A sourceverification register containing relevant information as prescribed should be maintained by the seed producer for verification by Agency staff. _ After source verification application for certification should be submitted in the prescribed FORM-1 in triplicate to the concerned Assistant Director of Seed Certification. FORM-1 is available with the divisional and zonal offices of the Agency._ FORM-1 should be submitted within 30 days from the date of sowing or 15 days from the date of transplanting as the case may be. _ The relevant seed certification charges such as Registration fee, inspection fee grow out test charges (wherever necessary), seed testing charges, etc. should be remitted along with FORM-1, _ Separate FORM-1 should be submitted for certification of each variety. The FORM-1 should contain complete details of the name and address of the seed producer; season of production; name and address of the grower; location of the seed plot; crop/ variety and class of seed to be produced; area under seed production; details of parental seed materials used with lot number; date of sowing and the particulars of seed certification charges remitted. • In a single application, the maximum area that can be offered for certification is 25 acres. Additional area will require separate application.

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

• No refund of inspection and registration fee will be made once the seed plot has been visited / inspected by the Seed Certification Officer. • The seed producer should assist the Agency staff in locating the seed plots during the first inspection. • Seed producers should guide their growers in agronomic practices, pest/disease control etc., for seed production. • Only seed from plots meeting all the prescribed field standards for certification is accepted for processing at the recognised seed processing plants. • All the necessary care should be taken to avoid admixture during harvesting, threshing and transportation. • Harvested seed produce from the approved fields should be brought to the seed processing unit and seeds are certified within 2 ½ months from the date of harvest. • Certification of a seed lot will be taken up only if the seed lots have met the prescribed field and seed standards.

FIELD INSPECTION Inspection of the standing crop is an essential step in verifying conformity of seed crop to prescribed minimum seed-certification standards. All the registered seed production fields will be inspected by qualified, trained and experienced officers of the Agency. Verification of all factors affecting seed quality in the field may not normally be possible in a single inspection as all the factors in the field may not be apparent or may not occur at the same time or all of them may not affect seed quality at the same stage of crop growth. Hence two or more inspections phased to cover all the important stages of crop growth are required for most crops. The number of inspections and the stages of crop growth at which they should be conducted vary from crop to crop depending on the crop duration, pollination behavior, susceptibility to contamination, disease-susceptible stages, nature of the contaminating factors, etc. Accordingly field inspection of seed certification plots is conducted at vegetative or pre-flowering stage; flowering stage, post-flowering and pre-harvest stage. Field Inspections at vegetative or pre flowering stages are done to confirm the actual acreage planted and compare it with the acreage allotted or for which the application was submitted and to record the excess area if any and to confirm actual date of sowing/planting. . .verify, for seed crops involving two different parents, whether the grower has followed the recommended planting ratios and border rows and has marked" the end of each male row: verify the presence of any contaminant within the prescribed isolation distance, guide the grower in solving the isolation if any and advise the grower to remove the same before flowering. * advise the removal of all off types on the basis of vegetative characters. * detect occurrence of any contamination within the isolation distance and to determine the area to be rejected due to inadequate isolation. * guide the grower in solving nicking problems wherever applicable. * verify morphological characters of the crop. www.efreshindia.com

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

* Inspection at post-flowering and pre harvest stages is done to confirm that the observations on planting ratios, planting of border rows, off types, de tasseling of maize crosses, removal of pollen shedders in bajra, sorghum, sunflower etc. during previous inspections are reasonably accurate and the defects in these factors had not escaped attention in earlier inspections. * Confirm that the grower had done through roguing after the inspection at flowering. Verify the removal of contaminating factors, objectionable weed plants and diseased plants/heads. * educate the grower about harvesting technology, give guidance regarding the care to be taken during harvesting, threshing and transportation, and assess the expected yield (approximate) from the seed crop.

PRESCRIBED FIELD STANDARDS FOR BLACK GRAM UNDER CERTIFICATION Maximum permissible level off types in Foundation seed 0.10 % Certified seed 0.20 %

FIELD COUNTS For all crops five counts are taken for an area up to 5 acres, and an additional count taken for each additional five acres as given below. Area of the field crop, Acres

No. of counts to be taken

0-5

5

5-10

6

10-15

7

15-20

8

20-25

9

In any inspection if the first set of counts shows that the seed crop does not confirm to the prescribed standards for any factor, 'a second set of counts should be taken for that factor. However, when the first set of counts shows a factor is more than twice the maximum permitted it is not necessary to take a second set of counts. Two sets of counts are called double counts. Some cops tiller others do not, some are planted narrow. Others wide, thus the number of plants/heads comprising a single count differs from crop to crop. No. of plants/head per count in black gram is 500 . Seed crops meeting the prescribed field standards for certification will be harvested, threshed and transported to seed processing plants authorised by STATE SEED CERTIFICATION AGENCY along with Final Filed Inspection Report issued by the concerned Seed Certification Officer.

REJECTION OF SEED PLOTS The agency has the authority to reject seed plots offered for certification on the following grounds. The isolation distance is inadequate. The seed crop does not conform to the prescribed field standards for any factor or contaminant

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Balck gram(Vigna mungo) Seed Production

One-third or more of a self-pollinated crop is so heavily lodged as to render it impossible to take the field counts. One-third or more is lodged just prior to or during flowering so that inspection during flowering is difficult / not possible.

The application in Form-1 has been submitted late viz., when the crop has crossed the flowering stage by the time of the first inspection. RE-INSPECTION In case of seed fields rejected due to nonconformity to the prescribed field standards at a certain inspection, the Agency shall, at the producer's request and after removal of source of contamination or contaminant plants in the seed field by the grower, undertake one re-inspection over and above the number of inspections prescribed for the crop provided the removal of the source of contamination can ensure conformity of the seed crop to the standards prescribed and provided further that no irreversible damage has been caused to the quality of the seed by the contaminant(s)

HARVESTING, THRESHING AND TRANSPORTATION

A seed crop meeting the field standards for certification shall be properly harvested, threshed, dried and transported to the registered seed processing unit and certified within 2+ months from the date of harvest. During these operations seed producers/growers should take all necessary precautions to safeguard seed quality by preventing seed admixture and other causes of contamination at any stage not supervised by the Agency.

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