As per India Meteorological Department, monthly maximum temperatures for May 2023 are expected to be above normal in some parts of Northeast. Below-normal rainfall is likely in most parts of northeast India.
General Advisory
1. Agriculture
• Prepare the nursery for paddy by ploughing at least twice and harrow at least once. Level the soil surface and put in drainage lines across the field. Broadcast seed in the nursery evenly, over the water covered soil surface
• For upland rice, if blast infestation is seen, remove and destroy the infected seedling. Maintain field sanitation and adopt clean cultivation.
• Always remove from the growing area plant materials that show signs of a disease and destroy them or place them in the trash. Maintaining crop hygiene is an essential step for successful farming.
• Apply light and frequent irrigation to the standing crops. Increase the frequency of irrigation at critical growth stages. Mulch with crop residue, straw, /polythene or undertake soil mulching to conserve soil moisture. Irrigate only during the evening or early morning.
2. Animal Husbandry
• Keep animals in shade and give them plenty of clean and cold water to drink. Do not make them work between 11 am to 4 pm. During extreme heat, spray water and take cattle to a water body to cool off. Give them green grass, protein-fat bypass supplement, mineral mixture and salt. Make them graze during cooler hours. Avoid grazing / feeding of cattle during noon hours
Plant Breeding & Genetics –Harendra Verma
1. Employ deep ploughing techniques to minimize soil-borne pests and pathogens.
2. Administer lime at a rate of 1 ton per hectare in acidic soils to improve nutrient mobilization.
3. Prepare the nursery using high-quality nutrients.
4. Organize all fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and fungicides to effectively manage crops.
5. Apply well decomposed farmyard manure at a rate of 2-3 tons per hectare before land ploughing.
6. Rice farmers can procure RCM-7 and Pusa Sugadha seeds from ICAR Nagaland Center.
7. For lowlands, obtain rice seeds at a rate of 40kg/ha and 70-80kg/ha for uplands to prepare nursery.
8. Soak seedlings in a chlorpyriphos solution at 0.2% concentration for 10 minutes to prevent early termite damage.
9. To prevent early infection and diseases, farmers are advised to treat seeds with SSF fungicide at a rate of 48kg/ha.
Agroforestry – Pempa Lamu Bhutia
1. Irrigation: Water the plants regularly based on their age and the soil type. For bamboo plants, it is recommended to water them upto a depth of atleast 6-8 inches. Avoid shallow, frequent watering and instead water deeply but less often. Water the plant early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Avoid watering during the hottest part of the day.
2. Mulching: Apply a layer of organic mulch (2-4 inches) around the base of the plant, keeping a gap of a few inches around the trunk, to conserve the soil moisture and reduce the frequency of watering required.
Entomology – Moanaro Lemtur
1. In maize, dust the plants with ash to protect from Fall Army worm and if some white patches or holes with feecal pellets are observed in the leaves spray Neem oil @ 2ml/ L or Spinosad 45 SC @ 0.75ml/L of water during evening hours.
2. Install yellow sticky traps in the vegetable field to monitor the pest population.
3. In cowpea, sponge gourd, ridge gourd and Okra if scrapping, holes or caterpillars are observed in the leaves, spray neem oil @ 2ml/L or Spinosad 45 SC @ 0.75ml/L or Indoxacarb 14.5 sc @ 0.5 ml/L of water during evening hours.
4. Hang Cue lure Fruit fly trap @ 10 traps/ha in cucumber, sponge gourd, bitter gourd, bottle gourd and pointed gourd field.
5. Hang Methyl Eugenol Fruit fly trap @ 10 traps/ha at 3-5 feet above ground level in mango orchard to trap the emerging male fly.
Poultry –Mahak Singh and Talimoa
1. Avoid overcrowding.
2. Provide ample warmth and ventilation.
3. Always maintain vaccination schedule.
4. Do not mix different age group birds.
5. Birds should be dewormed at regular intervals.
6. Give the correct feed type to each category of birds – be it starter, grower or layer feed.
7. Maintain strict biosecurity in the farm.
8. Always clean and sanitize drinkers and feeders.
9. Disinfect premises regularly.
10. Provide 14-16 hours of bright sunlight/ light to laying birds.
11. Calcium should be given to layers to get healthy and well-formed eggs.
Piggery – Mahak Singh and Talimoa
1. Vaccinate against CSF(Classical Swine Fever) and FMD (Food and Mouth Disease) on schedule.
2. Deworm animals on schedule.
3. Iron feeding of infant piglets should be carried out.
4. Avoid inbreeding of pigs at all costs.
5. During the changing of weather condition, provide proper balanced ration and some vitamins to combat stress.
6. Cut the needle teeth of piglets as soon as possible after farrowing.
7. Maintain strict biosecurity at farm.
8. Disinfect water source and farm premises with suitable disinfectant regularly.
Fishery – Jyotish Barman
For ponds where fingerlings stocking has been completed
Feeding should be continued @ 5 kg/day/ha. A mixture of mustard/groundnut oil cake and rice bran at 1:1 by weight can be used as supplementary feed. Alternatively, commercially available fish feed can also be supplemented.
Periodic liming (agricultural lime) depending on the pH should be done @ 20 - 25 kg/ha. This shall help in maintaining the desired pH level of the water. Lime should be mixed with water in a container and allowed to cool. Then it should be uniformly sprayed over the pond surface.
Lime should be applied only on sunny day in the morning hours preferably during noon hours. Lime application should not be done on rainy or cloudy days.
After 10 days of lime application, a mixture of cow dung @ 200 kg /ha, Urea @ 10 kg/ha and SSP @ 15 kg/ha should be applied. Time of application and dosage can be deferred depending on the water quality and plankton content of the pond. Poultry litter, pig dung, duck droppings, etc. depending on their availability, can be used as alternative source of organic manure.
If the temperature is too high, put some floating aquatic plant in one corner of the pond to provide shelter for the stocked fish. The covered area should not exceed one-fourth of the total water surface area.
As far as possible, embankment of the pond should be strengthened and raised to prevent entry of surface runoff water into the pond.
For ponds where fingerlings stocking has not been done
Pre-stocking Pond preparation such as desilting, strengthening of embankment, liming, manuring, etc. should be completed prior to stocking fingerlings.
Optimum pond water depth should be 2.5- 3.0 m depth with capacity of holding at least 1.5 m water depth throughout the year. A provision of outlet can be made to check overflow of water during heavy rainfall.
Application of powdered lime over dry surface of the pond bottom @ 100-130 kg/ha is recommended. In case of water filled pond, lime should be first dissolved and then sprayed over the water surface. Application of cow dung, Urea and SSP should be done only after the pond is filled with water.
Once the pond water starts turning greenish, healthy and disease-free fingerlings or yearlings should be stocked as per the recommended combination and stocking density.
