Crop Rotation for Spices, Sugar Crops, and Jute

Spices

The crop rotation for spices should be as follows:

1. 3, 4, 5, 6: ginger with soybean.

2. 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5-11: turmeric and black gram.

3. 11, 11.5, 12.5, 1.5: late potato with candani and fenugreek on the mound (with the potatoes) and coriander, anise, and jiira in the canal.

Dry and big winter chilli should also be grown in the canal. Big seedlings should be grown so that the plants flower within fifteen days after planting.

For one week after planting, the seedlings should be covered with shade to avoid direct sunlight, but in the night they should not be covered.

Sugar Crops

Sugar crops include the following:

1. Sugar cane

Sugar cane is of Indian origin and comes within the grass group. It is a medium-sized grass. The percentage of sugar produced differs from one variety to another.

Traditionally, sugar cane is planted just before winter, but this system is a bit defective. The best season for planting is the early spring in the month of Phálguna. The cuttings must be brought from at least twenty kilometres away, otherwise they will be prone to pests and disease.

If sugar cane is grown, it should be planted along with late boro paddy. In the month of Jyaeśt́ha, after harvesting boro paddy, the plants should be bundled up with the leaves of the sugar cane. The place between two sugar cane plants may be utilized either for green gram, which grows in sixty days, peanuts, or maize of the taller variety. In the month of Aśádha, after removing the grass, the vacancy between two sugar cane plants may be utilized for growing turmeric. Turmeric requires half sunlight and half shade. It will grow well in sugar cane fields. In the month of Kárttika, after harvesting the turmeric, if a place remains between two sugar canes, it may be utilized for producing sweet potato or sweet juice potato.

2. Sugar beet

Sugar beet is an all-season crop, but in India it is grown only in the winter season between Áshvina and Phálguna. It may be grown along with potato between two potato plants on the upper portion of the valley, that is, on the mound. The lower portion of the mound may be utilized for growing winter spices. Sugar beet may be produced both with early potato (Áshvina to Agraháyańa) or late potato (Pauśa to Phálguna).

3. Sweet potatoes

The space between sweet potatoes can be used to cultivate:

• soybeans
• cabbage
• winter eggplant

The early variety of sweet potato can be grown from Áshvina to Agraháyańa.

• The late variety from Pauśa to Phálguna.

Green chilli may also be grown, but green chilli is 3-year crop.

In the first year, there is a good crop, in the second year there is a medium crop, and in the third year there is a very low crop.

For example, if in the first year the production is taken as 100%, in the second year it will be reduced to 40% and in the third year to only 10% to 15%. So it is best that after the second year the old plants are replaced.

Cauliflower should not be planted along with the creeping crops.

• It requires direct sunlight and the creepers will cover it.

Cabbage needs less direct sunlight.

• It can be grown along with the creeping tuber vegetables.

After harvesting late sweet potato, select varieties of arum, along with summer creepers like pumpkin, gourd, bitter gourd, water gourd, cucumber, musk melon, watermelon, spinach, etc. should be planted.

From Aśáŕha to Bhádra, the land may be utilized for áus paddy, maize, jute, rainy season brinjal or spinach, rainy season chilli, rainy season beans and rainy season creeping vegetables like pumpkin, gourd, etc.

A platform must be used in case of such vegetables. In the winter or summer, a platform may or may not be used.

The crop rotation for sugar crops should be as follows:

1. Áshvina to Agraháyańa – The early variety of sweet potato or sweet juice potato.
2. Paośa to Phálguń – The late variety of sweet potato or sweet juice potato.
3. Caetra to Jyaeśt́ha – Arum associated with summer creeper.
4. Áśáŕha to Bhádra – Áus paddy, maize, jute rainy season brinjal and rainy season creeping vegetables.

Jute

The crop rotation for jute should be as follows:

1. Vaeshákha – The jute seeds are sown in a seed bed.
2. Áśáŕha – The seedlings of jute and the seedlings of áus paddy are transplanted. They will both be harvested in Shrávańa.
3. After this autumn maize can be planted (a two-month crop) along with soybean or radish. Maize and soybean are both harvested in the end of Áshvina. Radish would be left in the field a little longer before harvesting.
4. Winter crops are planted later, and include wheat, winter vegetables and linseed. Linseed is harvested at the end of winter, in Phálguna. After growing linseed, dhaiṋca must be sown for two months and then plowed into the soil as green manure because linseed takes so much out of the soil. In Vaeshákha, jute and áus paddy can start again.

Poor farmers will be benefited if they adopt such a system, and so will society.

Amongst all the types of culture of the physical stratum, agriculture is the best. We must encourage and develop agriculture.

February 1988, Calcutta