West Bengal

The cultivated area of the state is 5.5 million ha comprising 62% of the total geographical area. About 54% of cultivated area is irrigated and the cropping intensity is high at 176%. The soils are acidic, saline and sodic and low in fertility. The important crops are rice, potato, mustard, pulses and jute. Suggested interventions for natural resource management for agriculture in the state are as follows:

� Site-specific nutrient management on 1 lakh ha of rice-rice to enhance rice production by

  0.3 million tonnes/annum

� Liming along with adequate fertilizer use in of 0.5 million ha to increase productivity by

  0.5 million tonnes/annum

Rice

The state has 5.8 million ha under rice cultivation, which covers irrigated and rainfed areas, with the average productivity of 2.6 tonnes/ha. The major constraints in production are frequent floods and poor drainage, micronutrient deficiency, moderate to strong soil acidity and related nutrient constraints. The suggested interventions for enhancing productivity are:

� Growing of varieties: Shatabdi, Rasi, Sasyasree, Khitish (irrigated); Rasi,

  PNR 381 (uplands); Manasarovar, Swarnadhan, Shashi (shallow land); Sabita, Madhukar,

  Bhudeb (semi-deep water); Neeraja, Jalpriya, Jitendra (deep water); CSR 10, CSR 13, CSR 27

  (saline soils)

� Cultivation of hybrids such as CNRH 3, DRRH 2, JKRH 401, both in kharif and Boro cultivation

� Cultivation of Boro rice using IR64 and Krishnahamsa rice varieties.

Rapeseed-mustard

The area, production and productivity are 4.2 lakh ha, 3.8 lakh tonnes and 909 kg/ha respectively. The major constraints in production are late sowing due to late harvesting of kharif (aman) paddy, inadequate moisture at sowing time, particularly in rice-fallow lands, flood affected areas leading to delayed land preparation and occurrence of heavier soils and major biotic stress (mustard aphid, Alternaria blight, white rust and club root). Suitable technological interventions are:

� Use of improved varieties of Indian mustard: Sej 2, JD 6 (Pusa Mahak), Pusa Bold; toria:

  PT 507,  Panchali; yellow sarson: Ragini, Jhumka, Subinoy

� Replacement of toria with early duration mustard varieties

� Growing early duration rice varieties to ensure early sowing of mustard

� Following moisture conservation strategy and rain water harvesting to ensure at least one