Asom

The state characterized by humid and per-humid ecosystem, has 2.7 million ha under cultivation comprising 35% of total area. The irrigated area is hardly 6% of the cultivated area. The soils are acidic in nature and low in fertility. Rice-rice and rice-rapeseed/mustard are the major cropping systems. The cropping intensity of the state is 142.8% and total foodgrains production is 3.62 million tonnes. At present, the predominant farming system of the state is crop + dairy + fishery + pig/duckery/poultry under irrigated condition for all types of farmers� categories. Suggested interventions for natural resource management for agriculture in the state are as follows:

� Amelioration of 1.5 million ha of acidic soils through lime and fertilizer application to have additional 1.5 million tonnes of pulses and oilseeds

� Watershed management for soil erosion control and water harvesting

� Integrated farming system involving crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery and poultry

Rice

The state has about 2.3 million ha under rice cultivation, which is mostly rainfed. The state average productivity is about 1.5 tonnes/ha. The major constraints in production are soil acidity, flash floods and low cropping intensity and suitable interventions for the state are:

� Growing high yielding varieties Lachit, Jalasri, Ranjeet, Prafulla and Gitesh kharif; Luit in sali/ahu; Jayamati, Bishnu Prasad and Jyothi Prasad in boro

� Correction of soil acidity by use of lime

� Increasing area under boro rice with improved nursery raising method using polythene tunnel to avoid cold injury.

Rapeseed-Mustard

The acreage under rapeseed-mustard in Asom did not vary much during the last five years. The production levels increased from 0.97 lakh tonnes to 1.38 lakh tonnes, and the productivity from 456 to 528 kg/ha in the last five years. The major constraints in production are use of traditional varieties, inadequate moisture at sowing time, particularly in rice-fallow areas, delayed sowing, use of high seed rate and major biotic stresses (mustard aphid and Alternaria blight). The suggested interventions include:

� Use of improved varieties of Indian mustard: Sej 2, Pusa Mahak, Pusa Bold; toria: PT 507, TS 46; and yellow sarson: Ragini, Subinoy

� Completion of sowing latest by first week of November to minimize incidence of Alternaria blight and aphids

� Enhancing production by keeping apiary boxes in mustard fields

� Use borax @ 10 kg/ha for North bank plains and Brahmputra valley zones in addition to application of  N : P : K @ 60�80 : 40 : 40 kg/ha