SAARC Agriculture Centre

Transcription

1

2 SAARC Agriculture Centre Genesis The Heads of the States or Governments established the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on the 8th day of December Seven South Asian Nations, namely, Bangladesh Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the founder members of the Regional Association. Later Afghanistan became the eighth member country in SAARc Agriculture Centre, (renamed in April 2007 from SAARC Agricultural Information Centre, SAIC) is the first regional Centre established by the SAARC. The Centre started functioning in 1988 with a mandate for information management, primarily in the field of agriculture and allied discipline. With the passage of time, the Centre braced up broader challenges to make regional cooperation more responsive to the needs of the stakeholders and farming communities as South Asia heads for a new order of agricultural transformation. The SAARC Agriculture Centre thus been given an enhanced mandate for agricultural research and development, policy planning, and knowledge management. Goal of the Centre Promotion of agricultural research and development (R&D) as well as technology dissemination initiatives for sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation in the region

3 SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) Enhancing Oilseeds Production through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries

4 SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) BARC Complex, Farmgate Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh Phone : , Fax : sac@saarcagri.net Web : c 2012 SAARC Agriculture Centre Published July 2012 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the publisher. ISBN : Cover Design Mafruha Begum CMO (D & Art), SAC Price BD Taka 300/- US$ 5.00 for SAARC countries US$ for other countries Printed at College Gate Binding & Printing 1/7, College Gate, Mohammadpur, Dhaka. Phone : , ii

5 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Editors Nasrin Akter Senior Program Officer (crop), SAC Dr. K.S. Varaprasad Project Director, DOR, ICAR Dr. Abul Kalam Azad Director, SAC SAARC Agriculture Centre iii

6

7 Content Preface Part-I Concept Note on Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Recommendations of the regional workshop on Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Page vii 1 5 Part-II Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 15 Part-III Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 33 Part-IV Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 53 Part-V Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 87 Part-VI Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 121 Part-VII Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka 151 SPECIAL PAPERS Part-VIII Status of repeseed mustard in India 169 Part-IX Oil Palm Cultivation in India 187 Part-X Appendices Programme Photo Albim v

8

9 Preface A wide range of agro-ecological zones prevailing in the SAARC member countries support diverse crops in general and an array of oilseed crops in particular. This coupled with demographic and dietary diversity, has encouraged and sustained the identity and growth of each oilseed crop. It is not only bestowed with a number of oil yielding species of plant origin which include the annuals (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soybean, sunflower, sesame, niger, safflower, castor and linseed), perennials (oil palm and coconut), minor oil bearing species of forest and tree origin and byproducts of some non-traditional sources such as rice bran, cotton seed and corn but also a diverse agro-ecological niches for their cultivation. The oilseed complex in SAARC region is undergoing visible changes in the new environment of liberalized trade. Consumption patterns are changing, as consumers are beginning to accept oils other than those consumed traditionally. Changes in cropping patterns have also taken place with the help of technology missions and price support. The low and fluctuating yields are primarily due to a large part of the cultivation being on marginal lands lacking irrigation and with low levels of input usage. The comparatively lower yields are mainly due to the fact that the quality of the seed varieties is generally poor and oilseeds crops in this region are mostly cultivated under un-irrigated areas. Horizontal expansion of area under oilseeds is limited due to the declining per capita arable land and competing crops. Many efficient cropping systems involving oilseeds have been identified for different agro-ecological regions of the country. Many newer and non-traditional areas, such as paddy-fallows offer great potential for extending profitable cultivation of oilseeds. The edible oils/ oilseeds sector currently faces several challenges. Oilseed cultivation is becoming increasingly unattractive due to low and unstable yields. The technology mission on oilseeds had only limited success. Decreasing price of edible oils due to trade liberalization may result in low prices for oilseeds resulting in poor supply response. High import tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) restrictions have made oilseed imports unattractive. Low domestic output of raw material combined with restricted import of oilseeds can lead to a high degree of under utilization of processing capacity. Besides cereals oil seed is one of the valuable and desired crops in the SAARC region for achieving food and nutritional security. For the development of this oil seed sector, the country status in terms of area, production, demand, R&D is needed. In this endeavour, the SAARC Agriculture Centre has taken a programme on Enhancing Oilseed Production through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries. The centre has collected country study reports from SAARC member countries and synthesized the reports. The centre also organized a regional workshop that has been taken a number of region specific recommendations for future activities. Considering importance and urgency related to increase oilseed production, the present publication on "Enhancing Oilseed Production through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries" would help to collect and compile available information and data derived from research and practical vii

10 experiences in the region regarding the above subject with ultimate goal of formulating improved technological strategies and government policy support for boosting up further more oilseed production in the SAARC region. The publication contains country study reports that help in developing strategies for enhancing oilseed production through better technology in SAARC Countries. The beneficiaries will be scientists/researchers, support service providers, policy makers in the Governments of SAARC countries, and ultimately the farmers. I acknowledge the sincere efforts of my colleagues and the distinguished contributing authors from different member SAARC countries for completing this daunting task. My compliments to the members of editorial committee for editing the book and bring it in the present status. SAC always appreciates receiving feedback, comments and suggestions from the users of our products and services to help us enable to do better. Dr. Abul Kalam Azad Director SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) viii

11 PART - I Dpodfqu!Opuf po Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo TBBSD!Dpvousjft 20-21, December 2011

12

13 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries The oilseed complex in SAARC region is undergoing visible changes in the new environment of liberalized trade. Consumption patterns are changing, as consumers are beginning to accept oils other than those consumed traditionally. Changes in cropping patterns have also taken place with the help of technology missions and price support. Although India ranks among the largest producers of oilseeds in the world such as USA, China and Brazil, its productivity in the SAARC region is quite low. The low and fluctuating yields are primarily due to a large part of the cultivation being on marginal lands lacking irrigation and with low levels of input usage. The comparatively lower yields are mainly due to the fact that the quality of the seed varieties is generally poor and oilseeds crops in this region are mostly cultivated under un-irrigated areas. Less than 25% of cropped area is under irrigation. For the same reason yields are more variable due to weather fluctuations. Other reasons include disease and pest damage, vulnerability to drought, poor dry farming practices, low access to inputs and poor soils. A large number of oilseed crops are grown in different regions under different agro climatic conditions. These crops are among the most widespread in small farm systems throughout India. Groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, sesame and safflower are the traditionally cultivated oilseeds. In the recent years however soybean and sunflower have gained importance. Horizontal expansion of area under oilseeds is limited due to the declining per capita arable land and competing crops. Many efficient cropping systems involving oilseeds have been identified for different agro-ecological regions of the country. Many newer and nontraditional areas, such as paddy-fallows offer great potential for extending profitable cultivation of oilseeds. The requirement of production factors for cropping systems differs from that of managing the sole crops. Concerted research efforts in working with many aspects of oilseeds including cropping systems have resulted in identification of locationspecific technologies. Adopting recommended oilseeds production technologies in cropping system would result in efficient resource utilization and crop production with economic gain and sustainability. Oilseed crops occupy a major area under cultivation next to cereals in India and cultivated both under irrigated and rainfed conditions. One of the major factors for the poor spread of high yielding varieties and hybrids for yield enhancement is nonavailability of quality seed. Further, hybrid seed production is highly skilled and crop and location-specific. It is well known that the success of improved variety/ hybrid in the farmers fields depends upon the availability of seeds with high genetic purity and seeds of provenance is the most critical input which decides the effect of all other inputs in increasing the productivity. Pests pose a serious threat to the production of these oilseed crops. In the recent past, the over reliance and indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to acquired pesticide resistance in pests, pest resurgence and development of secondary pests besides environmental pollution and various health hazards. The plausible approach is therefore, the Integrated Pest Management to minimize the problem of various pests. The edible oils/ oilseeds sector currently faces several challenges. Oilseed cultivation is becoming increasingly unattractive due to low and unstable yields. The technology

14 4 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries mission on oilseeds had only limited success. Decreasing price of edible oils due to trade liberalization may result in low prices for oilseeds resulting in poor supply response. High import tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) restrictions have made oilseed imports unattractive. Low domestic output of raw material combined with restricted import of oilseeds can lead to a high degree of under utilization of processing capacity. The government s help to oilseed growers has been in the form of providing Minimum Support Prices (MSP)) through its stocking policy and by imposing customs duties on imports of edible oils and oilseeds. MSP policy does not appear to have worked as well in the case of oilseeds as it has been in the case of wheat and rice. Import tariffs on edible oils tend to impose a large burden on consumers and help processors more than oilseed farmers. Government intervention needs to balance the interests of different stakeholders in the oilseed complex. Protecting the oilseed growers could make oil and meal products internationally uncompetitive. Low priced imported oils benefit the consumers but tend to reduce the margins on domestic oils affecting processors and oilseed farmers adversely. Thus, with trade liberalization several issues arise, including the choice between protecting the seed sector as opposed to the processing sector. Both consumption patterns and cropping patterns are likely to be influenced by the choice of customs duties and the price differences maintained among various oils. Imported oils account for close to fifty percent of the total edible oil consumption. For example, soy oil is competitive due to its low price and the low duty it faces. Refined Palm oil is also competitive due to its low price, even though it bears a high duty. This could affect the prospects for other oils such as sunflower and rapeseed oils both of them being priced relatively high and bearing higher duties. The impact of such changes can have varying effects on consumers from different regions with varying tastes. Besides cereals oil seed is one of the valuable and desired crops in the SAARC region for achieving food and nutritional security. For the development of this oil seed sector, the country status in terms of area, production, demand, R&D is needed. This project will document the country status of the member countries and accordingly a number of region specific recommendations will be taken through organizing a regional consultation meeting for future programs. Country status report should follow the following headings and sub headings for the purpose of uniformity in the documentation I. Introduction II. Current Status of Oilseed Production (crop wise) i) Area ii) Production iii) Productivity iv) Varietal development v) Production technology vi) Nutrient management vii) Water management viii) Crop protection

15 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 5 III. IV. Trends in oilseed Supply and Demand i) Trends in oilseed Production ii) Trends in oilseed Consumption iii) Requirement of oilseed iv) Surplus/Deficite Programmes and Activities for promotion of Pulse production i) Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives ii) Ongoing Programmes and Activities V. Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production VI. Future Vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programmes for enhancing oilseed production VII. South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production VIII. References

16 6 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON ENHANCING OILSEED PRODUCTION THROUGH IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY IN SAARC COUNTRIES The edible oilseed scenario in SAARC region is undergoing visible changes in the new environment of liberalized trade. Consumption patterns are changing, as consumers are beginning to accept oils other than those consumed traditionally. Changes in cropping patterns have also taken place with the help of technology missions and price support. The low and fluctuating yields are primarily due to a large part of the cultivation being on marginal lands lacking irrigation and with low levels of input usage. The comparatively lower yields are mainly due to the fact that the quality of the seed varieties is generally poor and oilseeds crops in this region are mostly cultivated under un-irrigated areas. Horizontal expansion of area under oilseeds is limited due to the declining per capita arable land and competing crops. Many efficient cropping systems involving oilseeds have been identified for different agro-ecological regions of the country. Many newer and non-traditional areas, such as paddy-fallows offer great potential for extending profitable cultivation of oilseeds. The requirement of production factors for cropping systems differs from that of managing the sole crops. Concerted research efforts in working with many aspects of oilseeds including cropping systems have resulted in identification of location-specific technologies. Adopting recommended oilseeds production technologies in cropping system would result in efficient resource utilization and crop production with economic gain and sustainability. Oilseed crops occupy a major area under cultivation next to cereals in SAARC region and cultivated both under irrigated and rainfed conditions. One of the major factors for the poor spread of high yielding varieties and hybrids for yield enhancement is non-availability of quality seed. Further, hybrid seed production required skilled personal and is highly crop and location-specific. It is well known that the success of improved variety/ hybrid in the farmers fields depends upon the availability of seeds with high genetic purity and seeds of provenance are the most critical input which decides the effect of all other inputs in increasing the productivity. Pests pose a serious threat to the production of these oilseed crops. In the recent past, the over reliance and indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to acquired pesticide resistance in pests, pest resurgence and development of secondary pests besides environmental pollution and various health hazards. Considering present situation of oilseeds in SAARC member countries, a Regional Workshop on Enhancing Oilseed Production through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries was organized with the objectives to share ideas/experiences and to formulate a regional plans of action and strategies for enhancing oilseeds production in South Asian countries by SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC) in association with Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research during December, 2011 in Hyderabad, India. The Inaugural Session was chaired by Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Director, SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Chief Guest and Key note Speaker Padmasree Dr. M.V. Rao, Former Director General, ICAR and Former Vice-Chancellor, ANGRAU, Hyderabad; Dr. Md. Rawshan Ali, CSO, BARI, Bangladesh; Mr. Tshering Wangchen, Research Officer, RDC, Bhutan; Dr. Tara Bahadur Ghimire, Sr. Scientist, NARC, Nepal;

17 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 7 Dr. Akbar Shah Mohmand, Sr. Director, Crop Science Institute NARC, Pakistan; Ms. Diddugodage Chamila Jeewani, Research Officer, Sri Lanka; Dr. Md. Nurul Alam, SPS(PSPD), SAC; Ms. Nasrin Akter, Sr. Programme Officer, SAC, Dhaka; Dr. S.K. Srivastava, Director, Directorate of Soybean Research, Indore; Dr. J.S. Chauhan, Director, Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research, Bharatpur; Dr. J.B. Mishra, Director, Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh; Dr. Arulraj, Director, Directorate of Oil palm Research, Pedavegi; Dr. R.L. Srivastava, Project Coordinator (Linseed), CSAUA&T, Kanpur; Dr. A.R.G. Ranganatha, Project Coordinator (Sesame & Niger), JNKVV, Jabalpur; Dr. V. Ranga Rao, Former Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad; Dr. D.M. Hegde, Ex. Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad and Directors and Incharges of Local ICAR institutes (DRR, CRIDA, NBPGR) and senior officials of ANGRAU; Dr. Anisetty N. Murthy, Retd. FAO Expert, Hyderabad, India graced the Inaugural session of the workshop. Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad welcomed the Chief Guest, Padmasree Dr. M.V. Rao, Former DG, ICAR and Former VC, ANGRAU, Chairman, Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Director, SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dr. Md. Nurul Alam, Senior Programme Specialist and other dignitaries present. In his welcome address, he gave brief information about oilseed scenario in India and highlighted the commonness among SAARC countries in enhancing oilseeds production. He gave details about the schedule of various technical sessions slated for the two day workshop. He also thanked SAC for choosing the DOR, Hyderabad as venue for conducting this regional workshop. Dr. Md. Nurul Alam, Senior Program Specialist, SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh gave a brief introduction of SAARC establishment and various activities of the SAARC Agriculture Centre. Chief Guest Padmasree Dr. M.V. Rao, Former Spl.DG, ICAR & Former, VC, ANGRAU in his key note address on Current Status and Future Prospects of Oilseeds Production in SAARC Countries emphasized that oilseed crops are common in SAARC countries and there is a tremendous opportunities to share the germplasm and advanced production technologies. All the SAARC countries are importers of oil to meet the domestic demands of growing population in their respective countries. India is unique in cultivating all the traditional and non-traditional oilseed crops. He stressed that exchange of information, knowledge and materials is the need of the hour. Technologies developed across the SAARC countries can be shared for enhancing the oilseed production in a much more cooperative way. He also explained the importance of Technology Mission on Oilseeds in India and the benefits reaped through yellow revolution. He suggested that non conventional crops in non-traditional areas could be an excellent strategy to enhance the oilseed production. Dr. Rao informed that palm oil with its highest oil yield capacity has great scope in improving the oil production and sharing strategies, wherever oil palm cultivation possibility. Some of the non-conventional oils like rice bran, cotton seed and coconut are having lot of scope in adding to the oil basket of India. He emphasized the strong cooperation among SAARC countries for enhancing oilseeds production. He strongly emphasized the need for exchange of germplasm/seed material as a key area to be addressed. He also stressed that IPR, WTO, and PPV&FRA issues among SAARC countries have to overcome for the sharing of germplasm and seed material.

18 8 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Director, SAARC Agricultural Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh as the chairman of inaugural session informed that policy planning is needed to improve oilseed production in SAARC countries and explained the activities at SAARC Agriculture Centre. The regional study is therefore undertaken for providing policy input. The regional knowledge would also help to translate research programme of SAARC countries. He also said that Technocrats should come up with innovative technologies to produce more food for solving nutrition and food security which is the goal of SAARC & SAC. Dr. Azad informed that a seed bank agreement was signed in last summit and a SAARC seed forum (SSF) & Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is also developed recently to make available seed for R & D. Dr. Azad was hopeful that recommendations emanating from this workshop will be discussed at respective government s level. Dr Harvir Singh, Principal Scientist and Head, Crop Protection proposed vote of thanks. The regional workshop was partitioned in to four technical sessions. Total fourteen papers were presented in all the technical sessions including a keynote paper on the first day. Country paper from India by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad, India; Bangladesh by Dr. Md. Rawshan Ali, CSO, BARI, Bangladesh; Bhutan by Mr. Tshering Wangchen, Res. Officer, RDC, Bhutan; Nepal by Dr. Tara Bahadur Ghimire, Sr. Scientist, NARC, Nepal; Pakistan by Dr. Akbar Shah Mohmand, Sr. Director, CSINARC, Pakistan and Sri Lanka by Ms. Diddugodage Chamila Jeewani, Res. Officer, Sri Lanka were presented in the technical session The Special paper from India on Groundnut by Dr. J.B. Mishra, Director, DGR, Junagadh; Rapeseed-Mustard by Dr. J.S. Chauhan, Director, DRMR, Bharatpur; Soybean by Dr. S.K. Srivastava, Director, DSR, Indore; Sunflower, Safflower and Castor by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad and Oil palm by Dr. Arulraj, Director, DOPR, Pedavegi were presented in the technical session. On the second day, all resource speakers from SAARC countries and all participants discussed on the four thematic areas: a) Research issues; b) Extension and development issues c) Policies; d) Future prospects. After a whole day brain storming sessions, the participants came up with a number of excellent recommendations developed by all resource speakers from SAARC member countries and participants. Dr. M. Datta, Head (GED), NBPGR, New Delhi, Dr. K. Manoharan, Director, DOD, Hyderabad and Ms. Nasrin Akter, Sr. Programme Officer (Crops), SAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh facilitated the thematic group work. The Concluding Session started with a welcome address by Dr. KS Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad. Dr. EA Siddique, former DDG (Crop Sciences), ICAR, New Delhi in his introductory speech remarked that there are many things common in agriculture in all SAARC countries. While much could be done in improvement of grain crops, the same in oilseeds was not realized as they are grown under rainfed conditions which have led to high import of edible oils in all SAARC countries. Following a formal introduction of the participants, Dr. M. Sujatha, Principal Scientist & Head, Crop Improvement section, DOR presented the recommendations emerged from different sessions which were crop- and country-specific.

19 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 9 Dr. Anishetty Murthy, who was one of the guests, highlighted the grave situation in edible oil scenario due to the demand for biofuel. The Governments of member countries should give top priority to come out with appropriate policy to have a satisfactory edible oil situation. While groundnut being dealt by an international institute, research on other oilseed crops need to be intensified. Dr Murthy opined that instead of depending on Malaysian germplasm of oil palm which had been imported mainly from Nigeria, it is advisable to import germplasm directly from Nigeria and Cameroon. To encourage research efforts on other oilseed crops, Dr Murthy suggested forming regional bodies with common funds from SAARC countries to attract and support research projects on at least 2 to 3 oil crops. Dr. Gowda from ICRISAT, Hyderabad shared his ideas on groundnut and singled out the drought as a major issue. He opined that introduction of short duration varieties which are readily available with ICRISAT and following the soil test based fertilizer recommendations and micronutrient application instead of blanket recommendations will certainly help groundnut cultivation profitably. He also observed that the developed technologies should be made available to the farmers and by increasing the adoption rate with the help of NGOs and private players, south Asia could realize the quantum jump in yield levels. The other major limitations are the availability of adequate quantity of seeds of HYV and distribution in addition to the aflatoxin problem which should be managed with good agronomy. After distributing the certificates and momentoes to the participants, the chairman of the session Dr. EA. Siddique remarked that increased productivity which is the research priority in oilseeds could be achieved through two ways viz., recombination breeding utilizing the variability available and the heterosis breeding exploiting hybrid vigour. While rich germplasm available in all crops should be used properly, many a time the required variability could be created if not available or the hidden variability may be looked into. The other possibility is to explore the introduction of exotic germplasm through MTA. The successful development and use of synthetic polyploids in wheat and Brassicas could be emulated in groundnut to generate new variability since being a teraploid. Dr Siddique suggested the use of conventional breeding and genetic engineering to tackle abiotic stresses especially drought. The quality issues also to be addressed in a focused way as oilseeds are mostly used for domestic edible purposes. It is right time to expedite the research efforts on hybrid technology in crops like Brassicas and sesame. He also expressed his concern over the yield gaps which are enormous in rainfed crops and suggested for farmers training on integrated crop management. The low seed replacement rate is another issue in oilseeds which can be tackled through practicing seed village concepts and establishment of seed banks. He also stressed the need for market intervention, crop insurance for rainfed crops and value addition in oilseeds. The chairman also suggested to SAARC to establish regional institutes for a few oilseed crops like that of CGIAR system. To be comfortable with the edible oil situation at SAARC countries in future, it is recommended to put into use only nonedible oils for biodiesel purposes. The session ended with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr. KS. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad.

20 10 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries The major recommendations emerging out of this Oilseeds workshop are: ACTIONABLE POINTS 1 Immediate applicability Organizing training programmes on Technologies for increasing oilseeds productivity and production for the benefit of SAARC member countries. Exchange of scientific and technical expertise among the SAARC member countries for consultancy, research and education Designation of Brassica germplasm as per the ITPGRFA 2 by the SAARC member countries Exchange of advanced breeding materials and crop production technologies for local testing and adoption 3 Enhance exchange of germplasm among SAARC countries. Training and capacity building of farmers for increasing productivity of oilseeds. Explore new sources of vegetable oil from both traditional and non-traditional sources such as oilseed groundnut 4, oilseed soybean 4, rice bran, cottonseed, corn oil, tree borne oilseeds, etc. Medium term applicability Establish Regional Institute 5 for Oilseeds Research and Development in SAARC SAC may organize pooling and multi-location (country) testing and monitoring of promising varieties/hybrids similar to coordinated trials. Explore sources of additional funding with UNIDO and ASEAN. Organize joint explorations for focused collections in SAARC region. Institutional linkage mechanisms and private participation for accelerated technology development and transfer with backing support system. 1 Action points that are of immediate relevance and medium term applicability are prepared as per the guidelines of SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka. 2 As per the ITPGRFA (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources on Food Crops), the entire member countries has to DESIGNATE the germplasm in the listed crops (Annexure 4) for sharing. Brassica is listed as food crop in the list and is a binding for sharing the designated germplasm. With effective implementation of this clause, SAARC will immensely benefit. 3 The available promising technologies and materials (varieties/hybrids) can be immediately evaluated for their performance and adopted for immediate gain. 4 In some countries, groundnut and soybean are grown only for table purpose as protein source. These can be considered as oil source along with other non-traditional sources of oil. 5 Establishing Regional institute just as in CGIAR pattern is envisaged for SAARC region on oilseeds.

21 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 11 Explanatory note: No mention specific to any member country may be made in the recommendations. All the recommendations emanating from the regional workshop are to be discussed by the SAARC governing body for putting up to Ministers SAARC conference for decision on implementation policy. DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS RESEARCHABLE ISSUES Groundnut Development of short duration varieties suitable for different cropping systems including paddy fallows Development of varieties tolerant to biotic (stem rot, collar rot, PBND) and abiotic stresses (drought, terminal stress, salinity, water logging etc.,) Revision of fertilizer recommendation based on soil test and target yield and supply of balanced nutrition (include secondary and micronutrients) through customized fertilizers along with seed protection through seed dressings. Identification of efficient strains of bio-inoculants Addressing problems of seed viability and dormancy and aflatoxin contamination Identification and utilization of high physiological productive lines like high preflowering leaf area index (LAI) types for realizing faster canopy coverage resulting in enhanced productivity levels. Strategies to step up seed multiplication and distribution is critical for adoption of improved varieties. Rapeseed-mustard Development of hybrids for high input management and irrigated conditions with high yield potential and tolerance to Alternaria. Development of high yielding varieties for low input management and rainfed conditions. Development of temperature tolerance varieties during juvenile stage and terminal stresses with early maturity Development of canola type varieties Development of agro-techniques for cultivation of mustard under different cropping systems, paddy fallows or major rice based cropping systems

22 12 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Surveillance of pests that have common geographic-agro-ecologic sharing like mustard aphid for better monitoring and forewarning. Sesame Exploitation of heterosis to develop hybrids for high input management under irrigated summer cultivation through establishment of lead research centres in SAARC. Development of photo and thermo insensitive varieties and synchronous maturity Development of varieties tolerant to phyllody, water logging, drought, stem and root rot tolerance. Sunflower Development of short duration hybrids for spring season cropping systems Development of genotypes for tolerance to drought, terminal stress, high temperature and water logging Overcoming seed setting problem Development of hybrids resistance to Alternaria, SND and powdery mildew Short duration, dwarf varieties/hybrids for lodging tolerance Safflower Identify, validate and sharing of CMS systems and development of viable seed production systems. Development of varieties/hybrids with high oil content Development of varieties/hybrids tolerant to aphids, Alternaria and wilt Development of agro-techniques for cultivation of safflower under paddy fallows and intercropping systems Development of high yielding non-spiny varieties and hybrids for dual purpose of oil and petals. Soybean Development of varieties with photo and thermo insensitivity, terminal stress tolerance and higher seed viability Development of short duration varieties for double and inter cropping under rainfed conditions. Development of varieties tolerant to biotic stresses specially rust Basic research on increasing oil content vs. protein relationships linked with profitability of this dual purpose crop.

23 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 13 Oil Palm Development of dwarf varieties/hybrids for high yield and drought tolerance. Development of early selection markers for reducing breeding time/frequency Development of efficient tools and equipment for harvesting EXTENSION AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES Wherever transferable and adaptable technologies are available, transfer of technology has to be stepped up with back up quality input supply and credit. Wherever the technology gap is not pronounced, research need has to be stepped up. On-farm adaptive trials to demonstrate potentials of oilseeds, including oil palm Use available effective mass communication mechanisms for accelerated transfer of technology. Undertake farmers trainings for skill development and village adoption mechanism for effective and accelerated transfer of technology. Organize seed village programme for production of varieties and hybrids seeds to ensure quicker spread and increased seed replacement ratio. POLICY ISSUES Exchange of germplasm/varieties among member countries without barriers. Free flow of finished product (improved varieties and hybrids) for micro/local testing through adaptive research. Proper accountability mechanisms through STMA (Standard Material Transfer Agreement) should be followed. Ensure remunerative pricing for oilseeds backed with marketing support. Encourage pricing of oilseeds based on oil content and quality Decontrol of traditional oilseeds (from small scale sector) for efficient processing and higher oil recovery. Development and availability of small farm machinery/implements for oilseeds production operations and small scale processing. Development of customized fertilizers specific to each oilseed crop. Development of simple soil testing kits for quick and low cost assessment of soil fertility Development of infrastructure and logistic support for community seed storage, safe storage and transportation of biological materials and their positioning.

24 14 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Timely availability of credit Effective and strong seed chain (breeder-foundation-certified-truthfully labeled) with due accountability and timely availability of seeds with back up quality control Ensure risk minimization for crop failures through workable/reliable crop insurance mechanisms Establish strong public private partnerships with backward (farmer) and forward (industry) linkages. Encourage private sector participation for collaborative research and development. Enhance the capacity building of scientific and technical personnel in the region with available expertise within SAARC and beyond as per the need. Institutional linkage mechanisms through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Department of Agriculture, District Agricultural Technology Transfer (DATT) Centre, Agricultural Technology Management Association (ATMA) etc. for accelerated technology transfer and adoption with backed up support system. FUTURE PROSPECTS Expansion of oilseeds through non-traditional areas, seasons, cropping systems, paddy fallows etc. Explore non-traditional oilseeds such as sunflower, oil palm, oilseed soybean, oilseed groundnut, cotton seed oil, rice bran oil, maize corn oil and tree borne oilseeds etc. Adopt efficient soil and moisture conservation measures based on water shed development SAARC may organize procurement of promising seed material of oilseed crops from potential sources/countries and organize/distribute their evaluation under adaptive trials within member countries. Additional funding support for SAARC may be explored with UNIDO and ASEAN Diversion of edible vegetable oils for biofuel purposes should be strictly discouraged to ensure higher per capita edible availability. Regional Centers or Institutes of SAARC may be established in relevant countries to coordinate research, development and policy issues among SAARC countries.

25 PART - II Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Cbohmbefti M.R.I. Mondal, Dr. Rawshan Ali, D.A. Choudhury and F. Begum Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur 20-21, December 2011

26 Content Introduction 17 Present Area, Production and cropping system of oil crops 17 Major oil crops based cropping patterns 20 Constraints to oil crops production 21 Research Achievements 23 Future oil requirement 25 Prospects for increasing oilseed production 27 Challenges 29 Future Research Thrust on oilseeds 30 References 30

27 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 17 Introduction Oilseeds are an important group of crops which play a significant role in rainfed agriculture of Bangladesh. Edible oils play a very important role in human nutrition. It is not only a high energy food but also a carrier for fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) in the body. On the nutrition point of view at least 15-20% calories should come from the fats and oils. Oils are not only important for human diets but also serves as important raw material for industrial use such as in making soaps, paints, varnishes, hair oils, lubricants, textile auxiliaries, pharmaceuticals etc. Oil cakes and meals are used as animal feeds and manures. In Bangladesh acute shortage of edible oil has been prevailing since independence. At present, oilseed crops are grown in thousand hectares in Bangladesh which is 2.47% of the cultivable land (BBS 2008). About 373 thousands tons of oilseeds are produced from 0.50 million ha of land. The domestic production of edible oil can only meet about 20% of the country s annual demand and rest 80% is imported which costs more than Tk billion. It was found that in the imported oils and oilseeds soybean ranks first ( t = 50%) followed by palm oil ( t = 39%) and the rests are mustard seed (97000 t) and sunflower oil. Although about seven oilseed crops are grown in the country but mustard (Campestris and Juncea) alone occupies about 70% of the oilseed land followed by sesame, (Sesamum indicum) groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), linseed (Linum usitatissimum), soybean, sunflower and niger. Groundnut and soybean are not currently being used for oil extraction. The total quantity of groundnut is used as roasted and in the bakery industries and soybean is used as an ingredient of poultry feed or fish meal. Majority of the oil crops (mustard, niger, soybean, linseed and sunflower) are grown in the rabi (winter) season. Sesame is grown in kharif season and groundnut is grown in both rabi and kharif seasons. The area and production of oilseeds are gradually declining due to mainly (i) Low yield potential of the traditional oilseed crops varieties; (ii) High infestation of diseases and pests, (iii) Instability of yield due to micro-climatic fluctuation and (iv) Expansion of irrigation facilities and more profitable crops are available in place of oilseeds in the cropping patterns. Usually, farmers do not allocate their good piece of land and also they do not follow modern cultural practices for oil crops, thus their yields are low. Therefore, oilseed research should be directed towards minimization of yield gap through adoption of modern cultivation practices, development of high yielding short duration varieties to fit into the niches of profitable cropping patterns. Research on seed viability and preservation techniques especially for groundnut, soybean and sunflower should be emphasized. In addition to the development, refinement of the management practices and management of biotic and abiotic stresses of oilseed crops should be addressed. Present Area, Production and cropping system of oil crops The area and production of major oil crops have continuously declined over the last ten years (Fig-1) in Bangladesh. The total area under major oil seed crops reduced from ha in to ha in Then the area again slightly increased and continued the trend upto and reached at ha. About 21% and 15% area under major oil

28 18 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh crops have reduced in and , respectively, compared to Similarly, production has reduced from to tons during to However, the production of oilseed crops has increased from and reached its maximum tons in But the total production again showed to decline in Individually mustard area has reduced from ha to ha, however, a little increase was found during last two years. Almost similar trend was found in production and reduced from tons to tons during this period. Sesame area was almost static from to (around 38 thousand ha) but dropped down to ha in The production has increased slightly over the years and reached from tons in to the highest at tons in then again declined sharply to tons in Groundnut area and production almost remained static over this period however, a slightly decreasing trend was observed in area but an increasing trend was found in production. Climatic factors like drought and rainfall are mainly responsible for yield fluctuation over the years. The main reasons for declining area in oilseed crops are the expansion of irrigation facilities and crop competition in Rabi season. Farmers generally grow oil crops under rainfed condition without much input and care. As a result yields are low and they believe that oil crops are not as profitable as other crops like boro rice, potato, maize or vegetables. The productively of major oil crops is presented in table-2. The analysis of productivity trend reveals that mustard yield has increased from 757 kg/ha in to 866 kg/ha in with annual grown rate of 1.44%. Similarly, sesame yield has increased from 591 kg to 864 kg/ha with a growth a rate 4.62% and groundnut yield has increased from 1235 kg to 1486 kg/ha with a growth a rate 2.03%. In case of soybean the available data showed that yield increased from 1222 kg/ha in to 1478 kg/ha in with a growth rate 2.09%. The major reasons for increase in growth rate of major oil crops are the adoption of modern HYV and improved production technologies by the progressive farmers.

29 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 19 Table 1. Area, Production and yield of major oil crops in Bangladesh Rape & mustard Sesame Groundnut Soybean Total Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Area(ha) Prod.(MT) Yield (MT/ha) Source: BBS

30 20 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh Table 2. Average yield of different oil crops (kg/ha) Crops Growth rate Mustard Sesame Groundnut Soybean Major oil crops based cropping patterns In Bangladesh cropping pattern varies with the location and land type viz high, medium and low. In high land areas of Jessore, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Rangpur as well as medium high land of Faridpur, Pabna, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Jessore and Jamalpur the dominant cropping pattern is Jute/Aus-Fallow-Early Mustard. In the boro rice cultivated areas of Tangail, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Dhaka and in many districts, the dominant cropping pattern is Boro-T.aman-Mustard. In most areas short duration mustard varieties like Tori-7 is cultivated. In some areas like faridpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Pabna after harvesting T.aman, relay and mixed cropping of mustard with Khesari, Lentil, Chickpea and Linseed are normally grown. In these practices, the yield of mustard can be increased by growing suitable varieties of B. juncea and following improved management. In sugarcane growing areas like Faridpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Thakurgaon etc. mustard is intercropped with sugarcane. Major cropping patterns of sesame and groundnut are shown in Table-7. Table 7. Dominant cropping patterns involving oilseeds in Bangladesh Kharif-I Kharif-II Rabi season Remarks Jute/Aus rice Fallow Early mustard (HYV) For medium high land area of Jessore, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Faridpur, Pabna, Commilla, Jamalpur, Dhaka Boro rice T. aman (early variety) Mustard short duration Fallow T. aman Khesari Lentil + mustard Chieckpea + mustard Linseed + mustard and Mymensingh districts. Vast area may come under mustard cultivation using short duration variety in Tangail, Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Bogra districts. Mixed cropping at Faridpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Pabna districts

31 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 21 Sugarcane Sugarcane Sugarcane + mustard Intercropping at Faridpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Rangpur and Thakurgaon districts Jute / Aus Sesame (Bhadoi Till) Pulses Sesame Mashkalai Vegetables Sesame Fallow / Rice Mustard / Potato / lentil Kushtia, Thakurgaon and Rajshahi districts In Jessore, Pabna and Rajshahi areas Fallow T. aman Soybean / Sunflower Groundnut In char area Constraints to oil crops production I. Biotic constraints Diseases and insect pests are the major biotic constraints to oilseed production in Bangladesh, lack of seed dormancy and weeds also limit the production, to some extent, of some oil crops. To date 48 diseases and 41 insect pests of four major oil crops have been recorded. The important diseases and other biotic stresses have been discussed below. A. Diseases Thirteen diseases have been recorded on rape and mustard in Bangladesh, out of which nine fungal, one bacterial, two viral, one nemic diseases. Among these leaf blight and downy mildew are important. Nineteen diseases have been recorded in groundnut out of which fifteen are fungal, two viral, nine nemic and one mycoplasma disease. Among these tikka, rust, collar rot and foot rot are the major ones. Aspergillus flavus produces aflatoxin, which is the most serious problem of groundnut in the storage and also for human health. Nine diseases occur in sesame out of which eight are fungal and one is virus, Among them stem rot and Cercospora leaf spot are the major ones. Soybean suffers from many diseases in Bangladesh out of which sixteen fungal, two bacterial, six virus and three nemic diseases. Among these diseases yellow mosaic, anthracnose, foot rot are important. Sunflower is attacked by thirteen diseases in Bangladesh. Among them eight fungal, one viral and one nemic disease. Among these leaf blight and wilt, root rot are important. In linseed seven diseases have been recorded. All of them are fungal diseases out of which leaf blight and wilt are important. Though safflower is a very hardy crop but still three diseases been reported, all of which are fungal diseases. Out of these only leaf blight is important.

32 22 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh Niger has the minimum number of diseases. So far only two diseases have been recorded of these leaf blight is important. B. Insects pests. Among the 53 species recorded so far, some are common pest for some of the crops. In mustard, aphid is the only major pest. In sesame, hawk moth, hairy caterpillar, leaf-and pod caterpillar and mirid bug are the major ones. In groundnut hairy caterpillar and termite are the major pests. In linseed, pod borer and leaf worm are the major ones and in sunflower hairy caterpillar and pod borer are the major pests. C. Seed dormancy Lack of seed dormancy in the existing cultivars of groundnut except Virginia types, is a major constraint to groundnut growers. Spanish and Valencia types are preferred by farmers because of their short duration compared to Virginia types. Generally, the main season (rabi season) groundnut is harvested in May/June, when there is a chance of heavy rain. During this time mature seeds can germinate in the field due to lack of seed dormancy causing a considerable yield loss. This can also be a problem in rainy season groundnut used for seed production. Groundnut seed stored under ambient conditions loses viability after three months of storage with complete loss of viability before the next sowing time. This is the most serious impediment in expansion of groundnut cultivation. Similar is the case with sunflower and soybean D. Varietal Constraint Although a number of varieties of different oil crops have been released but very high yielding variety like cereal crops are still lacking. Sometimes suitable high yielding variety for specific situation has not been possible to develop. For example, short duration ((70-75 days) high yielding variety of mustard is still not available for Aman rice-mustard-boro cropping pattern. As a result farmers are still using Tori-7. Shattering problem of napus has not been solved yet. In sesame, no water logging resistant / tolerant variety exists. In sunflower, no hybrid variety has been developed. Farmers are reluctant to grow Kironi because of its low yield and tall character. E. Weeds Farmers consider oilseeds as minor crops and they don't normally weed their fields. Hence, weeds compete with crops and can cause substantial yield loss. Almost no research has been done in this field. Broom rap (Orobanche sp.) is a major parasitic weed of mustard (B. campestris) which can cause substantial yield loss. It has been reported that one hand weeding at 15 days after emergence can save 25% yield loss. In general, weed infestation is more severe in kharif season than rabi season. II. Abiotic Constraints A range of climatic and soil factors limit the productivity of both winter and summer oil crops in Bangladesh. Among these drought, excess moisture and adverse soil conditions are important.

33 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 23 A. Drought and excess moisture About 97% of oil crops are grown under rainfed condition (Mondal, 2000). Therefore, their yields depend on the climatic condition of the year. The climatic conditions in Bangladesh are variable. In some years excess rainfall in kharif-ii season delays planting of mustard, causing low yield. In some years heavy rain at seedling stage or reproductive stage may cause total failure of mustard crop. Similarly standing water for a day or two can cause physical damage, encourage stem rot, root rot and Alternaria leaf blight of sesame in kharif season. On the contrary, drought condition during sowing affects germination and growth of the crop resulting poor yield. B. Soil factors Bangladesh soils, in general, are low in organic matter content (0.5% - 1.5%) (Idris, 1995). Some soils are more acidic, some are alkaline and some are deficient in some micronutrients which limit the productivity of oil crops specifically mustard, groundnut and sunflower. For instance sulphur(s) deficiency would be likely in western and northern region but not in flood plain soils. By contrast to S, soils appear more deficient in zinc (Zn) in the flood plains than in uplifted areas in the northwest. In the Tista flood plain area of greater Rangpur and Dinajpur there are increasing reports of Boron (B) deficiency causing pod shedding and sterility of mustard, sunflower and soybean (Miah, 1995). II. Socioeconomic and marketing constraints. Most of the farmers in Bangladesh are not economically solvent. Farmers consider oilseeds as minor crops. With the increase of price of inputs like fertilizer, seed, insecticides, fungicide and labour, farmers are discouraged to invest more on oil crops. As a result with traditional low yielding cultivars and poor management practices the yields of oil crops are low. Moreover, import of edible oil at subsidized rate is working as a disincentive to oilseed growers. Farmers are not getting fair price for their produce. Unless market demand of some crop, like soybean, sunflower, can be created through popularizing multiple use (either food and/or feeds), its cultivation can not be increased in this country. Research Achievements Keeping in view the constraints in oilseed production the Research Institutes have pursued commodity and non commodity oriented research on oilcrops since A number of high yielding varieties of different oils crops have been developed by different organizations. The list of the varieties is presented in Table 8. BARI has developed 12 varieties of mustard, 3 varieties of sesame, 6 varieties of groundnut, 1 variety each in niger, linseed and sunflower and 2 varieties of soybean. BINA released 4 varieties of mustard, BAU released 2 varieties of mustard and BAU, BARI and MCC jointly released 2 varieties of soybean. BADC has also released one variety of mustard. Altogether 35 varieties have been released so far (Table 8). In addition to the varieties, some technologies on cultural management, insect-pests and disease management have also been developed by research institutes. Appropriate adoption

34 24 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh of the package of technologies will help increase the total production of oilseeds in the country. Table 8. Oilcrops varieties developed by different organizations in Bangladesh Crop Rapeseed/ Mustard Variety Tori-7 Kalyania(TS-72) Sonali (SS-75) BARI sarisha-6 Rai-5 Daulat(RS-81) BARI sarisha-7 BARI sarisha-8 BARI sarisha-9 BARI sarisha-10 BARI sarisha-11 BARI sarisha-12 Duration (Days) Yield (t/ha) Oil content (%) Concerned Institute ARI BARI B ARI BARI ARI BARI BARI BARI BARI BARI BARI BARI Sampad (M-12) Sambal (M-248) Safal Agrani Bina sarisha-3 Bina sarisha-4 Pucca Rai BAU BAU BINA BINA BINA BINA BADC Sesame T-6 BARI til-2 BARI til ARI BARI BARI Soybean Bragg Davis Shohag (Pb-1) Bangladesh soybean-4 (G-2) BCSRP (BARC) BCSRP (BARC) BARI, BAU MCC BARI, BAU MCC

35 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 25 Table 8. Contd. Crop Variety Dhaka-1 Rabi Kharif Duration (Days) Yield (t/ha) Oil content (%) Concern Institute ARI Groundnut Basanti (DG-2) Rabi Kharif BARI Tridana (DM-1) Kharif-I BARI Jhinga (Acc-12) Rabi Kharif BARI BARI-5 Rabi Kharif BARI BARI-6 Rabi Kharif BARI Sunflower Kironi(DS-1) Kharif Rabi BARI Niger Shova (Nig-1) BARI Linseed Neela BARI Future oil requirement The population of Bangladesh, as per World Bank projection will cross 132 million by the year 2000, 153 million by 2010 and 173 million by 2020 (BARC, 1995). As mentioned earlier that present per capita consumption of oil is about 18 g/day which is met through 80% import and 20% local production. If, however, this rate of consumption is to be maintained the demand will be 1 million ton of oils in 2010 and 1.14 million tones in 2020 (Table 10). If the total quantity is to be produced locally (without import) the total land requirement with the present productivity (0.75 t/ha) is 4 million ha in 2010 and 4.5 million in 2010 (Table 10), which are 8 times and 9 times higher than the present area. On the other hand, if the productivity could be increased to 1.2 t/ha with modern technology packages the land requirement will be 2.57 million ha and 2.84 million ha in 2010 and 2020 which are still 5 and 5.7 times higher than the present area. Now the question arises how this extra land can be made available for oilseed cultivation? Not only that these lands should be within the oilseed growing zones and specific cropping patterns as shown in Table 7.

36 26 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh Table 10. Projected population, production and land requirement Year Projected population Requirement of 18/g/h/d Projected requirement of land (Million ha) 1.5 G.R Oil (Million Ton) Equivalent Seed (Million Ton) 0.75 T/ha 1.20 T/ha The consumption of inedible oils and fats has remained steady for the last couple of years while that of edible oils and fats have been expanding with the growth in population as well as increase in higher propensity to spend as a result of higher income. The consumption of edible and inedible oils and fats in the country increased to 1,326,300 MT in 2006 from 906,000 tones in 2000, or an increase of about 46 per cent during the said period. During 2008, Bangladesh s consumption of oils and fats reached a level of 1.36 million tones. Per capita consumption of total oils and fats also rose from 8 kg recorded in 2005 to 8.6 kg in Its local production of oils and fats is unable to meet domestic requirement which is estimated at approximately one million tones annually. Therefore Bangladesh has to rely on import to supplement domestic needs. At present, Bangladesh s annual import is around one million tones of oils and fats. Palm oil now constitutes about 84 per cent of the import volume as compared to 30 per cent during The volume of palm oil imported during 2008 was 0.9 million tones, mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia. Crude palm olein is the major palm oil fraction being exported from Malaysia to Bangladesh. Table: Production of edible oils/fats ( 000 ) tons during Edible oil/fat Rapeseed Coconut Butter fat Others Total Table: Imports of major edible oils ( 000 ) tons during Edible oil Palm oil Soybean Rape/Mustard Total

37 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 27 Table: Consumption of edible oils/fats ( 000 ) tons during Edible oil/fat Soybean Palm oil Rape/Mustard Others Total Prospects for increasing oilseed production Bangladesh has the potential to increase acreage and production of oilseed crops. Short duration mustard could be successfully introduced in rabi season before boro rice in ricerice cropping system. In the sugarcane growing areas the traditional short duration local mustard variety grown as intercrop should be replaced by high yielding short duration variety. Mustard can also be grown as mixed crop with lentil, chickpea and linseed. By using relay cropping, intercropping and other multiple cropping technologies additional production of oilseeds will be obtained. Groundnut area may be expanded in the char lands of major river beds. As shown in Table 1 that about 86% of oilseed area is occupied by mustard, sesame and groundnut. Among these 66% area belongs to mustard alone. Hence major efforts should be concentrated on these three crops. In addition efforts should also be made to introduce hybrid sunflower in the new cropping pattern, particularly after T.Aman rice. The intensive oilseed growing districts (Table 3-6) should be targeted first. As mentioned earlier that there exist a tremendous gap between the farmers yield and yield potential of the modern varieties and here is the opportunity to reduce this gap through increased productivity. This can be achieved through replacement of farmers variety and adoption of improved cultural practices i.e. use of fertilizer, irrigation, timely sowing etc. Luckily, unlike pulses, oilseeds respond very high to high management. A. Cultivation of modern varieties: Although a number of modern varieties of different oilseed crops have been developed so far but still the farmers are using the traditional mustard, groundnut and sesame varieties. There are many reasons i.e. non-availability of seeds, need high inputs like fertilizers, irrigation, plant protection measures etc. By overcoming these problems if farmers grow modern varieties the present national average of mustard 757 kg/ha may be doubled because potential of the new varieties ranged from 1100 to 2500 kg/ha. So there exists a big gap between national average and potential yield of the variety. The same trend is also true for groundnut, sesame and other oilseed crops. So by replacing the traditional varieties to some extent the production of oilseed crops can be increased.

38 28 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh Table 11. Oilseed varieties developed by different organizations Rapeseed/ Mustard Crop Varieties Yield potential (kg/ha) Tori-7, Rai-5, TS-72, SS-75, Daulat, BARI sarisha-6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; badam, Sambol, Agrani, Sampad, BINA sarisha- 3, 4, 5, 6 B. Groundnut Dhaka-1, DG-2, DM-1, Zhighabadam,BARI badam-5, 6, BINA badam-1, 2 Present National average (kg/ha) C. Sesame T-6, BARI sesame-2, D. Sunflower Kironi, Hybrids E. Niger Shova (Nig-1) F. Linseed Nila (Lin-1) G. Soybean Shohag, BS-4, BARI Soya B. Cultivating oil crops with improved management practices Oilseed crops especially mustard are very responsive to management practices. Improving management practices may increase yield of mustard. The yield of the traditional and modern varieties by timely sowing, application of irrigation, fertilizers and plant protection measures may double. In a field experiment, it was found that average yield advantages of high management over the poor management was 1040 kg/ha i.e %. The recommended packages of production technology for mustard, sesame and groundnut are shown in Table 12. C. Improving cropping pattern and Multiple cropping with oilcrops There is very limited scope of increasing area of mustard in Bangladesh. But by modifying present rice-based cropping pattern the present mustard production may be increased. Mustard is sown in winter season from end of October to middle of November. Sometimes after harvesting T.amon, mustard can not be sown because of delayed harvesting of T.amon varieties. So by modifing this pattern if early maturing T.amon varieties like BRRI Dhan 32, 33 and 39 are grown and after that mustard may be sown and after harvesting mustard, Bororice may be planted. By using this pattern farmers will get additional mustard crop, instead of two crops, the farmers will get three crops in a year thereby increased cropping intensity. Mustard may also be grown as intercrop with sugarcane in the early stages of the crops and additional mustard production may be obtained. Mustard can also be grown as mixed crop with lentil, chickpea and linseed. Others intercropping technologies with oilseed crops are intercropping groundnut with sunflower, maize, onion and garlic; soybean may be intercropped with maize, sunflower. By using these multiple cropping technologies additional production of oilseeds will be obtained and cropping intensity will be increased.

39 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 29 Table 12. Summary of production Technologies for Rapeseed/mustard, groundnut and sesame Sl. Production Mustard Groundnut Sesame No practices Rapeseed 1 Soil and type Loam, clay loam and sandy loam. Medium high land Loam and Sandy loam mainly in the char areas. Loam and Sandy loam in high land areas. 2 Sowing time October 15 to November 15 November to December Middle of Feb. to Middle of March 3 Seed rate 7-8 kg/ha kg/ ha 8-9 kg/ha 4 Spacing 30 cm row to row cm for All cm row to row distance 25 cm for DM-1 5 Weeding cum Thinning 1-2 Weeding cum Thinning 2 Weeding 20 DAE & 45 DAE 1-2 Weeding 15 DAE & 25 DAE 6 Irrigation 1-2 irrigation 1-2 irrigation Mainly rainfed depending on soil moisture depending on soil moisture in unusual situation 1 irrigation at early 7 Top dressing DAE before flowering for modern varieties. 8 Fertilizer rate (kg/ ha) 120:80:60:5:1 NPKSZN 9 Mulching/Soil 1-2 times after Loosening irrigation 10 Drainage Excess water should be drained out 11 Harvesting At 60%-80% pod yellowing stage Challenges No need of top dressing. Gypsum may be top-dressed if needed. 10: 70: 50: 30: 4 NPKSZN stage DAE before flowering 80: 65:60:20:4 BPKZN 1-2 times 1 time DAE Water logging is not a serious problem When maximum pods are in matured stage Field should be well- drained Excess water must be drained out When maximum fruits turned yellow. Every year a huge amount of edible oils are imported to meet the requirement of the country. At present only about 20% requirements are meet up by domestic production. To reduce the import dependency the internal production should be increased. Our agricultural land is very limited and every year the land is decreasing at 1% due to housing and urbanization. Severe crop competitions occur particularly during winter as most of the crops are grown in this season. Therefore, there is a very little scope for horizontal expansion of oilseed area. Major thrust should be given on vertical expansion. In the context of climate change development

40 30 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh of biotic as well as abiotic stress tolerant oilseed crop varieties are needed. To cope with the present challenge research thrust should be given in the following issues- Future Research Thrust on oilseeds o o o o o o o Development of high yielding varieties with better quality and higher yields with nonshattering, non-lodging, deep rooted, tolerant to drought and salinity should be developed as second generation varieties of rapeseed/mustard. Resistance/tolerance to aphids and alternaria are very important to reduce hazards of insecticide application. In case of breeding programmes conventional and modern techniques should be used including determination of QTL and use of MAS with PPB for fast adoption of the varieties. R&D programmes covering specific studies to satisfy the need for high yielding, shorter duration of both T.Aman and oilseed crop varieties. Study to find out the relative importance of producing high quality seeds of different oilseed crops with selected elite farmers of the locality linking the family with good market price and company s support. In the Coastal belts sunflower, niger safflower in addition to soybean and groundnut should be tested with farmer s participation with adequate emphasis. Research and motivation are necessary to expand the use of IPM for oilseeds more so for rapeseed and mustard where intensive pesticide application is practiced. o For all the variety developing organizations, maintenance breeding needs comprehensive attention for the production and use of quality seeds. References Ahmed, H.U., Islam, M.S., Malek, M.A., Ahmed, A., Alam, M.S., Hasan D.R., and Islam M.A.(eds) Proceeding of workshop on transfer of Technology of CDP crops and Research extension Linkage Programme. BARI,Gazipur, Bangladesh, P.P Ali, M.M.H.; Hossain, M.D., and Ahmed. H.U Diseases of sesame and minor oilseed and their management. Proc. of the Second National Workshop on oilseed held on April, 1992 at BARC, Bangladesh. Anonymous, Global Fats and Oils Business magazine Vol- 9/2001: pages... BARC(Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council) Strategic plan for National Agricultural research system to the year 2010 and beyond. Dhaka, Bangladesh. BBS (Bangladesh Burau of Statistics)1999. Statistical yearbook of Bangladesh. Statistics Division, Ministry of Planning, govt. of Bangladesh. Begum, S Insect Pests of Oilseed Crops in Bangladesh. J. Zool. 23(2): Das, G.P Major insect and Mite Pests of Important Crops and Stored Products of Bangladesh. BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur. pp 102 Fakir, G.A Fungi associated with soybean seeds and their effect on germination. Proc. 4th and 5th Bangladesh Ann. Sci. Conf. Section I, pp.

41 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bangladesh 31 Hossain, M.D; Ali, M.M.H. and Ahmed, H.U Disease of mustard and groundnut and their management. Proc. of the 2nd National Workshop on oilseed held on April, 1992 at BARC, BD. Idris, K.M Barind tract: Soil fertility and its management. Pages in proceedings of the International Conference of Commission IV, International Society of Soil Science, 1-3 December., 1992(Hussain, M. S., Imamul Haque, S.M., Anwar Iqbal, M. and Khan,T.H.eds). BARC, Dhaka. Kaul, A.K. and Das, M.L Oilseeds in Bangladesh. Bangladesh-Canada Agriculture Sector Team Ministry of Agriculture. Government of the People Republic of Bangladesh, pp-324. Miah, M.M.U., Boron deficiency in cereals and vegetables in Soils of Bangladesh. Page 97 in the International conference of commission IV, International Society of Soil Science, 1-3 December., 1992(Hussain, M-S., Imamul Haque, S.M., Anwar Iqbal, M. and Khan,T.H.eds). BARC, Dhaka. Mondal, M.R.I Research and development for edible oil self sufficiency in Bangladesh. A seminar paper presented on 8 Nov at BARI, Gazipur (Limited circulation). Ullah, A., Food consumption pattern of rice growing and rice mustard growing household of Pabna district of Bangladesh: A comparative study.m.s. Thesis. Institute of human Nutrition and food. U P L B, Philippines.

42 PART - III Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Civubo Mr. Tshering Wangchen RDC, Bhutan December 2011

43 Content Introduction 35 Major Oilseeds 35 Oilseeds from Forest trees 36 Current Status of Oilseed Production 36 Mustard 36 Soybean 37 Varietal Development 38 Major discipline based research components include 38 Trends in Oilseed Supply and Demand 39 Production Technology 39 Major Constraints for Oilseed Production in Bhutan 43 Future Vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programmes for enhancing 43 oilseed Production Enhance and stabilize production 44 Increasing Access to markets and Enhancing employment generation 46 Policy Framework for Oilseeds Sector 46 Strategy, Investments and Public-Private Partnership 47 Strengthening research for generation of appropriate technology 47 Testing and validation of promising technologies 48 Crop Promotional Program 48 Seed Production Program 49 Delivery of extension services 49 Human Resource Development 49 South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production 50 Conclusion 50 References 51

44 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 35 Introduction Bhutan is a small landlocked country bordering China in the north and India in the South. The country has an area of 38,394 km 2 with less than a million people. The rugged terrain ranges from an elevation of 160 m above sea level from the plains in the south to more than 7500 m in the north. The country has more than 72% forest cover and her pristine nature and rich biodiversity makes the Himalayan kingdom a favorite tourist destination. The total arable land is 7% and more than 69% of the total population depends on agriculture. The share of agriculture in GDP is 32.7 (RNR Statistics 2003). Rice and Maize are the main crops and the Cropping intensity on the maize and rice land may average about 140%. Oils and fats play an important role in human nutrition. In Bhutan sources of edible oils are rapeseed and mustard, soybean, groundnut, sunflower and niger. Most of the oilseeds and vegetable oil requirement are met through imports mainly India. Oilseeds are grown in marginal lands by small farmers and because of the easy availability of cheap imported oils; the area under oilseeds has been decreasing. However Bhutan has the potential to achieve self sufficiency in oilseeds without displacing other crop production. Research work in oilseeds lacked continuity mainly due to the absence of a full time oilseed research officer. The huge dependence on the imports coupled with declining areas under oilseed led to thinking on how to increase the oilseed production in the country and make strategies. When food crisis hits the Indian market, it adversely affects the Bhutanese economy. Hence there is a need to achieve self sufficiency in oilseeds. With the increasing population, the demand for oilseed is more likely to go up and it is very important for the country s oilseed research to enjoy comparative advantage like other crops. Major Oilseeds Mustard is the predominant and the most preferred oilseed crops in Bhutan. Mustard has been one of the abandoned crops. In the past the farmers used to allot large acreage of their fields for mustard cultivation to meet the household consumption. The cultivation of mustard has decreased drastically over the years due to availability of cheap imported refined soybean oil from India. The current import of edible oil consisting of mustard, soybean, sunflower and groundnut stands at MT accruing import expense of Nu 224 million. The household production and consumption of oils and fats in rural Bhutan is much lower than the average. Domestic production of mustard will not meet consumers demand and thus the import of oils and fats will continue to increase as the living standard improves. An immediate production increase is uncertain even though Bhutan has excellent prospects to increase production of mustard due to favourable growing environment and preference of mustard oil by the Bhutanese people.

45 36 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan However there is a potential for increased production through the introduction of improved varieties and better management practices without displacing other crops. Mustard is grown in autumn when most of the fields are kept fallow. Oilseeds from Forest trees Our forefathers extracted oils from the forest tree and still in certain parts of the country the tradition is continued. The possibility of extracting oil from oil-bearing trees may also be explored in Bhutan. For instance, SINGMA a tree that is spontaneously grown in land used for shifting cultivation. Other native oil bearing trees are PANGTSHI and Mahua. The information on the availability of oil from tree origin is limited. An oil-bearing plant-seelaam could also be exploited Photo: Pangtshi tree Current Status of Oilseed Production Mustard The oilseeds production was only 1900 MT in 1981 which increased to 3476 MT in 1984 and 3900 MT in The production declined to 1695 MT in the year 2000 and 1548 MT in However, the national productivity was highest in 2004 (392kg/acre) while the area under cultivation declined. Table 1. Area, production and productivity of mustard in Bhutan Year Area (acres) Production (MT) Yield (kg/acre) (sample survey) (RNR statistics) Source: Agriculture Statistics, DoA

46 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 37 It was observed that in prominent mustard growing Dzongkhags like Tsirang, Samdrupjongkhar, Dagana, Sarpang and Trashigang, the area under mustard has gone down in the last two decades in comparison with The import of cheaper oil from India has been one of the reasons of disincentives for increasing domestic production. The national average yield of rapeseed and mustard is 199 kg per acre Adopting improved varieties coupled with better management practices can enhance the yield of mustard. Farmers in the mustard growing areas do not adopt any plant protection measures in mustard crop even though they are aware of the problems of insect pests such as white rust, saw fly and aphids. Aphids reduce the yield to a large extent but farmers don t control aphids due to religious sentiments. Table 2. Average yield structure of local and improved mustard varieties Varieties HH Mean (kg/ac) Std deviation % Total Local Improved Both Total Source: Mustard commodity chain analysis 2008 Table 2 indicates and explains on a random sample survey conducted in 2000 in mustard growing areas in which 1048 households were interviewed. According to the survey, 87.7% of the mustard growers cultivate local varieties, whose yields are as low as 95.5 kg per acre with a high standard deviation indicating wide yield variation between the farmers. Comparatively only 5.6 of the mustard growers cultivate improved varieties. The yield is higher by more than 200% (229.8kg per acre). Similarly high standard deviation of improved varieties indicates wide variation of yields among farmers. Interestingly the farmer s cultivating both the local and improved varieties harvest a yield of kg per acre and only 6.7 of the farmers cultivate both the varieties Soybean Table 3. Area, production and productivity of Soybean in Bhutan Year Area (acres) Production (MT) Yield (kg/acre) Source: Agriculture Statistics, DoA Area, Production and Productivity for the rest of oilseed crops (Groundnut, sunflower, niger) are unavailable. These crops are currently grown in small patches of kitchen garden across various locations of the country.

47 38 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan Varietal Development The Research and Development Centers in Bhutan is responsible for the development of appropriate technologies including varieties suitable to the farmers. Organization of Research System in Bhutan 1. Research and Development Center,Bajo 2. Research and Development Center,Wengkhar 3. Research and Development Center, Yusipang 4. Research and Development Center, Bhur 5. Research and Development Center,Bumthang Major discipline based research components include: Varietal improvement Germplasm conservation, varietal development, varietal testing, and seed production Crop management crop establishment, water management, nutrient management, pest management (weeds, insect pests, diseases, and post harvest management) Socio-economics and policy research (impact assessment and economics of rice production). In the past varieties from different countries were evaluated and upon testing its performance, they were released as varieties. The mustard varieties that are commonly grown in the country are mostly traditional types and improved varieties grown by some farmer dates back since the early 1990s. So there is a great need to evaluate newer and promising varieties. Table 4. Improved Varieties of Mustard released in the country Sl no Name of Varieties Year of release Releasing agency Yield Potential (t/acres) Maturity days after sowing Remarks 1 Type RDC Bajo < M RDC Bajo < BajoPeka RDC Bajo <2000 (BSA) 4 BajoPeka 2 (PT 30) 1994 RDC Bajo <2000 Source: Mustard commodity chain analysis 2008 In soybean some of the varieties released are AGS 258, Bragg and GC (KhangmaLibi) although cultivation of traditional types is still predominant in most of the regions. New varieties need to be identified especially on the oilseed front. With the potential of newer oilseed crops like groundnut and sunflower being identified, there is an immediate need to evaluate promising varieties. Therefore material sharing is very crucial.

48 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 39 Trends in Oilseed Supply and Demand The edible oil imported into the country are mainly soybean, groundnut, mustard and sunflower oils. The demand of edible oil is increasing in Bhutan and to meet the growing demand, the country is importing huge quantity of edible oils. The per capita consumption of edible oil is slightly lower in the villages ranging between 6-12 kg per annum. Assuming 10 kg of per capita per annum consumption of million population in 2010, the country would require 8770MT of edible oil. The domestic production of rapeseed and mustard is 1741 MT (DoA, 2009). The remaining oil requirement has to be met through imports from neighboring countries mainly India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. The import is more than 90 percent. Table 5. cooking oil import trend Year Quantity (MT) Value in million Source: Mustard commodity chain analysis 2008 Table 6. Cooking oil types import trend Year Soyabean Groundnut Sunflower Mustard (MT) (MT) (MT) (MT) Source: Mustard commodity chain analysis 2008 These trends clearly show that there is preference for soybean oil as compared to sunflower and mustard. This is partly because of cheap soybean refined oil available in almost all the local grocery stores. The decrease in mustard oil consumption is also attributed to the fear of dropsy disease as mustard oil consumption is related to this disease. Production Technology The agriculture system in Bhutan is in the process of transforming from a subsistence type to commercial kind. The production system is mostly traditional type but with the intervention and assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests appropriate and modern technologies are followed. The soil fertility is supplemented by the use of FYM. There are certain segments of the population who realize the importance of chemical fertilizers but the imbalance usage is a major problem.

49 40 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan Irrigation facilities in oilseed are very minimal and supplementation is depended on rainfall. Adopting improved technology for production and management can enhance the yield of mustard. Farmers in the mustard growing areas do not adopt any crop protection measures in mustard crop even though they are aware of the problems of insect pests such as white rust, saw fly and aphids. Many farmers do not wish to control aphids due to religious sentiment. A. Mustard Cropping Systems Mustard is grown in rotation with other crops like maize, rice and potato Higher elevations: Potato-Mustard Lower elevations: Rice Mustard Maize Mustard Field Preparation A clean and well pulverized seedbed of good tilth is needed for better germination. The field should be finely prepared because of the nature of the seed. Soil should contain enough moisture for germination. Seed Rate 8-10 kg per hectare is required. Manures and Fertilizer Mustard responds well to both organic and inorganic manures. Apply tonnes of FYM or compost at the time of field preparation. Here in Bhutan the usage of FYM is more common since many farmers raise livestock for their livelihood. This makes FYM readily available. Coming to the chemical fertilizers the adoption rate is very minimal and even if it is used it is unbalanced. Recommendation of fertilizer in Bhutan is 100:50:0 NPK kg/ha. Half the N and all the P should be applied as a basal dose. The remaining N should be top dressed 35 days after sowing. Mustard also have higher requirement for Sulphur. Since chemical fertilizers are not applied in Bhutan the yields of mustard is very low. Water Management Mustard is popularly grown as rainfed crop relying on the moisture conserved from the preceding monsoon rains. We can expect a good yield if we irrigate the fields. Two irrigations at pre bloom and pod filling stages are beneficial. Crop Protection Weed Control Weeds in mustard crop can cause approximately percent reduction in yield. Chemicals are hardly used for control of weed in Bhutan especially in oilseeds. Hand weeding is normally done in the early stages to avoid competition.

50 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 41 Diseases Rapeseed and mustard crops are damaged by an array of insect pest and diseases. Mustard aphids, alternaria leaf spot and white rust are the major and common ones. Average yield loss of 35-50% has been observed due to insect pest and diseases. Aphids are one of the reasons why farmers are reluctant to cultivate mustard. The religious belief in the country discourages the farmers to use pesticides. The usage of pesticides is not so common in Bhutan and thereby the farming here becomes organic by default and not by design. B. Soybean Cropping Systems Soybean is grown only in few patches. In eastern Bhutan mixed cropping of soybean with maize is popular. Soybean has a tremendous scope as an intercrop since it doesn t affect the yield of the main crop. In fact it gives additional advantage of having a secondary crop by utilizing the space and also improving the soil fertility by virtue of being a leguminous crop. Field Preparation It requires a good seedbed free of too many clods. The land should be well leveled to avoid water logging. However in Bhutan we don t have to worry about water logging since most of the lands are sloppy. In general the preparation of the land for soybean should be the same as it is for maize. There should be optimum moisture in the field at the time of sowing. Seed Rate and Sowing kg soybean seeds are required for cultivation in one hectare Bhutanese farmers don t have the practice of treating and inoculating the seeds. 30 kg of seed is required for an area of one acre. Broadcasting of seeds is the most popular method. Nutrient Management For obtaining good yields of soybean it is ideally recommended to use tonnes of FYM or compost per hectare. Although the farmers may use lesser quantity of FYM, nutrient management in Bhutan is mostly relied on the use of FYM. Only few farmers use fertilizers in the main crops. Imbalanced nutrient management is a problem here because the usage of urea is more while the importance of other fertilizers is not realized. Farmers and extension officers reported a decline in the acreage due to the use of urea in maize which leads to excessive vegetative growth and low yield level of soybean when intercropped with maize. Water Management Since it is grown during monsoon, the crop generally does not require irrigation. The water requirement is met from rainfall since it is mainly grown as a rainfed crop. Long dry spell at the time of pod filling should be avoided and in case there is a dry spell it is

51 42 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan important to give irrigation. Excessive rainfall is also not good since it might lead to water logging. Proper drainage is equally important. Crop Protection Weed Management Soybean is sensitive to early weed competition. It can reduce the yield by per cent depending on the intensity, nature and duration of weed competition. To avoid competition during the early growth stages, soybean field should be kept weeds free for the first days after sowing. Two manual weeding 20 and 40 days after sowing are generally sufficient to control weeds. Herbicides are hardly used by the farmers Diseases Soybean is grown in small areas of land. It is predominantly grown in eastern part of Bhutan where they are intercropped with maize. The varieties grown are mostly traditional types and diseases are not a major problem. In order to successfully grow the improved varieties farmers should be trained regarding seed treatment to reduce fungal attack. Prior to sowing treating with fungicides like Thiram at the rate of 4.5 g per kg of the seed would reduce the problem. Soybean is a nitrogen fixing crop but for efficient biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen it is essential that the soybean seeds should be inoculated with suitable strains of Rhizobium japonica. Note: Other crops like groundnut and sunflowers are not grown extensively and are grown in their respective kitchen gardens. So no technologies are followed. However the ministry of Agriculture and Forests realizing the need to reduce the import level has plans to grow these potential oil crops at commercial level. Programmes and Activities for Promotion of Oilseed Production The Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Council for Renewable Natural Resources of Bhutan (CoRRB) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests are responsible for the overall programmes. Under the DoA, research programs are implemented through four integrated Renewable Natural Resources Research and Development Centers (RNR RDCs) located at Bajo (Wangdue), Bhur (Sarpang), Yusipang (Thimphu) and Wengkhar (Mongar). Each center has a national mandate for coordinating research in one of the four major sectors and a regional mandate to conduct research in sectors relevant to the assigned districts in its domain. RNR-RDC Bajo is mandated to coordinate the national field crops research. The center is reviving the oilseed activities. However in other RDCs no emphasis is given on oilseeds research due to the shortage of man power. Realizing these human resources in oilseed research needs to be strengthened and the researchers should work in collaboration with concerned research organization outside the country.

52 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 43 Ongoing Programs and Activities o o o Evaluation of Indian mustard lines Fertilization trial for mustard Seed Production of released varieties Lessons learnt from past Initiatives o o o o Tremendous reduction in the oilseeds due to labour shortages and lack of high yielding varieties Lack of Germplasm exchange activities Lack of high yielding varieties Lack of oil processing center Major Constraints for Oilseed Production in Bhutan There are many reasons for lower yield and low production of oil crops in our country. Some of the major constrains in oilseeds production are outlined below o o o o o o o o o o o o o Non availability of HYV seed and good quality seed Most of the area under oilseeds is confined to rainfed farming cultivated on small and marginal lands with deteriorating soil fertility and poor seed bed. Cultivation on dry land causing soil moisture deficiency during the cropping season particularly in the mid and lower altitudes Sub-optimal agronomic practices and non adoption of improved agro-technology Lack of pest and disease resistant varieties. Adoption of no plant protection measures in diseases like (white rust, downy mildew and alternaria blight) Lack of assured market and marketing facilities Limited availability of germplasm material and narrow genetic base of cultivated mustard varieties in Bhutan Inadequate infrastructure for oilseed research in Bhutan Lack of crop promotional programs on mustard in remote areas Inadequate knowledge and skills of agriculture extension agents on the improved oilseed production technology Absence of collaboration with leading international organizations involved in oilseeds research. Lack of desired policy framework for oilseeds sector Future Vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programmes for enhancing oilseed Production Potentials of Oilseed Production o Considering the agro climatic conditions Bhutan has the potential to achieve self sufficiency in oilseeds without displacing other crops. The increase in oilseeds production can be achieved by providing HYV to the farmers and expanding the area

53 44 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan o o o o under oilseeds. There also is a need to rejuvenate the oil processing center and maintain better linkages with the support services. Soybean is mostly grown in the eastern parts of Bhutan. The area can be expanded if farmers fetch better price and assured markets The research work on rapeseed-mustard as well as other oilseed crops like soybean and groundnut should be strengthened immediately. Newer lines from popular oil growing countries need to be evaluated and tested under farmer s condition. Increasing oilseed production will help rural farmers improve their living standard and generate income. Extraction of oils will increase the availability of oil cakes which in turn will improve the cattle health and enhance milk production. The growth strategy is developed along the four axis of the Bhutan National Food Security Plan 1. Enhance and stabilize production 2. Increase access to markets 1. Enhance and stabilize production a. Promote adoption of improved technologies The country is divided into three altitude zones and all the oilseed crops have the potential for cultivation. The high altitude zone is favourable because of the cooler temperatures at grain filling and ripening stage, lesser incidence from insect pest and diseases, solar radiation and a combination of other factors favoring high grain yield. The mid altitude zone has potential for higher yields. Because of the low soil fertility and higher pest incidence, lower altitude zones are not very good for mustard cultivation. However there is a potential to increase the production by adopting better and improved technologies. Higher yields can be obtained using improved varieties with better management of soils, weeds and insect pest and diseases. Some of the released varieties like T-9 and M-27 are high yielding varieties with good oil recovery. Cultivation of improved varieties will give higher production at minimal costs. Similarly the use of inorganic nutrients along with the traditionally prevailing organic manures will boost production. The varieties that are available in Bhutan have been released as early as the 1990s. So there is a further need to identify elite lines that are conducive to the prevailing present condition. Major transformation would occur if we are able to breed and develop variety using local germplasm keeping in mind the various AEZ. Nutrient management is not given a priority except in the important cereal crops. Since local farms raise livestock also, FYM is not a problem. The yield level will go up if we can supplement balanced inorganic fertilizers in conjunction with organic manures. Since

54 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 45 oilseeds are grown by marginal farmers in rainfed conditions it is vital to assure irrigation facilities to increase production. From policy viewpoint, the ministry of Agriculture and Forests needs to convince the government for higher level of subsidies for farmers and put in place support mechanisms favoring production through farm mechanization, processing and marketing. One of the major problem Bhutan face currently is the rural urban migration. This is creating shortage of farm labour in the villages. Supporting farm mechanization will help minimize cost of production by saving labour and farming look easier to the youth. Formation of farmers groups and association for collective and efficient production and marketing needs to be supported. b. Ensure availability of inputs in all producing regions Lack of inputs availability is not only the factor hindering production of oilseeds but almost every crop that the country grows. The most important inputs like the seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and so on are not available to the farmers when needed. The availability, access and delivery of inputs for crop production need to be vastly improved in most of the Dzongkhags and Gewogs particularly located in the southern foothills. The input supply system of the commission agents is apparently not enough to ensure availability of inputs at farm level. A closer look at the input supply system is required to ensure availability of inputs at the farm level c. Promote Farm Mechanization Farm labour in Bhutan is scares and costly. In some areas the daily wage rate is as high as Nu 200 with provision for meals. Farm labour is a problem due to rural urban migration and competing opportunities such as working off farm, more children going to schools and monasteries. Agriculture Machinery Center (AMC) can take a lead in modifying the inefficient traditional tools. Farmers request a lot for the purchase of power tillers. The government however is able to supply certain numbers and is not able to fulfill all the demands. Another alternative to this problem could be to own the farm machines in a group/community to facilitate farm mechanization. This may to some extent promote farm mechanization and answer the acute labour shortage problem. d. Reduce the impact of wild animals Since most of our farms are located near the forests, the fields are often attacked by wild animals such as elephants, wild boar, deer and monkeys. Wild animals are a menace to the farmers and much is talked even in the parliament. Nothing concrete has been done so far to curb the wild life depredation of the crops, threatening their very livelihood. Especially there is a talk about the initiation of public private partnership in sunflower and unless we reduce the damage by birds which might be successful only if it is grown in large areas, it won t be successful.

55 46 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 2. Increasing Access to markets and Enhancing employment generation a) The country doesn t extract oils other than mustard. Currently only about 18% of the mustard domestically produced are marketed. Trade in local mustard is not at all organized; there is no internal flow of mustard from areas of high production to non mustard and deficit Dzongkhags, hence there is no real incentive for the farmers to produce to the market. The oil demand is completely met from imports from neighbouring countries. The trade is dominated by a few urban retailers who deal with imported brands from India, Thailand and Malaysia. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests realizing the bottle neck of marketing in all the agriculture goods has upgraded Agriculture Marketing Services (AMS) as a fully fledged department. The Department is now called Department of Agriculture Marketing and Cooperatives. For collective marketing, which is obviously more efficient than individuals bringing their produce to the market, there is a need to support producers to form appropriate groups, association and Cooperatives. Such groups are also essential for crop production at a commercial scale. The Cooperatives Acts of 2000 provides the legal basis for such formation. A number of initiatives are already underway in this regard. However more focused efforts are necessary for marketing. There is a real need to involve Food Cooperation of Bhutan (FCB) in oil marketing in much more meaningful role than their present engagement. FCB already has a wide network in rural areas with retail shops and godowns. FCB can be actively involved in the domestic procurement of local oils from strategic collection centers across the country. The oil can be then sold through the FCB shops or to the urban retailers. b) Enhance Production The only way to enhance oilseed production is through improved technologies. The mustard technologies that we have are not fully utilized. The agriculture extension needs to carry out more promotion and utilize the improved technologies effectively for visible impacts. The national research for mustard and other oilseeds needs to be reprioritized because currently no major research is being carried out by the four Research and Development center that we have in Bhutan. Policy Framework for Oilseeds Sector The national policy is framed to provide adequate attention to oilseeds sector which is inadequate at present and lacks appropriate direction. The desired policy framework for oilseeds sector should include: o Promotion of oilseeds research to generate appropriate technology to achieve self sufficiency. o Maintain balance between promotion of domestic production while safe guarding the interests of consumers through reasonable imports.

56 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 47 o Developing adequate level of infrastructure and support services like quality control laboratory at the central level to detect the adulteration in edible oil. o Development of farm roads at the village level would also encourage oilseeds growers and help in marketing their produce. o Providing oilseed sector a status of cottage industry. o Providing subsidies on inputs to encourage the farmers to adopt the recommended production technology and increased edible oil production to attain utmost selfsufficiency. o Adoption of information technology in order to access information and rapid dissemination of technology. o Support programmes for marketing and processing of produce. o Ensuring minimum support price for the produce, to encourage cultivation of oil seeds. o The research work on post harvest aspects be also given emphasis to reduce the post harvest losses, increase the efficiency of oil extraction, value addition and improve the quality of seed meal for the cattle. o Public private partnership programs STRATEGY, INVESTMENTS AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP 1. Strengthening research for generation of appropriate technology The RNR Research and Development Center at Bajo should coordinate and undertake all the research work. Ideally there should be a plant breeder who should work in collaboration with agronomist, plant pathologist and entomologist to step up the research work on oil crops. The capacity of the researchers should be strengthened to carry out the research work more effectively. Since RDC Bajo is the coordinating center for field crops, the initiative to carry out multi location trials with remaining RDC s needs to be done. In order to increase the production the research work should be mainly emphasized on Plant Breeding o Collection, maintenance, evaluation and documentation of genetic resources available in the country for their utilization in breeding programs in collaboration with National Biodiversity Center o Genetic enhancement for seed and oil yields using the available germplasm resources by conventional breeding approaches o Identifying the suitable oilseed germplasm having tolerance/resistance to biotic and aboitic stresses o Identification of potential improved lines suitable for different agro climatic condition

57 48 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan Agronomy o Develop remunerative cropping system/intercropping systems involving mustards to expand the area under mustard o Development of suitable crop production technology including planting technique, plant population and weed management practices o Come up with a recommendation for nutrient management in oilseed crops Plant Protection o Develop eco friendly plant protection measures to control insect pest and diseases o Recommendation of plant protection measures for the common diseases 2. Testing and validation of promising technologies o Some commercial Indian varieties can be initially tested and further validated. Production technology from Northern parts of India should be tested because of certain similarities in the agro climatic conditions and refined to specific crop growing situation. o Horizontal expansion of area under oilseeds can explored. We have the culture of keeping lands fallow during winter season. Mustards can be grown after maize and rice and in high altitude like Bumthang, possibility of Buckwheat Mustard intercropping can be done. o As the country is facing farm labour shortages, low production technologies for mustard should be worked out 3. Crop Promotional Program o There should be a strong crop promotional program if the available technologies are to reach to the farmers. Lack of crop promotional program has been one of the main reasons for the non adoption of the improved varieties. All the Research and Development Center should take a lead role in disseminating the available technology. Such programs should be linked with front line demonstration. The crop promotional activities should be mainly focused in remote areas where the cultivars are still traditional type. o Leaflets should be developed that contains information of the improved package of practices and should be distributed for the benefit of the farmers and extension agents. o Organizing field day would help disseminate the technology 4. Seed Production Program

58 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 49 Druk Seed Corporation (Now National Seed Center) was mandated to carry out the seed production program using recommended technology and supply it for the benefit of the farmers. Following the 64 th LhengyeZhungtsogs decision and approval to streamline the seed/input services, the management of Druk Seed Corporation was brought back under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) initiated the following actions to develop working modalities under the re-aligned context for effective delivery of services. The strategy to provide the agricultural input services will include o Privatization of those activities that could be handled by private sector o Those activities that cannot be privatized at this stage will be taken up by the Department under the various program within the National Seeds Center 5. Delivery of extension services Our ultimate clients are the farmers and it is of no use if the proven technologies are not adopted by the farmers. It is important to efficiently and effectively disseminate the technologies which can be done through the following ways. o Since the extension agents are the main linkage with the farmers it is very important to continuously upgrade the knowledge and skills of agriculture extension agents. o Improving the use of print and audio-visual materials depicting the technology on mustard production. o Organizing field day, group discussion and collecting feedback from the farmers would help technology transfer. o Focusing on areas that have the potential o Providing better inputs, technology, oil expellers and credits o Improving the linkage between the farmers, extension agents and the RNR Research and Development Center o Support and facilitate oil crops grower association. For better utilization of resources it would be nice to focus on the community o Incentives and rewards for innovative farmers and agriculture extension agents o Oil crops should be given equal importance in terms of training and promotional programs. 6. Human Resource Development o There is absence of a full time oilseed researcher in all the Research and Development Center. So currently apart from producing and maintaining small amounts of seeds no major oilseed activities are carried out. There is a need to involve more researchers in oilseed programs to support the oilseed research program in Bhutan. o The capacity of the existing research staffs are limited and require to update their knowledge. Exposing to information and technology advances in International organization of different countries would help the researchers to work effectively. Study visits and trainings from relevant institutes shall be of great use to learn the

59 50 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan technological advances and apply it in our conditions. Some of the relevant places to visit are 1. National Research Centre on rapeseed-mustard, Bharatpur (Rajasthan) 2. G.BPantUniversity of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttaranchal) 3. CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana) 4. PAU, Ludhiana (Punjab) 5. Indian Agricultural Research Institude, New Delhi 6. Oilseeds Research Station, Shillongani, Assam 7. Oilseed and pulses research station, Berhampore, West Bengal 8. Director, National Research Centre on Ground nut, Junagarh (Gujarat) 9. Director, National Research Centre on Soybean, Indore (M.P) 10. Project Director, Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad The research staff in Bhutan should develop linkages with scientists abroad for future Collaboration. o The Department of Agriculture and RNR-RDC s should contact Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) to strengthen further linkages and active participation in the regional meeting on oilseeds o Our researchers could be trained from specific research centers of interest. For instance Mustard at Bharatpur, groundnut at Junagarh, Soybean at Indore and Sunflower at Hyderbad. o Conduct training for the benefit of the extension agents with resource person from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production Capitalizing on the suitable agro climatic conditions, concentrated research efforts to enhance the productivity should be done. More than that the SAARC countries should 1. Exchange materials and Germplasm because of the similarities of agro climatic conditions among the SAARC nations. 2. Sharing of technologies. 3. Training the extension agents 4. Institutional visits to appropriate research centers and exchange of knowledge and experiences between scientists. 5. Major collaboration between SAARC nations. Conclusion Bhutan is purely an agrarian country. More than 69 percent of the population is engaged in farming. The main staple food is rice and maize. Almost every food item is imported from India. For instance Bhutan imports more the 51 percent of the total rice

60 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan 51 required in the country. Therefore a food crisis in India adversely affects the Bhutanese market. Edible oil is relied heavily on the imports The major oil crops grown in the country are rapeseed and mustard. Although the area under mustard has been declining over the years fewer communities still manages to cultivate it for their own consumption. Because of the absence of appropriate marketing channel the oil that are extracted are not sold in the market. Other oil crops grown are soybean, groundnut and sunflower. Traditionally these crops are not used for oil extraction because of the absence of processing units and hence bear less commercial value. Because of our heavy reliance on edible oil to the neighboring countries, we should think of boosting the oil crop production in the country. The traditional mustard varieties that are cultivated needs to be replaced by high yielding varieties and other oil crops like soybean should be brought under extraction by creating more awareness and installing oil expellers in potential areas. While the challenges are huge, Bhutan has the potential to reduce our dependence on imports. The favourable climatic conditions for the production of oilseed crops need to be explored. The shortages of researchers working in Research and Development Center needs to be sorted out for more scientific and development work on oilseeds. Capacity building both of the human resource and institution need to be emphasized. The research system that we have should work in collaboration with relevant organization and only a major thrust in oilseed can happen with guidance from collaborating institutes. The local varieties should be replaced in a phased manner with appropriate technology. Producers should be linked to the marketing network ensuring better prices. Providing subsidies and installing oil expellers would definitely boost the future of oilseed development in the country. References 1. Commodity Chain Analysis MUSTARD Ministry of Agriculture RGoB& Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, December Oilseeds Research and Development in Bhutan, K W Riley 3. Research Proposals Tayan Raj Gurung and Mahesh Ghimiray 4. Plant Genetic Resources, National Biodiversity Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Serbithang Bhutan. 5. Status of oil Crop Production in Bangladesh, Oilseed Research Center Joydepur Gazipur Frontline Demonstrations in oilseeds, Directorate of Oilseeds Research, ICAR Rajendranagar, Hyderbad, India 7. Modern Techniques of Raising Field Crops, Chidda Singh, Prem Singh and Rajbir Singh 8. Agriculture Statistics, Department of Agriculture. Bhutan 9. Bhutan Consultancy Oilseed Report, Arvind Kumar

61 52 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Bhutan

62 PART - IV Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Joejb Dr. K. S. Varaprasad Project Director, DOR, ICAR December 2011

63 ONTENT CONTENT 1. Introduction Current status of Oilseed Production (Crop wise) 58 Groundnut 58 Rapeseed-Mustard 60 Soybean 62 Sunflower 64 Sesame 66 Safflower 68 Niger 69 Castor 70 Linseed 73 Oil Palm Trends in Oilseed Supply and Demand 75 Trends in oilseed Production 75 Trends in Vegetable oil consumption 77 Requirement of oilseed 78 Deficit Programmes and Activities for Promotion of Oilseed Production 79 Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives 79 Ongoing Programmes and Activities Constraints and Challenges for Enhancing Oilseed Production Vision. Major Policies. Strategies and Programmes for Enhancing 82 Oilseed Production Researchable Strategies 83 Developmental Strategies 84 Facilitate Accelerated Dissemination of Improved Technologies and 85 Knowledge Policy Issues South Asian Prospective for Enhancing Oilseed Production References 86

64 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Introduction A wide range of agro-ecological zones prevailing in the country support diverse crops in general, and an array of oilseed crops in particular. This coupled with demographic and dietary diversity, has encouraged and sustained the identity and growth of each oilseed crop. It is not only bestowed with a number of oil yielding species of plant origin which include the annuals (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soybean, sunflower, sesame, niger, safflower, castor and linseed), perennials (oil palm and coconut), minor oil bearing species of forest and tree origin and by-products of some non-traditional sources such as rice bran, cotton seed and corn but also a diverse agro-ecological niches for their cultivation. India is the fifth largest vegetable oils economy in the world next only to USA, China, Brazil and Argentina and contributes 8% of the world s oilseeds production. India has the distinction of being the largest producer of castor, safflower and sesame and ranked 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th in the production of groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, linseed and soybean respectively. Though the productivity of oilseed crops in general is far below the world average owing to several agro-ecological and management limitations, the productivity of castor is highest in the world making India in numero uno position for castor production. In the domestic agricultural economy, the oilseeds group of crops occupies an important place next only to food crops occupying 14% of gross cropped area and accounts for 1.4% GDP, 8% of value of all agricultural products and 15% of export earning of the total export of agricultural commodities. The area under oilseeds during early 50s was 10.0 m.ha while, the production was 5.1 m.tonnes with a productivity of 478 kg/ha. During the period 1950 to 1966, the increase in production was only 27% inspite of 49% increase in area. The growth analysis of individual oilseed crops (Fig. 1) during the decade to suggests that there has been acceleration in area under soybean, rapeseed-mustard and sesame while stagnation/ deceleration is observed in groundnut, sunflower, niger, safflower and linseed. Though, the growth in area under castor crop was negligible there was tremendous enhancement in production through productivity improvement. The per capita availability of oil was approximately 3.5 kg/annum. The productivity (470 to 490 kg/ha) and total production of these oilseed crops ( m.tonnes) were stagnant for various reasons including lack of availability of improved agro-techniques due to fragmented, sporadic and highly diffused state of research in the country. Research on oilseeds got an impetus after the establishment of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Oilseeds (AICORPO) during Research on soybean was initiated separately during Directorate of Oilseeds Research (DOR) established at Hyderabad in 1977, is coordinating and monitoring these programmes. The focused research and development efforts in major oilseed crops of the country got impetus for groundnut and rapeseed-mustard through the establishment of NRCG and NRCRM at Junagadh and Bharatpur since 1979 and 1993 respectively. From 2001, executing the AICRP sesame & niger and linseed is being done by Project Coordinator Sesame & niger and linseed. Directorate of Oil palm Research caters to the needs of research on oil palm in the country from the year 1995.

65 56 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Fig. 1. Compound growth rates of individual oilseed crops in India ( to ) The production of oilseeds in the country got major boos through Technology Mission on Oilseeds (TMO) in 1986 that ushered a land mark self sufficiency in oilseeds popularly referred as Yellow revolution in the late eighties and early nineties. The main contributors to large success have been (1) availability of improved oilseeds production technology and its adoption, (ii) expansion in cultivated area (iii) favourable price support policy with backing institutional support resulting in the oilseed sector becoming a net earner of foreign exchange. It also symbolized the teamwork of a number of scientific and developmental institutions, industries, departments, farmers and policy makers. There has been a dramatic change in the oilseeds scenario of the country since India changed from net importer status in the 1980 s to a net exporter status during which was again reversed later during where the country had to spend huge foreign exchange to meet the domestic needs of edible oils. Currently the country importing about 50% of the requirement of vegetable oil costing more than Rs.30, 000 crores to meet the growing needs of population with higher standard of living and expanding industrial demand. The concerted research efforts of oilseeds scheme under ICAR through the widespread network resulted in development of high yielding varieties/hybrids coupled with the location-specific crop production and protection technologies. Augmentation, evaluation and utilisation of genetic resources and adoption of efficient methods of transfer of technology through the AICRP programmes have paid rich dividends to the national oilseeds economy. It is encouraging to note that the production of oilseeds was m.tonnes from an area of m.ha and with the productivity of 999kg/ha during the period (Table 1). This group of crops recorded the annual growth rate of area (2.44%), production (5.4%) and yield (2.96%) in the decade Eight states of the country viz., Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh account for about 90% of the oilseeds production. Among different oilseed crops soybean, rapeseed mustard and groundnut account for more than 80% of the oilseed acreage and production (Fig

66 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 57 2). In addition to the annual oilseed crops, a significant 2.71 m.tonnes of vegetable oils is contributed from other sources viz., rice bran, cotton, coconut, oil palm and corn etc (Table 2). Table 1. Area, production and productivity of oilseeds crops in India ( ) Crops Area (m.ha) Production Yield (kg/ ha) (m.tonnes) Soybean Rapeseed & Mustard Groundnut Sunflower Sesame Safflower Niger Castor Linseed Total Oilseeds Table 2. Contribution from supplementary sources of vegetable oils Source Current production (m.tonnes) Rice bran Cotton seed Coconut Oil palm TBOs Corn Tobacco seed Total Fig. 2. Contribution (%) of different oilseed crops to the total oilseeds acreage and production ( )

67 58 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 2. Current status of f Oilseed Production (Crop wise) GROUNDNUT India ranks first globally in terms of area under cultivation, and second in production next to China and tenth in productivity. India accounts for about 27% of global area and contributes 19% to world groundnut production. With 25% share, groundnut ranked 3 rd in the total oilseed production in India next to soybean and rapeseed-mustard. The total average production of the groundnut during was 6.94 m.tonne from 6.06 m. ha. with a productivity of 1136 kg/ha. In the year , groundnut crop was cultivated in 5.47 m.ha. realizing production of 5.51 m. tonne with a productivity of 1007 kg/ha and thereby accounted for 20% of the cropped area under the oilseeds, and 22% of the domestic edible-oil supply. The record production of 9.65 m.tonnes was reported in while highest yield of 1459 kg/ha was recorded in From the early 90 s the area underground nut is showing declining trend. In India, groundnut is cultivated largely in kharif (June-Sep) under rainfed conditions with low inputs and protective irrigation with endemic pressure of diseases, insect-pests and weeds resulting in low productivity. In rabi (Oct-Dec) season, the crop is grown under residual moisture of rice fallows or river beds under minimal irrigation situations and also in summer season as an irrigated crop. The cultivation of groundnut in summer is practiced generally under high input irrigated conditions and the pressure of diseases, insect-pests and weeds is relatively quite low and hence the productivity is high. The spring groundnut, grown during March-April to July-August after the harvest of potato/toria, also gives high productivity. Research Accomplishments So far 183 groundnut varieties have been notified. In the last five years, 17 high yielding varieties with in-built resistance/tolerance of major biotic and abiotic stresses have been released for different agro-climatic zones for kharif (13 varieties) and rabi-summer (4 varieties) seasons.

68 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 59 A germplasm collection of 8983 accessions is being maintained besides 115 wild species of Arachis. Accessions possessing resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses have been identified and a mini-core collection of 167 germplasm accessions representing the entire diversity was constituted. Evaluation of groundnut germplasm Three perennial wild species Arachis marginata, A. prostrata, and A. glabrata have been identified for forage purpose for cultivation on under-utilized lands Significant progress made in identification of molecular markers for resistance to rust and late leaf spot diseases.transgenic plants have been developed with coat protein genes for incorporating resistance to PBND and PSND; mtld gene for enhancing tolerance of drought and salinity and defensin gene for enhancing resistance to fungal diseases and annexin and PR 10 genes for enhancing tolerance of abiotic stresses. Application of bio-fertilizers (microbial consortia) comprising strains of Bradyrhizobium IGR 6, IGR 40 and NC 92; strains of Rhizobium NRCG 4, NRCG 9, TNAU 14, Tt9 and IGS 92; strains of phosphate solubilizing microbes (PSM) Bacillus polymyxa and Pseudomonas striata, and strains of plant growth promoting rhizobium Pseudomonas fluorescens (PGPR1, PGPR2 and PGPR4) has been recommended for reducing fertilizer input and cost of production. Promising intercropping system for better and assured economic returns were dentified viz., groundnut + sesame; groundnut + pearl millet; groundnut + pigeon pea, groundnut + chilli; groundnut + cotton; and groundnut + castor The optimum dose of NPK for different agro-climatic zones have been recommended which varied from 8: 10: 0 to 40: 80: 60 kg/ ha respectively. Nitrogen is applied in split dose i.e. a half at the time of sowing and another half at the time of inter-culture. Gypsum is applied during the peak flowering stages i.e days after sowing. Deficiencies of any one or more of zinc, boron, and iron have been reported from several major groundnut growing states. Among various micronutrients, deficiency of

69 60 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India iron is most common especially in the calcareous soils. The micronutrients, especially zinc and boron, can be applied to soil in the form of zinc sulphate and borax, respectively. While the solutions of zinc sulphate, borax and ferrus sulphate can be sprayed on the crop. Basal application of borax 5-10 kg/ ha and zinc sulphate kg/ ha and spraying of 0.2% borax, 0.5% to 10.5% zinc sulphate and 0.15% ferrous sulphate based on the requirement are advocated for different regions. Depending upon the type of soil and crop duration, the water requirement of groundnut varies from 500 to 700 mm. Groundnut may require irrigation at intervals of 7 to 10 days. Crop coefficients for different stages to guide water requirements have been worked out. On light-textured soils, sprinkler system can be used advantageously for providing light and frequent application of water. Furrow-irrigation is frequently used on medium-textured soils. A number of factors such as scheduling irrigation at critical growth stages, use of sprinkler/drip irrigation system, application of mulch, application of hydrogel, control of weeds, selection of suitable variety, spray of potassium chloride (5 g/lit of water) during flowering and pod development stages, foliar spray of kaolin (30 g/ lit of water) as anti-transpirant at 30 DAS and at 60 DAS to reduce the leaf-temperature and increased the pod-yield and broad-bed and furrow system of planting are found promising for conserving the available soil moisture and to overcome the adverse effects of moisture stress or drought. Broad-bed-and-furrow system has been found to be very effective for in situ conservation of moisture Among the biotic stresses, the foliar fungal diseases (early leaf spot, late leaf spot and rust), viral diseases (peanut bud necrosis diseases PBND; and peanut stem necrosis disease PSND) soil borne diseases (stem rot, collar rot and pod rot complex), and the insect pests like defoliators (red hairy caterpillar, tobacco caterpillar, gram pod borer and leaf miner) and sucking pests (jassids, aphids, and thrips) are the major ones. Problems of nematodes, white grubs and termites are also being encountered in certain areas. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) modules have been developed for various groundnut growing zones of India that comprise of need-based and judicious combination of agronomic practices (deep ploughing, soil solarization, early or late sowing, row to row spacing, intercropping etc.); use of biocontrol agents like Trichoderma harzianum or T. viride, Bacillus thuringiensis, Trichogramma chelonis, nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) etc. ; botanicals (spray of neem seed kernel extract, neem oil in teepol etc.); application of castor cake enriched with Trichoderma; vegetative trapping of larvae; planting of pheromone traps; and need based application of agro-chemicals (carbendazim, mancozeb, tridemorph, chloropyriphos, endosulfan, cypermethrin, phosphamidon etc.). Integrated approaches for achieving low aflatoxin levels are developed. Several table purpose groundnut varieties (HPS Types) have high market potential. RAPESEED- MUSTARD India ranks 3 rd and accounts for 23.3% and 14.1% of the world acreage and production. The contribution of rapeseed-mustard to the total oilseed acreage and production in the

70 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 61 domestic oilseed sector is 24 % and 26%, respectively. Next to soybean, the rapeseed-mustard is the major contributor to the total oilseeds production in India. During , 7 m.tonnes of rapeseed-mustard was produced from 6.34 m.ha. with the productivity of 1103 kg/ha. In , the rapeseed-mustard production was 6.41 m.tonnes. from 5.53 m.ha. and the productivity was 1159 kg/ha. The production of rapeseed-mustard in the country has constantly increased and the highest production of 8.1 m.tonne was reported in Though there was gradual increase of area under rapeseed-mustard cultivation, it has declined in Similarly the productivity has sown the increasing trend. Rapeseed mustard crops in India are grown in diverse agro-climatic conditions ranging from north-eastern / north-western hills to down south under irrigated/rainfed, timely/late sown, saline soils and in mixed cropping. Indian mustard accounts for about % of the acerage under these group of crops in the country. The cultivation of brown sarson which once dominated the entire rapeseed-mustard growing region is now shadowed by Indian mustard. There are two different ecotypes of brown sarson: lotni (self-incompatible) and tora (self-compatible). The lotni is predominantly cultivated in colder regions of the country particularly in Kashmir and Himachal valley. The tora on the other hand is cultivated in limited areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Yellow sarson is now mainly grown in Assam, Bihar, North-eastern States, Orissa, eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Toria is a short duration crop cultivated largely in Assam, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal in the east mainly as winter crop. In Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh, it is grown as a catch crop. Taramira is grown in the drier parts of north west India comprising the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Gobhi sarson and karan rai are the new emerging oilseed crops having limited area of cultivation. Gobhi sarson is a long duration crop confined to Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Research Accomplishments 208 varieties suitable for different growing situations have been developed and released which include the varieties for white rust resistance, earliness, high oil content, high temperature tolerance, intercropping system, late sown, rainfed, salinity and frost tolerance and varieties with low erucic acid. Besides 3 hybrids in Indian mustard have been released. In Gobhi sarson, 5 varieties with low erucic acid glucosinolate have been recommended. Mustard hybrid crop NRC DR-2

71 62 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India germplasm accessions are being maintained and a number of accessions tolerant to biotic stresses have been identified. A number of remunerative cropping sequences such as bajra-mustard, rice- mustard, groundnut- mustard and sesame-mustard for irrigated situations and fallow- mustard, sorghum-mustard and pearl-millet- mustard for rainfed have been recommended. The recommended dose for NPK in mustard for rainfed region is : :10-40 kg/ha where as for irrigated region, it is : : kg /ha. for toria and yellow sarson a fertilizer dose of : : kg/ha and : 30-50: kg/ha of NPK has been recommended respectively kg/ ha of N has been recommended for tarmiria Two life saving irrigations one at days and another at days are ideal for most of the states. In Gujarat 5 irrigations is required for getting higher yield where as 1 irrigation for mustard/ toria and 2 irrigations for yellow sarson have been recommended for West Bengal. Seed treatment with aproan SD-35 (6 g/kg) for white rust and downy mildew, carbendaziam (2g/kg) for stem rot and wilt and captan or mancozeb (3-4 g/kg) for root rot was found promising. Aphid, saw fly, painted bug, Alternaria blight, rust, Sclerotinia stem rot and powdery mildew are the major biotic stresses. Effective Integrated pest management packages for aphid, painted bug, Alternaria blight and white rust are developed and recommended for each major pest and disease. Development of high quality mustard viz., 0, 00, 000 types conferring low erucic acid, glucosinolate and low fibre types are having high market potential with comparable canola oil standards. SOYBEAN India ranks fifth in area and production of soybean in the world. The productivity of soybean in India is less than half of the world average. Soybean has established itself as a major rainy season crop in the rainfed agro-ecosystem of central and peninsular India. Introduction of soybean in these areas has led to a shift in the cropping system from rainy season fallow followed by post-rainy season wheat or chickpea (fallow-wheat/chickpea) system to soybean followed by wheat or chickpea (soybean-wheat/chickpea) system. This has resulted in an enhancement in the cropping intensity and resultant increase in the profitability per unit land area. The average production of soybean in the last five years ( ) was 9.61 m. tonnes from 8.84 m.ha. with a productivity of 1088 kg/ha. During , it is estimated that the crop was planted in 9.79 m. ha and the production was m.tonne with the productivity of 1026 kg/ha. It is the largest contributor (36%) to the Indian oilseed sector. After introduction of soybean crop in India, the acreage as well as the production has constantly increased and the record production (10.9 m.tonnes) was reported in The productivity has also consistently increasing.

72 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 63 Research Accomplishments 100 varieties suitable for different growing situations have been developed which include varieties for high yield, early maturity, tolerance to drought, high seed longevity and low linolenic acid content, resistance to YMV and tolerance to insect pest. Besides 3 multiple disease resistant varieties were developed of germplasm accessions are being maintained and characterized for 17 descriptors. It has also characterized accessions of wild perennials belonging to sub-genus Glycine Soybean genotypes (NRC101 and NRC102) free from kunitz trypsin inhibitors and NRC 105 suitable for vegetable purposes have been developed. Intercropping of soybean with pigeonpea, maize and sorghum in 4:2 row ratios under rainfed conditions was remunerative when compared with sole cropping of soybean. Soybean-wheat cropping system for irrigated and soybean-chickpea/ linseed/safflower cropping systems for rainfed conditions was found remunerative. Inclusion of maize either in crop Early duration (85 days) variety, tolerant to terminal drought Kunitz trypsin inhibitor free soybean genotypes NRC101 and NRC102 rotation or in intercropping system improved the system efficiency in terms of productivity, profitability and energy. Cropping sequences of longer duration (2 years or more) were appropriate for providing sustainable production of soybean. The refined and recommended balanced nutrition schedule for soybean for central Indian conditions is 20 kg N:60 kg P 2 O 5 :40 kg K 2 O/ha.Application of poultry manure (2.5 tones/ha) in combination with recommended dose of fertilizer resulted in high dry matter production and enhancement of soybean seed yield and improved soil health. Application of 5-10 t FYM/ha was found sufficient to fulfill micronutrient requirement for soybean. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Right Soybean+maize intercropping system Gram positive cells) is reported for the first time from rhizosphere of soybean cultivated in central India. It has potential to control soil-borne pathogens such as Sclerotium rolfsii and Sclerotinia spp. and also to

73 64 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India improve soybean productivity by performing plant growth-promoting activities mainly like siderophore production and ACC deaminase activity. Diseases viz. yellow mosaic, soybean mosaic, Indian bud blight, rust, anthracnose & pod blight, Cercospora blight (Purple seed stain), Sclerotium blight, Rhizoctonia root rot & aerial blight and bacterial pustule cause substantial yield loss. Seed treatment with carboxin + 2 g or thiram and carbendazim in the ratio of 3g/kg seed found effective for the control of seed and seedling diseases. Seed treatment 50 days prior to sowing was found much more effective than at the time of sowing. Seed treatment with biocontrol agents viz. Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas fluorescens increased seedling emergence, plant population and reduced pre and post emergence mortality. Consortium of three strains of T. harzianum was also quite effective for the management of charcoal rot and collar rot. Foliar sprays of carbendazim and mancozeb at R 2 and R 6 stage increased seed germination and reduced seed borne fungi. The best and economical results have been obtained with the sprays of carbendazim and, thiophanate methyl. For the management of rust, hexaconazole, propiconazle and triadimefon (0.1%) were found effective. For the management of leaf eating caterpillars and Heliothis/ Spodoptera, integrated pest management packages have been developed. Trypsin inhibitor free and beany flavour free soybean genotypes have high market potential, both domestic and international SUNFLOWER With 4.6 % share, sunflower is the 4 th largest contributor to the total oilseeds production in India. During , with the average productivity of 639 kg/ha, 1.24 m.tonnes of sunflower was produced from 1.94 m.ha. In , the crop was grown in 1.48 m.ha. which resulted in the production of 0.9 m.tonnes and a productivity was 607 kg/ha. From the introduction of the crop in the country in early 70 s the sunflower acreage has constantly increased touching the highest 2.3 m.ha in and then it has started showing negative trend and presently the area has reduced by about 20%. The production has constantly increased up to and reduced subsequently up to During the last 5 years sunflower production has again increased and the highest production (1.46m.tonnes) was recorded in However, there is consistent improvement of sunflower yield. It is grown in kharif and rabi seasons in southern states and Maharashtra, as spring crop in northern India and in eastern states it is grown in rabi-summer. Productivity of sunflower in spring season in Indo-Gangetic plains is high at 1700 kg/ha compared to low productivity of 600 kg/ha in traditional areas due to distinct variation in agro-ecological optima. Research Accomplishments Developed and released 18 varieties and 31 hybrids for different situations. Some of the varieties and hybrids have important agro-economic traits such as resistance to rust and downy mildew and tolerance to Alternaria.

74 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 65 Maintained 1469 germplasm accessions and identified number of accessions resistant to downy mildew. Besides, 43 wild species are characterized and maintained. In vitro colchiploidy and anther culture of interspecific hybrids involving species differing in ploidy have been standardized. KBSH-44, A promising sunflower hybrid Region specific remunerative intercropping systems such as grounndnut+sunflower(4:2, 3:1) and pigeonpea+ sunflower(1:2/1:1) have been identified. In intercropping systems, application of recommended NPK to component crop (groundnut or pigeonpea or soybean) on area basis and application of recommended PK and 50% N as basal or top dress to main crop sunflower was found to be more productive and remunerative. Sunflower + Groundnut (1:5) Sunflower + Pigeonpea (2:1) Sulphur is emerging as fourth major nutrient especially for oilseeds due to its involvement in oil synthesis. S deficiency is widespread across soil types and crops. There was significant improvement in yield, quality and economics of sunflower due to direct and residual effects of S in rice sunflower and sunflower groundnut cropping systems. The increase in seed yield of sunflower was 34 to 45% while it was 21% in groundnut. There was 38% increase in system oil yield with 45 kg S/ha in sunflower groundnut cropping system. Single super phosphate or gypsum or ammonium sulphate or bentonite sulphur are effective sources for sulphur management. In soybean-sunflower cropping system on Vertisols, it is possible and profitable to substitute 50% P for sunflower by seed treatment with PSB and application of 5t FYM/ha when the preceding soybean is supplied with recommended P. Dual inoculation of Azospirillum and Azotobactor along with 50% of recommended N can save up to 50% (i.e., 30kg N/ha) requirement and provide higher profits under rainfed conditions. Recommended NPK along with 5t FYM/ha application has resulted in higher and sustainable sunflower yield in major sunflower based cropping systems both in Alfisols and Vertisols. Secondary and micronutrient supplementation had

75 66 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India increased the seed yield of sunflower in the system. Boron 0.2% to capitulum as directed spray has increased seed yield of sunflower by 24% through increase in seed set and test weight. Site specific nutrient management (SSNM) through soil test based balanced fertilization as per the target yield and soil fertility has resulted in increase in sunflower seed yield by 25%, improvement in soil fertility of P (50%) and K (100%), thereby reduction in fertilizer application and cost of production to sunflower in both Alfisols and Vertisols. Nutrient deficiency symptoms for major, secondary and micronutrients have been characterized in sunflower. Seed treatment with thiram or 2-3 g/kg of seed to protect from seed-borne diseases, 6 g/kg to protect the crop against downy mildew disease and with 5 g/kg before sowing against insect vectors for the necrosis management is promising and recommended. The crop is recommended to irrigate at an interval of days in case of black soils and 8-10 days in case of red soils. 1-4 irrigations are required in kharif whereas, 2-6 irrigations are required in rabi-summer based on the type of soils. Excess and too frequent irrigations should be avoided, and whenever irrigation water is a constraint, the crop may be irrigated at the three critical crop growth stages such as bud initiation, flower opening and seed filling Alternaria leaf spot, necrosis, capitulum borer, sucking and foliage pest are the major biotic stresses which cause huge loses. Practices to control downy mildew, necrosis and Alternaria diseases and foliage and sucking pests through Integrated Pest Management packages have been developed. Artificial whole plant assay technique against Alternaria leaf blight of sunflower Development of high oleic acid and confectionary sunflower types have a huge market potential. SESAME In India, sesame contributes 2.6% to the total oilseeds production. During , with the average productivity of 366 kg/ha, 0.7 m.tonnes of sesame was produced from 1.81

76 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 67 m.ha. In , it was grown in 2.03 m.ha and the total production was 0.85 m.tonnes with the productivity was 322 kg/ha. The Sesame acreage has been reduced by 30 % and the production has also declined as compared to early 90 s. The record productivity of the crop (460kg/ha) was reported in which has declined subsequently. The productivity of sesame in India is low, because the crop is mainly grown in kharif. The productivity is two times higher when the crop is grown in rabi- summer as compared to the kharif crop. Though sesame is cultivatd almost in all states the highest productivity of the crop in West Bengal is due to cultivation in sesame in summer under high fertility after harvest of potato and rice under irrigation. Research Accomplishments 83 varieties have been developed for different agro-ecological situations. Some of these varieties have the important traits viz., white bold seeded, export quality, black seeded for domestic/ medicinal use, high oil content, suitable for semi-rabi, suitable for summer, for upland rice fallow, tolerant to diseases : Macrophomina stem and root rot, Alternaria leaf spot, Phytophthora blight, bacterial blight and Cercospora leaf spot. A good crop of sesame White bold seeded Sesame 2700 germplasm accessions maintained and a number of accessions were identified to possess important impotent traits. Rice-groundnut-sesame; sesame - horsegram; fingermillet/sorghum/horsegram (early) - sesame; sesame - upland rice, potato - sesame and sesame-wheat/moongbean/barley are the promising cropping sequences identified. Sesame+ pearl millet (1:1), sesame+moth bean (1:1) and sesame+groundnut (1:4) are some of the remunerative intercropping systems identified. The NPK recommended in kharif is 30:25:0 and in rabi /summer 25-60: 15-25:15-30 kg /ha. Half of the recommended dose of nitrogen and full dose of P and K are to be applied at the time of seeding. The remaining half N may be top-dressed at flower initiation i.e days after sowing at sufficient soil moisture. Seed treatment with Azotobactor and P solubilizing bacteria with 75% RDF resulted in higher seed

77 68 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India yield. Further integration of two foliar applications of urea (2%) at flowering and capsule formation stages resulted in maximum seed yield and monetary returns. Application of 30 kg /ha through gypsum+60:40:20 (NPK kg/ha) recorded higher seed yield and oil yield. Integration of micronutrients, zinc and iron along with FYM 2.5 t/ha to RDF resulted in maximum seed yield. Capsule borer, gall fly, Phytopthera blight, stem and root rot and phyllody are the major biotic stresses. Integrated Pest Management practices to control capsule borer, leaf roller and Phytopthera blight, stem and root rot have been developed and recommended. SAFFLOWER India has the distinction of being the largest safflower producing countries in the world with the production of 0.21 m.tonnes from 0.27 m.ha with a productivity of 647 kg/ha ( ). As much as 98% of the total safflower area is concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the production of these states accounts for more than 90% of the total production. The crop also showed impressive yield potential in non-traditional areas like Bihar, Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa. In , 0.17 m. tonnes of safflower was produced from 0.27 m.ha. with a productivity of 632 kg/ha. The safflower acreage which was increased to 1 million hectare in started declining and at present it is reduced to 1/5 th. Though the yield has consistently increased, the production has been reduced by half, the highest (0.52 m.tonne) being reported in Research Accomplishments Developed and recommended 28 varieties and 5 hybrids. Some of the varieties and hybrids possess tolerance to wilt, Alternaria and aphids. NARI NH -1- A hybrid released for all India SSF 658- A variety released for all India Maintained 7476 germplasm accessions and a number of germplasm found tolerance to wilt, Alternaria and aphids. Successfully demonstrated the proof of concept of using heterologous orf H 522 gene for induction of male sterility in safflower through transformation of tobacco with male sterility induction gene cassette.

78 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 69 Remunerative inter cropping systems viz., chickpea + safflower (3:1) and coriander + safflower(3:1 or 2:1) and cropping sequences such as mungbean safflower, urdbean safflower, hybrid sorghum safflower, groundnut safflower, sesame safflower, sunflower safflower have been recommended for different regions. Safflower + Chickpea (1:2) Safflower + Coriander (1:3) Response of safflower to S under low to medium available soil S was profitable at 15 to 30 kg S/ ha through single super phosphate or 30 kg S/ ha through gypsum. Seed treatment with Azotobacter or mixed inoculation of Azotobacter and Azospirillum (25g/kg seed) could effectively substitute 50% of recommended needs of safflower amounting to 20 kg/ha. The recommended dose of NPK in rainfed areas is 25-40: 10-25: 0-35 kg/ ha where as : 50-75: 20 NPK kg /ha is recommended for irrigated areas Depending on the soil moisture status, one irrigation at 35 days after planting in early elongation stage and another at 65 to 70 days during flowering are critical. In light soils about 5-6 irrigations are needed including a pre-planting irrigation. Under irrigated conditions, it is advisable to plant the crop on broad beds with furrows laid at intervals of 1.35 to 1.8 m or preferably on flat bed and then form irrigation furrows after every 2 rows at the time of first irrigation. Seeds treatment with thiram, captan or 3 g/kg seed before sowing is recommended to prevent losses from seed and soil borne diseases. Integrated Pest Management packages to control major biotic stresses such as Alternaria, wilt and aphid have been developed and recommended. NIGER India is the largest producer of niger. The average production is 0.1 m.tonnes from 0.4 m.ha with a productivity of 271 kg/ha ( ). It is generally grown in tribal regions of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This crop recorded highest production of 0.19 m. tonnes in which was steadily declined further and touched to 0.11 m.tonne in The highest

79 70 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India niger growing acreage (0.64 m.ha) was recorded in which was gradually decreased over years and in , it was almost reduced by 50%. Niger is almost entirely grown under rainfed condition. Research Accomplishments Developed and recommended 19 varieties for cultivation to farmers. Maintained 1600 germplasm accessions. Early rice - niger, millet - niger, frenchbean - niger, and early ragi/ horsegram - niger are promising cropping sequences recommended for different regions. Niger+ ragi (4:2), niger + kodo (2:2), niger + pearl millet/ moong bean (2:2) have been recommended as remunerative inter cropping systems for dfferent regions The crop is mostly grown on less fertile marginal and sub-marginal lands without manure or fertilizer application. However, application of : : 10 kg/ ha is ideal for realising higher yield. Protective irrigation, wherever possible, helps in plant stand establishment and gives good yield. For semi rabi crop one or two need based irrigations, one at flowering and other at seed filling stage gives higher yield. Methods to control Cuscuta weed which is a major menace in niger crop include removal of Cuscuta seed by seiving before sowing, steeping of Cuscuta seed in brine solution before sowing, removal of Cuscuta infested niger seedlings at the early crop growth. Pre sowing treatment of seed with thiram (0.2%) and bavistin ( %) has been recommended to control Cercospora and Alternaria leaf spot diseases. CASTOR Globally, India accounts for 54% of castor area and 68% of castor production and ranks first in the world. India contributes more than 80% of world requirement of castor oil and its derivatives. In India, castor is grown in about 0.79 m. ha. and the average production of castor was 0.99 m.tonnes. with the productivity of 1252 kg/ha ( ). In , 0.98 m.tonnes of castor was produced from 0.81 m.ha. with a productivity of 1209 kg/ha. The production as well as the yield have consistently increased and the record production of castor (1.2 m.tonne) was reported in Though the castor acreage has crossed 1 million hectare in , during the last decade the castor growing area has declined and hovering between 0.6 to 0.9 m.ha.

80 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 71 It ideally suits dryland farming in kharif and with limited irrigations in post-monsoon seasons in both traditional and non-traditional areas. Castor is considered to be a good contingent crop in case of monsoon aberrations providing a cushion to resource-poor farmers of rainfed areas. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the major castor producing states and together accounts for 94% of the total castor production in the country. However, among the major castor producing states, wide regional disparities are encountered in yield of this crop with the highest being in Gujarat (1978 kg/ha) and low in Andhra Pradesh (645 kg/ha) as it is grown as an irrigated crop in the former. Research Accomplishments 21 varieties and 14 hybrids have been developed and released for different agro-ecological situations which include wilt resistant ones. Wilt resistant hybrids released for all India 3417 germplasm accessions maintained and a number of germplasm has been identified as resistant to wilt. Many germplasm accessions showing multiple resistance to pests and diseases are identified and are being used in breeding programmes. Succeeded in genetic transformation of castor through Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated and direct gene transfer methods incorporating Bt gene for resistance to Lepidopteran pests GCH-7 A very popular hybrid in Gujarat Castor+ groundnut(1:5), castor+ cluster bean (1:2) and castor + pigeon pea (1:1) are the remunerative intercropping systems identified Castor- groundnut, castor- pigeonpea, castor-sesame and pearl millet-castor are the promising cropping sequences recommended. Rabi castor is found to be promising opportunity to increase castor productivity and to avoid Botrytis disease in Andhra Pradesh and south India.

81 72 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Application of 20 kg S/ha through gypsum or single super phosphate recorded higher yields and returns. The recommended dose of NPK for rainfed castor is : 15-50: kg/ha and in irrigated areas : 50: 25 kg NPK/ha. For rainfed castor, apart from application of basal dose of 20 kg N fertilizer, top dress with 20 kg N/ha each at and days after sowing depending upon the moisture availability in the soil. In the event of a dry spell during days, top dress with 20 kg N/ha at the time of initiation of secondaries with the receipt of rain. For irrigated castor nitrogen has to be given in 5 splits, kg each at sowing, 40, 70, 100 and 130 days after sowing. In soils deficient in Zn and Fe, 10 kg Zn S0 4 and 30 kg Fe S0 4 /ha, respectively to be applied. Castor + Pigeonpea (1:1) Castor + Clusterbean (1:2) In case of prolonged dry spells during grand growth period, one protective irrigation either at primary spike development or secondary spike initiation/development are to be given. Under intensive management, all currently recommended popular, medium, long duration hybrids/varieties require 5-7 irrigations in sandy loams soils and six in the red soils. For realizing the full productivity potentials, the first irrigation should be applied at around days or around full flowering of primary spike. The subsequent irrigations may be given at intervals of 20 days after first irrigation, to ensure adequate moisture for the development of different spike orders. Since, castor is a deep rooted crop, sufficient water to wet at least cm soil profile should be applied. Seed treatment with Azospirillum or phosphorus solubilizing bacteria 50 g/kg seed, apart from application of NPK/ha in conjunction with castor cake (1t/ha) or FYM (5t/ha) is advocated. Seed treatment with thiram or 3g/kg seed or carbendazim 2 g/kg is useful to protect plants from seed borne diseases like Alternaria leaf blight, seedling blight and wilt. Alternatively, the seed can be treated with Trichoderma 10 g/kg seed and soil application of 2.5 kg incubated in 125 kg FYM/ha for managing wilt. Wilt, Botrytis, Semilooper and capsule borer are the major biotic stresses. Integrated Pest Management packages to control wilt and Botrytis diseases and control methods for Semilooper and capsule borer have been recommended, that include resistant variety, seed treatment, need based profilactic plant protection considering weather forecast and disease endemics. DOR Bt-1 0.5% WP formulation has been developed which is effective to control lepidopteran pests.

82 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 73 A microbial formulation to control semi looper in castor LINSEED India ranks second in area in the world after Canada, but is the 4 th largest producer after Canada, China and USA. In India, linseed is grown in about 0.42 m.ha. and the average production was 0.16 m.tonnes with the productivity of 397kg/haduring In , 0.15 m.tonnes of linseed was produced with the yield of 440 kg/ha from 0.33 m.ha. Though it was grown in 2.1 m.ha in from early 90s the linseed acreage started declining and presently it has reduced to 1/5 th. Likewise the highest linseed production in the country (0.56 m.tonne) was reported in , and at present the production has also reduced to 0.16 m.tonne. However, the yield has been increased consistently. Linseed is predominantly grown under rainfed (63%) and utera (25%) conditions. Linseed crop is generally grown in marginal and sub-marginal, un-irrigated, input-starved land with poor crop management practices which are major factors for lower productivity. Research Accomplishments 63 varieties including seed and double purpose (seed and fibre) have been developed for different agro-ecological situations including varieties for utera cultivation germplasm accessions maintained and a number of germplasm accessions with resistance / tolerance to Alternaria blight, rust, wilt, powdery mildew diseases and bud fly have been identified Sesame linseed, maize- linseed and blackgram- linseed are the promising crop sequences recommended and the remunerative intercropping systems identified are linseed + chickpea (3:1), linseed + wheat (4:2), linseed + mustard (5:1) and linseed + potato (3:3) Cultural practices for cultivating linseed in utera cropping system have been developed This is one of the best practices for utilizing the residual soil moisture in rice fields without tillage. In this practice, linseed is broadcast in the standing rice fields when the rice crop is between flowering and dough stages. Under utera system, linseed should be

83 74 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India popularized as a mixed crop with greengram, blackgram and lathyrus, which are under cultivation in the system. The recommended doses of fertilizer is : NP kg/ ha in rainfed areas and for irrigated areas it is : 30 Kg/ ha. For utera situation kg N/ ha is to be applied and 80:30 kg NP / ha is recommended for double purpose variety. Under rainfed condition, all the fertilizers should be applied at the time of sowing, whereas under irrigated conditions, half dose of nitrogen and full dose of phosphorus and potash is applied as a basal dose. The remaining nitrogen is applied with the first irrigation i.e., about 35 days after sowing. An application of 5t FYM/ha can save 25% of inorganic fertilizer. In paddy-linseed crop sequence, application of ZnSo 25 kg/ha in either of crops or both crops along 5t FYM/ha is recommended to get higher yield. Yield can be boosted by 40 to 60%, doubled if two irrigations are given, the first at about 35 days after sowing and the second at about 65 days after sowing. However, three irrigations (at about 35, 55 and 75 days after sowing) have proved very effective in increasing the yield. Seed treatment with 1.5 g/kg seed or 3g/kg seed or 2.5 g/kg seed or Trichoderma viride or T. g/kg seed protect the crop from seed-borne diseases and to some extent from soil borne diseases also. Integrated pest management packages to control major biotic stresses such as bud fly, wilt, rust, powdery mildew and Alternaria blight have been developed OIL PALM Though the country has an area of 1.00 million ha with potential for oil palm cultivation, oil palm crop at present is grown in an area of 0.17 million ha with a production of 0.24 million tonnes. During , production of vegetable oil in India was about 9.78 million tonnes where as the consumption was about double the amount of production (18.07 million tonnes). Consumption of palm oil in India is the highest compared to that of other edible oils, followed by soybean, rapeseed-mustard and groundnut oil. India has been mainly depending on import of oil from other countries to meet its vegetable oil requirements. During , India imported 8.63 million tonnes of vegetable oil spending about Rs.29,000 crores, of which palm oil accounted for about 6.68 million tonnes (77 per cent of total import), which implies that the country is dependent on palm oil imports for about 37% of its annual edible oil requirement. In addition, the total demand for edible oils is expected to increase further. Directorate of Oil Palm Research could identify germplasm types with high production potential, hybrids that could give better yields and crop management technologies along with plant health management measures. A few major research highlights are listed here: Research Accomplishments The germplasm unit has 128 exotic and indigenous accessions Two Oleifera palms were identified for commercial plantations by Oil Palm India Ltd., which are being utilized in breeding programmes. Amongst tenera introductions planted in 1981 at Directorate of Oilpalm Research,

84 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 75 Regional Centre, Palode, twenty best performing teneras have been identified which are being selfed for further crop improvement. Twenty four tenera accessions received from ASD Costa Rica were evaluated at multiple locations has been characterized A high yielding hybrid type 124D x 266P yielding tonnes FFB/ha has been developed at Mulde Centre in Maharashtra State. Similarly, the hybrid 115D x 291P is performing well both at Vijayarai and Mulde Centres with an yield of t. FFB/ha at Vijayarai Centre and t. FFB/ha at Mulde Centre. Three promising dwarf palms were identified that could be used for further improvement. Among them, palm no 48 recorded a height of 1.00 metre at 12 years and showed high percent fruit set and oil/bunch ratio (21.13). At present, six seed gardens exist in the country with an annual production capacity for 2.00 million sprouts. Nursery management techniques were perfected for raising healthy oil palm seedlings. A fertilizer dose of g N, P and K 2 0 per seedling was found optimum. Application of fertilizers in equal splits at three monthly intervals was suitable for optimum performance. Crops like maize, tobacco and banana were found to be most profitable and compatible intercrops in oil palm based cropping systems during the juvenile phase, while, cocoa was found to be an ideal companion crop in adult oil palm plantations. Technique of vermi-composting has been perfected for oil palm plantation wastes. With proper care and management of oil palm plantations (regular application of water through drip and quarterly application of 1200:600:1800:500g N, P, K, Mg per palm/year and need based boron 50 g/ palm/year, 50 kg FYM/palm /year, it is possible to get 8 to 11 tonnes FFB/ha/annum in the first year of harvest i.e. three years after planting. Management measures for rhinoceros beetle and red palm weevil have been developed. Standardized seed dressing techniques are found to prevent microbial spoilage of seeds and sprouts during storage and germination process. 3. Trends in Oilseed Supply and Demand Trends in oilseed Production India s oilseeds sector has witnessed several changes and reversals during last 5 decades yet maintaining a positive growth trend. The performance of oilseeds on the domestic front during the last two decades has been commendable braving the vagaries of weather conditions, the global price aberrations and the ever increasing domestic demand. It is seen that the compound growth rates of nine edible oils during to vis-a-vis to has provided a fillip for consolidation and revitalization of the oilseed economy (Fig. 3). Demand for edible oil witnessed high growth after mid-1960s but supply could not keep pace with growth in demand. Domestic supply during 1968 and 1981 grew at

85 76 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India just 1% a year whereas demand is reported to have escalated at annual per capita rate of 16%. This rapid growing imbalance between demand and supply was made good by imports. Imports as per cent of availability increased from 3.27% in to 32% by As domestic production was not keeping pace with demand, imports had become a necessity, at huge cost on import bill. Production of nine oilseeds hovered around 9.5 million tonnes during to Fig. 3. Compound growth rates of nine annual oilseed crops in India In view of increased demands on import of edible oil in late 1980 s, the Government of India established the Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses (TMOP ) in 1986 to boost production and to accelerate towards self reliance. This Mission worked closely with all concerned partner agencies such as ICAR oilseeds institutes to develop improved crop technologies, the CFTRI to improve the oilseeds processing technology, along with State Agriculture Departments to transfer the technology to the farmers and the oilseeds processors to improve their efficiency through subsidy backup. All these mission bound target oriented activities alongwith remunerative support price to oilseeds have paid rich dividends to make India self-reliant in oilseeds production through yellow revolution in early 90s. The oilseeds output rose sharply by 70% from 10.8 m.t. in to 18.6 m.t. in and became doubled in (20.1 m.t.). From a chronic importer of vegetable oil for which the country had to spend more than Rs.1000 crore in mid eighties, India with an export of 4.5 m.t. oilseeds and oilseed derivatives valued at Rs.2289/- crore during could establish its position as an exporter in international oilseed trade. During the period of pre-tmop period ( ), the average oilseeds production in the country was 9.2 m.t. from 16.8 m.ha with productivity of 548 kg/ha. The annual average compound growth rates of area, production and productivity during this period were only 0.79, 2.74 and 1.94% respectively. After initiation of the TMOP, with the area expansion (3.05%) and productivity growth (3.23%), the annual growth of oilseeds production was significantly increased to 6.37% ( ). The domestic achievements in oilseeds production is unparalled observing that 5.5 times increase in oilseeds production during the period was achieved under predominately rainfed (72%) agro-ecological conditions, which is even higher than the production increase in total food grains during the same period. The momentum in growth continued till with the oilseed production touching m. tonnes. After this oilseed production suffered a serious setback for about six years.

86 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 77 However, the oilseeds registered 17% increase in production (27.4 m/tonnes) in as compared to the X plan period ( ) with 11% increase in productivity (Fig. 4). Fig. 4. Trends in area, production and productivity in oilseeds in India The annual compound growth rate of area (2.44%), production (5.48%) and yield (2.96 %) of oilseed crops during was less as compared to that reported during (Area: 3.05, Production: 6.37 and yield: 3.23). The gain from the self-sufficiency in oilseeds sector remained for short period and started fading and the situation began changing significantly from mid 1990 s ( ). Once again, the demand of edible oils has outstripped the supply and there is a steady rise of edible oil import to bridge the yawning gap. India being deficient in edible oils has to import 6-7 million tonnes i.e. about 40% of its consumption requirements. Trends in vegetable oil consumption Indians of different region have specific preference for certain oils largely depending upon the oils available in the region. For example, people in south and west prefer groundnut oil, while those in east and north use mustard oil. Likewise, several pockets of south have a preference for coconut and sesame oil. Inhabitants of northern plain basically prefer Vanaspati; a hydrogenated edible oil mixture. It has around 10% share of the edible oil market. However, in the last one decade, the structure of edible oil consumption in India has undergone major change. Due to the increased awareness about the health problems and the technological innovations in making all oils practically colourless, odourless and tasteless through refining, bleaching and de-odouraisation, the consumption of oils with higher unsaturated fatty acids contents viz., sunflower, safflower oil and other oils with more protein e.g. soybean and rice bran oil has been increased. The intake of Palmolein oil has also

87 78 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India increased as it is cheaper in market. At present, the usage of Palm oil is the highest (31%) among all the edible oils. There is a sharp increase in edible oil consumption in India (3 to 4% per annum) which is inspired by an annual spurt in per capita income of the order of 8%. At present, India is the world s largest consumer of edible oils, superseding China to the top slot last year. The per capita consumption of vegetable oil has increased from 4 kg/person in 70 s to about 10 kg/annum in and it has touched to 14 kg/annum in Requirement of oilseed As per the recent projections by DAC-Rabo Bank, the per capita consumption of vegetable oils is likely to rise to and kg/year by 2015 and 2020 respectively. This amounts to a vegetable oil requirement of and million tonnes, by 2015 and 2020 for a projected population of 1.29 and 1.36 billion respectively. In terms of oilseeds, it is nearly equivalent to and million tonnes respectively provided that the proportion of different oilseeds remains constant in the coming year. If one assumes 20% of vegetable oils is obtained from crops other than annual oilseeds, then country needs to produce about 55 million tonnes of oilseeds by 2020 to achieve near self-reliance in vegetable oils production. Given that oilseeds projected output during is about 30 million tonnes, the country needs to almost double the oilseeds production in the next 10 years requiring an annual growth rate of nearly 6%. Deficit The domestic supply of vegetable oil required for consumption is 40-50% short of the total requirement. Since, the domestic production of edible oil is less than the requirement; the country has to import about 8.12 m.tonnes (Table 3). Table 3. Trends in vegetable oil consumption and self sufficiency Year Edible Oil Imports Per capita Self-sufficiency (000t) (000t) Consumption (%)

88 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Programmes and Activities for Promotion of f Oilseed Production i) Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives: The integrated mission mode approach involving all stakeholders including research, development, marketing, processing, extension and matching back up by government policies through TMOP was instrumental for making the country self reliance in oilseeds and attain yellow revolution in early 90 s. Non-availability of inputs in time and in sufficient quantity especially of quality seed at affordable prices fertilizers like gypsum in groundnut areas, SSP in all oilseed areas, bentonite sulphur and zinc in deficient area, etc. Replacement of old varieties/ hybrids with the latest released / recommended ones is the need of the hour, since presently the seed replacement ratio is very low i.e., 9% especially for self pollinated crop and for varieties. For rapid penetration of improved varieties, a special strategy for seed production of groundnut is required as groundnut is a high seed volume crop (160 kg pods/ha) and its rate of seed multiplication is low (1:8) Narrow genetic gain in productivity of safflower through variety improvement programme. Spread and seed production of GMS- based safflower hybrids were constrained due to high rouging percentage. Soil test based fertilizer management through site specific nutrient management can result in higher seed yield and sustainability over general RDF application across soil types and situations. Facilitating reliable and quick soil test facility is needed. Emphasis should have been given for application of secondary (S) and micro nutrients and bio-fertilizers. The climate change like erratic rainfall patterns, delayed onset of monsoon and continuous rainfall during the reproductive and continuous rainfall during the reproductive and harvesting stages of the crop have wider implications in the production of the oilseed crops. The potential of improved technologies in terms of yield improvement over the farmers practice which varies from 36% (rapeseed - mustard) to 146% (linseed) as per the data of frontline demonstrations during the last 21 years has not reflected on the actual oilseed production in the country. The reasons of non-adoption of improved technologies by the farmers have to be analyzed and these need to be addressed in order to reap the actual benefits of improved technologies. Growing same crop continuously year by year has aggravated the disease problems for which suitable crop rotations as recommended for each crop has to be followed. Effective market intervention to ensure procurement at MSP is essential to prevent exploitation of farmers by traders that brings confidence in oilseed growers. Effective public-private partnership for producing quality seed and proper dissemination of improved technologies is highly essential.

89 80 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Non existence of marketing facility in new areas especially for sunflower in north India and low market price for the produce have discouraged the oil seed farmers to grow oilseed crops ii) Ongoing Programmes and Activities Genetic resource management- acquisition, conservation, characterization, documentation and utilization Genetic enhancement of yield potential through breeding for associated traits and incorporating the genes for major biotic stresses through conventional breeding and genetic engineering tools Exploitation of heterosis through CMS based hybrid development in safflower and mustard Diversification of parental lines in sunflower and castor Development of flax purpose linseed varieties and standardization of retting Management and improvement in quality of seed Natural resource management for sustainable oilseeds based cropping systems Exploration, characterization, evaluation and utilization of beneficial microorganisms for sustainable soybean production Management of biotic stresses through Integrated Pest Management packages Management of abiotic stresses Mechanization of soybean based cropping systems Technology dissemination, impact analysis and socio-economic research Under ISOPOM, for oil palm support is being provided for planting material, cultivation cost, installation of drip irrigation system, diesel pump sets, training, development of waste land and technology transfer through demonstration and publicity. During , a special initiative is being undertaken under Raashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for implementation of a Special Programme on Oil Palm Area Expansion (OPAE) in order to augment the production of palm oil by 2.5 to 3.00 lakh tonnes in the next 5 years. 5. Constraints and Challenges for Enhancing Oilseed Production Cultivated mostly as rainfed crops in marginal and sub-marginal lands with poor fertility thus vulnerable to fluctuations of the climatic condition. Oilseed group of crops, in general, are low productive due to their innate physiological nature (C 3 species). Inadequate availability of quality seeds of latest recommended varieties/hybrids. The seed replacement ratio varies from less than 1% (niger) to 69% (sunflower). The seed replacement ratio for the total oilseed crops is only 9.

90 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 81 Continuing dependence only on kharif produce for seed purpose as the produce of rabi-summer can not be used for raising the ensuing crop due to rapid loss of seed viability that seriously limiting timely availability of seed for spring sunflower in north India. Lack of reproducible regeneration and genetic transformation protocols in safflower, castor, sesame and sunflower; limited research efforts development and validation of gene constructs or manipulating agronomically important traits; non-availability of standardized protocols to exploit dihaploid technology; very limited availability of genomic resources in sesame, linseed and safflower; lack of genetic linkage maps in castor, sesame, linseed and safflower that is required for adoption of MAS Absence of CMS based hybrid in safflower, sesame and more rapeseed-mustard hybrids are the other limitations. Vulnerability to a number of diseases and insect pest attacks such as stem and bud necrosis and stem rot in groundnut, Sclerotinia in mustard, rust and YMV in soybean, necrosis in sunflower, Botrytis in castor, phyllody in sesame, and bud fly in linseed. At present the yield losses due to insect pest and diseases in oil seeds crops varies from 6% (groundnut)- 30% (safflower) and 8% (groundnut) and 20% (sunflower). Poor crop nutrition, sub-optimal and imbalance use of major nutrients and minimal use of secondary and micronutrients. Slow or inadequate transfer of technology. Lower or non-adoption of pest and disease management and other crop production recommendation. Heavy fluctuations in prices of produce and increasing cost of inputs. Non-availability of efficient processors or modern mills and post-harvest technologies for minimising losses in oil yield, deterioration in the quality of oil and meal/cake The post harvest losses in oilseeds varies from 2.8% (cotton seed) to 10.1% (groundnut) Aflatoxin in groundnut, pesticide residue in sesame are major limitations for their export. Presence of anti-nutritional factors in most of the oil cakes. Non-availability of processing technology to develop different value added products. Lack of technologies for proper utilization of by-products like crop stalks, leaf, oil cake, etc. Non-availability of efficient and appropriate implements and farm machinery to reduce the cost of various cultural operations. The present practice of announcing support prices for oilseeds is not favourable to increase the production of oilseeds. There is no mechanism of offering higher price for high quality oilseeds with higher oil content. The support prices have no

91 82 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India correlation with open market prices. Lack of systematic and organized procurement system and adequate marketing facilities. There is no apex information centre on all oilseeds to collect, organize and disseminate the information at national level. Indian Oilseed Processing Industry suffers from several maladies like out dated technologies, lower rates of utilization of installed capacity, low oil recoveries and high yield cost. The present average capacity utilization of processing unit in the country is 10-45%. Inadequate processing facilities to handle oil palm produce at a few locations. Oil Palm Some of the major factors impeding area expansion under Oil Palm and production of palm oil in the country are as under: Reluctance of farmers to take up a new crop having a gestation period of 3-4 years and requiring high initial investment and assured irrigation. Low productivity due to poor irrigation infrastructure and management. Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage for major risk factors. Fluctuation in the price of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB). Lack of processing facilities in some of the states/ Factory Zones coinciding with the availability of FFB. 6. Vision. Major Policies. Strategies and Programmes for Enhancing Oilseed Production Endeavour of the country would be to enhance the oilseed production to meet the growing demand of vegetable oil through the innovative tools. The research programmes would be strengthened and reoriented to effectively overcome the limitations for increasing oilseeds productivity and quality, to increase resource/ input use efficiency, to reduce cost of production with environmental protection to ensure the increased availability of vegetable oil and to improve the income generation of the farming community. Soil health and environment protection would receive due attention. Drought proofing oilseeds production and pro-active mitigation strategies to adopt ill effects of climate change while looking for opportunities under adversities is the major case for sustainable oilseeds production. The frontier scientific tools would be selectively tapped particularly to solve major biotic stresses and improving oil quality for which the traits of interest are not available in genetic resources. With innovation and technology led increased productivity and quality, these crops would be more competitive. Further, through creating the opportunity to improve the economic output

92 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 83 through value addition, it is envisioned for sustained growth of oilseeds sector in the country. Pro-active efforts would be made to associate all the stakeholders with major intent to cater the needs of majority small and marginal farmers associated with oilseed crops. Emphasis on basic and strategic research and collaboration with private partners in delivering final product to stakeholders will ensure mutual benefits. The strategies would be reviewed and reoriented periodically based on the national and international situations. RESEARCHABLE STRATEGIES Genetic upgradation for improvement in productivity and oil quality Widening of genetic base with reference to agro-economic traits and resistance to major abiotic and biotic stresses Introduction of alien genes employing genetic engineering tools to overcome the crop losses due to major biotic stresses and to improve quality viz., transgenics with resistance to stem necrosis, Aspergillus, Vit A fortification in groundnut; resistance to rust, YMV and reduced beany flavour in soybean; resistance to aphid and Alternaria in mustard; resistance to necrosis virus in sunflower; transgenic for Botrytis in castor and resistance to Alternaria and phyllody in sesame and resistance to bud fly in linseed. Varieties suitable for specific situation such as early duration, drought resistance, acidity and low temperature tolerance, HPS types in groundnut; early duration, high oil content, salinity tolerance, high temperature tolerance, late sown, foliar disease resistance in rapeseed-mustard; early maturity, thermo and photo insensitivity, rust and YMV resistance, suitable for rabi cultivation in soybean; white seeded, short duration, drought resistance, phyllody resistance, semi-rabi condition; high temperature tolerance in sesame; non-spiny with high oil content in safflower and short duration hybrids for Indo-gangetic plains, high oleic lines, resistance to SND and Alternaria in sunflower. Diversify parental lines of sunflower and castor hybrids and develop CMS based hybrids in safflower, sesame and mustard Enhance crop productivity and sustainability with reference to input management Develop low cost nutrient management practices for sustenance of soil health and reduce pesticide residues in products. Enhance input use efficiency and maximize production with optimum utilization of natural resources Develop conservation agricultural practices to mitigate climatic changes Minimize crop losses due to biotic stresses Develop forecasting and forewarning models to safeguard the crops Develop integrated bio-intensive pest management packages for defoliators, leaf minor, leaf spots, bud and stem necrosis in groundnut; aphid, painted bug, Alternaria, white

93 84 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India rust in rapeseed- mustard; foliage feeder, stem fly, rust, mosaic in soybean; head borer, Alternaria, necrosis (SND) in sunflower; leaf webber, capsule borer, wilt, Alternaria in sesame; gall fly, defoliators, capsule borer, Botrytis, in castor ; bud fly, Alternaria, rust in linseed and green caterpillar, Alternaria, Cuscuta in niger. Perfect diagnostic tools based on pest diversity and variability Improve oil quality and value addition Improve oil quality to increase wider adaptability and uses viz., reduction of ricin in castor, increase oleic acid content and develop confectionery types in sunflower, double zero and low glucosinolate rapeseed- mustard, increase gamma linolenic acid content in safflower and utilization of Omega 3 content of linseed, trypsin inhibitor reduction in soybean, aflatoxin reduction in groundnut for diversified uses Value addition to the raw oil and other parts of the mandate crops such as castor oil for bio-diesel and oleochemials, safflower petals for pharmaceuticals purpose, crop biomass for biofuel and reduction of anti-nutritional properties in the oil meals Area extension to newer niches Develop suitable prevailing crop system based variety/hybrids for sunflower in rabi/summer (Eastern India) and spring (Indo-gangetic plain) and castor in rabi season Intercropping in wide spaced major crops Contingency crop or catch crop to take advantage of risk coverage and profitable/ fuller utilization of resources. Develop agro-technology to expanding the cultivation in paddy fallows especially in Eastern India and other non-traditional areas DEVELOPMENTAL STRATEGIES Exploring new avenues for area expansion such as crop intensification in under utilised farming situations like rice fallows (15 m.ha), intercropping in widely spaced crops (45 m.ha), situations of limited water availability, as options under contingency planning (toria, sunflower and sesame) and as catch crops, replacement of less-remunerative crops, promotion of oilseed crops in saline (safflower, mustard, sunflower, castor) and acid soils (groundnut),crop diversification in rice-rice and rice-wheat system areas, Adoption of low/ no cost technologies such as crop rotation to improve soil health and to reduce pest build up, soil and moisture conservation measures, timely planting, maintaining adequate plant stand and timely weed management Adoption of a combination of land-saving technologies involving :high yielding varieties/hybrids, balanced and integrated crop nutrition, efficient crop management, integrated pest management, mechanized farming.

94 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India 85 Delineating efficient zones for each oilseed crop, linking all support services to these crop zones and overcoming infrastructural shortcomings in identified zones Increased timely availability of quality seed through strengthening of seed chains and other inputs such as fertilizer, weedicides and pesticides in affordable prices. Oil content based premium pricing of oilseeds ( in market yards) can drive for adoption of improved technology for realizing high oil yield. Ensuring reliable soil testing facilities and encouraging the oilseed farmers for balance fertilization to use major, secondary and micronutrients (Zn, B and Fe), S through gypsum or super phosphate, biofertilizers like Azospirillum and Azotobacter Exploitation of full potential of supplementary sources of vegetable oilssuch as rice bran, cotton seed, oil palm, corn and tree borne oilseeds FACILITATE ACCELERATED DISSEMINATION OF IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES AND KNOWLEDGE Conduct large scale frontline demonstrations of the latest varieties/hybrids to popularize sunflower in the eastern India and Indo-gangetic plain; castor in non-traditional states such as Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, U.P., Karnataka and M.P; safflower in eastern India, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, M.P. and U.P. and saline areas; rapeseed- mustard in southern India and soybean in eastern and Southern India. Find out the reasons for non/ poor-adoption of improved technologies by the farmers and develop the mechanism to reduce the gap between the yield obtained from improved technologies and farmers practice. Develop effective delivery systems and evolve models to link research and development system with all the stakeholders Participatory extension strategies involving farmers, seed and processing industry Capacity building of growers/stakeholders Forge formal processor producer dependency to ensure production and capacity utilization similar to sugar industry model. Promote public-private partnership through developing multi-stakeholders, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional participatory and consortia. Ensuring adequate quality propagation material of oil palm through clonal seed production through tissue culture of elite parents. POLICY ISSUES Ensuring remunerative prices for the produce through organized marketing facility Moderate import of edible oils and increase of import duty to protect domestic production.

95 86 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in India Increasing efficiency in processing of oilseeds through decontrol of the traditional oilseeds presently reserved for small scale sectors and enhancing the capacity utilization of processing industry Adequate, timely and liberal credit support for procuring inputs for adoption of improved technologies. Relaxation of the land ceiling norms, permission for raising captive plantations by entrepreneurs, utilizing underutilized/ unutilized land both in Govt. and private sector. Enactment of Oil palm Act in all Oil palm growing states of India to be taken up. Establishment of new seed gardens for oil palm hybrid seed production. Planning area expansion well in advance for ensuring indenting and procuring planting materials in time and effective implementation of various schemes. Enchance linkage between farmers and entrepreneurs 7. South Asian Prospective for Enhancing Oilseed Production The following points may be considered to enhance oilseeds production in south Asian countries. Exchange of materials and germplasm Sharing of latest release hybrid and varieties and evaluation of them in all the countries as network programmes. Local evaluation and fine tuning of oilseeds production technologies for immediate gain. Training of subject matter specialists on the improved technologies Visit of scientists to the research institutes 8. References Hegde D Oilseeds scenario in India. Brainstorming meeting on strategies to increase oilseed production, DOR, Hyderabad during April 8, Damodaram T. and Hegde D.M Oilseeds situation a statistical compendium, DOR, Hyderabad.

96 PART - V Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Ofqbm T.B. Ghimire Senior Scientist (Agronomy), Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu B. Mishra Principal Scientist (Agronomy) & Ex-Executive Director, NARC R.N. Chaudhary Senior Scientist(Plant pathology)/ Chief, ARS Pakhribas & Ex-Coordinator, NORP B. Parajuli Senior Agronomist, National Industrial Crop Development Program/DoA December 2011

97 Content 1. Introduction Current status of Oilseed Production (crop wise) 90 Rapeseed and Mustard 90 Linseed 94 Groundnut 95 Sesame 98 Niger 99 Sunflower 100 Soybean Trends in oilseed Supply and Demand 102 Trends in oilseed Production 102 Trend in oilseed Consumption 103 Requirement of oilseed 103 Export and Import of Oilseeds/Oils and Fats 104 Surplus/Deficit Programmes and Activities for promotion of oilseed production 106 Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives 106 Ongoing Programmes and Activities Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production 109 Abiotic constraints 110 Biotic constraints 110 Socioeconomic constraints 110 Technological constraints 111 Farmer s perspective constraints 111 Challenges Future vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programmes proposed for 112 enhancing oilseed production Future vision 112 Major policy 112 Strategies for enhancing oilseed production 113 Crop prioritization 113 Future Strategies 113 Programmes for enhancing oilseed productivity South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production References 115

98 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Introduction Agriculture is the main stay of Nepalese economy contributes about 33% to the total GDP. Two third of population is still depend on agriculture for their livelihood (NARC, 2010a). Oilseed crops occupied about 5% of the total cropped area and ranked sixth after rice, maize, wheat, grain legumes and millets in terms of acreage. The oilseed area, production and yield were ha, tonnes and 781 kg/ha, respectively during 2009/10 (MoAC, 2009/10). During the last 25 years period the area, production and yield of oilseed crops have increased by 43.95, and 37.5%, respectively (Appendix-I). The growth figures (Fig. 1) reveals that the productivity continues to remain low and therefore, major steps are required to enhance productivity rather than increasing the area under these crops. Its' importance is high as there is high domestic demand and have high export potential. On the other hand, the majority of women and children especially in villages are suffering from malnutrition. Oilseed crops are the source of minerals, proteins and vitamins and help these under nourished group of people. Oils and fats are concentrated sources of calories. One gram of fat provides 9 calories against 4 by starch or protein. In addition, oils and fats of plant origin are superior to that of animal origin (Chaudhary, 2008). Nepal produces a wide diversity of oilseed crops in a great variety of environments and cropping patterns from east to far western regions, and from the high hills to the terai. Rapeseed and mustard are the major oilseed crops cultivated in all agro-ecological regions of the country from high hills (2500 masl) to terai and inner terai (60 masl). About 89 per cent area under oilseeds is occupied by this rapeseed mustard group. Tori (Brassica rapa syn. B. campestris var. toria) is by far, the most important oilseed in Nepal, occupying alone 83% of the oil crop area (NICDP, 2011). Rapeseed mustard seeds meet the major requirement of oil being consumed in Nepal. Tori, sarson (Brassica campestris var. yellow sarson), rayo/rai (Brassica juncea) and linseed (Linum usitatissimum) are grown in winter season and niger (Guizotia abyssinica), sesame (Sesamum indicum) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) are grown in rainy/kharif season mainly under rainfed environment (Chaudhary, 2008). Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), is an emerging oilseed crop grown in spring and autumn season in terai and inner terai under irrigation condition and winter season in Koshi river bank area. Some area under sesame is found in spring season called Baisakha til in rice based system. Minor oil crops viz., niger and sesame are mostly grown by marginal farmers and hence, poor farmers are benefited from these crops. These crops have good export potential too. Yield (Kg/ha) / / / / / / / / / / / / /09 Year Yield (kg/ha) Fig. 1. Trend of Oilseed productivity over the year

99 90 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 2. Current status of Oilseed Production (crop wise) 1. Rapeseed and mustard Rapeseed and mustard are the third most important oilseed crops of the world after soybean and palm and number one oilseed crop in Nepal. Their oil is preferred by most of Nepalese people. Rapeseed-mustard oil is nutritionally far superior to any other vegetable oils. Rapeseed-mustard oil is safe for healthy people as well as for people with weak heart and those suffering from other chronic diseases (NORP, 2008/09). These crops are grown after maize, jute and early rice in Nepal. Generally tori is grown as rainfed crop in upland and mustard/rayo is mixed with wheat, lentil chickpea and linseed. Mixed cropping of tori with lentil and chickpea is also a common practice. i) Area Rapeseed-mustard includes tori, sarson and rayo. They occupy around 89% of the total oil crops area ( ha). Among rapeseed mustard, about 83% area is under tori in Nepal (NICDP, 2011). Around 5% area is under yellow sarson and 2% in rayo/rai especially in relay condition after rice and mixed with wheat especially in terai, inner terai and mid hill conditions (Appendix-II). Gobhi sarson (Brassica napus) is also grown in small scale in mid and far-western development region especially in terai and river basin area of mid hills. But area under this crop is negligible. ii) Production The statistics of crop wise production of different oilseed crops is not available in Nepal. However, the total production of oilseed was tonnes in the year 2009/10. The production of oilseeds (rapeseed and mustard) is maximum (32.08%) in central region and lowest 12.8% in western region. Agro-ecologically, maximum (75.33%) oil crops production was recorded in terai and inner terai region of Nepal. iii) Productivity Average productivity of rapeseed mustard was stagnant since last decade hovering around 700 kg/ha because of declining in soil fertility and natural pollinator (honey bee) population due to haphazard use of insecticide in oil seed crops. Moreover, the productivity of rapeseed mustard (781 kg/ha) has improved in 2009/10 due to increase use of organic and inorganic fertilizers and favorable weather conditions. Preliminary estimate of 2010/11 showed further improvement of rapeseed mustard productivity (838 kg/ha) (NICDP, 2011). Toria productivity and seed quality have been found to increase by provision of bee hives in the field. The trained bees are found to be as effective as caged bees and slightly more superior in pollination work in terms of production of high quality seeds in germinability and works in low population conditions to pollinate the flowers of rapeseed (Pradhan, 2008). Pod setting and yield was found significantly higher in pollinated plots than control plots (1009 vs. 448 kg/ha) (NARDF, 2007). iv) Varietal development Efforts have been made in the introduction and selection of elite lines of rapeseed and mustard since establishment of National Oilseed Research Program (NORP), Nawalpur,

100 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 91 Sarlahi. During IDRC project period large number of rapeseed mustard germplasm were introduced from SAARC countries in Nepal. Efforts were also made to collected local germplasm from different parts of the country. These materials were eventually evaluated at NORP and different regional/ agricultural research stations (R/ARSs) of Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and farmers field across the country. As a result, five varieties of toria and two varieties of mustard/rayo have been released for general cultivation (Table 4). One local landraces of tori from western mid hill region was selected and released in the name of "Lumle Tori-1" for mid-hills conditions of the country. Recently, T-9 variety of toria has denotified. In last Winter crop Workshop, Morang local tori, a local toria germplasm and ICJ 9704, a local mustard germplasm from eastern terai of Nepal have been identified as superior lines and have proposed for release in the name of "Shanti" and "Sambridi" in National variety released committee. Morang Local Tori produced 9% higher seed yield over the locations. Similarly, ICJ-9704 produced 11% higher seed yield than Standard check Krishna. The Unnati, Vikash and Pragati varieties of toria gave per cent higher yield than local variety in Banke and Surkhet districts of mid-western region of Nepal (NARDF, 2007). In Participatory variety selection (PVS) of Indian mustard, ICJ-9704 and Divya recorded 23.5% higher seed yield over check variety Krishna (510 kg/ha). Preeti (954 kg/ha) and Uttani (878 kg/ha) were the preferred varieties due to higher yield in terai districts. In Mid western terai, Banke, Bardiya and Dang, ICJ-9704 genotypes of raya was found to be good yielder (982 kg/ha) compared to Pusa Jagannath (927 kg/ha) and Krishna (870 kg/ha) and recommended for up-scaling in coming season (Mahato et al., 2010). v) Production technology Seed rate: 6 kg/ha Spacing: For tori 30 x 10 cm and for rayo, sarson 40 x 10 cm Seed treatment: Dithane M-45@ 3 g/kg seed Planting time: For tori & sarson- last week of Aswin (2 nd week of Sept) to first week of Kartik (last week of October) For rayo- first fort night of Kartik (2 nd fort night of October) Pollinator: 4-6 bee hives /ha Mix or inter crop: Mixed cropping of Tori (8 kg/ha)+ lentil (10 kg/ha) or 2 kg tori + 30 kg lentil; mixed cropping of tori/mustard with 2 kg mustard + 48 kg chickpea (1:4/2 row ratio) or 6 kg tori + 30 kg Chickpea; mixed cropping of rayo/sarson (1 kg) with wheat (120 kg) / ha The optimum crop combination are tori + lentil (1:2), recommended for stemphylium blight management in lentil; lentil + mustard (1:1), chickpea + mustard (4:2) and wheat: mustard (4: 1) Maize-toria sequence was found more economical cropping pattern in upland conditions Upland paddy followed by toria+ linseed got least infestation of Orobanchy weed in toria Irrigation: For tori one light irrigation at pre-flowering stage For sarson and rayo one light irrigation at pre-flowering and one at pod filling stage Insect pest control: For saw fly dusting of 20 kg/ha and for aphid spray 2 ml/l of water (need based)

101 92 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 1 st week of October identified appropriate sowing time to escape aphid damage for toria (rapeseed) Diseases control: Mancozeb 3 g/l of water at an interval of 15 days starting after days ( 3 sprays) for foliar diseases especially against Alternaria blight. To control Alernaria blight, spray of 2g/L of water was found effective in toria but this fungicide is not available in Nepal. ICM demonstration (improved varieties + recommended fertilizer + plant protection) on rapeseed showed 30-40% seed yield increment over traditional management (NARDF, 2007). vi) Nutrient management Nutrient management studies showed chemical fertilizer was found most critical inputs in tori production under terai and inner terai conditions of Nepal (Ghimire et al., 2001, Chaudhary and Mishra, 2008a). Omission of fertilizer could reduce the toria seed yield by 29.5 to 53 per cent. Fertilizer: 60:40:20 NPK kg/ha + FYM 20 ton/ha for rapeseed and 80:40:20 NPK kg/ha + 10 ton/ha FYM for mustard Sulphur nutrition gave response upto 30 kg S/ha with 58 % higher toria yield than control (Baral, 2008). Application of B and Zn increased toria yield by 29 and 25%, respectively over control. Liming 2.0 t/ha produced the maximum tori yield (840 kg/ha) compared to control (640 kg/ha). In mid-western of Nepal, rapeseed production was maximum (upto 1700 kg/ha) in the fields where NPK kg/ha along with soil application of micronutrients 20 kg/ha, kg/ha and kg /ha) were applied. Maximum seed yield increment was upto 70% over control (NARDF, 2007). Use of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) alone and combine use of RDF+ irrigation were found most critical inputs in mustard/rayo production under terai and inner terai conditions of Nepal (Chaudhary and Mishra, 2008b). Groundnut-mustard/rayo crop sequence with 100% RDF to both the crops resulted maximum (3.47) benefit: cost ratio (Mishra, 2008). In rice-mustard/rayo crop sequence, 10 t/ha compost+ RDF (60:20:20 NPK kg/ha) to rice and 100% RDF to mustard were found optimum for sustainable yield of mustard (Mishra and Chaudhary, 2008). vii) Water management Rapeseed and mustard are generally grown under rainfed environment. However, one light irrigation at pre-flowering stage for toria and one light irrigation at pre-flowering and one at pod filling stage has been recommended for sarson and rayo, where ever irrigation facilities are available. viii) Crop protection There are several biotic and a-biotic stresses that affect the production and productivity of rapeseed mustard crops. Among the biotic constraints diseases play an important role in

102 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 93 yield losses. Alternaria blight (Alternaria brassicae), stem rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), white rust (Albugo candida) and downy mildew (Perenospora parasitica) are important diseases of rapeseed-mustard occurring in Nepal. Of these diseases, Alternaria blight has been found most-serious, wide spread and destructive disease in rapeseed-mustard. Yield loss has been estimated to be 44 and 37% in tori and mustard, respectively due to alternaria blight (NORP, 2005/06). Varieties of these crops released yet for commercial cultivation are not resistant to the pathogen causing alternaria blight disease. Downy mildew and white rust were not observed problematic yet. However, nine cultivars of rapeseed (toria) viz., ICT , 8, 9, 35 and 38; ICT , 11, 16 and 17 were found moderately susceptible in 2009 and seven cultivars of mustard viz., ICJ-9708, T-59, RL-1359, Rohini, Rajat, Bio-902 and Pusa Jagganath were found tolerant to alternaria blight over the years (Prasad et al., 2011). For the control of alternaria blight, a fungicide named Rovral (Iprodion 50 2g/L has been found very effective compared to Indofil M-45 (Mancozeb 75 wp) in rapeseed (toria) (Chaudhary, 1998). Rovral spray 1 to 3 times (30, 45 and 60 DAS) reduced defoliation by 38 to 73% and increased seed yield by 12 to 88%. But Rovral is not available in Nepal. Similarly, early planting of rapeseed could minimize the severity of Alternaria disease (score 4 against 7 in 1-9 scale) and second week of Aswin (first week of October) seems to be the best time for its planting(nardf, 2007). Alternaria leaf blight can also effectively be managed by seed treatment with fungicide (Mancozeb (0.1%) in combination with foliar spray with Dithan M 45, three times at 10 days interval after the initiation of disease in 2 nd branch from ground. In addition, white rust disease was sporadically observed in shady areas of Surkhet districts and effectively managed by spraying Kriloxylgold(NARDF, 2007). Mixing of Trichoderma viridae 10 g/kg of well decomposed compost and incorporated in the ton/ha was found effective in controlling the alternaria blight. However, the symptoms of Alterneria blight appeared on leaves in some extent but produced the highest seed yield compared to control (water spray) (Chaudhary, 2008). Aphid (Lipaphis erysemi kalt), one of the major constraints in the production of rapeseedmustard generally appears in the mid of December and its population increased gradually reaching the peak in January/February, declining in subsequent months and disappears in March/April in terai (Ray, 1998a). In late sown condition of toria average yield loss was reported to 20% where as the maximum was upto 35%. In mustard loss was recorded upto 78% in some years. First week of October is the main seeding time for toria crop to escape the crop from mustard aphid infestation. For the control of aphid, tobacco leaf extract (1 kg fresh leaves soaked in 1 liter of water and sprayed after diluting four times) and bakaino (1 kg fresh leaves soaked in 1 litre of water and sprayed after diluting four times) significantly protected the crop from the aphid when the treatments were imposed in early stage of the pest attack (NARDF, 2007). On the other hand, nine strains of toria viz., ICT-9104, ICT-9113, ICT-9115, ICT-9116, ICT-9133, ICT-9135, TS-72, TL-15 and Acc-6790; one strain of yellow sarson (LSS-9305) and five strains of mustard viz., Krishna, Kranti, Varuna, BR-40 and Pusa bold showed more tolerant to mustard aphid (Ray, 1998b).

103 94 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal There is no any practice of weeding manually in tori and weed losses yield 33-57% (Chaudhary and Ranjeet, 2008). Thus integrated weed management practice viz., Pendimethalin L a.i./ha (PE)+ one hand weeding 30 DAS and Fluchloralin 1.0 L a.i./ha (PPI) + one HW at 30 DAS were proved equally effective as recommended cultural practice (HW at 15 and 30 DAS) in respect of weed control and seed yield of tori under rainfed condition. 2. Linseed Linseed is the second most important oilseed crop of Nepal after rapeseed-mustard and cultivated mainly for oil extraction purpose and important source in paints and varnish industries (NORP, 2008/09). Its cultivation is spread throughout the terai and inner terai of Nepal especially in zero tillage condition. However, linseed oil is not considered as edible oil. Moreover, linseed plays a very important role as a cash crop as well as an oilseed crop in almost all the terai districts of Nepal in rice fallow system. The most suitable soil for the cultivation of linseed is clay soil rich in organic matter. It is edible from farmers perspective, particularly among the poor. This indicates that there is need for high yielding strains with improved oil quality. i) Area Linseed was found to be grown in the terai, inner terai and mid hills (Paudyal et al., 1992). Almost all the crop was seeded into rice two weeks before the rice harvest, with no further inputs before the linseed harvest. Earlier area under linseed was above 50,000 ha (NORP, 2009) but in recent years area comes down to around ha (NICDP, 2011). ii) Production During winter, linseed is grown as pure or mixed crop culture. The total production of linseed from above estimated area of ha is estimated to be 7365 Mt. The major share (80%) of produce is directly marketed and remaining consumed at household levels (Paudyal et al., 1992). The oil of linseed is used for industrial purpose in soap and lubricant manufacturing. iii) Productivity The crop was found to require low inputs and yields was also low (Paudyal et al., 1992) and produced fair to good returns. However, in recent year the productivity of linseed is 535 kg/ha (NICDP, 2011). iv) Varietal development Only limited research has been done to improve linseed in Nepal and yet no variety has been developed. Local land races are being grown by the farmers. NORP has collected and evaluated local landraces along with some exotic germplasm introduced from Australia. At present NORP has conserved about 50 germplasm of linseed which includes 3 Australian varieties. Two varieties from Australia is of edible type which is called Linola type (Australian CV PBR and Wellenga) and another Australian public var (Glenga) (NORP, 2008/09).

104 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 95 v) Production technology Rice/linseed and rice/linseed+lentil+rayo are the main cropping pattern for this crop. Linseed along with rayo or lentil is broadcast into the standing crop of rice, jute before harvest of rice. The crops then germinate and grow using the residual soil moisture (Paudyal et al., 1992). This crop is valued by farmers because of very low cost of production and high price received for the seed. The crop was found to require low inputs and yields were low (244 kg/ha) and produced fair to good returns (Paudyal et al., 1992). Linseed also taken up with chickpea in mix or intercrop combination. Mix cropping of lentil+linseed is recommended for stemphylium blight management in lentil. The optimum crop combination in inter cropping of chickpea+linseed is 2:1. Yet, no specific production technology has been generated in this crop. vi) Nutrient management Linseed crop raised on residual soil fertility of rice. As a result the yield level was too low. However, this crop gives fairly good yield under fertilized condition. The fertilizer rate of 20:40:20 kg NPK/ha resulted average seed yield of 626 kg/ha compared to control (336 kg/ha) (Ghimire et al., 2000). vii) Water management Linseed crop raise on residual soil moisture of rice. As a result the yield level was too low. No work has been done in this aspect in linseed. viii) Plant protection Linseed crop is generally grown in relay system with rice. Linseed rust has been observed in the field. But no specific plant protection measure has been adopted by the growers. No specific work in plant protection aspect has been done in linseed. 3. Groundnut Groundnut is the sixth most important oilseed crop in the world. In Nepal it is one of the important food legume crop grown during rainy season. It contains 48-50% oil and 26-28% protein and is rich sources of dietary fibres, minerals and vitamins. It is composed of 19% Saturated Fatty Acids, 48% Mono unsaturated fatty acid and 20% Poly unsaturated fatty acid (NORP, 2008/09). During seventies, groundnut cultivation in Nepal had confined only in kitchen garden, however, in the beginning of early eighties this crop had started to cultivate commercially. Moreover, yield potential of groundnut is higher than other oilseed crops in Nepal. i) Area During early eighties total area under groundnut was around 6,000 ha and further increased up to 10,000 ha during nineties (Fig.2). In recent years, the area has increased up to 15,000 ha (NORP, 2008/09). Land Resource Mapping Project (LRMP) report showed over 5,72,000 ha of land is potential for groundnut cultivation in Nepal. The low rate of increase in area is mainly due to high cost of cultivation, higher labor requirement and inadequate availability of groundnut seeds. However, after launching of IFAD-532-ICRISAT project and IFAD-

105 96 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 954-ICRISAT Project area of groundnut have increased beyond ha since more area under groundnut is being reported from mid-hills. However, preliminary estimate of 2010/11 showed further decline in groundnut area to 2490 ha only due to early monsoon enables the farmers to grow cereal crop (NICDP, 2011) ) a (h a re A Fig. 2. Growth of groundnut area Period 3 in Nepal 4 ii) Production Groundnut was mainly found growing in central region in the terai and eastern and mid/far western mid hills (Paudyal et al., 1992). The crop is raised as sole crop or mixed with maize. The produces is used for roast but not for oil purpose in Nepal. The total production of groundnut was estimated to be around 3418 Mt from about of 2490 ha of land. iii) Productivity The average pod yield of groundnut in farmers field trial was 1658 kg/ha while the average yield of groundnut in farmer practice was 1050 kg/ha (NORP, 2005/06). However, national average productivity of groundnut was 1373 kg/ha (NICDP, 2011). iv) Varietal development After establishment of NORP, six varieties of groundnut were released and are being successfully adopted by groundnut growers (Table 4). B4 is the first variety of groundnut which was quite popular among the growers due to attractive pod with well filled 2-3 kernel/pod and easy in harvesting. Large numbers of germplasm/varieties are under evaluation and yield trial supplied by ICRISAT. v) Production technology Seed rate: 60 kg seed or 100 kg pods for small seeded and 70 kg seed or 120 kg pods for confectionery type (Virginia) Spacing: 40 x 20 cm for spreading and 30 x 20 cm for bunch type Planting groundnut behind the desi plough in alternate furrows is equally good to bed planting (Mishra et al., 1994) Seed treatment: 3 g Carbendazim per kg seed

106 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 97 Fertilizer dose: 20:40:20 NPK kg/ha basal 400 kg/ha along with 20:40:20 NPK kg/ha at flowering stage is beneficial (Mishra et al., 1994) Press 3t/ha has been found effective in substituting the Ca demand Planting time: Baisakh/Jestha (May/June) for mid-hills and Jestha/Ashadh (June/July) for terai Two hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after sowing or pre-emergence application of Lasso@ 2.1 L/ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS is recommended Intercropping of groundnut with maize (3:1) is remunerative compared to their sole crop Diseases control: Carbendazim 2g/L of water at DAP for leaf spots and Chlorothalonil spray for rust and leaf spots control ICM technology substantially increased the groundnut productivity (60%) and profitability(131%) over farmers practices. vi) Nutrient management The response of gypsum, pressmud and lime was found to be excellent on confectionary type of groundnut which increased pod yield by 73.5%, 60.8%, 53% and 45% over control (850 kg/ha) with the application of gypsum@400 kg/ha, agri 3 ton/ha, press ton/ha and press 5 ton/ha, respectively (Ray et al., 1998). Press mud can be used to supply calcium requirement in groundnut. The increased level of fertilizer 40:60:20 kg NPK/ha resulted higher pod yield (2197 kg/ha) compared to control (1843 kg/ha) (NORP, 1988/ /91) vii) Water management Groundnut is generally grown in monsoon season in rainfed environment and no irrigation is provided for this crop. As a result the yield level was low. No specific work on water management aspect has been done in this crop. viii) Plant protection Early and late leaf spots disease is the major constraints in groundnut production in Nepal. Genotypes viz., ICGV and ICGV were found moderately resistant to the leaf spots showing score of 4 and TMV-2, the susceptible variety score as high as 7.0. The incidence of late leaf spots was observed high compared to early leaf spot. The incidence of rust was not observed (NORP, 2005/06). To manage the groundnut leaf spots disease effectively and economically three spray of 0.1% at 45, 60 and 75 days was found optimum spray schedule with highest cost benefit ratio of 6 and 5.6 in varieties B-4 and Jayanti (Mishra, 2000). Tobacco cater pillar (Spodoptera litura) and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) are the main insect pest of groundnut in Nepal. Dimethoate 30 1ml/L of water showed the maximum 82% mean mortality of thrips. 2 ml/l of water also result 75% thrips mortality with highest pod yield. Tobacco cater pillar was rarely seen in the plot and only 2-3% leaf damage was observed.

107 98 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 4. Sesame Sesame was found to be the third most important crops grown mainly in the central western terai and low hills in this region. The crop fits well in sesame-tori and maize/sesame-tori cropping patterns. Seed shattering and seed loss if rains occurred during harvest were major constraints. i) Area Sesame was considered as a traditional oil crops of Nepal, occupied 5 percent of oilcrop area across the terai/inner terai during nineties (Paudyal et al., 1992). However, its cultivation was not increased as the area under cereals increased due to increased irrigation facilities. Now, sesame is confined in 3485 ha of land (NICDP, 2011). ii) Production The total production of sesame is estimated to be about 3090 Mt. Most of the seed produce is marketed (42%) and is used either for export or for oil extraction for use as a component of refined oil and vegetable ghee (Paudyal et al., 1992). iii) Productivity Seed yield of sesame was 389 kg/ha in the nineties (Paudyal et al., 1992) due to fairly low inputs use. In 2010/11, average estimated yield of sesame was 887 kg/ha(nicdp, 2011). Because of the high price of the seed, return was highest among all oilseed crops. iv) Varietal development Large number of germplasm across country has been collected and constantly evaluated at NORP and farmers field. Among these germplasm one local landraces (DN-4) from Central terai was identified as high yielding and early in maturity. This line was released for the general cultivation in terai (west of Siraha ) and inner terai region of Nepal in the name of "Nawalpur khairo til-1" during 2000 and is steadily being cultivated by the farmers. v) Production technology Seed: 5-6 kg/ha Spacing: 30 x 10 cm Fertilizer dose: 40:30:20 NPK kg/ha Planting time: Shrawan/Bhadra (July/August) Insect pest control: Malathion 20 kg/ha or Endosulfan 2 ml/l of water for caterpillars Diseases control: Mancozeb or copper oxychloride spray for foliar diseases like Phytophthora blight vi) Nutrient management Flat recommendation of 40:30:20 NPK kg/ha has been made for sesame in Nepal. No research has been done in nutrient management aspect.

108 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 99 vii) Water management Sesame is grown in rainfed environment in monsoon season and no irrigation is provided to the crop in this season. However, Baishakha til grown in spring season and one to two supplement irrigation has been recommended. viii) Plant protection The crop is attacked by number of insects like hairy caterpillar, pod borer etc. These insect can be control by dusting 20 kg/ha or Endosulfan 2 ml/l of water for both the insects. The crop is attacked by Phytophthora blight which can be controlled by spray of Mancozeb or copper oxychloride (NORP, 2009/10) 5. Niger Niger is grown in low fertility areas in poor soil in the mid hills and terai. Niger was one of the important cash crops of Nepal and was exported to overseas country in the recent past. The price of grain is more than Rs. 30/kg still the area under this crop could not be enhanced due to lack of improved seed supply and poor yield potential. i) Area The niger was found to occupy 5 percent area in hill and one percent in terai of the oilseeds area (Paudyal et al., 1992). However, in 2010/11 niger area was estimated to 1091 ha only (NICDP, 2011). ii) Production The total production of niger was estimated to be around 652 Mt in 2010/11. A total of 25% in the hills and 56% in terai of the crop was marketed (Paudyal et al., 1992). iii) Productivity Recently, average yield of niger in Nepal is estimated to be around 598 kg/ha (NICDP, 2011). However, in the past yields was low and input costs were also low resulting in a fair to good net return as the seed price was high (exported out of Nepal for bird feed). iv) Varietietal development Large number of germplasm across country has been collected and constantly evaluated in NORP and farmers field. Among these germplasm one local landraces (Acc.No.5355) was identified as high yielding and released for the general cultivation in hills and terai region of Nepal in the name of "Nawalpur Jhuse til-1" during v) Production technology Seed rate: 6 kg/ha Spacing: 30 x 10 cm Fertilizer dose: 40:30:20 NPK kg/ha Planting time: Shrawan/Bhadra (August/September) in terai and Jestha to Bhadra (June to September) in mid-hills

109 100 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Maize/upland rice sequence is better for niger production in central terai (Ghimire, 2000). Niger + black gram/sesame mixed cropping (50:50) seed ratio resulted highest niger equivalent yield and LER. Insect control: Malathion 20 kg/ha or Endosulfan 2 ml/l of water for caterpillars vi) Nutrient management Flat recommendation of 40:30:20 NPK kg/ha has been made for niger in Nepal. No research has been done in nutrient management aspect in this crop. vii) Water management Niger is grown in rainfed environment in monsoon and post monsoon season and no irrigation is provided to the crop in the season. viii) Plant protection The crop is sometime attacked by caterpillars. These insect can be control by dusting 20 kg/ha or spraying of 2 ml/l of water. The crop is not suffered from any serious disease. 6. Sunflower Sunflower is said to be yet another potential oilseed crop in Nepal. This crop grows well from terai to high hills within a temperature range of C (Paudyal et al., 1992). The crop can withstand a little frost. Sunflower is reported to be a drought tolerant plant and may require only mm of rainfall during the main growth period. Uplands with soil ranging from sandy to clay loam with good drainage system are suitable for its cultivation. Maize-sunflower-tori, sunflower-tori and rice/maize-potato-sunflower may be suitable cropping patterns for this crop. Among farmers, there appears to have been limited interest about its cultivation practices mainly due to difficulty in oil expelling/ processing (due to hard seed coat) and bird (parrot) damage. i) Area Sunflower used to be grown as an ornamental plant in Nepal, however in recent years its commercial cultivation has got momentum. As urban population is becoming more health conscious and they have started consumption of sunflower oil because it is good for heart patients. The cultivation of sunflower has drawn attention by the growers. However, the problems of birds at maturity and processing of sunflower seeds have limited its cultivation. The area under sunflower is around 1071 ha (NICDP, 2011). ii) Production The production of sunflower is very limited in Nepal due to less acreage under this crop. The total production is estimated around 1114 Mt per annum. The main production is come from central and eastern terai region. The crop grows well in deep alluvial soil of river basin area and suitable for inter crop with sugar cane.

110 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 101 iii) Productivity The average productivity of sunflower is 1040 kg/ha (NICDP, 2011). The open pollinated variety produced around 600 kg/ha and hybrid around 1500 kg/ha. iv) Varietal development: Two varieties viz., Modern and Peredovick have been identified for cultivation. But officially no varieties have been released for its general cultivation. However, Indian hybrids are quite popular and commonly grown by the farmers due to synchronization of heading, uniformity in plant height and attractive head and seed size. v) Production technology Variety: Modern / Hybrids Seed rate: 10 kg/ha for OPV & 6 kg/ha for Hybrid Spacing : 60 x 25 cm Seed treatment: 3g/kg seed Fertilizer dose: 60:40:20 NPK kg/ha Planting time: Winter season: Aswin/Kartik (September-October) Spring season: Last week of Magh to 1 st week of Falgun (End January to first fortnight of February) Spring season is better with yield potential of 2000 kg/ha (Indian hybrid). Irrigation: At flowering and grain filling stage Sunflower + groundnut (1:3) inter crop in spring season and sunflower+ sesame (1:3) inter crop in rainy season resulted highest mean LER (Ghimire et al., 2000) Insect pest control: 2ml/L of water for cater pillars, head borer and sucking pests Diseases control: 3 g/l of water for foliar diseases Bird control: From flowering to harvesting by scaring vi) Nutrient management Flat recommendation of 60:40:20 NPK kg/ha was made in sunflower cultivation in Nepal. vii) Water management Irrigation at flowering and grain filling stage is recommended. viii) Plant protection Sunflower crop is attacked by cater pillars, head borer and sucking pests and can be control by spraying of 2 ml/l of water. Foliar disease especially blight is serious in rainy season and frequent spraying with 3 g/l of water is recommended. Bird damage is common in grain filling stage and watching of bird at this stage is advisable. For weed control Isoproturon 2 kg a.i./ha (PE) and Fluchloralin (Basalin)@ 2 L a.i./ha (PPI) herbicide can be used which gave significantly higher seed yield (1175 and 1069 kg/ha, respectively) than weedy check (740 kg/ha). However, one hand weeding at 30

111 102 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal DAS and herbicide treated plot produced similar seed yield (1064 kg/ha) in winter season (NORP, 2005/06). 7. Soybean Soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) is an important summer legume crop in Nepal grown in ha of land with the production of tonnes. This crop is widely distributed in the hills and to less extent in Terai. In mid-hills and valleys it occupies about 80% in terms of soybean area and production. Soybean can be grown successfully in an altitude ranging from 500 to 1500 m above mean sea level showing diverse adaptability to varied agro-ecological zones. In uplands, the crop is usually grown in association with maize or as inter crop or mono crop whereas in lowlands it is planted on paddy bunds. Basically it has the largest nutritional value for human being, which contain high amount of protein (45-50%), oil (20%), rich in vitamin B, C, E and essential minerals. It can be used as good supplemental food with cereal especially in the underdeveloped countries like Nepal where people suffer from malnutrition. As a human food soybean seeds are utilized in many ways; green pods as vegetables and dry seeds are eaten roasted or fried. However, soybean oil is extensively used as cooking oil and manufacturing vegetable ghee but oil is not extracted in Nepal due to low volume of produce. These days soybean demand is more as a pulse crop rather as oilseed crop. There are many other oil producing plants and trees found in different parts of the country. The traditional oil extraction practices exploit these plant/tree seeds as edible oil viz., Chyuri (Aesandra butyracea), walnut (Juglans regia), dhatelo, wild apricot (Prunus sp), silam or Tricula (Perilla frutescens), bhango (Cannabis sativa) etc. The seeds are crushed and then oil extraction is carried out by adopting local methods in hills and mountain regions. More efforts may be warranted to establish the potential for these seeds as oil for those who most need it. 3. Trends in oilseed Supply and Demand The trend in oilseed supply and demand is increasing every year due to overwhelming growth of population. The oilseed area and productivity have improved slightly in recent years and internal supply has also increased to some extent. Similarly, the demand of edible oils has also increased due to improving the living standard of the people. i) Trends in oilseed Production The oilseed production has increased by 25.79% compared to last 14 year (1996/97) and by 10.71% compared to last year (2008/09) in 2009/10 (Appendix-I and Fig 3). However, after 2000 onward the production trend was almost stagnant except 2002/03 where production reduced due to bad weather condition and again increased in 2009/10 due to increased in oilseed area.

112 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Area/Production / / / / / / / / / / / / /09 Year Area (ha) Production (Mt) Fig. 3. Trend in Oilseed production over the years ii) Trend in oilseed Consumption Average dietary consumption of fats and oils in Nepal was too low i.e. average visible fat and oil intake was only 2.6 kg/capita/ annum in nineties (Paudyal et al., 1992). Similarly, large differences in visible fat and oil intake were found among different groups of people. Mustard (rapeseed) oil from domestic production remained the major source of visible oil consumed in all groups. However, consumption of imported refined oil and vegetable ghee has been rising quickly, displacing the consumption of domestically produced oil. Subsequently, per capita consumption of edible oil in Nepal had increased to 4 liters/capita/annum in 2001/02 and again reached around 5 kg/person/year in 2009/10. World s average per capita consumption of oils and fats is around 7 kg/ person/annum while it is even more than 3 times in developed countries. In India the consumption of oils/fats is around 10 kg per person per year. The present rate of consumption of oils/fats in Nepal is very low and this rate is even lower in rural and hilly areas. In India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended 14 kg per person per year of oils and fats as a dietary nutrition (Chaudhary, 2011). iii) Requirement of oilseed Nepal is annually producing around metric tons of vegetable oils from its domestic raw materials and consumes around metric tons at the rate of about 5 kg per person per year. The demand of oils/fat is largely met by import of huge quantities of crude/refine oil and oilseed from other countries. So, additional Mt. of edible oil would be required to meet the demand of present population of 28 million. The requirement of edible oil will increase by 28.57% in 2020 and 64.28% in 2030 (Table 1).

113 104 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Table 1. Projected population and requirement of edible oils in Nepal Year Projected population* (million) Requirement of 5 kg/head/year (million ton) % increase over * With the assumption of 2.25% and 4.6% increase in population growth rate and oil consumption rate/year, respectively. Export and Import of Oilseeds/Oils and Fats Large part of the domestic requirement of oils/fats in Nepal is met by import from India and third countries. During 2009/2010, the total domestic production of oils was about 54,000 metric tons and the consumption was around metric tons on the basis of 5 kg/head/year for about 28 million people. The deficit quantity of about 61% of edible oils could be met from import. On the other hand, Nepal used to export some quantities of oils and oilseed to other countries. The main commodities for export are linseed, rape and mustard seed/oil, groundnut seed/oils, maize/corn oil, palm oil, coconut oil, vegetable fat and oil etc. The total export was worth of thousand rupees (Table 2a). Similarly, the major commodities for import were rapeseed/mustard/seed/oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed/oil, groundnut seed/oil, coconut oil, palm oil, maize/corn oil, sesame seed/oil, linseed oil etc (Table 2b). The total import of oilseeds, oils and fats was worth of thousands rupees. Table 2. Export and import situation of oilseeds/oils/vegetable ghee (2009/2010) Table 2a. Export to India and overseas countries S.N. Commodities Quantity (kg) Value in Rs. '000 1 Rapeseed/mustard seed/oil Groundnut seed/oil Linseed seed/oil Maize(corn) oil Oil seeds Palm oil Coconut oil Veg. fat & Oils Total 3,329, Source: Statistical Information of Nepalese Agriculture, 2009/10. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Agri-Business production and Statistical Division, Singh Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal.

114 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 105 Table 2b. Import from India and overseas countries S.N. Commodities Quantity (kg) Value in Rs. '000 1 Rapeseed/mustard seed/oil Linseed oil Sunflower seed/oil Soybean seed/oil Groundnut seed/oil Sesame seeds/oil Oil seeds Maize(corn) oil Palm oil/kernel Coconut oil Veg. fat and oils Total 262,168, Source: Statistical Information of Nepalese Agriculture, 2009/10. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Agri-Business production and Statistical Division, Singh Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. iv) Surplus/Deficit During seventies Nepal was the exporter of oilseeds and oil to the neighboring countries. However, the situation has drastically changed after eighties and import of oilseeds and oil rises and placed in third position after petroleum product and wool. At present, Nepal is annually producing around metric tons of vegetable oils from its domestic raw materials and consumes around metric tons at the rate of 5 kg per person per year. So, Nepal became deficit of around metric tons of cooking oil which was generally met through import. Due to this huge amount of hard currency is drained out to import these items. The balance of trade (Import and export) has become negative. The data of export and import of oils and fats over the years has been presented in Table-3. Table 3. Export and Import of Oils and fats over the years Year Export(NRS million) Import(NRS million) Balance of trade(nrs million) 1986/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

115 106 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 4. Programmes and Activities for promotion of oilseed production i) Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives Oilseed crop research was started in 1960's in Nepal. Later, National Oilseed Development Program (NODP) was established at Nawalpur, Sarlahi in April 1976 (2 nd Baishakh 2033 BS) for the research and development of the oilseed crops in Nepal (Pathic, 1991). After the inception of Nepal Agricultural Research Council in 1990 (2048 BS) it was renamed as National Oilseed Research Program (NORP). Oilseeds research in Nepal was started systematically with the establishment of this program at Nawalpur, Sarlahi. NORP is mandated to generate technologies for increasing the production and productivity of oilseeds in different agro-ecological zones of the country in collaboration with different RARS/ARSs located different parts of the country. The on-farm evaluation and validation of on-station generated technologies were carried out throughout the country in NARC outreach sits. Farmers' preferred varieties and technologies were recommended based on the participatory evaluation by concerned stakeholder. This program was supported by different donor agencies in different time period. In the beginning, the oilseed research program was supported by Agricultural Extension and Research Project (AERP) supported by Word bank from 1980/81 to 1990/91 and IDRC project from 1988/89 to 1991/92. Both the projects supported in infrastructure development like staff quarter construction and procurement of farm machineries, vehicle etc. Good access of oilseed germplasms, exploration of local landraces, human resource development, training and visit program were supported by the IDRC project. Similarly, Secondary Crop Development Project (SCDP)/ADB also supported the oilseed research program from 1988/89 to 1995/96 in infrastructure development, transportation facilities, machineries, laboratory equipment etc. The SCDP also supported the development activities in oilseed crop particularly in rapeseed and mustard in term of area expansion and productivity enhancement activities. Likewise, ICRISAT also supported the oilseed research program in groundnut crop since The systematic research and development activity in groundnut was initiated after the signing of memorandum of understanding between MoAC/Govt. of Nepal and ICRISAT in 1987 and conducted various activities under AGLN/AGLOR (Asian grain legumes network/ on-farm research) project. Later, Cereals Legume Asia Network (CLAN) project supported the oilseed research program in terms of groundnut germplasms supply, training and visit program to the scientist and technician of NARC. After formulation of SAARC, NORP had exchanged germplasm in groundnut and rapeseed mustard among SAARC member countries. NORP had got some rapeseed mustard materials from Pantnagar, India. During this period four varieties of toria, two varieties of mustard and four varieties of groundnut had been developed and released for general cultivation. Integrated Crop Management (ICM) technologies in groundnut was developed and popularized among the growers and groundnut area was extended in mid hills. Non-government organization viz. FORWARD, also implemented one project entitled "Study on the improvement of productivity and production of oilseed crop through integrated crop management practiced in the mid-western region of Nepal" in Banke and Surkhet districts from November, 2003 to October, 2006 by the grant of MoAC/National Agriculture Research and Development Fund (NARDF), Nepal. This project helped in validation and dissemination of NARC research output at farmers' field levels and

116 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 107 strengthened the community based seed production programme in rapeseed (toria). Functional partnership have been developed in rapeseed seed production among NGO (FORWARD, Chitwan), National seed company, District agricultural development offices, farmers cooperatives and farmers groups in mid-western development region. ICM technology (improved varieties, recommended fertilizer and plant protection measure) in rapeseed increased the rapeseed production by 35 percent compare to traditional practices (local varieties, no chemical fertilizer and plant protection). Community based seed production had popularized ICM technology and improved varieties of torai viz., Vikash, Pragati and Unnati had found high yielding by 15-25%. In Oilseed Mission, community based seed production programme (CBSP) in toria was quite successful run by Department of Agriculture/Industrial Crop Development Programme (NICDEP) but seed retention has felt great difficulty. Most of the time seed growers used oilseeds' seed in oil extraction purpose. So, seed procurement channel should be build-up by providing revolving fund to the farmers groups or cooperative. Fertilizer was found the key input for increasing the productivity of toria provided with need based plant protection measure. ii) Ongoing Programmes and Activities At present, six research projects on oilseed crops are going-on at NORP, Nawalpur, Sarlahi. This includes two projects on varietal improvement, one each on plant pathology, agronomy, outreach research and seed production. The ongoing on-station and outreach research projects are as follows: 1. Varietal improvement on Summer oilseed crops Under this project groundnut varietal trial like Observation nursery (OBN) (early and medium/ confectionary type), Initial evaluation trial (IET) (Early & medium maturing), Coordinated varietal trial (CVT) (Early & medium maturing) and Coordinated farmers field trial (CFFT) (Early & medium maturing) are being conducted at NORP and RARS, ARS. Germplasm maintenance of sesame and niger also included under this project. 2. Varietal improvement on winter oilseed crops Under this project rapeseed (toria) and mustard (Rayo) varietal trial like Germplasm collection and maintenance, population improvement, Observation nursery (OBN), Initial evaluation trial (IET), Co-ordinated varietal trial (CVT) and Coordinated farmers field trial (CFFT) are being conducted at NORP and RARS, ARS of NARC. Germplasm maintenance of linseed also included under this project. 3. Enhancing productivity of oilseed crops (rapeseed, mustard, sunflower and groundnut) through disease management Under this project screening of germplasm/varieties of rapeseed-mustard, groundnut and sunflower against major diseases and diseases management practices are being evaluated at NORP, Nawalpur, Sarlahi.

117 108 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 4. Studies on sustainable rapeseed production in Nepal Under this project, Integrated nutrient management (INM) practices, organic mode of rapeseed mustard production technology, resource conservation technology, alley cropping etc. are being evaluated at NORP, Nawalpur. 5. Participatory technology validation on oilseeds ICM technologies generated on rapeseed mustard and groundnut are validated in farmers field in collaboration with ADO. 6. Source seed production of oilseeds Source seed of different oilseed crops (rapeseed mustard, groundnut, linseed, sesame, niger and sunflower) are being produced at NORP, Nawalpur and rapeseed (tori) in RARS and ARS of NARC. Seeds of oilseed crops in Nepal are being produced by very few farm stations in very limited amount. To meet the demand of oilseeds' seed to some extent, participatory seed multiplication program has been started in collaboration with ADO and farmers groups. Table 4. Source seeds production at NORP during Crop Varieties Breeder seed ( kg) Foundation seed (kg) Tori Vikas, Pragati, Unnati, Preeti Mustard Pusa bold, Krishna Sarson Benoy 5 65 Groundnut B-4, Jayanti, Janak, Jyoti, Rajarshi, Baidehi Sunflower Morden Sesame Nawalpur Khairo Til Niger Nawalpur Jhuse Til Linseed Different vars 5 33 Total External Funded Project (IFAD/ICRISAT 954) Harnessing the true potential of legumes (Groundnut): Economic and knowledge empowerment of poor rainfed farmers in Asia. This project has launched by ICRISAT and NORP is responsible to provide technical support and seed material of groundnut. The groundnut research activities are being carried out by ARSs Surkhet, Doti, Dailekh and RARS Nepalgunj and development activities under the project have initiated in Surkhet, Dailekh, Doti and Bajura districts. Seed materials for PVS, intercropping trial with maize, ICM and seed production activities are provided by NORP, Nawalpur. Training on groundnut cultivation is being organized at the sites by the respective research stations. The trials and seed production activities are carried out by ARSs Surkhet, Dailekh, Doti and RARS Nepalgunj in collaboration of concerned District Agricultural Development Offices (DADOs).

118 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 109 Oilseed Promotional Activities under Department of Agriculture(DoA) National Industrial Crop Development Program (NICDP) under Directorate of Crop Development, Department of Agriculture has initiated the promotional activities in oilseed crop in collaboration with Districts Agricultural Development offices of the main oilseed growing districts of Terai and hills. Under the leadership of NICDP various program has implemented for boosting the production and productivity of oilseed especially tori in the country to increase the local availability of edible oil for import substitution. The soaring price of edible oil in past has realized the policy maker and planner to start some promotional activities on oilseed their by internal production of oilseed could be increased which helps in narrowing down the gap in demand and supply of oilseeds and oil in the country. In this context, NICDP has conducted one survey in 2061/62 BS in 35 districts of the country to understand the problem of oilseed growers and to find out the possible ways and means to overcome these constraints/problems. From this exploratory study, it showed that declining soil fertility or soil management problem, unavailability of quality seed and suitable varieties at right time for different locations were the major constraints in oilseed production in the country (NICDP, 2061/62). To address the above problem, NICDP has launched special program on oilseed in 2065/66 in six districts of Nepal viz., Sarlahi, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Dang, Surkhet and Bardiya by providing 50% subsidy in seed purchase of oilseed crops. In 2066/67, the program was renamed as "Oilseed crop development and promotion Project". In 2067/68 further renamed as "Abhiyanmukhi Telbali Utpadan Aayojana" i.e. Oilseed crop production Mission, which launched in ten districts viz., Sarlahi, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Dang, Surkhet, Bardiya, Banke, Lamjung, Kapilbastu and Pyuthan. From this fiscal year 2068/69 two more districts viz., Lalitpur and Makwanpur were also included in this project. Activities under Oilseed Mission Program Integrated Plant Nutrient management System/ Farmers field school (IPNS FFS) : one in each district Seed multiplication program on toria (50% subsidy in seed): 80 ha - Certified seed Participatory variety Selection (PVS on tori): 2 set in each districts Oilseed area expansion program (300 ha): Intervention in new area with 50% subsidy in seed purchase. Oilseed seed replacement program (1000 ha): 50% subsidy in seed purchase. 5. Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production Oilseed crops are considered as neglected crops in Nepal and they are cultivated in poor marginal soils where other crop can not be grown successfully. However, oilseed crops are energy rich crop and requires substantial amount of plant nutrition for its better growth and development and ultimately yield. The wide gap between the attainable yield potentials and farmers field are due to various abiotic, biotic, socio-economic and technological factors.

119 110 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Abiotic constraints Moisture stress in winter These crops are generally grown in rainfed condition. Irrigation is another problems, at least one supplementary irrigation at flowering time is very essential for higher yield in most of the oilseed crops. Declining soil fertility There is sharp declining in soil fertility in upland condition where light sandy and sandy loam soils exist. The micronutrient especially boron has been suspected to be limiting element in soils which causes poor siliquae setting in rapeseed and mustard. Soil acidity Soil acidity is the main problem in most part of the country, so reclamation of soil through liming is must and availability of agriculture lime should be ensured. Foggy weather in winter Continuous foggy weather in winter may lead to severe diseases and insect pest attack in rapeseed mustard crop which reduces seed yield drastically. High rainfall/humidity in summer High rainfall and humidity in rainy season may cause diseases and insect-pest pressure in summer oilseed crops and reduces the seed yield. Biotic constraints Diseases problem Alternaria blight (Alternaria brassicae) is a serious problem in rapeseed and mustard Late leaf spot(cercosporidium personatum Berk & Curt) and rust (Puccinia arachidis) disease in groundnut Alternaria leaf spot (Alternaria helianthi) on sunflower Insect problem Aphid (Lipaphis erysimi) is the major problem in rapeseed and mustard which reduces seed yield to a great extent. Termite (Odontotermes obesus) problem in groundnut Weed problem Weeds especially Orobanche (Orobanche aegyptica) causes yield reduction in rapeseed and mustard. Heavy weed infestation in groundnut in rainy season Pollination problem Declining native honeybee population and affects in pollination which causes poor seed setting in rapeseed. Socioeconomic constraints Oilseeds are grown under marginal and sub-marginal conditions Other oilseed crops like groundnut, niger, sesame has occupied very limited area. Oilseed crops receive less priority and attention in farming context. Priority by the farmers and government is for cereals and not for oilseeds. Poor adoption of improved technologies in oilseed production.

120 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 111 Technological constraints Limited number of improved varieties and most of the area is under local cultivars. Suitable improved varieties are lacking for specific agro-climatic conditions of the country. Very limited seed multiplication and inadequate supply of quality seed in oilseed crops. Soybean is not included in oilseed crop by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative (MoAC) in Nepal. Farmers' perspective constraints Farmers reported that problems in applying sufficient added fertilizers and compost which limited tori yields in Nepal. Other biotic factors which were found to reduce tori yields were Alternaria blight disease, followed by aphids. White rust(albugo candida) was occasionally a problem while Sclerotinia stem rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) was severe only in the central terai. Orobanche was found to be very severe in Sarlahi, Chitwan and Dang districts in the terai, but not in the hills (Paudyal et al., 1992). Technology demands was highest in rapeseed mustard (58%) among cash crop followed by jute (35%), ginger (29%), tea (11%), sugarcane (8%), coffee (5%), cardamom (3%), turmeric (2%), tobacco (1%) and chilli (0.1%) (SRDGC, 2001). The responses received on the characters of mustard variety were high yield type, disease resistance, more oil content, and large seed variety. The responses specified for the characters of mustard were varied at district levels. Challenges The major challenge in oilseed production is to increase the productivity per unit area per unit time. Maize and tori rotation is the main cropping pattern in most of the upland area for a long period. As both crops are nutrient exhaustive crops, fertility has depleted and micronutrient deficiency has become a major challenge. There is very limited scope to expand the oilseed area in the country. The farmers as well as government have given the main emphasis on food grain crops due to food security point of view. The horizontal expansion of oilseed area through inter/mixed cropping is one of the best alternative to increase the production as well as to cope up climate change threat as the oilseed crops are drought tolerant crops. These crops fit well in different cropping system and seasons. These crops are generally grown in rainfed conditions with limited input use there by yield levels are very low. So, proper nutrient management and need based plant protection measure are the major component for higher productivity in toria cultivation. ICM technology on rapeseed-mustard and groundnut and source seed production in these crops should be scale up in major oilseed growing districts with some support in inputs and marketing. The joint efforts should be made from research, extension and private partner for the commercialization of oilseed production in the country. Irrigation facilities have to be created for further enhancement of yield level in oilseed crop from the present management levels. Organic matter has depleted in upland of terai and inner terai which are the main bawl of rapeseed mustard production in the country. So, organic matter addition through FYM/compost/green manure/vermi compost/agroforestry should be encouraged for sustaining the oilseed production in the country. Maize/early rice-toria is the dominant cropping pattern which exhausted nutrient reserve due to continuous mining of nutrients.

121 112 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Maize and rice are both exhaustive crops hence fertility management should be taken care for the whole system. Other oilseed crop especially sunflower should be promoted for quality oil production within the country. The de-husking machine should be developed for easy extraction of oil from sunflower seed at local level. Soybean area has also expanded in hills and terai due to high demand in feed industries. Therefore, soybean must be used for oil extraction first and then only for food and feed purposes after de-oiling. By using soybean for oil purpose, oilseed production within the country increased and defatted soybean cake may be available for food and feed industries. The other minor oilseed viz., Chiury, Dhatelo, Silam, Bango, walnut, apricot should be exploited for meeting the nutritional security of poor people of hills and mountain. 6. Future vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programmes proposed for enhancing oilseed production Future vision The NARC vision focuses on reducing poverty through the effective and efficient use of scientific knowledge to increase sustainable agriculture productivity and related natural resources (NARC, 2010a). NORP vision is to raise oilseed productivity up to 1 t/ha for import substitution and increase availability of edible oils up to the worlds' average i.e. 7 kg/head/year. Major policy To transform subsistence agriculture into commercial agriculture oilseed production should be intensified in major oilseed growing areas with the technical backstopping from research and extension. The government should recognize the contribution of edible oils and fats in nutritional security program. The Government need to subsidize the inputs like major and minor fertilizers and make available sulphur based fertilizers to rapeseed-mustard growers. Irrigation facility be extended and made available to oilseed growers. Seed replacement rate (SRR) in oilseed has to increase for enhancing oilseed productivity. To encourage production and consumption of rapeseed-mustard oil which is predominant in Nepal, the restriction on haphazard import of palm and other oils should be imposed. More area under oilseed should be brought through diversification/mix-cropping and by exploiting comparative advantage of oilseeds in the cropping system. The soybean should include in oilseed crop by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC). MoAC/NARC should strengthen oilseed mission program in collaboration with extension department, I/NGOs and oil industries/traders to cope with the nutritional security. Strategies for enhancing oilseed production To increase the production and productivity of oilseed within the country for import substitution research priority will be setup in main oilseed crop production technology generation and dissemination, scaling up of ICM and Soil fertility management technologies

122 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 113 and ensure the availability of improved seed through community based seed production program with the joint efforts of public and private partnership. Crop prioritization 1. High priority crops: Rapeseed-mustard and groundnut: Technologies generations on various aspects of these crops and seed production have been carried out. 2. Low priority crops: Linseed, niger, sunflower and sesame: Germplasms of these crops are being maintained and seed production being done at limited quantity. Future Strategies Research thrust will be focused on rapeseed (tori), and mustard (rayo) during winter season in terai and inner terai. Similarly, in mid hills and high hills emphasis will also be given to tori crop. To meet the gap between demand and supply of edible oils and reduced the import, there is a considerable need to increase the production of oilseeds and edible oils. This increase could be accomplished through approaches such as: (i) by increasing the productivity of the oilseed crops through adoption of improved varieties and package of practices (POP), (ii) by introduction of non traditional oilseed crops such as sunflower and soybean, (iii) by mix and inter cropping of oilseeds with other crops and tree component (iv) by increasing the seed replacement rate (SRR) Obviously there is no surplus land available that could be put under oilseed crops. Since oilseed crops are industrial crop and several oil industries are operating in the country, the research and development of oilseed crops should be tied up with those industries and private sector. In this regard partnership approach with private sectors be initiated and strengthened. Attempts are being made to seek partners like NGOs and private sector in the research and development of oilseed crops like rapeseed-mustard, groundnut and sunflower etc. NORP is planning to give due emphasis on on-farm trials, technology verification trials, seed multiplication in farmers fields and developmental activities. Programmes for enhancing oilseed productivity Following interventions are proposed for enhancing productivity of oilseed crops in Nepal (NARC, 2010b) 1. Conservation of local land races of rapeseed mustard 2. Development of varieties of rapeseed and mustard with suitable traits (early maturity, high oil content, tolerance to alternaria blight and aphid) 3. Development of groundnut varieties with suitable traits (early maturity, bunch type, resistance to leaf spot and rust) 4. Development of linseed varieties for edible oil (Linola type) 5. Institutionalize seed production and distribution mechanism of source seed. 6. Develop integrated soil management technology for major oilseed crops

123 114 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 7. Develop integrated crop management technology for major oil seed crops including mix cropping studies 8. Develop integrated pest management technologies for major oil seed crops (alternaria blight in rapeseed and sunflower, foliar diseases and insect pest in groundnut) 9. Strong coordination and linkages with extension and private agencies for the effective implementation of scaling up program of oilseed production technology in major oilseed growing districts. Technology generated by NORP such as Integrated crop management (ICM), Integrated pest management (IPM), contribution of major and micronutrients on rapeseed mustard and groundnut production are being validated in farmers field under outreach research program. Improved varieties are being disseminated through participatory variety selection (PVS) and farmers acceptance test (FAT) in outreach research sites of major oilseed producing districts. ICM, IPM, PVS and FAT have been found the most successful strategic tools for rapid dissemination of technology in the farmers' field for increasing production and productivity of oilseed to narrow down the huge import of oils/fat. Community based oilseed seed production program (50% subsidy on source seed) and demonstrations programme on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management System Farmers field school (IPNS FFS) are being conducted by the NICDP through ADO office in the Oilseed mission programme. Site specific nutrient management practices for rapeseed mustard will be performed in major rapeseed mustard producing districts for realization of higher oilseed productivity. Soil fertility improvement through composting, FYM/Poultry litter, vermicompost, green manure, leaf litter and crop residue management practices will be encouraged and popularized. For oilseed area expansion especially groundnut and sunflower, flood left over land and denuded river bank area may be brought under cultivation of these crops. The winter fallow land after rice may be used for oilseed production. 7. South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production Oilseed production and supply is less in south Asian countries compared to their domestic demand. The majority of people in Indian sub-continent are vegetarian and highly depend on vegetable oil for their dietary nutrition. To raise the production and productivity of oilseed in this region special Regional Network project will be developed to scale up the promising technologies in large scale in the region. Exchange of elite varieties/germplasm of oilseed crops under SAARC nurseries will be revitalized. Workshop/Seminar, Training and visit program of oilseed researcher/extension personnel/farmers in the SAARC countries will be strengthen to update in latest advancement in new technologies/information generated in the region. Technical expertise will be exchange to strengthen the weak program of the region. Oilseed should also bring in national priority crop under food and nutritional security program. The under utilized and high value oil bearing plants/crops should also be explore for their potentialities in oil production especially in hills and mountain region. The post harvest technology especially in sunflower processing in small scale is necessary for increasing the area of sunflower especially in Nepal. Hybrid oilseed crop should be popularized among the grower for enhancing the oilseed productivity in the region. Also,

124 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 115 there is a good scope of organic niger as an export commodity for bird feed to third countries. 8. References Baral, B.R Effect of Sulphur, boron and zinc on yield and yield attributes of tori (Brassica campestris L. var. toria) in acidic soil condition of Sarlahi. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, B.P. and Chaudhary, O.N Technology verification of oilseed crops with respect to income generation of Nepalese farmers. In. Proceeding of the 9 th National Outreach Workshop, NARC, Kathmandu pp Chaudhary, B.P. and Mishra, B. 2008a. Performance of agronomic inputs in tori (Brassica campestris var. toria) production in terai and inner terai comditions. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, B.P. and Mishra, B. 2008b. Contribution of production factors in seed yield of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) under Terai and inner Terai conditions. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, B.P. and Ranjeet, J.D Integrated weed management practices and their influence on weed growth and seed yield of tori (Brassica campestris var. toria) Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, R. N The comparative efficacy of fungicides in the management of Alternaria blight of rapeseed-mustard. In. Proceedings of the National Winter and Summer Crops (Oilseed) Workshop, Pages Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi. Chaudhary, R. N Winter Oilseed Crops Report. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, R. N., Bhurer, K. P., Kandel, D. R. and Khan, W Varietal improvement on tori 2004/ /06. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Chaudhary, R. R Winter oilseed crops report Pages 1-7. In. Proceedings of 28 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Ghimire, T.B Niger (Guizotia abyssinica Cass)-based cropping sequence studies under rainfed environment of central terai. Pages In. Proceedings of 22nd National

125 116 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Summer Crops Worksho (Grain legumes and Oilseeds), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur. Ghimire, T.B., Chaudhary, R.N. and Ray, S.P Quantification of yield limiting constraints in toria production in Nepal. In. Proceedings of the National Winter Crop (oilseeds) Research Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC)/National Oilseed Research Program (NORP), Nawalpur Pp Ghimire, T.B., Mishra, B., Jha, B.N. and Mahasetha, B Review and Status of Agronomic Research in Oilseed Crops: Problems and Ways to Solve them. Paper presented at Agronomist Workshop held at NARC, Khumaltar organized by Agronomy Society of Nepal from 6-7 June, Mahato, B.P., Darai, R. Chaudhary, D.K., Chadaro, M.B. and Baidhya, G On-farm evaluation of rice, wheat and mustard crops under rainfed and irrigated condition for mid and far western terai of Nepal. In. Proceeding of the 9 th National Outreach Workshop, NARC, Kathmandu pp Mishra, B Summer Oil crops Report (1999/2000). Pages In. Proceedings of 22nd National Summer Crops Worksho (Grain legumes and Oilseeds), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur. Mishra, B Study on the influence of preceeding crops on growth and yield of succeeding mustard under terai condition of Nepal. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Mishra, B. and Chaudhary, R.N Sustainability of productivity in rice-mustard sequential cropping system through integrated nutrient management for terai condition of Nepal. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Mishra, B., Koirala, G.P. and Manandhar, D.N Review of groundnut research in Nepal. Proceeding of Annual Review and Planning Workshop on GLRP/ORP/NARC- CLAN/ICRISAT Research Program. MoAC, Statistical Information of Nepalese Agriculture. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Agri-business Promotion and Statistics Division, Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. NARC, 2010a. NARC's Strategic Vision for Agricultural Research ( ), Nepal Agricultural Research Council. NARC, 2010b. Enhancement of productivity of oilseed crops in Nepal. In. Work Plan of Future Research (Crops and Horticulture), Nepal Agricultural Research Council. NARDF, National Agricultural Research and Development Fund [NARDF], Project Compilation Report, Brief introduction and summary of NARDF funded projects. National Agricultural Research And Development Fund, NARC Building, Singhburbar Plaza, Kathmandu, Nepal. NICDEP, 2061/62. Nepalma Tel Bali Sambandhi Bastusthitiko Adhyaan, DoA, National Industrial Crop Development Program, Harihar Bhawan, Lalitpur.

126 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 117 NICDP, Preliminary estimate of different Oilseed crop area in 2067/68 (2010/11), National Industrial Crop Development Program, Harihar Bhawan, Lalitpur. NORP, 1998/ /91. Annual Report, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. NORP, 2005/06. Annual Report, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. NORP, 2008/09. Annual Report, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. NORP, 2009/10. Annual Report, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Pathic, D.S Oilseed Crops Research in Nepal. Paper presented at Regional Expert Consultation of the Asian Network on Oilseed Crops, Bangkok, Thailand, December, Paudyal, D., Mishra, B. and Gautam, M A study on the vegetable oil and protein system in Nepal (A rapid rural and rapid marketing appraisal). National Oilseed Research Programme, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal. Pradhan, S.B Introduction of trained bees, Apis mellifera L. for quality seed and higher seed yield on rape seed (Brassica campestris var. toria) in Nepalese condition. Pages In. Proceedings of 27 th National Winter Crops (Oilseeds) Workshop, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, National Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. Prasad, R. C., Chaudhary, R. N. and Sah, A Evaluation of Rapeseed and Mustard Genotypes for Resistance to Alternaria Blight, Downy Mildew and White Rust. In. Program and Abstract. 28 th National Winter Crops workshop. Nepal Agricultural Research Council/Regional Agricultural Research Station, Lumle, Kaski. Ray, S.P. 1998a. Study of Aphid infestation on different sowing dates of toria. In. Proceedings of the National Winter and Summer Crops (Oilseed) Workshop, Pages Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi. Ray, S.P. 1998b. Response of Brassica germplasm against mustard aphid (Lipaphis erysimi Kalt.). In. Proceedings of the National Winter and Summer Crops (Oilseed) Workshop, Pages Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi. Ray, S.P., Chaudhary, B.P., Vhaudhary, I.B. and Rokaya, B.B A report on outreach research on groundnut (1997/98). In. Proceedings of the National Winter and Summer Crops (Oilseed) Workshop, Pages Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Oilseeds Research Programme, Nawalpur, Sarlahi. SRDGC, Study on constraints to and dynamics of the adoption of recommended technology by Nepalese farmers. Society of rural Development and Green care (SRDGC) Nepal, Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur.

127 118 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Appendix-I. Area, production and yield of oilseed in Nepal since 1984/85 Year Area (ha) Production (Mt) Yield (kg/ha) 1984/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Source: Statistical Information of Nepalese Agriculture, 2009/10. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Agri-Business production and Statistical Division, Singh Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal.

128 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal 119 Appendix-II. Preliminary estimate of area, production and yield of different oilseed crops in 2010/11 S.N. Crop Area (Ha) Prod.(Mt) Yield (Kg/ha) 1 Rapeseed and mustard Tori Sarson Rayo (89) (83) 9967(4.8) 3525(1.7) Linseed (6.6) Groundnut 2590(1.2) Sesame 3485(1.68) Niger 1091(0.52) Sunflower 1071(0.52) Total Source: NICDP, Appendix-III. Development region wise area, production and yields of oilseeds, (2009/2010) Name of Region Area (ha) Production (tons) Yield (kg/ha) Eastern Central Western Mid western Far western Nepal Appendix-IV. Area, production and yield of oilseeds in agro-ecological zones of Nepal, 2009/2010 Agro-ecological zone Area (ha) % of total area Production (tons) % of total productio n Yield (kg/ha) Mountain Hills Terai Nepal

129 120 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Nepal Appendix-V. Oil crop varieties released and recommended in Nepal SN Crop Varieties Origin Recommendation domain Year of release 1 Tori Vikas Pragati Lumle tori-1 Unnati Preeti India India Nepal India India Whole terai Whole terai Mid hills Terai & mid-hills /rainfed Terai & mid-hills/irrigated Mustard Pusa bold India Whole terai 1989 Krishna 3 Groundnut B-4 Janak Jyoti Jayanti Rajarshi Baidehi 4 Sesame Nawalpur khairoteel-1 5 Niger Nawalpur Jhuseteel-1 India India India India India India India Whole terai Whole terai/medium duration Whole terai/long duration Whole terai/long duration Whole terai/ short duration Whole terai/ medium duration Whole terai/ short duration Nepal West of Siraha (Terai) 2000 Nepal Terai and mid-hills 2000

130 PART - VI Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Qbljtubo Dr. Akbar Shah Mohmand Sr. Director, Crop Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad December 2011

131 Content 1. Introduction Current Status of Oilseed Production (crop wise) 123 Rapeseed mustard 123 Sunflower 124 Groundnut 126 Sesame 127 Soybean 128 Linseed 129 Castor bean 130 Varietal development 130 Production Technology 132 Nutrient management 133 Water management 133 Crop protection Trends in oilseed Supply and Demand 136 Trends in oilseed Production 136 Trends in oilseed Consumption 137 Requirements of oilseed 137 Surplus/Deficit Programs and Activities for promotion of Pulse production Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production 140 Crop-specific Constraints 140 Marketing Constraints 142 Policy Constraints Future Vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programs for enhancing oilseed production Research Priorities 144 Research 144 Dissemination of production Technology 145 Machinery 145 Credit facilities 145 Marketing 145 Other options for increased oilseed production South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production References

132 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan Introduction The oil crops of Pakistan are many. Most of these are cultivated on small acreage. Rapeseedmustard, sesame, linseed and castor are grown in this region since immemorial and are called traditional crops. Groundnut, as an oilcrop was introduced before Sunflower, soybean, safflower are called non-traditional crops as they were introduced in the early 1960 s. In addition, three oil bearing trees also maintain their presence in some peculiar agro-ecological niches. Among these, wild olives are grown for centuries but their cultivated varieties were introduced in the mid 1950 s. Coconut and oil palm are the latest entries to this group. One of the challenges be setting the economy of Pakistan is the edible oil deficit. It indigenous production is far below the consumption levels. The gap between production and consumption is widening every year which is bridged through import of considerable quantities of edible oil costing huge foreign exchange. Presently the oilseed production only met about 30% of the edible oil requirements in the country. After cotton which contributes more than 60% of the domestic production, sunflower contribute about 10 percent of the domestic oilseed production. Domestic edible oil production from all sources has grown at the rate of 2.56% annually over the last about three decades, whereas the domestic consumption is increasing at an annual rate of 7.7%. The indigenous edible oil production could not match the growing demand of population. The graph of population and urbanization could not match the rising, outstretching the divergence between demand and domestic production. This gape is being bridged by importing edible oil costing substantial chunk of resources. The rapid expansion of domestic oilseed production has been the major concern for decision makers because of mounting import bill. Monetary and commercial incentives are being offered to public and private sectors to enhance horizontal and vertical expansion backed by efficient extraction. 2. Current Status of Oilseed Production (crop wise) The oilseed production has always been erratic due to shuddering marketing problems. The area under these crops is stagnant with minor fluctuations except sunflower, rapeseedmustard (especially canola) and sesame which show considerable increase in area, production and yield per unit area during the last about one decade. The traditional crops occupy more than 80 percent of the total oilseed area while the non-traditional occupy about 20 percent of the area. i. Rapeseed mustard Area, production and yield of various oilseed crops is presented in Tables 1-6. A number of factors are involved in these fluctuations. The most important has been the marketing and support price available to the farmers. The area of rapeseed-mustard has been decreasing progressively due to mostly un-profitability of the crop. This has fallen from 319 thousand hectares in to 190 thousand hectares in with slight increase in yield.

133 124 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan Table 1. Area, production and yield of rapeseed-mustard in the country. Year Area (000) ha Production (000) tons Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan Fig. 1 shows fluctuation in per hectare yield of rapeseed-mustard over the years. These fluctuations are due mainly to rainfall as most of the area under the crop is marginal and without proper management. Yield (kg/ha) Years Fig. 1. Yield Trends in Rapeseed and Mustard including Canola over Years ii. Sunflower In Pakistan sunflower was introduced as an oilseed crop in the early sixties. But during its history of four decades, the area and production remained almost stagnant during the first decade and started increasing with lot of fluctuations during 2 nd and 3 rd decades of its cultivation. However, after the area increased significantly with a total acreage of

134 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan ha and production of tons with an average yield of 1520 kg/ha during It contributed about 29 % in domestic edible oil production (Table 2). However, with the increase in other competing and more profitable crops, it could not sustain its area and started decreasing after and dropped to ha with a sharp decrease in productivity. Table 2. Area, production and yield of sunflower in Pakistan Year Area (000) ha Production (000) tons Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan Sunflower in Pakistan is usually cultivated by progressive farmers. Due to this reason the productivity has always been good compared to the world productivity levels. The yield trends in per hectare yield is given in Fig Years Yield (kg/ha) Fig. 1. Yield Trends in Rapeseed and Mustard including Canola over Years

135 126 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan iii. Groundnut The area under groundnut has increased at an encouraging annual growth rate of 5.1 percent. However, the productivity per unit area has exhibited a reverse trend. The average yield has decreased by 29 percent during the last two decades. Existing varieties are medium and low yielders. The most important limiting factor is the use of marginal lands and application of low inputs. The crop is mostly grown on sandy soils under rain fed conditions. Only 15% of the area is under irrigated conditions. These soils are low in fertility and have minimum water holding capacity. Table. 3 Area, production and yield of groundnut in Pakistan Year Area (000) ha Production (000) tons Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan Yield (kg/ha) Year Fig. 3 Yield Trend in Groundnut over Years

136 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 127 iv. Sesame The area of sesame was more than 25 thousand hectares during However, this increased slowly and reached 135 thousand ha during Afterwards it again started decreasing. Table 4. Area, production and yield of sesame in Pakistan Year Area (000) ha Production (000) tons Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan But remained between 70 to 90 thousand ha during the recent years. Sesame, in general, is a low yielding crop because of low genetic potential and plant type. All existing varieties are shattering type, leading to high yield losses in the field and during post-harvest handling. The commercial varieties available are low yielding and have a lot of scope for improvement through breeding Yield (kg/ha) Years Fig. 4 Yield Trend in Sesame over Years

137 128 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan v. Soybean Soybean has never picked appreciable area in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. It was best suited to the province of Khyber Pakhthunkhwa but had problems for spreading on large areas. Because of late maturing varieties, it faces difficulty in fitting well in rice-soybeanrice and cotton-soybean-cotton rotations. Due to these main problems, the area could not increase. Hence the crop lost its due position with the farmers. Presently the crop is just sown exemplary on an area of not more than 50 ha (Table 5). Table 5. Area, production and yield of soybean in Pakistan Year Area(ha) Production ( tons) Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan Yield (kg/ha) Years Fig. 5 Yield Trend in Soybean over Years

138 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 129 vi. Linseed Linseed is a minor oilseed crop and is grown on small acreage. Like sesame, it is also a low yielding plant with low genetic potential. The under the crop is decreasing due to low profitability (Table 6). The crop is also not gaining any popularity due to non availability of high yielding varieties making the crop un-economic. Not much work has been done for improving its varieties, most of which are, therefore, low yielding Table 6. Area, production and yield of linseed in Pakistan Year Area ha Production ( tons) Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan Yield (kg/ha) Years Fig. 6 Yield Trend in Linseed over Years

139 130 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan vii. Castor bean Castorbean has been cultivated for long time in the country. Back in its area more than 11,000 ha (Table 7). Since then its area is on the decline and now is cultivated on only about 1300 ha. This is mainly due to its marketing and demand in the local market. Table 7. Area, production and yield of castorbean in Pakistan Year Area ha Production tons Yield (kg/ha) Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan viii. Varietal development The research efforts of the scientists of Oilseed Program, NARC and other cooperating institutions in the country are underway to develop varieties/hybrids suitable for different agroecological zones of the country. In this regard the research efforts of NARC, Oilseed Research Institute, Faisalabad and Agriculture Research Station, Mingora, Swat, Barani Agriculture Research Institute, Chakwal, culminated in the development of a number of hybrids and varieties of major oilseed crops, such as sunflower, rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, linseed and canola. Details of these varieties are given in Table 8. Table 8. Varieties of oilseed crops developed by provincial research institutes Variety Year of release Institute/Company Rapeseed-mustard Raya Anmol 1988 ORI, Faisalabad Pak-Cheen 1989 ARI, Tarnab (NWFP Sarhen ARI, Tandojam (Sindh Abasin NIFA, Peshawar (NWFP Chakwal Raya 1996 BARI, Chakwal (Punjab Khanpur Raya 2000 ORI, Faisalabad Tandojam-Raya 2000 ARI, Tandojam BARD NARC, Islamabad Canola Westar 1991 NARC, Islamabad Shiralee 1991 NARC, Islamabad

140 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 131 CON-I 1996 NARC, Islamabad CON-II 1996 NARC, Islamabad Pakola 2007 NARC, Islamabad Canola Raya 2007 NARC, Islamabad PARC Canola Hybrid 2010 NARC, Islamabad Sunflower NK Cargill SF Cargill Hysun Pacific/ICI PI Pioneer Pacific/ICI 1995 Cargill PARC-92E 1993 Oilseed, NARC, Islamabad PARSUN-I 2003 Oilseed, NARC, Islamabad GROUNDNUT BARI BARI, Chakwal Chakori 1994 BARI, Chakwal Swatphali 1994 BARI, Chakwal BARD NARC, Islamabad BARD NARC, Islamabad BARD BARI BARI, Chakwal SESAME Til ORI, Faisalabad TS ORI, Faisalabad Rattodero-1 ARI, Tandojam Sanghar-1 ARI, Tandojam PARS-1 Candidate Oilseed, NARC Soybean NARC-I 1991 NARC, Islamabad NARC-II 1991 NARC, Islamabad Rawal-I(vegetable) 1993 NARC, Islamabad Ajmeri 1996 NARC, Islamabad Faisalabad ORI, Faisalabad FS ORI, Faisalabad Swat ,ARI Mingora (Swat) Malakand ARI, Mingora (Swat) Safflower Agaiti Powari 1995 ORI, Tandojam Castorbean DS-30 ORI, Faisalabad

141 132 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan ix. Production Technology Since most of the oilseed crops were new in the production system of some areas of the country and the farmers were not aware of their production technology. Therefore, it was felt necessary to develop appropriate production technology for increasing production per unit area. In this connection experiments on the following aspects were conducted and recommendations were formulated. Planting time Row spacing Seed Rate Plant spacing Method of sowing Seed depth Fertilizer Requirements Plant protection measures Harvesting Drying & Storage The cropping pattern for the major oilseed crops is given below Sunflower Spring Crop (Irrigated areas) Cotton-Sunflower-Cotton-Wheat Rice-Sunflower-Rice-Wheat Potato-Sunflower-Potato-Potato Potato-Sunflower-Maize-Wheat Spring Crop (Rainfed areas) Sunflower-Fodder-Wheat Autumn Crop ( Irrigated areas) Sunflower-Wheat-Soybean-Wheat Sunflower-Wheat-Groundnut Fodder-Sunflower-Wheat Autumn Crop ( Rainfed areas) Sunflower-Wheat-Groundnut Groundnut Wheat-groundnut-fallow-maize Wheat-groundnut-fallow-melon-wheat Cotton-wheat-groundnut-wheat Brassica-groundnut-wheat-sunflower Groundnut-spring sunflower-mung-sarsoon Fallow-groundnut-spring sunflower-wheat-groundnut (Punjab) (Punjab) (Sindh) (NWFP/Punjab) (NWFP/Punjab) (Potohar) Another way of dissemination of the production technology is publication of production brochures. Various brochures of mandated oilseed crops such as sunflower, canola, rapeseedmustard, Linseed, soybean and groundnut have been published and distributed among the farmers. Development of Farm Machinery Development of farm machinery for planting, crop management, harvesting and threshing of oilseed crops was initiated by BARD project with the collaboration of private sector. Moreover, the efforts were also made in NODP. As a result the following machinery was developed. Planting drills Soybean thresher Sunflower thresher Weeding machine

142 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 133 Groundnut digger BARD Precision Planter PTO Thresher Hand Sheller Rapeseed-mustard thresher Inter-row Cultivator Electric Sheller x. Nutrient management A nutrient management plan is a set of practices designed to use fertilizer and/or manure to effectively provide needed crop nutrients while protecting against the potential adverse impacts of manure, erosion and organic byproducts on water quality. Balanced and effective fertilizer management is critical to optimize crop yields and profitability, to ensure crop quality and to sustain soil productivity. The quantity of fertilizer nutrients required to optimize production depends on the yield potential of the crop, the method and form of application of the fertilizer, and the levels of available nutrients in the soil. Time of Application and Placement Canola is extremely sensitive to N placed with the seed. Rapeseed was more sensitive to ammonium nitrate placed with the seed than was oats, barley or wheat, but was slightly less sensitive than flax. Foliar Applications: Optimum time of fertilizer application depends on the climate. If conditions promote losses due to leaching, denitrification, and immobilization, N should be applied close to seeding. Deep banding of N in the fall could place the N in a better position for crop use in a dry spring. The relative efficiency of time and method of N applications are important for management. Integrated Nutrient Management The modern crop production technology stresses the need for integrated nutrient management (INM) which embraces the combination of organic manure with inorganic fertilizer for producing better and balanced nutrients to the crop and maintaining the soil fertility. INM results in the crop productivity of fairly high yield level. INM involves application of farm yard manure, crop residues, compost, chemical fertilizers (NPK) and manganese. IMN also reduces the problem of soil toxicity, scarcity and expensiveness of non-eco friendly chemical fertilizers. Most of the farmers are using primitive technology which should be discouraged and replaced with modern nutrient management technology. xi. Water management Most of the oilseed crops are grown on marginal land. Hence water management is not followed. Sunflower which is mostly grown in irrigated areas is being affected by water shortage. However, various planting pattern are followed to reduce the water loss and increase water efficiency. Mostly the farmers use ridge sowing which has been demonstrated by the extension workers and is being followed by the farming community. This practice is mostly followed in cotton based farming system. In rice based system, especially in Sindh,

143 134 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan sunflower is planted on residual moisture after rice crop. This practice has proved very useful and the farmers are not using any water during the whole crop season. 85 percent of the Groundnut is cultivated in rainfed conditions especially in the potohar belt. In these areas planting is done after the rains of April. This practice has been very useful. xii. Crop protection A number of diseases of oilseed crops have been identified through experimentation in the country. Details of these diseases is given in the following Table 9.Charcoal rot of sunflower was reported for the first time from Faislalabad (Mirza,1984) and later from other areas of Punja (Sindhand NWFP provinces) as a threat to sunflower(mirza and Beg, 1983; Steven et al., 1987).Macrophomina phaseolina survives as freesclerotia in the soil or embedded in the host crop and in dry soil for long period (Sinclair, 1982).Ahmad (1988) reviewed research on different sunflower rots in Pakistan. Six rots including,charcoal rot, head rot, stalk rot, collar rot, black rot and bacterial rot are known to exist. Among these, charcoal is considered the most prevalent. Ataga and Akueshi (1986) observed that M. phaseolina grew well on the seeds, increased the free fatty acid, oil content and caused discoloration of the oil. However, the relation of sunflower borne pathogen and oil quantity and quality is not well understood. M. phaseolina is Sunflower disease and insect pests 111reported as the most destructive on sunflower crop and major in yield in Pakistan (Mirza and Beg, 1983; Mirza, 1984). he problem occurs especially in the area where irrigation water is either not available during the peak season or the temperature rises. However, farmers are now well aware of its control measures Diseases and their Control Measures/Management for Oilseed Crops Crop Disease Control measures Sunflower Charcoal rot: - Use of resistant varieties, cultivate early maturing varieties, Stress to the crop and irrigate the field near maturity. Rotation reduces losses. Proper scheduling of irrigation of the time at flowering and seed formation is important. - Seed treatment with 2.5 g/kg help in reducing primary infection Head rot: Alternaria Leaf spot Collar rot Safflower Alternaria & Remularia LB - Avoid injury to head from insects or mechanical. Screening for resistant variety can also prove as control management strategy. - Bird damage should be prevented. - If insect are predisposes, suitable insecticides should be sprayed. Fungicide sprays:-polyram (500 gm/ha) or Deconil ( kg/ha) Soaking seed in hot water at 54 Co for 10 minutes. Early maturing varieties help in escape the crop from the disease. Use of resistant varieties is the only control management. Crop rotation

144 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 135 Bacterial Blight Rust Root Wilt Crop rotation and Disease resistant varieties Crop rotation and Treatment of 3 gm / kg with Thrim - Crop rotation - Avoid over irrigation Sesame Bacterial Blight - Healthy Seed. - Treatment of seed with 0.3% Thrim - Spry the field with Dithene M-45 or Tacto or 500 gm/acre Root rot Groundnut Leaf Spot - Crop rotation - Disease resistant Varieties - Use of fungicide Root rot Alternaria Blight - Healthy Seed - Treatment of seed with 0.3% Thrim - Spry the field with Dithene M-45 or Tacto or 500 gm/acre - Crop rotation - Use of vitavax / Benlat / of 2-3 gm / kg for seed treatment. Soybean Charcol rot - Use of resistant varieties, cultivate early maturing group, ovoid - Stress to the crop especially near maturity. Anthracnose Pod & stem blight - Harvest seed as soon as crop matures. - Use quality, disease free clean seed. - Seed treatment with 1.5 2gm/kg of seed. - Use disease free and clean seed. - Destroyu diseased plant residue. - Use of resistant variety. - Spray with Dighane 1 kg/ha dissolved in 250 liter of water after days interval, 2-3 times depending upon the severity of disease. Yellow mosaic - Cultivate resistant varieties.- Keep crop free from weeds.- virus Reduce plant population. Brassica White rust Use of resistant varieties. For control of primary infection, destroy the previous year s crop residue. `Fro secondary infection spraying with fungicide like polyram, curpravit 3-4 time, during season gm/100 gd. Alternaria black spot Sclerotia rot stem Fungicide sprays: Polyram (500 gm/ha) or Deconil ( kg/ha). Soaking seed in hot water at 54Co for 10 Minutes. Early sowing help in escape the crop form the disease. Phyto sanitary measures:- Destruction of diseased plant debris. - Seed cleaning and long rotation. Fungicide sprays; Foliar sprays with Topim M kg/ha for secondary infection.

145 136 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan Presently the main problem in brassica/canola is aphid infestation. This problem mainly arises after spring season rain when temperature is rising. Since most of the brassica is grown on marginal land, therefore, majority of the farmers are not following the plant protection measures for its control. Moreover, most of the area is under juncea type which has low infestation compared to napus species. 3. Trends in oilseed Supply and Demand Pakistan is lucky enough to have over a dozen oilseed crops, of which it can afford to grow one or the other in all seasons of the year. However, despite their importance in our national economy and trade, the oil crops, in general are termed as Minor Crops. This status and approach has indirectly resulted in a constant neglect of these crops and the sector as a whole. (i) Trends in oilseed Production Domestic production of edible oil has been fluctuating for the last couple of decades. Edible oil requirement is increasing every year due to population growth and enhanced per capita demand. Moreover, domestic production of edible oil from all sources is very much below the consumption which is increasing at an alarming rate hence widening the gap between production and consumption. In domestic production, major share comes from cottonseed contributing about 60% of local production; rapeseed-mustard and canola 12%, whereas sunflower, soybean, safflower and corn contribute the remaining 28%. Sunflower and canola are the two potential crops, which can fulfill some requirements of edible oil in the country. Domestic production of edible oil during was million tons which substantially increased to million tons during due to canola and sunflower plantation on a considerable area. Pattern of domestic production of edible from different sources is given in Table 10 Table 10 Domestic production, import and value of edible oil Year Domestic Production Import Value of import (000 tons) (000 tons) (Rs. Billion) Source: Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan

146 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 137 (ii) Trends in oilseed Consumption The consumption of edible oil in Pakistan is steadily increasing with increased awareness among the population of harmful effects of animal fat on human health and demographic changes with emphasis on expansion of urban population and visible changes in the eating habits of the masses. Details of the availability and consumption of edible oil in Pakistan is given in the following table. The total availability of oil is far below the consumption level. This has created a big gap between production and consumption. Moreover, the per capita consumption is also increasing but a very slow pace as compared to total requirements of the country. The increase in total requirements is mainly due to population growth. Edible oil availability and consumption (000 tons) A. Edible oil availability 1. Local production Import Total availability B. Uses 1. Industrial use (est) Net availability for ghee 3. Per capita availability (Kgs/annum) Source: Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan (iii) Requirements of oilseed Edible oil requirement of the country is increasing every year due to population growth and enhanced per capita demand. Moreover, domestic production of edible oil from all sources is very much below the consumption which is increasing at an alarming rate hence widening the gap between production and consumption. This gap is being bridged by importing palm and soybean oil. With the increase in population, the edible requirements are also increasing. The demand for edible oil has been projected as million tons by the year 2020, million tons by 2030, million tons by 2040 and million tons by There is a need to improve and stabilize oilseed production through breeding and other innovations to overcome the shortage of edible oil in the country. The future demand as indicated in the following table will continuously grow with increase in the population and per capita consumption.

147 138 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan Projected demand of Edible oil with population growth by 2050 Year Population* (million) Demand (million ton) *Population growth rate 1.8%, (iv) Surplus/Deficit Pakistan is only producing about 28 percent of its edible oil requirements for consumption. The remaining 72 percent requirements are met through imports in the form of palm oil and soybean from various sources. This costs us heavy foreign exchange every year. During the country spent more than Rs. 150 billion on the import of edible oil. The country is always in deficit of the commodity. However, efforts are underway to narrow the gap between production and consumption. 4. Programs and Activities for promotion of Pulse production (i) Lessons Learnt from Past Initiatives Pakistan is lucky enough to have over a dozen oilseed crops, of which it can afford to grow one or the other in all seasons of the year. However, despite their importance in our national economy and trade, the oil crops, in general are termed as Minor Crops. This status and approach has indirectly resulted in a constant neglect of oilseed crops and the sector as a whole. Some of the major crops which are grown in the country along with the area and production have been discussed in the earlier paragraphs. This neglect by policy-makers caused a serious decline in their availability on the one hand, and created a knowledge gap on the other. For example, the supply and demand elasticity, which are so critical in understanding the production and consumption patterns, making plans, and analyzing the impact of technological change, are rarely available for all the oilseed crops. The general perception is that oilseeds are minor crops, and they do not respond to the changes in the policy environment, especially relative prices. This may actually be an effect of the neglect of oilseed crops by policy-makers. Cultivation of most of the oilseed crops are mainly concentrated in areas with low cropping intensity. This suggests that their production is normally pushed to low fertile lands, which are marginal to main cereal and cash crop production. The negative effect of cropping intensity on the supply of oilseeds also reflects farmers low preference for using oilseed in averting the pressure to produce more food and raw materials from land. The negative trend coefficient, except in sunflower and canola, reflects a paucity of research innovations in oilseed crops. The positive trend in sunflower and canola production is mainly due to their low water requirements and less or no competition with major crops such as wheat, cotton and rice. Increasing wage rate negatively affects some of the oilseed crops such as sesame, safflower and groundnut. Therefore, efficient harvesting, threshing and digging machinery is needed to

148 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 139 reduce the cost of labor in handling these crops. For this purpose mechanical technologies will help boost the production of these crops making them more profitable. Hence will expand more as commercial crops. a. Ongoing programs and activities National Coordinated Research Program (NCRP) on oilseed was initiated during 1977 with its units at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad, University of Agriculture (UA) Faisalabad, Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), Tando jam (Sindh), Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Sariab, Quetta, Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), D.I. Khan (Khyber Pakhtun Khawa). Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal was included in 2004 to conduct research activities on rainfed crops especially brassica group. Work was done all the mandated oilseed crops, such as brassica, groundnut, sunflower, soybean, sesame. i) The primary objectives of this program were to increase the production of edible oil in Pakistan Major functions of the units are: a. Germplasm acquisition and distribution b. To conduct NUYT on oilseed crops. c. Germplasm evaluation for variety development. d. Development of area specific production technology. e. Specific studies assigned time to time in the annual planning meeting. The research activities of these cooperative programs resulted in a number of varieties of various oilseed crops. The details of these varieties developed unit-wise are given in Table 8. The first ever variety of Raya Anmol (mustard) and Faisalabad-83 in Soybean was developed by the Cooperative unit of Faisalabad in Moreover, these units also conducted the National Uniform Yield Trial (NUYT) on various oilseed crops. Under this system, candidate varieties are tested for adaptability under various agro-ecological zones of the country after these are recommended for general cultivation in the country. Details of the varieties developed by different unit and released through NUYT testing are given in Table 9. Table 9. Varieties/Hybrids Released and Recommended through NUYT Institution Sunfower Soy Rape- Mus- G- Sesame Safflower Total bean seed tard nut NARC, Islamabad ORI, Faisalabad BARI, Chakwal ARS, Mingora ARI, Tandojam NIFA, Peshawar ARI, Tarnab Private Sector Total

149 140 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan Contribution of Units Major function of the units include germplasm enhancement (collection, creation) and evaluation as well its exploitation in breeding programs for development of varieties which are high yielding and resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses mainly diseases. The other activities like conductance of NUYTs, screening of nurseries and development of production technology were performed under NCRP. The major outputs of coordinated efforts were the release of 44 improved varieties of oilseed crops during the last 30 years. Impact of NCRP on oilseed research and development With the support of NCRP on Oilseed crops, the country benefited extraordinarily in terms of germplasm acquisition, variety development, and capacity building of scientists, new technologies, knowledge sharing and strengthening of NARS. The activity has contributed immeasurable monitory returns to the country. Most of the impact was done on the introduction and promotion of sunflower and canola. In the beginning, sunflower was restricted to few pockets in the country with very little know how of the farmers even about its sowing times and other crop husbandry practices. Presently the average yield of sunflower is among the top six countries of the world. The area also increased tremendously reaching more than one million acres in Similarly, canola was introduced where the area increased many folds. Short duration groundnut varieties were introduced. Sunflower is now cultivated on residual moisture after rice due to technological intervention by the cooperative programs. 5. Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production The overall production objectives of the five Year Plans have been the rapid expansion of domestic oilseeds production and reduction in the import of edible oil in the shortest possible time. But these were not achieved because of one or the other reasons. Several attempts have been made by various agencies and experts to identify the constraints responsible for slow promotion of oilseed crops. Many constraints have been underlined, both major and minor in nature (Anonymous, 1995). The constraints that directly discourage and deterred the farmers from the adoption of oilseed crops ineffective marketing, low economic returns and inadequate support of essential production elements including credit, quality seed and appropriate farm machinery. These constraints have been classified on the basis of nature of their impact on total edible oil production as: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Crop-specific constraints General production constraints Socio-economic constraints Policy constraints i) Crop-specific Constraints Sunflower, rapeseed-mustard, soybean, groundnut and sesame are the main crops that contribute towards domestic oilseeds production. Farmers do not consider them as regular crops and therefore, accord a low priority in planting programs. This situation by itself is a

150 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 141 big bottleneck in promotion and expansion of oil crops. Crop-specific constraints are briefly given below. Rapeseed-mustard Crops in rapeseed-mustard group including Raya, Toria and Tara-mira are grown in this region for centuries. Farmers are well familiar with their husbandry and generally face no marketing problems. Despite these merits, the area under rapeseed-mustard is on the decline and has suffered a major setback in Punjab. The average yields are low as these are mostly grown on marginal lands. Even under irrigated conditions, these crops get sub-optimal inputs. During the field surveys, damage by aphids has been indicated as the biggest hesitation of farmers planting these crops on large solid blocks. Shattering limits the promotion of rapeseed varieties, while mustard varieties do not have this problem. Rapeseed-mustard are grown in rabi season and therefore, face direct competition for area with other winter crops such as wheat, gram and lentil. Rapeseed-mustard are thinly spread all over the country in different cropping patterns. Toria and Raya are grown as zaid-kharif crop in August and September and harvested in October and November, thus, fit.. well in rotation with wheat. Rapeseed-mustard oil is not regular cooking oil, because of its taste which is due to the presence of high erucic acid in oil and glucosinolates. Groundnut The area under groundnut has increased at an encouraging annual growth rate of 5.1 percent. However, the productivity per unit area has exhibited a reverse trend. The average yield has decreased by 29% during the last two decades. Existing varieties are medium and low yielders. The most important limiting factor is the use of marginal lands and application of low inputs. The crop is mostly grown on sandy soils under rain fed conditions. These soils are low in fertility and have minimum water holding capacity. During the same period, the factors limiting productivity, were aggravated by unfavorable environmental conditions such as un-even distribution and low rainfall. Cultivation of groundnut in irrigated.conditions is now rarely practiced and is being replaced by high income crops. Use of low seed rate is one of the major constraints. The crop is mostly planted by broadcast method which not only results in low plant population but also intensifies the weed problems. The cost of harvest is high because proper machinery is not available and labour is becoming increasingly expensive. Moreover, the unstable market prices directly affect the area expansion. The total demand for this commodity is limited, because it is mostly used for table purposes as roasted nuts. Sesame Sesame, in general, is a low yielding crop because of low genetic potential and plant type. All existing varieties are shattering type, leading to high yield losses in the field and during post-harvest handling. The commercial varieties available are low yielding and have a lot of scope for improvement through breeding. Recent breakthrough in USA and Israel has been due to the development of semi-dehiscent and non-dehiscent type pods which can help elevate the sesame productivity. It is grown on marginal lands in rain fed areas with almost

151 142 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan no inputs. Its cultivation on large acreage is rare. In irrigated areas, it is grown on the borders of cotton fields. The crop is subjected to insect pests and diseases which take a heavy toll of the crop yield. Sunflower Sunflower has been showing an upward trend in area and production but year to year fluctuations. Sunflower is mostly grown under irrigated conditions and by large progressive farmers. However, its national average yield does not match with this scenario, indicating definite production technology gaps conforming low productivity at the country level. While a majority of the progressive farmers are taking 2.5 to 3 tons/ha yields, there are quite a few who cannot touch the mark of one ton/ha. Moisture stress after flowering results in charcoal rot which causes pre-mature drying of the plant, thus reduces yield. Sunflower hybrids/varieties grown at present are mostly of long duration and therefore, their maturity goes into the month of June and sometimes July, if planted late. This delays the planting of cotton and subjects the crop to early monsoon rains in rice growing areas. All the hybrids grown in the country are of exotic origin. Their seed is imported and is costly increasing cost of production. Harvesting is laborious and expensive. After harvest, needs special care for drying of heads as they get rotten before threshing. Soybean Soybean has never picked appreciable area in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. It is best suited to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but had problems for spreading on large areas. Because of late maturing varieties, it faces difficulty in fitting well in rice-soybean-rice and cotton-soybean-cotton rotations. The seed loses quickly its viability and the farmer has bitter experience of keeping his own seed for the next season. The seed should be produced in autumn when crop matures in cooler temperature of October and November. Delayed planting of soybean as zaid-kharif crop can delay wheat planting. Soybean is susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus which taxes yields considerably. Most of the soybean varieties are prone to shattering if harvesting is delayed even by 4-5 days, causing considerable yield losses. ii) Marketing Constraints In-efficient and inadequate marketing of oilseed crops has been identified as the most important factor hampering promotional and developmental efforts. The farmers are most dishearted when they face problems in the sale of their produce. Once left unsold, the farmers do not think of venturing again. The question arises, why should he produce something which he cannot sell?. According to a survey conducted in Sindh and Punjab by PARC concluded that the most burning issue in the promotion of oilseed crops specifically sunflower was marketing and low prices. Unfortunately the oilseed crops has no support prices, which is not always upto the expectation of farmers. iii) Policy Constraints The government has been dealing with the oilseed crops as MINOR CROPS while the import bill touching always and every year the MENACING LEVEL in the country. Therefore, lack of sound and favorable government policies has been of the most important factors in the slow

152 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 143 development of and promotion of oilseed crops. A number of policies were given GOP during the last about three decades. Most important has the Government s liberal policy which is based on imported oil. This ensures sufficient supply of edible oil at reasonably low rates. The prices are kept low through various policy interventions. This has resulted in rapid increase in domestic consumption and has surpassed local production. It also encouraged un-official export to neighboring countries where prices of edible are relatively high. ISSUES i. Technological Research on oilseed crops is the key to increase in productivity. This is possible through the development of high yielding and disease resistant hybrids/varieties. Presently, sufficient funds are not provided for conducting extensive research to exploit the potential of oilseed crops. ii. Non-availability of quality seed The entire sunflower hybrid seed planted in the country is imported. This takes almost months to reach the country, resulting in loss of seed viability and hence poor germination. Moreover, cost of imported hybrid seed is very high and is beyond the buying power of common farmers. Therefore there is a need to produce hybrid seed locally. This will not only guarantee the availability of quality seed in time but will also reduce its cost. iii. Machinery Most of the oilseed crops pose tremendous post harvest losses. This is due to the fact that proper machinery is not available and if available is beyond the purchase power of the small farmer. Therefore, proper, planting, harvesting and threshing machinery needs to be ensured. iv. Low support prices Compared to other crop commodities, the cost of production of sunflower is very high. While the support price is very low. This deters the farmers from adopting this crop. The farmer is always the best economist. He will plant that pay him back easily and more, which is not the case in sunflower. Therefore, attractive support price of the crop with ensured marketing need to be arranged at the government level. v. Low demand of produce The government lax policy of import of oilseed produce has always created problems for the local produce and the farmers. It has happened in the recent past that produce of oilseed was allowed with out any regulatory duty. This had a bad effect on the support prices of the produce and hence the farmers. Therefore, there is a strong need either to

153 144 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan totally torment the import of oilseed produce or impose heavy regulatory duty making it uneconomical for the solvent industry. vi. Lack of credit facilities No credit facilities are available to the oilseed growers in the country especially at a time when all the inputs for sunflower in particular and other oilseed in general are going out of reach of the farmers. The present hikes in the rates of inputs have made it imperative to provide easy credit to the oilseed growers. 6. Future Vision, Major Policies, Strategies and Programs for enhancing oilseed production Large yield gaps are present between the potential yield and the national yield in all the oilseed crops. These gaps vary from 60 to 80 percent unachieved potential (Table 11). Yield gap in rapeseed-mustard is the largest compared to sesame. Other oilseed crops also have very wide yield gaps between the potential yields and the national average yields. To bridge these gaps, research priorities must be fixed according to the needs a. Research Priorities Collection, evaluation and maintenance of germplasm of oilseed crops. Development of improved varieties of oilseed crops. Development of Hybrids of Sunflower and Rapeseed-mustard. Development of Canola type mustard varieties. Conducting of National Uniform Yield Trials (NUYT) of sunflower, groundnut, rapeseed-mustard and sesamum.. Standardization of package of production technology for oilseed crops. Table 11 Yield gap between potential and national average of different oilseed crops Crop Yield potential (kg/ha) Average yield (kg/ha) Yield gap (kg/ha) Unachieved potential (%) Rape-mustard Groundnut Sesame Sunflower Safflower Soybean Suggested measures to exploit the unachieved potentials in oilseed crops are as under: b. Research Research in the public sector has always been hampered due to the non-availability of operational funds which are almost scarce. Therefore, sufficient funds should be provided to

154 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 145 carry out research for the development of new varieties/hybrids of oilseed crops, suitable to our local climatic conditions. Because non-availability of quality seed for all the oilseeds is a major issue, therefore, the researchers should be encouraged and provided sufficient funds exclusively for the production of quality seed. This will help ensure the availability of cheaper and quality seed to the farmers. c. Dissemination of production Technology A package of improved production technology have already been developed for all oilseed crops, but the same has not been disseminated properly at farmers fields. To enhance the per hectare yield it is imperative to educate the farmers about the improved production technology through demonstration plots, field days, brochures and electronic media. d. Machinery Presently, almost all the machinery for the oilseeds is imported which is very expensive and beyond the approach of the small farmers. Therefore, local production of the machinery such as planters, harvesters and threshers not only be encouraged but also funded to provide affordable and efficient machinery to the farmers. e. Credit facilities Majority of the farmers have small holdings and are already facing severe resource problems. The Banks' asset-based approach of credit evaluation also limits his access to credit availability. Scarcity of resources lower down the level of inputs application and use of farm machinery and equipment thus inhibiting increase in area and yields. Farmers' motivation, profit margin, procurement arrangement and the financial position are of prime consideration in supply of credit. Therefore, specific efforts at government level are needed for strengthening the banking infra-structure to extend adequate credit facilities to the oilseed growers. Chargeable interest rates may be brought down through suitable financial and banking reforms. f. Marketing Marketing has been the most serious problem hampering the promotion of oilseed crops in the country. Therefore, prompt procurement of farmers' produce at support price or the market price whichever is higher and quick payments are the most important measures to increase oilseed production. Support price itself should not be unattractive. It must not only cover the cost of production but should also provide a reasonable margin of profit. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR EDIBLE OIL PRODUCTION At the moment Pakistan is growing three types of oil yielding crops, i.e., true oilseed crops, crops which yield oil only as a by-product and crops which yield oil both for edible and industrial purposes. The true edible oilseed crops include rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, sesame, sunflower, soybean and safflower. In the second category, fall cottonseed, maize and rice bran, while in the third category are included linseed, jojoba, castor, salicornia and salvadora. Other natural resources such as mango and apricot stones can also provide edible oil, if a system is devised for their collection.

155 146 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan In the first category, there is an ample scope for substitution of the existing varieties with better strains to increase domestic production and improve the trade balance. As far as increasing productivity per unit area is concerned, the contribution of improved production technology is as important as high yielding varieties. In the second category falls cotton. From cottonseed, the oil recovery is normally about 11 percent. It can definitely be improved by using the solvent extraction methods. The oil content of cottonseed ca also be improved through use of breeding varieties hiving oil content as high as percent. The provision of appropriate storage facilities at extraction plants and ginneries can also improve oil recovery. Rice bran is another source, which has not yet been exploited and utilized properly. It has about percent good quality edible oil with high linoleic acid content. The lipids have 3 to 9 percent wax. Bran also contains about 12 percent protein, 45 to 50 percent soluble carbohydrates, and 5 to 8 percent fibre. Rice bran is the oil-and protein rich seed skin under the seed coat of rice, which is removed during milling. Paddy contains about 6-8 percent of this product. The rice bran oil is soon decomposed by active enzymes in the bran if the latter are not destroyed through process known as stabilization. Since bran is an abrasive material, its oil can only be extracted through solvent extraction process. About 3.9 million tons of rice paddy is produced in Pakistan out of which approximately 240 thousand tons rice brains obtained, which can yield about 33 thousand tons of edible oil worth rupees one billion. It is a huge import substitution commodity. Therefore, it must be utilized as an alternative source of edible oil. In Japan, considerable quantities of edible oil are contributed by this source. Similarly, Thailand, India, Korea and Nepal also get edible oil from rice bran in considerable quantities. Under the third category fall linseed and castor. Castor has almost become extinct. The area under linseed has diminished significantly. Castor has excellent chances for increase. It can withstand drought and flourish very well even on poor soils. Pakistan has some seasonal and perennial varieties. The only need is to push up this crop with vigorous efforts. Sufficient area is also available in the arid zones of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Many industrial needs can be met through its use. It can thus help reduce burden on our edible oil resources and consequently reduce imports. Since castor oil is one of the most expensive oils in international market (Table 25.1), it has also very good scope for export thus help us earn foreign. Large quantities of cottonseed and rapeseed cake are produced annually. This contains 7-8 percent oil. According to estimates, 2.2 million tons of cotton cake was produced, which can yield 154 thousand tons of oil (worth Rs. 4.6 billion) if all of it is processed through solvent industry. It offers another large potential alternative source of edible oil. Efforts should be made to set a system through which it can be easily channelized to solvent extraction industry for extraction of the residual oil. This programme cannot be made successful unless it is coupled with meal promotion and utilization efforts.

156 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 147 Other sources such as mango and apricot stones can also contribute considerable quantities of edible oil. Such resources are utilized in India effectively for obtaining vegetable oil. Devising a cost effective collection system, would be imperative for exploiting this potential source, which is presently going a sheer waste. Other options for increased oilseed production If the production of the edible oil is running with the present production level, then the country will be importing 3.0 million tons of edible oil in the year , incurring huge foreign exchange. However, production can be increased by (i) vertical (ii) horizontal increase and (iii) improving the extraction efficiency. These three factors can contribute very much in narrowing the gap between production and consumption. If these factors are coupled and 15 % increase in productivity is ensured, the self-reliance could be achieved easily. Substitute Crops Pakistan cannot afford horizontal expansion in the oilseed crops beyond certain limits. Therefore, efforts should be made in the utilization of marginal lands. The present edible oilseed crops cannot be grown on the marginal or stressed lands. This demands that future emphasis should be on the import-substitute crops which can be easily and economically adopted by the farmers. These include: * Promotion of Castor in dry areas * Promotion of Safflower in Southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan * Cultivation of Oil Palm in the coastal areas of Sindh and Baluchistan * Introduction of Olive in the Northern mountainous parts of the country. Production enhancement i. Horizontal increase - Replacement of existing 700,000 acres of traditional sarson with canola. - Canola inter-cropping with sugarcane and in orchards. - Sunflower cultivation after cotton and rice crops in Punjab and Sindh and in tobacco fallow lands of Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi districts. - Exploring virgin lands, river belts, sailaba and Khuskhaba for oilseed planting. ii. Vertical increase - Development of short duration canola hybrids and high yielding varieties. - Development of local sunflower hybrids and their indigenous seed production. - Improvement and proper dissemination of production technology. - There is a need of some organizations responsible for quality seed production of oilseed crops. - Encouragement of private sector in quality oilseed production.

157 148 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan iii. Incentives to growers - Provision of proper extension services to the farmers. - Attractive support price. - Ensure adequate procurement management. - Adequate and timely input supply. - Availability of adequate credit facility. - Provision of farm machinery at proper time. STRATEGY FOR OILSEED PRODUCTION i. Short-term Strategy Ensure availability of improved seed to farmers. Encouragement of private sector in seed production business. Intervention price is needed like other cash crops. Production of quality seed of canola crop. Dissemination of appropriate production technology through brochures, print media, electronic media etc. Demonstration of improved production technology at farmer s fields. ii. Long Term Strategy Development of high yielding varieties/hybrids. Development of short duration varieties suitable for intensive cropping and intercropping. Development of area specific production technology package for each crop. Crop maximization to bring new areas like riverine, sailaba and khushkaba etc. under oilseed crops. Promotion of castor in dry areas. Cultivation of oil palm in coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Cultivation of soybean in northern mountainous areas of the country. Appropriate policy measures to phase out oilseed imports. 7. South Asian prospective for enhancing oilseed production The Region is the home to about billion people which is 25.9% of global population. While the share of the Region in terms of global land and water resources is however, much lower than the population share. It only covers 3.95% of the geographic area of the global land mass. Because of high population pressure on land, percentage of arable land to total area is much higher than the global average e.g. the share of the region in global arable land is 14%. The region also has very high incidence of poverty and hunger. Based on the country-wise data (ref. Asian Development Bank), it is estimated that 451 million people in the Region live below poverty line; and proportion of these hardcore people in the total population is 28.83%. The principal reason for high incidence of poverty in the region is low

158 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 149 per capita income and inequitable distribution of income: with 25.9% share in global population, the region has only 2.62% share in global income. Unfortunately all the SAARC member countries are deficit in edible oil and all of these are importing substantial quantities spending huge foreign exchange. With the increase in population, this demand is growing and widening the gap between production and consumption. This demand has been projected to grow by more than 1.6 percent. The major challenges for agriculture in the region are to raise and sustain agriculture growth; ensure food and nutrition security; to face the challenge of climate change; adjust to changes in energy scenario; maintain bio-safety and bio-security; make sustainable use of natural resources; and protect bio-diversity. The new opportunities lie in trade, marketing, biotechnology, shifting demand preferences in domestic and global market, technology sharing, resource-sharing and investments in research, extension and infrastructure. SAARC countries need to develop science-based strategy for collective response to challenges and opportunities and global shocks. Oil Recovery The recovery in the SAARC member countries is very below the recoverable percent of the oil present in the oilseed crops. A comparison of the recovery in different oilseed crops in different countries is given below: Percent oil recovery from various oilseed crops in different countries. Country/crop Cotton Rapeseed Sunflower Soybean Groundnut World China Pakistan India USA Turkey France Source: Vegetable Oils and Oilseeds The values given in the above table indicates that the recovery of oil from different oilseed crops varies across the countries including SAARC members. The comparison given above also indicates that the gap between oil recovery in Pakistan and India (SAARC members) and the world average varies considerably in about all the crops. Therefore, by increasing the extraction efficiency to the world average, significant additional edible oil can be obtained from the same area and quantities of oilseeds.

159 150 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Pakistan 8. References Ali, N and Mohmand, A. S Oilseed Crops of Pakistan. Crop Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. Anonymous, Oilseed Development Strategy. National Oilseeds Development Project. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, pp. 358 Anonymous, Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan, Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Food, Agricultural and Livestock, Economic Wing, Islamabad. Anonymous, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan. Ataga, A. E. and Akueshi, C.O Changes in oil and free fatty acid contents of sunflower seed inoculated with Alternaria tenuis,curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme and Macrophomina phaseolina.phytopathologia Mediterranea. 25: Ahmad, I Occurrence of sunflower rots in Pakistan. PARC- Cargill Joint International conference on sunflower diseases. May 27 th, Lahore, Pakistan. Mirza, M. S. and Beg, A Diseases of Sunflower in Pakistan in Helia. 6: Mirza, M.S Occurrence of sunflower diseases in Pakistan in In: Proceedings of the National Sunflower Workshop, PARC Sinclair Compendium of soy bean diseases.2nd ed. Publ. by American Phytopathological Society 3340 Piolt Knob road, St. Paul Minnesota, USA. Steven, M., Rana, M.A., Mirza, M.S. and Khan, M.K The survey of sunflower crop in Pakistan, Oilseed Program, NARC, Islamabad.

160 PART - VII Foibodjoh!Pjmtffe!Qspevdujpo Uispvhi!Jnqspwfe!Ufdiopmphz jo Tsj.Mbolb D.G.C. Jeewani Research Officer, Grain Legumes and Oil Crops Research and Development Centre Angunakolapelessa, Sri Lanka December 2011

161 Content 1. Introduction Current status of Oil seed production 154 Area 154 Production 154 Productivity 155 Varietal Development 155 Production technology 156 Nutrient management 156 Water management 157 Crop protection Trends in Oil seed Supply and demand 158 Trends in oil seed production 158 Trends in Oil seed consumption 159 Requirement of oil seed 161 Surplus/ Deficit Programme and Activities for promotion of oil seed production 161 Lesson learnt from past initiatives 161 Ongoing programmes and activities Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production 162 Biotic constraints 162 Abiotic constraints 162 Social constraints 163 Future challenges Future vision, major policies, strategies and programmes for enhancing oil seed Production 7. South Asian perspective for enhancing oil seed production 165 Exchange of germplasms of oil crops and production technology 165 Human Resource Development References Acknowledgement

162 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Introduction Oilseed crops are grown primarily for the oil contained in the seeds. Though both cereals and pulses give oil, above 20% of oil containing crops considered to be oil seed crops. Hence soybean (Glycine max), sunflower (Helianthus annus), rape seed (Canola) (Brassica spp.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea Linn.) which contain percentage of oil 20%, 40%, 40%, >30% respectively considered as oil crops in the world. Oil seeds can be categorized in to two groups as edible seed oil which is used to edible purposes and Industrial oil seeds which use for industrial purposes. The major world sources of edible seed oils are soybeans, sunflowers, rapeseed, cotton and peanuts. Seed oils from Flax (Linseed) and castor beans are used for industrial purposes. Sri Lanka is an island situated in the Indian Ocean with the land area of 6.46 million ha. Based on the rainfall there are three prominent climatic zones wet zone (1.54 million ha), intermediate zone (0.85million ha) and dry zone (4.07 million ha). Sri Lanka received bimodal pattern of rainfall during two monsoons which determine the cultivating season which known as from October to March as Maha season and that through South West monsoon lies from April to September is the dry season and commonly refer as Yala season. Sri Lanka s edible oil requirements per annum exceed 160,000 metric tons. Coconut oil which is the country s largest edible oil generates only around 80,000 metric tons per annum. Thus the country has to import edible oil in large quantity involving a large expenditure in foreign exchange to make up the deficit. To import edible oil, Sri Lanka spends Rs 1,400 million annually. Sri Lankan coconut oil is the 100% natural, best quality cooking oil extracted from dried kernel of the coconut fruit (copra). In Sri Lanka Sesame, Groundnut, Mustard and Sunflower are grown as oil crops. Sesame is a traditional oil crop of the world has been cultivating in Sri Lanka since ancient times. In present day context, sesame is a crop that shows higher export demand and the one and only significantly exporting oil crop as seed in Sri Lanka. It is mainly used for snacks and confectionaries. Rather than that it is used in oil extraction, indigenous medicine and industrial purposes. Mustard is an important oil crop which is used as a condiment in Sri Lanka. Farmers traditionally cultivate mustard as a mixed crop with finger millet. Groundnut is an oil crop which cultivated in highlands under rainfed condition in Maha season and in paddy lands under irrigation during Yala season in dry and intermediate zones. Though groundnut is an oil crop, in Sri Lanka it is mostly used to prepare sweetened foods, confectionaries and consume as snacks. Because of the several desirable characteristics, use of sunflower oil is gaining popularity in Sri Lanka. Department Of Agriculture (DOA) has not yet released a recommended variety for sunflower. Though Castor is an important industrial oil crop it is not mainly cultivated. It is used in indigenous medicine and industrial purposes.

163 154 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka 2. Current status of Oil seed production 2.1. Area Groundnut is mainly cultivating in dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka. With the peaceful environment in North and Eastern areas, now the cultivation is expanding remarkably. Presently about 9000 ha are cultivated annually under groundnut. A detailed account of the annual extent and the production of oil crops during are given in the Table 1. Sesame which was traditionally grown as a chena crop (shifting cultivation) in dry zone has now become an economically important oil seed crop in Sri Lanka due to the higher domestic and export demand. The most important Districts of production are Moneragala, Hambantota, Kurunagala, Anuradapura and Rathnapura. It is predominantly grown during Yala season where the total extent is about 7000 ha and to a lesser extent during Maha season. Mustard cultivation is restricted to about 300 ha land area in dry and intermediate zones. There is no recommended mustard variety and farmers cultivate low yielding landraces. Table 1. Cultivated extent and production of Groundnut, Sesame and Mustard in Sri Lanka. Groundnut Sesame Mustard Year Extent (ha) Production (mt) Extent (ha) Production (mt) Extent (ha) * * ,274 10, ,077 10, Source : AgStat, DOA and * Data not recorded 2.2. Production Production (mt) The annual production of groundnut is about 13,077 mt. However, Sri Lanka imports about 4005 mt of groundnut annually which accounts for 23.4 percent of domestic requirement. Annual sesame production in 2009 was 8525 mt and Sri Lanka exported 1406 mt of sesame seeds worth of Rs.186 million. Annual mustard production is very low and it was about 250 mt in Although not much cultivated, sunflower oil is popular among the households in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the total annual requirement of sunflower is imported.

164 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Productivity It is encouraging to note that there has been a considerable increase in productivity of the major oil crops grown in Sri Lanka during The percent increase in productivity of groundnut from 2000 to 2009 is 223% whereas those of sesame are 134.5% (Table 2). With the presently available technologies the productivity of groundnut can be increased up to 2.5 mt per hectare. Table 2. Annual productivity of Oil Seed crops. Year Groundnut Sesame Mustard * Source : AgStat, DOA * Data not recorded 2.4. Varietal Development Department of Agriculture has released several groundnut, sesame and castor varieties (table 3) and among them four groundnut varieties namely Tissa, walawa, Indi and Tikiri and sesame variety Uma are popular among the farmers. With the new research trials high yielding and promising mustard lines have been identified and now those lines are under the evaluation of National Cordinated Varietal Testing trials in different agro ecological regions. Table 3. Recommended Oil Seed Crop varieties in Sri Lanka. Crop Variety Year of Duration Avg. Yield Oil % release (Days) Kg/ha Groundnut Red Spanish * No * Tissa Walawa Indi Tikiri Sesame MI 1 * MI 2 * MI 3 * Uma Malee Castor Hazeera No 1 * (1 st pick) Source : Recommended varieties of Other Field Crops, DOA * Not known

165 156 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka 2.5. Production technology The greatest potential for the production of oil seed crops lies in the dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka where various ecological factors and soil factors that influence the productivity of oil crops have been identified. Based on these factors, technologies to suit these environments and specificities have been identified. Groundnut is cultivated as a mono crop or as an intercrop. It is grown in a well-drained sandy loam or clay loam soil. Deep well drained soils with a ph of and high fertility are ideal for groundnut. Single ploughing to a depth of cm followed by two or three harrowing may be required to make a seedbed with a fine tilth. The DOA recommended spacing of 45cm x15 cm and one seed/hill used for higher yield. The majority of sesame is grown by small holders using simple planting techniques and tools, and the commercial production of sesame is a relatively recent development. Sesame thrives well in sandy loam soils and performs reasonably well on poor soils if they are well drained. Very sandy and alkaline soils are not suitable. In practice however, sesame is grown on a wide range of soils, and can be rotated even with paddy, besides pulses and other crops. Soil should be worked to fine tilth for high yield. We use the seed rate of 7 kg/ha for broadcasting and 5 kg/ha for row sowing. In order to increase the seed volume so as to facilitate uniform sowing, the seed is generally mixed with sand prior to sowing. Spacing between rows is 30 cm and at the 3-4 leaf stage, DOA recommended to thin within the rows to 15 cm. Mustard is grown well in sandy loam soils. Table 4. Seed rate, spacing and planting time of Groundnut, Sesame and Mustard. Crop Seed rate kg/ha Spacing Planting time Yala Maha Groundnut Pods cm x 15cm April October Seeds-80 Sesame cm x 15 cm March November Mustard cm x 15 cm April October Source : Crop recommendations techno guide, DOA 2.6. Nutrient management Along with the agronomic packages fertilizer recommendations for oil seed crops have also been introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka based on according to the crop nutrient requirement (Table 5). Table 5. Fertilizer recommendation for oil crops in Sri Lanka. Crop Basal Dressing kg/ha Top Dressing kg/ha Urea TSP MOP MOP Groundnut Sesame Mustard Source : Crop recommendations techno guide, DOA

166 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Water management Crop water requirement for cultivated oil crops in Sri Lanka has been calculated under the dry zone conditions. Based on these data the irrigation requirements and frequencies have been recommended for irrigated farming (Table 6). Table 6. Crop water requirement of oil crops Crop Water Frequency requirement (mm) Groundnut 390 First 3 weeks- Once in four days Up to seed filling stage Once in days Sesame First 3 weeks- Once in four days Up to seed filling Once in days Mustard First 4 weeks-once in 5-7 days Up to seed filling Once in days Source : Crop recommendations techno guide, DOA Crop protection Following diseases and pests are recorded in oil crops in Sri Lanka and Department of Agriculture has recommended following crop protection packages (Table 7). Table 7. Diseases and insect pest control of Oil crops. Crop Diseases/ Pest Symptoms Control Early leaf spot Leaf spots with yellow rings Cercospora arachidicola Groundnut Late leaf spot Cercosporidium personatum Rust Puccinia arachidis Stem rot (Southern blight, Root rot, Sclerotium rot, Sclerotium wilt) Sclerotium rolfsii Black colour leaf spots Orange colour pustules can be seen on lower surface of the leaves Sudden wilting of a branch which is completely or partially in contact with the soil - Leaves turn brown and wilt - White coating of fungus myceliyum is formed near the soil level - Sclerotia of mustard seed size appear on the infected areas - The entire plant may killed later Use recommended fungicides such as Bitertanol 250g/l EC, Tebuconazole 250g/l, Mancozeb 80% WP Crop rotation For seed treatments Captan 50% WP Thiram 80% WP For soil treatment Captan 50% WP Thiram 80% WP Clorothalonil 75% WP Crop rotation

167 158 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka Sesame Mustard Bud Necrosis Disease (BND) (Tomato spotted wilt vires) Stem and root rot Disease / Phytopthora blight Macrophormina spp. Phytophthora spp Leaf webber (Antigastra catalaunalis) Phyllody (Vector born disease) Vector- Plant hoppers Diamond Back Moth Source : Pesticide recommendations, DOA. Necrosis of the terminal bud - Plants stunt - Leaves formed on the axillary shoots show wild range of symptoms, reduction in size, distortion of lamina, mottling, chlorosis Sunken blackish areas in the basal region of the stem and died up the plant. Make a web using apical floral buds. Damage to flowers. Floral buds become greenish leaf buds Damage to floral buds and leaves - Planting time is important. Late planting may be a cause for disease - Vector control is needed Use recommended Fungicides For seed treatments Captan, thiram, Thiophanate Methyl For soil treatment Captan 50% WP, Thiram 80% WP, Clorothalonil 75% WP Use recommended pesticides Chlorfluazuron 50g/l EC Tebufenozide 200g/l SC Acephate 75% SP Acephate 75% SP Recommended insecticides Tebufenoside, Azadirachtin, Chlorfluozuron 3. Trends in Oil seed Supply and demand 3.1 Trends in oil seed production Annual production of groundnut and sesame has increased during the past decade (Figure1 & Table 1). The cultivated extent of oil seeds has stagnating until However, the present government under the concept of Mahinda Chinthana, seeks to implement a policy

168 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka 159 calculated to take the country forward towards self sufficiency in all the food items including oil seeds. Therefore the development strategies have been formulated to increase the cultivable extent of the oil seed crops Production of Oil seeds (mt) groundnut sesame mustard Fig. 1. Production of Oil seeds (mt) during Trends in Oil seed consumption According to the consumption data on oil seeds reveals that in 2009 Sri Lanka imported 23.4 % of the local requirement of groundnut and export 8407 mt of sesame which valued Rs. Million At the same time Sri Lanka imported 1852 mt of mustard which was about 88% of the total requirement. Production, Import, export and Consumption of Oilseeds from 1999 to 2009 is shown in figure 1, table 8 and table 9. Production, Import & Consumption of Oilseeds (mt) Import Production Consumption Fig. 1. Production, Import and Consumption of Oilseeds in Sri Lanka from 1999 to 2009

169 160 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka Table 8. Importation of oil crops from Year Sesame Groundnut Mustard Quantity mt Value 000 CIF Price Quantity mt Value 000 CIF Price Quantity mt Value 000 Rs CIF Price Rs/kg Rs Rs/Kg Rs Rs/kg * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * , , , , , Source: Sri Lanka Customs. * Not recorded Table 9. Exportation of oil crops from Year Sesame Groundnut Mustard Quantity mt Value 000 CIF Price Quantity mt Value 000 CIF Price Quantity mt Value 000 CIF Price Rs/kg Rs. Rs/Kg Rs. Rs/kg Rs * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Source : Sri Lanka Customs. * Not recorded Table 10. Cost of cultivation and net income of groundnut and sesame in Crop Cost of cultivation (Rs./ha) Including family labour Excluding family labour Including cost of farmer owned inputs Net income (Rs./ha) Excluding farmer owned inputs Groundnut 36,657 95,251 78, ,232 Sesame 25,344 50,210 36,206 61,073 Source : Cost of cultivation of agricultural crops 2009/10 Maha, DOA.

170 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Requirement of oil seed Total requirement of groundnut, sesame and mustard in 2009 in Sri Lanka was 17,082 mt, 8548mt and 2102 mt respectively. The annual per capita consumption of groundnut was 0.77 kg while 0.04 kg for sesame. 3.4 Surplus/ Deficit Available data on oil seeds production and consumption reveals that in 2009 Sri Lanka imported 23.4% of groundnut, 0.26% of sesame and 88.1% of mustard. Sri Lanka imported nearly the total sunflower requirement from other countries. Therefore Sri Lanka needs to improve the cultivation extent and productivity for mustard, sunflower and groundnut. 4. Programme and Activities for promotion of oil seed production 4.1 Lesson learnt from past initiatives Research works on the improvement of groundnut and sesame varieties were initiated in early 1960s. At the inception few introduced materials were tested and subsequently large number of lines screened and evaluated for yield and important agronomic attributes. At the same time, the need for improved cultural practices appropriate for these crops was highly emphasized. Hence, studies on land preparation, spacing, weed control methods, fertilizer requirements were undertaken. Release of several groundnut varieties (Red Spanish (1960), No.45 (1982), Walawa (1993), Tissa (1993), Indi (1994) and Tikiri (2004)) in this process was the final outcome. Sesame improvement programme was initiated by testing local and introduced germplasms in early 1960s. After screening of a large number of lines, 03 varieties have been released for cultivation. They were branching type black seeded varieties named as MI1, MI 2 and a white seeded non branching variety MI3 (Perera, A.M. and M.A.D. Jayasundara). Hybridization and selection studies resulted in recommending the variety Uma for general cultivation in Phytopthora blight was severely affected to the sesame cultivation and variety Malee released as a solution for this disease (1994). Mustard improvement programme was initiated in year 2007 and now 6 promising lines have been identified and those were in the level of national coordinated varietal Testing trials. Sunflower improvement programme was initiated in year 2000 and it is not yet successful due to several reasons such as lack of interest or priority given by the authorities. The studies conducted on castor, were able to release an introduction named, Hazeera No.1 (Techno guide 1994). The local germplasm evaluation in the country identified 2 promising castor lines. Further testing will be continued with new introduced hybrid varieties from India.

171 162 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka 4.2 Ongoing programmes and activities Plant breeding and crop improvement a) Hybridization and selection programmes of groundnut and sesame with the objectives of developing high yielding, large seeded, high quality, pest and disease tolerant varieties with high consumer preference. b) Germplasm evaluation trials of groundnut, sesame, mustard and castor are being carried out to introduce new varieties with more desirable triats Plant protection a) Sesame varieties with consumer demands are prone to stem and root rot disease. Thus studies are carried out to explore the possibility of reducing stem and root rot by identifying tolerant varieties through screening. b) Studies are under way to explore the possibility of reducing southern blight of groundnut incidence through Trichoderma species and several other amendments ( Annual Research Programme 20010, 2011). 5. Constraints and Challenges for enhancing oilseed production Fragmented land use, insufficient availability of water, credit, seed, technical know-how, technology, marketing, storage and transportation, poor farming practices continue to weaken productivity in oil crops. In addition to that we are facing following constraints. 5.1 Biotic constraints Oil crops are susceptible to a large number of fungal, viral and bacterial diseases. Diseases of groundnut such as rust, early leaf spot, bacterial wilt, and diseases of sesame such as stem and root rot disease, phyllody caused considerable yield loss. 5.2 Abiotic constraints Moisture stress and drought However the annual precipitation of Sri Lanka has not shown significant change during the recent decades, precipitation pattern has changed with a trend for increase of heavy rainfall events (Fernando and Chandrapala, 1995). Since oil crops are mainly grown under rain fed conditions, the heavy rainfall during the critical growth stages would cause for the low productivity of oil crops due to moisture stress, low fertilizer use efficiency and soil erosion. Prolong dry spells exist in most of the Yala seasons in the country reduce the expected production. Therefore the development of shortage varieties or incorporation of drought tolerance to the new varieties is considered in the ongoing breeding programs of oil seed crops Photoperiod sensitivity Sesame is sensitive to day length and both long and short day forms occur in the country. Basically sesame is a short day plant and with a ten hour day will normally flower in 42-45

172 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka 163 days. But, many local varieties are adapted to various light periods and therefore time of planting should be highly considered. Therefore the development of photoperiod insensitive varieties is considered in future breeding programmes. 5.3 Social constraints Non availability of quality seed materials Lack of adoption of improved technologies is one of the main factors limiting improvement in oil crop yield. A majority of farmers grow traditional varieties that are adapted to local agro-ecological conditions, but have low genetic yield potential. Even though a number of new varieties with higher yield, better tolerance to pest and diseases have been released by national agriculture research system, their adoption is constrained by a lack of access to seed materials. The seed multiplication and delivery system is inadequate to meet the seed demand Lack of organized marketing channels Sri Lanka does not have a well established marketing system for purchase of agricultural products including oil seeds. Therefore farmers face difficulties in sale of oil seeds. Further the scattered nature of cultivation has made difficulties for the traders for collection of products from the farmers Lack of value addition In Sri Lanka the majority of oil seeds are consumed in raw form (as seeds) with out any value addition. Only a very few value added products can be seen in the market. Therefore it is very much important to develop varieties which are suited for value added products and develop methods for value addition. Even though Sri Lanka produce oil seeds country do not utilize it as edible oil sources. Therefore need arisen to utilize these crops as edible oil sources. Still the countries do not have proper industries developed to cater for such requirement Lower knowledge on oil crop breeding Sri Lanka import large volume of edible oil annually. Sri Lankan farmers also prefer to cultivate oil crops such as sunflower and extract oil from it. But our research trials on sunflower are at the very basic level. Lack of knowledge on proper breeding methods on sunflower and other oil crops delays the release of new varieties for the cultivation Lack of Machinery Though the common land preparation machineries are being used by the farmers, the use of appropriate seeders, weeders, harvesting and post harvesting machineries are lacking in the country. Further more lack of cottage level and simple oil extracting and processing machines is a drawback to promote the cottage level oil industry. Since Sri Lanka is a small

173 164 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka island, the land area may not sufficiently enough to provide adequate production to expand the oil industry as large scale industry. 5.4 Future challenges The population growth in the country is in increasing trend and it is estimated to be 23.4 million by Hence as in any other crops the production of oil crops should be increase to meet the local requirement of oil crops too Increase the local oil seeds production Oil seeds are important source of calories which can supplement the cereal based diet in the majority of the people of the country. Cultivation of oil seeds will continue to be related to the peasant farming systems in Sri Lanka. The yields of these crops obtained by the farmers remain at 46-58% of the potential yield that can be achieved under good management conditions. The present productivity of groundnut, sesame and mustard is 1.45, 0.7, and 0.8 respectively. However with the currently available technologies productivity of groundnut can be increased up to 2.5 mt/ha while sesame can be increased up to 1.2 mt/ha. To increase the extent of cultivation new lands should be brought under cultivation. Since water is a limiting factor for such expansion the technologies for rain fed and dry farming should be further developed in relation to oil crops too. Department of Agriculture supplied only 25 % of the seed requirement of groundnut. The 75% of the seeds used by the farmers are not up the standard quality which hindered the productivity of the crop. Therefore a strong seed production programme is essential to fulfill the seed demand Improvement of marketing channel for oil seeds. To purchase oil seed products from farmers there is a necessity to make a proper marketing channel. Poor or no storage facilities at farm level is one of the major constrains in oil crops. Therefore farmers sell their products at lower prices at harvesting season Reduction of cost of production About 29.6% and 61.5% of the cost of production is for labour wages of sesame and groundnut respectively make this more aggravated further. To reduce labour cost escalating, it is vital to introduce low cost, simple, but effective farm machinery for field operations Competition with high value crops Cash crops such as higher value vegetables are more attractive for farmers other than oil crops. Provision of guaranteed price, credit systems and advanced technology are the key strategies for improving oil crops.

174 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Future vision, major policies, strategies and programmes for enhancing oil seed Production Present government under the concept of Mahinda Chinthana, seeks to implement a policy calculated to take the country forward towards self sufficiency in all the food items. Thus, there is a sharp increase in the protection accorded to domestic agriculture. Therefore the research and development strategies of the Department of Agriculture have been refocused to meet this challenge. Development programmes of DOA will place more emphasis on the seed production programme of oil crops. It is assumed that by the year 2015 Sri Lanka will be able to produce locally our seed requirement of groundnut and sesame. The Government aims to promote agricultural production by implementing technically sound, economically viable, environmental friendly and socially acceptable programmes to promote sustainable agricultural development with efficient and effective utilization of resources. In the National Agriculture Research Policy clearly states, Increase domestic agricultural production to ensure food and nutrition security of the nation. Enhance agricultural productivity and ensure sustainable growth. Maximize benefits and minimize adverse effects of globalization on domestic and export agriculture. Adopt productive farming systems and improved agro-technologies with a view to reduce the unit cost of production and increase profits. Adoption of technologies in farming that is environmentally friendly and harmless to health. Promote agro-based industries and increase employment opportunities. Enhance the income and the living standard of farming community. Short to medium term priorities include adopting policies to facilitate farmer access to wider markets and improved technologies, creating a stable trade policy regime with required safeguards and developing a regionally equitable infrastructure development strategy for rural development. 7. South Asian pers p erspective for enhancing oil seed production Fats and oils are essential nutrients, comprising about 40% of the calories in the diet of the average human. Edible oil is an important calorie source for South Asian diet. Therefore concerted effort should be taken to improve oil production in the region. Such effort should be focused on following areas. 7.1 Exchange of germplasms of oil crops and production technology Genetic diversity is very much needed for the development of new varieties. SAARC countries have huge diversity as it is the centre for diversity for several oil crops such as sesame. In cooperation of resistance to abiotic stresses to the high yielding adaptable

175 166 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri-Lanka varieties in the country restricted due to non accessibility of germplasm to screen for such biotic stresses. The members of SAARC countries should develop germplasm exchange programmes in order to facilitate for varietal development. Sri Lanka should develop collaborative programmes to exchange technologies, expertise for mutual benefits and promote sharing of knowledge among the farmers. 7.2 Human Resource Development Majority of the research and extension officers involving oil seed production are young graduates with out post graduate qualifications. Therefore it is extremely important to expose them to post graduate trainings (MSc and PhD) and short term trainings on important disciplines such as plant breeding, Oil processing, Irrigation and water management, plant protection, and extension activities. 8. References 1. Department of Agriculture, Crop recommendations techno guide. Ministry of Agricultural Development and Research, Gatambe, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. 2. Department of Agriculture, Pesticides recommendations, Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya. 3. Department of Agriculture, Recommended varieties of Other Field Crops, 2000, Department of Agriculture. Peradeniya. 4. Department of census and statistics. Food balance sheet (various series). Department of census and statistics. 5. Fernando, T.K. and L. Chandrapala, Climate variability in Sri Lanka- A study on trends of air temperature, rainfall and thunder activity. Proceedings of international symposium on climate and life in Asia-Pacific, April10-13, 1995, Brunai Ministry of Agricultural development and Agrarian services, Let us cultivate and uplift the nation national campaign to motivate domestic food production Ministry of Agricultural development and Agrarian services, Battaramulla. 9. Perera, A.M. and M.A.D. Jayasundara, Varietal improvement of groundnut and sesame. Fifty years of research Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka Research Programmes , Grain Legumes and Oil Crops Research and Development Centre, Angunakolapelessa. 11. Socio economic and Planning Centre. Agstat, Pocket book of agricultural statistics (various series). Department of Agriculture. Peradeniya.

176 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in Sri Lanka Socio economic and Planning Centre. Cost of cultivation of agricultural crops 2009/10 Maha. Department of Agriculture. Peradeniya. 13. Sri Lanka customs, Colombo. Sri Lanka custom reports (various series). External trade statistics. 9. Acknowledgement I would like to convey my profound gratitude to Mr. Kamal Mankotte, Director General of Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture for nominating me to represent Sri Lanka at the workshop. My deep sense of gratitude goes to Dr. (Mrs.) Amitha Bentota, Additional Director of Grain Legumes and Oil crops Research and Development Centre, Angunakolapelessa, for her excellent guidance, priceless assistance and suggestions to complete this report. I extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Kamal Karunagoda and Mrs. V.D.N. Ayoni, Agriculture Economists of Socio Economic and Planning Division of the DOA for the help extended in collection of data. A special word of thanks goes to Mr. M.A.P.K.W. Malaviarachchi and Mrs. H.A.P.A. Shyamali Research officers of the DOA for their great support to finalize the document.

177

178 PART - VIII Tubuvt!pg!sbqftffe.nvtubse jo Joejb J. S. Chauhan, K. H. Singh and Vinod Kumar Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research, Sewar, Bharatpur (Rajasthan) December 2011

179 Content Crop scenario 171 Current status of rapeseed mustard production 171 Varietal development 173 Crop production technology 174 Nutrient management 174 Water management 177 Harvesting, threshing and storage 177 Crop protection 177 Trends in oilseed supply and demand 178 Constraints 179 Future vision Genetic up scaling of the crop 2. Natural resource management to improve the input (soil, water and nutrients) use efficiency 3. Realizing the untapped potential of the existing technologies 4. Horizontal expansion of the crop 5. Policy, trade and market perspective South Asian perspective for enhancing oilseed production References 185

180 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 171 Crop scenario Oilseed Brassicas also known as rapeseed mustard constitute an important group of oilseed crops in the world. The group comprises eight cultivated crops of tribe Brassiceae belonging to four major species viz., Brassica napus, Brassica juncea, Brassica campestris and Brassica carinata within the family Cruciferae (Brassicaceae). In Indian sub-continent rapeseed-mustard crops comprise traditionally grown indigenous species, namely toria (Brassica campestris syn. Brassica rapa L. var. toria), brown sarson (Brassica campestris syn. Brassica rapa L. var. brown sarson), yellow sarson (Brassica campestris syn. Brassica rapa L. var.. yellow sarson), Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj & Cosson], black mustard (Brassica nigra) and taramira (Eruca sativa / vesicaria Mill.) which have been grown since about 3,500 BC along with non-traditional species like gobhi sarson (B. napus L. ssp oleifera DC var. annua L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and Ethiopian mustard or karan rai (Brassica carinata A. Braun). Rapeseed mustard crops are grown in diverse agroclimatic conditions ranging from north-eastern / north-western hills to down south under irrigated/rainfed, timely/late-sown, saline soils and mixed cropping. Indian mustard accounts for about 75-80% of the 5.53 m ha under these crops in the country during The cultivation of brown sarson which once, dominated the entire rapeseed-mustard growing region, now shadowed by Indian mustard. There are two different ecotypes of brown sarson: lotni (self-incompatible) and tora (self-compatible). The lotni predominantly is cultivated in colder regions of the country, particularly in Kashmir and Himachal valley. The tora, on the other hand is cultivated in limited areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Yellow sarson is now mainly grown in Asom, Bihar, north-eastern states, Odisha, eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Toria is a short-duration crop cultivated largely in Asom, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal in the east mainly as winter crop. In Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh, it is grown as a catch crop. Taramira is grown in the drier parts of north-west India comprising Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Gobhi sarson and karan rai are the new emerging oilseed crops having limited area of cultivation. Gobhi sarson is a long duration crop confined to Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Rapeseed-mustard crops because of their low water requirement ( mm) fit well in the rainfed cropping system of resource-poor farmers The estimated area, production and yield of rapeseed-mustard in the world was million hectares (m ha), million tonnes (m t) and 1,800 kg/ha, respectively, during Globally, India account for 21.6% and 10.8% of the total acreage and production (USDA 2012). In India, these crops on an average contributed 23.7% and 26.0%, respectively, to the total oilseed acreage and production during the last five years. During , rapeseed-mustard contributed 24.6% and 24.3% to the total oilseeds production and acreage (Statistics at a glance 2011). Current status of rapeseed mustard production Soybean, groundnut and rapeseed-mustard are the major oilseed crops in India contributing nearly 78% and 87% to its total acreage and production, respectively. The contribution of rapeseed-mustard to the total oilseed acreage and production is 24.7% and 26.8%, respectively (Fig 1 a, b). During , rapeseed-mustard contributed 21.7 % and 20.1 % to the total oilseeds production and acreage. The yield of rapeseed-mustard was 1190 kg / ha as compared to 1026 kg / ha of total oilseeds (Anonymous 2010a).

181 172 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries (a) (b) Fig.1: Contribution of rapeseed-mustard to India s total oilseed crop (a) acreage and (b) production during The rapeseed-mustard production trends represent fluctuating scenario with all time high production of 8.13 million tonnes from 7.28 million hectares during The yield levels also have been variable ranging from 902 in to 1159 kg/ha in (Fig 2). Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the major rapeseed-mustard growing states with 45.5%, 13.1% and 11.1% contribution, respectively, to the national acreage during the last five years. The corresponding contribution to production was 48.6%, 13.4% and 9.8%, respectively (Fig 3 a, b). Nevertheless, yield (kg/ha) was in general higher in Gujarat varying from but during and , Haryana recorded the highest yield, 1738 and 1656 kg/ha, respectively (Agricultural Statistics at a Glance www. dacnet.nic.in). Fig 2 Area, production and yield of rapeseed-mustard in India during the last decade

182 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 173 (a) (b) Fig.3: Contribution of different states of India to rapeseed-mustard (a) acreage and (b) production during to Varietal development The major objectives of the varietal improvement programme have been genetic enhancement for oil and seed yield through developing varieties for early, timely and late sown conditions to cater to the need of diverse agro-ecological situations of the country, improvement of oil (low erucic acid) and seed meal (low glucosinolate) quality, introgression of resistance/tolerance against major biotic (white rust, Alternaria blight, Sclerotinia rot diseases and aphid and painted bug insects) and abiotic stresses (drought, high temperature and salinity). Major break through in varietal development programme came after the inception of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Oilseeds in Out of total 144 released varieties, only 12 were released before while, 132 were released after the inception of All India Coordinated Research Project on Oilseeds. The recommended varieties recorded 9 to 53 per cent yield increase over national checks under varied situations. Concerted efforts led to the development of many trait/situation specific varieties (Table 1). Two significant achievement of varietal development programme have been the release of varieties with quality traits (low erucic and/or low glucosinolate content) and of commercial hybrids. Table 1. Varieties recommended for specific conditions / possessing particular trait Agro climatic situation / trait Name of variety / varieties Indian mustard White rust resistant Basanti, JM 1, JM 2 Earliness Kanti, Narendera Ageti Rai 4, Pusa Agrani, Pusa Mahak, Pusa Vijay, Pusa mustard 25 ( NPJ 112 ), Pusa mustard 27 ( EJ 17 ) High oil content Narendra Swarna Rai 8, NRCDR 02, Rohini

183 174 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries High temperature tolerant Intercropping Late sown Non-traditional areas Rainfed Kanti, Pusa Agrani, RGN 13, Urvashi, NRCDR 02, Pusa mustard 25 ( NPJ 112 ), Pusa mustard 27 ( EJ 17 ) RH 30, RH 781, Vardan Ashirwad, RLM 619, Swarnjyot i, Vardan, Navgold ( YRN 6 ), RGN 145, NRCHB 101, CS 56 ( CS ), Pusa mustard 26 ( NPJ 113 ), Pusa Agrani, Pusa Jaikisan, Rajat, Gujarat Mustard 2, TPM 1, Shatabdi ( ACN 9 ) Aravali, Geeta, GM 1, PBR 97, Pusa Bahar, Pusa Bold, RH 781, RH 819, RGN 48, Shivani, TM 2, TM 4, Vaibhav, RB 50 Salinity tolerant CS 52, CS 54, Narendra Rai ( NDR 8501 ) Frost tolerant RGN 13, RH 819, Swaranjyoti, RH 781, RGN 48 Quality trait (low erucic acid) Hybrid Pusa Karishma, Pusa Mustard 21, Pusa Mustard 22, Pusa Mustard 24, ELM 079 ( RLC 1 ) NRCHB 506, DMH 1, Coral PAC 432, Coral PAC 437 Gobhi sarson Quality traits Low erucic acid and glucosinolate GSC 5, Hyola 401, NUDB 26-11, OCN 3 ( GSC 6 ), TERI Uttam Jawahar, Crop production technology These crops are highly vulnerable to agro-climatic conditions of the growing region hence, crop management plays very important role in realization of the actual potential of the varieties.the prevalent cropping systems of major rapeseed mustard growing states of India are given in table 4. The crop is grown under moisture stress, high temperature conditions on marginal land in Rajasthan under fallow-mustard cropping system. Time of sowing varies from crop to crop in different states (table 5). In northern India, sowing of toria crop starts from end of August; the crop matures in approximately 110 days and fits well for the sowing of wheat. Yellow sarson is also sown during September in northern India. In Eastern India, the crop mainly toria and yellow sarson are sown during October to November. October is the appropriate time for sowing of Indian mustard, the yield declines with delay in sowing due to rise in temperature resulting in forced maturity. Seed treatment with Apron SD 6 g/kg or g/kg is recommended for early protection against diseases. 4-5 kg seed is required for sowing of one ha. Sowing is done by seed drill for maintaining optimum plant population. toria and yellow sarson are grown at 30 cm row to row and 10 cm plant to plant spacings, Recommendation of spacings vary in different states, however 45 cm row to row and cm plant to plant is very common. It is suggested that appropriate spacings should be maintained through thinning at days after sowing. Intercultural operations should be done days after sowing of the crop. It helps in removal of weeds and conservation of soil moisture, which is most important especially in rainfed areas. In

184 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 175 early stages, the crop should be kept free from weeds. Weeding should, therefore, be done soon after thinning with the help of double wheel hand hoe, which also facilitates good aeration to the soil. Table 2. Cropping Systems for major states Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Irrigated Kharif fodder Mustard Bajra Mustard Irrigated Soybean/Fallow/ Moong Mustard Rainfed Bajra + Black gram Mustard Pearl millet +Cluster bean(as fodder) - mustard Fallow Mustard Urd-Mustard Cluster bean (green manuring) -Mustard Irrigated Bajra Mustard Kharif fodder /Maize Potato + Mustard Maize - Autumn Sugarcane + Mustard Maize / Fodder Mustard - Moong Maize - Toria - Wheat Rice - Mustard Sesame - Mustard Upland rice / Maize - Mustard Urd / Moong / Cowpea - Mustard Urd / Moong Toria Wheat Rainfed (For Central region) Maize/Bajra Toria /Mustard Rice-Mustard Sesame-Mustard Urd / Moong Mustard (For Western region) Fallow Mustard Sorghum - Mustard Rainfed Fallow Mustard Soybean-Mustard Haryana Gujarat West Bengal Irrigated Early fodder Mustard Groundnut/Bajra Mustard Groundnut-Mustard + Wheat Rainfed Fallow Mustard Maize/Bajra-Mustard Irrigated Bajra/Groundnut/Sesame- Mustard Moong/Urd-Mustard Irrigated Jute-Mustard Upland rice- Mustard

185 176 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Table 3. Time of sowing for different rapeseed-mustard crops in the major states Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Mustard: Within October Mustard: Within October Mustard: Last week of (irrigated) up to first week Yellow sarson: First fortnight September to midof November (for late of October October. Up to mid sowing). Last week of Toria : September November (for late September to 15th October sowing) (rainfed) Taramira: September last Toria: First fortnight of September week to mid-october Haryana Gujarat West Bengal Mustard: Within Oct. (for normal sowing), first week of November (for late sowing) Toria: First fortnight of September Mustard: North Gujarat: 15th October to 25th October (for light soils) Saurashtra: First fortnight of October (for clay soils) Yellow Sarson: 15th October to 25th October Nutrient management Mustard/ Toria/ Yellow sarson: Mid- October to mid- November (for normal sowing), up to first week of December (for late sowing) The recommended doses of fertilizers vary according to the fertility status of soil. Crop-wise recommended doses of fertilizers for different states are presented in table 6. In general half of the recommended dose for irrigated conditions is applied under rainfed conditions. Being the oilseed crop application of 25 kg zinc sulphate per ha has been found beneficial. Half of the recommended dose of nitrogen and the entire dose of phosphorus and potash should be applied as basel application at the time of sowing, while half of the nitrogen should be applied at the time of first irrigation. Table 4. Recommended doses of fertilizers (kg/ha) State Mustard Toria Yellow sarson Taramira N P K N P K N P K N P Rajasthan Irrigated Rainfed Uttar Pradesh Irrigated Rainfed Madhya Pradesh Irrigated Rainfed Haryana Irrigated Rainfed

186 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 177 Gujarat Irrigated West Bengal Irrigated Rainfed Note (for Uttar Pradesh) : (1) Use of 200 kg gypsum/ha be made to provide sulphur, (2) Prefer SSP instead of DAP, (3) Fertilizer requirement may vary depending upon the soil test values and cropping systems. Water management Rapeseed mustard crops are generally grown on conserved moisture from post monsoon rains, hence management of field to conserve the moisture becomes very critical to ensure the optimum plant population. Generally, two irrigations are recommended, first at the time of days after sowing which coincide the the initiation of bud formation of crop and second at the days after sowing which coincide with siliquae formation in the crop.in Gujarat where the soil texure is light, upto five irrigations are required. In case of availability of one irrigation only it should be given at the time of days after sowing. Harvesting, threshing and storage The crop should be harvested when 75% of siliqua turn to golden yellow in colour. At this stage, majority of seeds are firm when pressed between fingers. The oil content in the seed is the maximum at this stage. Harvesting during the green siliqua stage reduces the yield and oil content. The crop should preferably be harvested in the morning when the siliquae are damp with night dew, which minimizes the shattering losses. Harvested plants are staked under sunshine for one week before threshing.threshing should be done using threshers and seed is separated from straw by winnowing. For safe storage, moisture content of seeds should be less than 8%. This can be achieved by sun drying the threshed seed for approximately one week. Combine harvester are also suitable for harvesting and threshing. Crop protection These crops are vulnerable to a number of diseases and insect-pests and suffer severe losses due to their infestation.alternaria blight, white rust, sclerotinia stem rot and powdery mildew are major diseases. Timely sowing and to follow the crop rotation are the important precautionary measure to avoid the disease infestation. Among the chemical control, Spray with Rovral or 0.2% at days after sowing followed by two more sprays at 30 days interval depending upon severity of the disease is recommended for alternaria blight; spray with Ridomil 0.25 % at 50 days after sowing followed by two sprays of Rovral or 0.2 % at 15 days interval are suggested for white rust. Spray of 0.05% at the appearance of the sclerotinia stem rot and Spray 0.1 % at the initiation of the disease for powdery mildew are recommended. Mustard aphid saw fly, painted bug and Bihar hairy caterpillar are major insect-pests of these crops. As a precautionary measure, crop should be sown early at optimum time and balanced dose of fertilizers should be applied. At early stage of infection of aphid, plucking and destruction of infested twigs is very useful. It should be done 2-3 times at 10 days interval early in the crop season.spray the crop before the aphid reaches the economic-

187 178 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries thresh-hold level 3 sprays at 15 days interval with Oxydemeton methyl 25 EC or Dimethoate , 850 and 1000 ml dissolved in 625, 850 and 1000 litres of water/ha, respectively are recommended. The spraying should be done after 2 pm to avoid toxicity to insect pollinators. Painted bug have now become a severe pest causing seedling mortality at the early stage of establishment. Quinalphos dust kg/ha is recommended to control the painted bug infestation. Trends in oilseed supply and demand A comparative compound growth rate of area, production and yield of rapeseedmustard and other oilseed crops has been given below for the past two decades (Base T.E =100). It suggests a positive trend of growth of the crop. Further, the current growth trend during and for the last 15 years showed that Soybean and mustard had a positive trend of area expansion, while groundnut followed by rapeseed-mustard had better growth for yield than the average of nine oilseed crops. Among all the oilseed crops, rapeseed-mustard has the highest area (74.3%) under irrigation, which offers enormous scope for yield enhancement on long term basis. The average irrigated area under nine annual oilseed crops is only 28.3%. The domestic production of edible oil increased from lakh tonnes in to lakh tonnes in , thus recording an increase of 83%. During this period, the production of rapeseed-mustard oil increased from to lakh tonnes with an increase of 89.9%. But more importantly, the import of edible oil has also increased from to 65.6 lakh tonnes, indicating an increase of about 50 % over During this period, the highest level of self sufficiency was 66% in (Table 8). The share of rapeseed-mustard oil in total domestic edible oil production varied from 20.9 to 32.5% whereas, its contribution to total oilseed meal export was only up to 23.3% during to (Table 9). Table 5. Domestic availability, import and level of self sufficiency of edible oil in India Year Domestic production (lakh tones) Import Level of self Total Rapeseed-Mustard (lakh tones) sufficiency (%) (25.8)* (27.3) (32.5) (30.3) (31.3) (20.9) (26.7) (25.8) (26.5) *The figure in parenthesis indicates the percent contribution of rapeseed-mustard oil to the total domestic production of edible oil in India. (Source: Agricultural Statistics at a Glance-2011)

188 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 179 Table 6. Export of oil meals (lakh tones) from India Year Total oilseeds Rapeseed-Mustard (13.5)* (21.9) (12.1) (18.8) (17.1) (15.5) (23.3) (18.5) (21.2) *The figure in parenthesis indicates the percent contribution of rapeseed-mustard meals to the total oil meals.(source: SEA News Circular, March 2012) Constraints Table 7. Rapeseed-mustard production constraints in major states Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Salt affected soils and brackish water. Low and erratic rainfall, high temperature at the sowing time. Orobanche weed. White rust, alternaria blight and Sclerotinia stem rot diseases. Aphid insect pest Lack of suitable high temperature tolerant early maturing varieties of mustard for rainfed situation. Salt affected soils Low and erratic rainfall, high temperature at the sowing time White rust, downy mildew and Alternaria blight Timely availability of seeds of improved varieties, Imbalance fertilizer use, Poor plant protection measures, Inadequate moisture conservation techniques Aphid, sawfly and painted bug insect pests Late sowing and intercropping with wheat Lack of suitable high temperature tolerant early maturing varieties of mustard for rainfed situation Use of old cultivars having low yield and susceptibility to disease. Lack of assured irrigation facilities Biotic stress: Diseases- White rust, Alternaria blight and Pests like Aphid and Painted Bug Non-adoption of plant protection measures, balance use of nutrients and proper stage of harvesting

189 180 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Haryana Gujarat West Bengal Late sowing of the crop after rice / cotton harvest. Low and erratic rainfall, high temperature at the sowing time. Diseases (white rust and alternaria blight) and insect pest (aphid) and painted bug. Lack of suitable high temperature tolerant and early maturing varieties of mustard for rainfed situation. Low and erratic rainfall. Late sowing of the crop after rice harvest. Short winter season. Diseases (powdery mildew and white rust) and insect pests (aphid and painted bug). Lack of suitable early maturing and powdery mildew resistant / tolerant varieties of mustard. Delayed sowing due to late harvest of Kharif (aman) Paddy results poor yield. Biotic stresses: Insects- Aphids; diseases: Alternaria blight and Club root Abiotic stresses Inadequate irrigation at critical growth stages Imbalance/inadequate application of major & minor nutrients. Short winter spell Micronutrient deficiency in problem soils Future vision Ever-increasing population and improved living standard demand higher edible oil, resulting in to wide gap between demand and supply despite increases in production. There is a continuous surge in demand for edible oil even at the present level of consumption and it is expected to grow by 3-4 % over the next two decades, which translates into an additional requirements of 0.5 million tonnes per annum, reaching a total of 23.8 million tonnes by Considering about 20 % contribution from sources like rice bran, cottonseed, palm oil, coconut and other tree-borne oilseeds, the vegetable oil requirement from nine annual oilseeds to meet the domestic demand works out to be an equivalent of 64.0 million tonnes of oilseeds. Rapeseed- mustard on an average contributed about 24.1 % and 27.4 % to the total oilseeds acreage and production in the country from to thus expected contribution of these crops could be around million tonnes. An all time high of 8.13 million tonnes of rapeseed-mustard production was achieved during (NRCRM 2007). The productivity needs to be enhanced with changing scenario of climate, decreasing and degrading land and water resources, costly inputs, government priority for food crops and other policy imperatives. In the backdrop of this future scenario, to enhance the rapeseed-mustard production the following issues will be required to be addressed: 1. Genetic up scaling of the crop 2. Natural resource management to improve the input (soil, water and nutrients) use efficiency 3. Realizing the untapped potential of the existing technologies 4. Horizontal expansion of the crop and 5. Policy, trade and market support needed

190 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Genetic up scaling of the crop Since rapeseed-mustard crop is quite vulnerable to many diseases and insect pests, as a first approach, potential of the existing cultivars can be sustained / stabilized by insulating the crop by incorporating gene(s) for resistance to biotic (diseases and insect pests) and abiotic (drought, high temperature and salinity) stresses. In the second approach, per se ceiling to the genetic potential of the crop could be raised either by restructuring plant type or heterosis breeding. There is a need to diversify the genetic base of varieties by extensive and vigorous utilization of exotic germplasm as well as other related species/genera. Hybrid development is a continuous process. The future thrust will be on enhancing the level of heterosis. Development of double low B. juncea will continue to be focus in coming years. Greater need for integration of biotechnological tools like microspore culture, isolation of trait specific gene (s), especially for aphid and Alternaria resistance, identification of parental lines on the basis of genetic diversity and marker assisted selection. Functional genomics of drought and heat tolerance deserve priority and accordingly the breeding programme should be reoriented. Breeding programme at DRMR also aims at enhancing resource use efficiency especially nutrients and water as well as adaptation to the aberrant environmental changes especially for high temperature. The thrust of the crop improvement programme in the years to come would be on the following aspects Development of core and mini core collections in rapeseed-mustard germplasm. Development of trait specific gene pool for yield, quality, biotic and abiotic traits. Assessment of genetic diversity using molecular markers. Enhancing level of heterosis, resistance/ tolerance to various abiotic-biotic stresses. Development of online database management system on genetic resources. 2. Natural resource management to improve the input (soil, water and nutrients) use efficiency With the monsoon failing year after year and recharge of ground water becoming impossible, promoting the use of sprinklers in the moisture deficient areas of mustard cultivation needs a close look. Applying two-irrigations by sprinkler system for seven hours each time, keeping the nozzle at 12 m distance saves 38% water without any reduction in yield. Use of tractor drawn seed-cum-fertilizer drill suitable for sowing and basal fertilization is desirable. It will ensure desired seed rate at the recommended row spacing. To control common weeds in the line sown mustard crop, double wheel hand hoe (dryland weeder) has been found as the low cost, time saving and simple to handle tool that reduces drudgery involved in the operation. Being lightweight and easy to handle, the Naveen sickle is the best for manual harvesting of the crop with the savings of time and reducing drudgery. With reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers and increased importance of botanicals and organic farming, nutrient stress requires to be managed by balanced fertilization with N, P, K, S, B, and Zn along with FYM, compost, bio-fertilizers (Azotobacter and phosphate solubilizing bacteria) and green manures (Sesbania, Cluster bean) and integrated nutrient management. Promotion of all the fertilizers containing sulphur like, SSP, AS, ASN, gypsum so as to increase the quantity of oil in mustard seed and higher

191 182 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries return for the farmers as the trading of mustard oil is done on the basis of oil content. Therefore, use of kg/ha may invariably be done across the country. The integrated disease management strategy involving seed treatment with fungicides and botanicals should invariably be followed at the source of seed sale and be reported on the seed bags. Use of eco-friendly botanicals and bio-agents based integrated disease and pest management module has become a reality. Extract of Allium sativum (botanical) and GR isolate of Trichoderma harzianum (bioagent) are eco-friendly supplement for carbendazim or even metalaxyl-based new generation fungicides in management of Sclerotinia rot and white rust diseases of rapeseed-mustard. The integrated pest management strategy for mustard aphid comprises early sowing, use of tolerant varieties, mechanical methods, optimum use of fertilizer, use of parasites and predators and need based use of insecticides. The thrust of the crop management programme in the years to come would be on the following aspects Development of resource conservation technologies for mustard based cropping system. Development of agronomic strategies for juvenile stage high temperature management. Enhancing water and nutrient use efficiency in mustard based cropping systems. Critical limits of different micronutrients in soils and plant for rapeseed-mustard. Assessing the toxic limits of pollutants in rapeseed-mustard and phyto-remediating characters. Estimation of root exudates and microbes in the rhizosphere of different germplasm and their interaction. Characterization of spatial variability in soil-sites of mustard growing regions for efficient crop planning. Modeling carbon sequestration in mustard based cropping system. Epidemiology and forecasting of major diseases/ insect-pests under changing climate. Studies on pathogenic variability of major pathogens like Alternaria brassiceae and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Bio-intensive IPM module development for mustard aphid Host-pathogen interaction and induced resistance Remote sensing for energy-water balance, disease and insect-pest detection and forecasting and crop modelling 3. Realizing the untapped potential of the existing technologies To tap the existing exploitable reservoir as evidenced by the outcome of frontline demonstrations, concerted efforts should be made to disseminate the available technologies. The results obtained from FLDs during revealed a yield gap of 29% between the mean yield of improved technology (IT) and the farmers practice (FP) and a yield gap of 26 % between the mean yield of IT and the state average yield, which translates into 15 to 17 lakh tonnes additional production over that of

192 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 183 For speedy adoption of technology and creating awareness among the stakeholders, DRMR has taken up several measures for human resource development. The present era is emphasizing the use of information technology for the education of stakeholders with less dependence on the human resources for the extension work. The DRMR, Bharatpur has developed two PC-based expert tools (software) named Fertilizer Application Recommendation Manager and Disease Management System to help and guide the farmers, extension personnel, researchers, etc. Broadcast of the sponsored radio and TV programmes during the crop season with proper follow up programmes like competition, evaluation and felicitation of the stakeholder farmers would prove to be a better extension strategy than to simply rely on the individual contacts where a grass root extension personnel with little technical knowledge has to cater the needs of over 10,000 farmers spread over a group of 10 or more villages. DRMR has sponsored the broadcast of 17 radio programmes with 301 episodes on the rapeseed-mustard production technology from six AIR stations in UP and Rajasthan, which catered the technological needs of thousands of stakeholders during the crop season for the last seven years. It played a catalytic role in establishing close linkages of DRMR with the end users of the technologies. The thrust of the technology dissemination programmes in the coming years would be on Enhanced use of IT-based decision support systems for technology transfer and development of application software (Decision Support System/Expert System) Public-Private partnership for crop diversification, value addition, seed production, capacity building, market driven extension and feedback generation for research system Documentation of ITK having bearing on the productivity and its validation for inclusion in the package of a particular agro-eco system. 4. Horizontal expansion of the crop Rapeseed-mustard group of crops is capable of performing well under diverse agroclimatic zones and has a lot of potential to enhance its production particularly in the ricefallow of eastern India, non traditional and rice-wheat system areas. Rice-fallow areas of WB, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh which is estimated to be m ha can be harnessed by growing early maturing ( days) mustard varieties- Sej-2, Kanti, JD-6, Narendra Ageti Rai-4. Barring JD-6 having a productivity of 1000 kg/ha, the other has potential of 1500 to 2000 kg/ha. If all these five states together adopt mustard cultivation in at least 10% of the existing rice fallows as then with the available package rapeseed-mustard production may increase by at least 10.0 lakh tonnes. Other important areas for horizontal expansion could be in non-traditional areas like Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool and Guntur districts), Karnataka (Bijapur district), South Rajasthan (Udaipur, Dungarpur and Baswara districts), Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Indian mustard varieties like Sej-2 and GM-2 for Karnataka and Rajat and Pusa Jaikisan for Maharashtra were found suitable. With the development of early maturing ( days) mustard varieties, good possibilities exist to

193 184 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries further increase the area to the extent 2 lakh hectares in Panch Mahal, Khaira, Dahod, Ahmedabad, Surat and Valsad regions of Gujarat. In the command areas of north Gujarat, mustard may replace irrigated wheat, as wheat requires frequent irrigation which aggravates the salinity problem. There is considerable scope to bring large areas under rapeseed (Toria/Yellow sarson)- mustard (Indian mustard) through intercropping with sugarcane (1:2), potato (3:1), chickpea (4 :1), wheat (9:1), lentil (6:1), etc in the northern states of the country like UP, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. 5. Policy, trade and market perspective Timely and favourable price policy (MSP) for rapeseed-mustard and agency to procure the produce to avoid distress sale Rationalizing the tariff policy to promote the domestic production and also safeguard the interest of the consumer Industrial development should be focused for inter alia better utilization of protein rich cakes. Value addition before exporting the oilseeds extractions may increase the profitability and also help in industrialization. Price environment should commensurate with the quality of produce to promote oil and seed meal of rapeseed-mustard with low level of erucic acid and glucosinolate, respectively. Maximum efforts should be made in production and supply of quality seed. Public-private partnership to promote rapeseed-mustard research and development should be strengthened. The institutional capacity building and human resource development have to be accorded prime importance. South Asian perspective for enhancing oilseed production: Rapeseed-Mustard crops are cultivated on large acreage in many countries of South Asia including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The entire region has acute shortage of the edible oil hence, research and development activities in a network mode may help in increasing the oilseed production in the region. Collaborative programmes on exchange of germplasm for enhancing the genetic diversity, its evaluation and utilization will be helpful in developing the high yielding hybrids/varieties and resistance sources against biotic and abiotic stresses. Likewise crop production and protection technologies may also be developed. Organization of workshop/training programmes will also help in exchange of expertise. It would be desirable to popularize hybrids to enhance the productivity of the crop.

194 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 185 References Anonymous (2007b). Indo-UK Collaboration on Oilseed Crops. Annual Report for National Research Centre on Rapeseed-Mustard. Sewar Bharatpur (Rajasthan). p.59. Anonymous (2009a). Directorate of Oilseeds Development, Hyderabad. (February 6, 2009). Chauhan, J S, K H Singh, V. V. Singh and Satyanshu Kumar Hundred years of rapeseed-mustard breeding in India: accomplishments and future strategies. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 81 (12): DRMR (2011). Vision Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research, Bharatpur , Rajasthan. p 30 NRCRM (2007). Vision-2025, Perspective Plan. National Research Centre on Rapeseed- Mustard, Bharatpur pp 1-46 Statistics at a Glance (2011). Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India USDA (2012). United States Department of Agriculture-Rapeseed area, yield and production Table No. 15. http: // www. fas. usda. gov / psd online / psd report. Aspx (created on June 12, 2012).

195

196 PART - IX Pjm!Qbmn!Dvmujwbujpo jo Joejb Dr. S. Arulraj Director, Directorate of Oil Palm Research, Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh December 2011

197 Content Trends in Oil Palm Supply and Demand 189 History of Oil Palm Research in India 190 Technologies Developed 190 Varietal development 190 Production Technology 192 Nutrient Management 193 Water Management 193 Crop Protection 194 Oil palm development programmes 194 Lessons learnt from past initiatives 195 Constraints and Challenges for Enhancing Oil Palm Production 196 Research 196 Development 197 Future Vision and Programmes for Enhancing Oil Palm Production 197 Researchable issues 198 Development issues 198 Conclusion 199

198 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 189 TRENDS IN OIL PALM SUPPLY AND DEMAND The nine edible oilseeds, viz., groundnut, soybean, rapeseed and mustard, sunflower, sesamum, safflower, niger, castor and linseed, presently grown in about 36 million ha in India are unable to meet the demand for edible oil in India. During , production of vegetable oil in India was about 9.78 million tonnes where as the consumption was about double the amount of production (18.41 million tonnes). Consumption of palm oil in India is the highest compared to that of other edible oils, followed by soybean, rapeseed-mustard and groundnut oil (Table 2). India has been mainly depending on import of oil from other countries to meet its vegetable oil requirements. During , India imported 8.63 million tonnes of vegetable oil of which palm oil accounted for about 6.68 million tonnes (77 per cent of total import), which implies that the country is dependent on palm oil imports for about 35 per cent of its annual edible oil requirement. In addition, the total demand for edible oils is expected to increase further. Table 2. Consumption of edible oils in India S. No. Vegetable Oil Consumption 1 Soybean oil 2, Cottonseed oil Groundnut oil Sunflower Oil Rapeseed Oil 1, Sesame Oil Corn Oil Palm Oil 5, Palm Kernel Oil Coconut oil Linseed Oil Castor Oil 76.9 The increasing demand of oil in India can be met by further increasing the area, production and productivity of existing oil seed crops, introducing and exploiting new high yielding oilseed crops and importing of oil from other countries, which is already being done. While elasticity of area available for oilseed cultivation in India is limited, there is scope for improving productivity through release of high yielding varieties and adoption of technology for which National Agricultural Research System and Govt. of India are already giving adequate emphasis. During the last two decades, efforts have also been made to introduce and exploit a number of new oil bearing tree crops like oil palm, jojoba etc. However, only oil palm has shown promise for commercial cultivation. Palm oil has been available at competitive prices in the world market because of its abundant availability for export from major exporting countries. Out of million tonnes of import of major oils and fats during , palm oil import was million tonnes followed by soybean oil (9.22 million tonnes). The huge savings in import bills is benefiting

199 190 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries many countries, as they are able to import cheaper palm oil as compared to other competing oils. Among the highest importing countries during , India (6.44 million tonnes) leads followed by China (5.85 million tonnes), EU-27 imported 5.94 million tonnes and Pakistan (1.97 million tonnes). This trend will continue due to higher palm oil availability for global trade at a competitive price. The demand for edible oil is expected to increase to 21.3 million tonnes by This assumes a per capita consumption increase of 4 per cent and a population growth of 1.7 per cent which translates to an overall growth in 6 per cent per annum. India will continue to depend on imports to the extent of about 40% of its consumption requirement. The improvement in productivity and increase in area under cultivation will ensure that domestic oilseed production is sufficient to meet 60 per cent of consumption requirement. During , the per capita consumption of edible oils by an average Indian is only 14.60kg, which is lower than the recommendations of World Health Organization and much lower than the world per capita consumption(23.89 kg). However GDP growth and rising income are the demand drivers for edible oil consumption. In India, these factors coupled with growing population lead to increasing per capita consumption and will push the vegetable oils and fats requirement to higher levels in the years to come. History of Oil Palm Research in India Directorate of Oil Palm Research (DOPR) under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, is the only organization in India providing nation-wide research support to Oil Palm Development Programme in the country and thus building the confidence among researchers, farmers, extension workers and processors/ entrepreneurs in the use of the latest technology in oil palm cultivation. Oil palm research was started in India in 1976 at Central Plantation Crop Research Institute (CPCRI) Research centre, Palode, Kerala. Research on oil palm under irrigated conditions is practically a new start for which the National Research Centre for Oil Palm (NRCOP) was established at Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh in The Research centre of CPCRI was merged with NRCOP in April, Later the NRCOP has been upgraded as Directorate of Oil Palm Research (DOPR) with the merger of AICRP on Palms - Oil Palm Centres to cater the location-specific requirements of the crop. DOPR is equipped with adequate infrastructure facilities for carrying out research on oil palm and formulated the production technology under irrigated conditions. Indigenous oil palm hybrid seed production and supply activity is also being monitored by DOPR. Scientists of DOPR impart training on various aspects of oil palm cultivation to officials and farmers on a large scale. TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED Salient achievements of oil palm research system in India are as follows: Varietal development Directorate of Oil Palm Research has established a gene bank with germplasm collected from different oil palm growing countries with wide variability for different characteristics. The germplasm assemblage of 128 exotic and indigenous accessions is

200 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 191 being evaluated. The gene bank has been enriched with a few more collections from commercial plantations raised with exotic planting materials available in India. It is to be mentioned that two oleifera palms could also be identified in commercial plantations of Oil Palm India Ltd., which are being utilized in breeding programmes. Amongst tenera introductions planted in 1981 at Palode Centre, twenty best performing tenera palms have been identified which are being selfed for further crop improvement. Twenty four tenera accessions received from ASD Costa Rica were evaluated at multiple locations for subsequent location specific introduction of suitable ones for commercial cultivation. Efforts to develop hybrids which perform well under moisture stress conditions are under way. High yielding palms under irrigated [(ZS-2 (257), TS-9 (258 & 260), ZS-5 (37)] and water stress [ZS-3 (230), ZS-1 (275), ZS-2 (60 & 61)] conditions have been selected with an aim to develop oil palm types for water stress (drought) tolerance. Based on stomatal and physiological observations, dura palms grown under irrigated and stress conditions were ranked and the results revealed that ZS-1 from Zambia was most drought tolerant and TS-9 from Tanzania was the most susceptible. GB-22 and GB-25 from Guinea Bissau and ZS-5 from Zambia recorded significant increase in soluble protein and proline contents under stress conditions. Trials on the comparative performance of different cross combinations of oil palm were conducted at the oil palm centres of All India Coordinated Research Project on Palms. Evaluation on the performance of Tenera hybrid combinations of oil palm in different agroclimatic regions, since 1991, resulted in the identification of a high yielding hybrid type 124D x 266P yielding tonnes FFB/ha at Mulde Centre in Maharashtra State. Similarly, the hybrid 115D x 291P is performing well both at Vijayarai and Mulde Centres. The hybrid was yielding tonnes FFB/ha at Vijayarai Centre and tonnes FFB/ha at Mulde Centre. Evaluation of Dura types of oil palm germplasm for drought tolerance was undertaken under rain fed conditions at Gangavathi (Karnataka State) and Mulde (Maharashtra State) Centres from 1998 onwards. At Gangavathi Centre, significant differences were observed between the genotypes for lipid peroxidation levels indicating drought tolerance nature of a few dura types. With a view to develop dwarf and compact palms and to facilitate more palms per unit area and easy harvesting, inter-specific hybrids are being evaluated. A few more sources of dwarfness have been identified and efforts are being made to introgress these genes through hybridization for developing a base population of TxP and TxT for new generation seed gardens. Evaluation of interspecific hybrids at Palode resulted in the identification of three promising dwarf palms that could be used for further improvement. Among them, Palm No. 48 recorded a height of 1.00 metre at 12 years and showed high % fruit set and oil/bunch ratio (21.13). DNA fingerprinting of different germplasm types revealed that no two palms were genetically similar even within the same accession. Wide genetic diversity was found among different accessions by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Subsequently, five exotic and one indigenous accession when subjected to biochemical and molecular characterization revealed that palms from Guinea Bissau accession were more homogenous compared to that of other groups and the accession was genetically more

201 192 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries distant from others. E. oleifera has more desirable characters like better oil quality, disease resistance, slow growth etc but with low yield. Among the E oleifera palms, a high degree of genetic diversity was observed and can be employed for developing inter-specific hybrids. Work on developing an in vitro regeneration protocol of oil palm using explants from mature palms has yielded promising results. Commercial hybrid seed production was started at Thodupuzha, Kerala utilizing indigenous duras and pisiferas from 1982 onwards. Advanced generation parent materials were evolved through reciprocal recurrent selection and planted at Palode, which had now come to seed production. Selection of duras was done based on yield and bunch analysis data. Parental duras and pisiferas were supplied to establish seed gardens at Rajahmundry, Lakshmipuram, Pedavegi (Andhra Pradesh) and Taraka (Karnataka). Seed processing and germination facilities were developed and techniques have been perfected to achieve 95% germination. At present, six seed gardens exist in the country with an annual production capacity for 2.00 million sprouts. Production Technology Nursery management techniques were perfected for raising healthy oil palm seedlings. Soil, sand and farm yard manure or oil palm waste compost in 1:1:1 proportion was found to be an ideal potting mixture for growing seedlings. A fertilizer dose of g N, P and K 2 0 per seedling was found optimum. Application of fertilizers in equal splits at three monthly intervals was suitable for optimum performance. Studies on the age of seedling at planting revealed that plant height and girth were significantly higher when seedlings were planted at 9 and 12 months. The levels of physiological parameters were higher in 12 month old seedlings followed by 9 month old seedlings. Sap flux in oil palm with response to environmental variables viz., evapo-transpiration and vapour pressure deficit increased gradually from 9.00 hours onwards and reached peak during hours and then decreased gradually. Evapo-transpiration and vapour pressure deficit also showed similar trend as that of sap flux. Sap flux measurements could give vital leads in developing an approach for monitoring the environmental responses in oil palm. Carbon Sequestration studies in eleven mature oil palm hybrids belonging to ASD Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea and Palode revealed that standing above ground biomass in different hybrids ranged from to tonnes/ha. The highest biomass was recorded in ASD Costa Rica hybrid Deli X Lame, while lowest was also in ASD Costa Rica hybrid (Deli X Avros). The amount of carbon sequestered by the hybrids ranged between and tonnes/ha with Papua New Guinea and Ivory Coast hybrids sequestering the highest and lowest carbon contents respectively. Crops like maize, tobacco and banana were found to be most profitable and compatible intercrops in oil palm based cropping systems during the juvenile phase, while, cocoa was found to be an ideal companion crop in adult oil palm plantations. Agro-forestry systems in oil palm involving multi-species crop combinations with cocoa, black pepper, cinnamon and anthurium have been established to maximise productivity and improve soil and water conservation in undulating terrain of high rainfall areas. Growing sunnhemp in basins of young oil palm provides a better micro-environment to the crop during summer

202 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 193 months besides fixing atmospheric nitrogen and addition of organic matter. Technique of vermin-composting has been perfected for oil palm plantation wastes, which are available in plenty in oil palm plantations. It was found that almost 90 % of N, 50 % of P and 75 % of K requirement of palms could be met through compost obtained from bio-waste recycling process. A combination of one-third of nutrient requirement as inorganic fertilizers and two-third of requirement as palm waste compost was ideal and economical. Disaster management studies indicated that, within the course of three years of cyclone, uprooted palms, that were replanted, started yielding through application of recommended doses of fertilizers and irrigation. With proper care and management of oil palm plantations (regular application of water through drip and quarterly application of 1200:600:1800:500g N, P, K, Mg per palm/year and need based boron 50 g/ palm/year, 50 kg FYM/palm /year, it is possible to get 8 to 11 tonnes FFB/ha/annum in the first year of harvest i.e. three years after planting. Nutrient Management Based on the long term experiments conducted in AICRP on Palms Centres, the following fertilizer schedules were recommended for oil palm cultivation in different regions: Coastal Tamil Nadu region : 1200: 600: 2700 gram NPK /palm/ year Thungabadhra Command area of Karnataka State : 1200: 600: 1200 gram NPK/ palm/ year Konkan coastal region in Maharashtra State : 1200: 600: 2700 gram NPK /palm/ year Coastal Andhra Pradesh region : 1200: 600: 2700 gram NPK /palm/ year A fertilizer dose of g N, P and K 2 0/palm/year applied in two equal splits was found optimum for adult palms, under rainfed conditions. Diagnosis and Recommendation of Integrated Systems (DRIS) was developed for oil palm. Potassium nutrition was found critical under tropical conditions. Under irrigated conditions, when initial yields of 15 tonnes of FFB/ha/yr or more were observed, it is advisable to apply 20% more fertilizer than the recommended dose in 3-4 splits. Boron deficiency symptoms were manifested in the form of hook leaves, rounded frond tips, blind leaf, leaflet shatter, bristle tip, crinkled leaf and fish bone leaf structure. The boron deficiency could be corrected by application of borax in three 50, 50 and 100 g/palm. Based on the influence of weather parameters, yield prediction models were worked out. Water Management Results from irrigation experiments have indicated that when irrigation was restricted to replace evaporation losses by 100 per cent either with drip or micro jet, crop growth and yields were superior to that of basin irrigation. Oil palm requires at least litres of water per palm per day during peak summer seasons. Irrigating palms at the rate of 90 litres/palm/day during summer months is an essential requirement for oil palm cultivation.

203 194 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Crop Protection Roving survey on the pests of oil palm in various states of India revealed that rhinoceros beetle was most frequently observed pest in oil palm plantations, which was found to migrate from coconut and palmyrah palms. Leaf eating caterpillar damage was observed very severe in some plantations with yield loss up to 37 % extending to the following two to three years. Management measures for rhinoceros beetle and red palm weevil have been developed. Nylon nets in plantations were effective in reducing the bird damage. Green and violet coloured nets could attract and trap many birds followed by snuff colour. A wild boar scaring devise was developed for oil palm nurseries and young plantations. Use of bamboo noose traps was found to reduce the burrowing rat population. Single application of Warfarin could reduce only 50% of rat incidence within one week period compared to Zinc phosphide which recorded more than 75% reduction. Two applications of Zinc phosphide with no gap between the applications was found effective. Infestation of rhinoceros beetle was brought down from 8.25% to 1.8% by release of baculovirus infected beetles. Molecular studies of different strains of bio control agents used for management of oil palm pests (carried out using SDS PAGE) revealed that both Trichoderma viride and Beauveria bassiana obtained from NBAII were effective in causing infection within a shorter period compared to strains of NRCOP and DOR. Oil palm is an entomophilous crop and pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus, introduced from Malaysia has established well in all agroclimatic zones of oil palm in India. Relative humidity was observed as a critical factor for the incidence of pollinating weevil. No weevil population was observed when RH was reduced to less than 40%. It was also observed that Beauveria bassiana was more harmful to weevil population compared to that of Metarhizium anisopliae. Among the diseases recorded in oil palm plantations, bud rot, stem wet rot, upper stem rot, basal stem rot and spear rot diseases are serious though the percent incidence is low, causing mortality of the palms where as bunch rot and bunch failure are observed seasonally causing yield losses. Standardized seed dressing techniques are found to prevent microbial spoilage of seeds and sprouts during storage and germination process. Spear rot disease, endemic to Kerala was found to be caused by Phytoplasma and spread by plant hopper Proutista moesta and lace bug Stephanitis typica. Stem surgery technique for management of stem wet rot and basal stem rot have been found successful. Cross infectivity of organisms from coconut to oil palm has been observed in both basal stem rot and spear rot diseases of oil palm i.e., phytoplasma associated with root (wilt) disease causing spear rot and Ganoderma causing Basal stem rot. Molecular characterization of Ganoderma sp causing Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease in oil palm revealed polymorphism. All the isolates were confirmed by PCR amplification with two pairs of primers Gan1 & Gan2 and Gan ET & Gan ITS. Oil palm development programmes Oil Palm Development Programme is being implemented in the country by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Govt. of India, as a part of Integrated Scheme on Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM) and provides support for cultivation of

204 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 195 oil palm in 12 states viz., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal. Under ISOPOM, partial support is being provided for planting material, cultivation cost, installation of drip irrigation system, diesel pump sets, training, and technology transfer through demonstration and publicity. As oil palm cultivation in India is being taken up under special circumstances regarding providing subsidies by Govt. of India, gestation period, sustainability, production, harvesting and processing, State Departments of Agriculture/Horticulture have established a linkage between oil palm farmers and oil palm processors. The States are implementing area expansion programme under ISOPOM in association with the oil palm industry. Identified areas are allocated to private entrepreneurs for overall development of the sector i.e. from plantation to procurement of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) at the prices fixed by the Project Management Committee (PMC) constituted under OPDP. During , a special initiative is undertaken under Raashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for implementation of a Special Programme on Oil Palm Area Expansion (OPAE) in order to augment the production of palm oil by 2.5 to 3.00 lakh tonnes in the next 5 years. Under this programme, it is proposed to undertake area expansion in 60,000 hectares. Priority will be given to expand area under the purview of existing mills so as to increase the technical and economic viability of their operations. Lessons learnt from past initiatives Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses (TMO&P) implemented by Government of India looks after development of oil palm in the country through Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP) along with other nine annual oil seed crops. The efforts made by the Government through OPDP have made the following impact and helped in establishing oil palm as a potential oil yielding crop in the country. Oil Palm, considered to be a new crop for India, established very well under irrigated conditions. Areas identified by the earlier committee based on agro-climatic conditions and other parameters proved suitable for oil palm cultivation. Oil palm plants come to bearing in the third year and bearing stabilised in about 7 years as in countries like Malaysia. Though the yields obtained were generally low, there were instances of well managed plantations yielding up to 40 tonnes of FFB/ha. A price fixation mechanism brought confidence amongst the growers about an assured market for the crop. Establishment of NRC for Oil Palm provided the required technologies and training facility for scientific production of Oil Palm. Setting up of six seed gardens in the country resulted in the production potential of over 2 million plants per year. There was a positive response to our efforts for import of planting material from exotic sources namely Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast etc. As many as 18 processing units have been established in various states providing

205 196 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries adequate facilities for processing the FFB by various entrepreneurs. The Oil Extraction Ratio (OER) obtained by various mills has been nearly on par with that obtained in other Oil Palm growing countries. Though Oil Palm Development Programme in the country is progressing well, area coverage has not taken place as per targets envisaged. Some of the major factors impeding area expansion under Oil Palm and production of palm oil in the country are as under: Reluctance of farmers to take up a new crop having a gestation period of 3-4 years and requiring high initial investment and assured irrigation. Low productivity due to poor irrigation infrastructure and management. Shortage of power and limited/delayed availability of new electric connections. Non-enactment of Oil Palm Act by some of the states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Orissa. Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage for major risk factors. Fluctuation in the price of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB). Lack of processing facilities in some of the states/ Factory Zones coinciding with the availability of FFB. Oil palm industry being a subject of negative campaign for competing with other vegetable oils and fat producers. As on 2006, various Expert Committees constituted by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India have identified a total of lakh hectares in 14 states of the country as suitable for oil palm cultivation. So far an area of 2.03 lakh ha was covered under oil palm. CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FOR ENHANCING OIL PALM PRODUCTION Research Indian oil palm gene bank has very narrow genetic base and most of these collections are secondary in nature and are Tenera (commercially released cultivars) having very limited use in Oil palm improvement programme. Oil palm cross combinations developed using available duras and pisiferas could not be evaluated due to paucity of land. Most of the technologies for irrigated Oil palm need to be developed afresh for various agro-climatic conditions. Being a perennial crop, developing production technologies will take considerable amount of time. Since rainfall distribution is uneven in India, this crop can come up only as irrigated crop in majority of the potential area identified. Non availability of sufficient planting material and hence dependence on external sources.

206 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 197 Lack of effective harvesting tools especially for taller plantations. Product development, product diversification, value addition, by product utilization etc. needs to be developed. Trained manpower is not adequate Development Changes in Import policy of edible oils leads to fluctuation in price of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB). Low productivity due to poor irrigation, inadequate fertilizer application, unfavorable climatic conditions, poor quality planting material, over/under age of seedlings, improper intercropping practices. Shortage of power and limited/delayed availability of new electric connections. Non-enactment of Oil palm Act by some states Failure of NABARD s refinance scheme in providing timely loans to farmers. Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage for major risk factors. Lack of processing facilities in some states/ factory zones coinciding with the availability of FFB FUTURE VISION AND PROGRAMMES FOR ENHANCING OIL PALM PRODUCTION A substantial portion of our edible oil requirement is met through import of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. Any disruption in the supply of palm oil from these countries will put India in difficult situation, especially since a large quantity of the global production of vegetable oils is being utilized for production of bio-diesel in Europe and North America. Such non-food use of edible oils ultimately reduces their availability and pushes up their prices. It is therefore necessary to exploit domestic resources to ensure edible oil security to the extent possible on the lines of mineral oil security strategy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to intensify efforts for area expansion under oil palm in potential States. It is estimated that India has the potential to cultivate Oil Palm in around one million hectares to produce 4-5 million tonnes of palm oil which would be able to cater to the consumption requirement of 330 million per annum. The FFB yields obtained by progressive farmers of Andhra Pradesh under optimum cultural and irrigated conditions are between 20 and 25 tonnes of FFB/ha/annum i.e. 4-5 tonnes of oil/ ha/annum from fourth and fifth year onwards. The highest yield of tonnes FFB/ha/yr during the seventh year was also recorded in some plantations thus proving that India has the potential to produce palm oil in the country to become self sustainable in edible oil requirement.

207 198 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Researchable issues Breeding programmes will to be planned towards development of improved varieties for enhancement of productivity. Survey and selection of large population of Oil palm plantations imported from other countries for dwarf / compact nature and other desirable characters. Molecular techniques like marker assisted selection, QTL mapping for desirable traits and DNA fingerprinting will be combined in the breeding programmes. Emphasis on clonal seed production through tissue culture of elite parents. Plumule culture may be taken up. Experiments on planting density. Development of harvesting tools and other mechanized farm implements. Location specific experiments will be taken for irrigation, fertilizers and fertigation. Information on Good Management Practices will be collected from high yielding plantations and correlated with soil and leaf analysis data. Estimation of Oil Extraction Ratio in different planting materials, seasons, etc under irrigated conditions. Development of replanting/ under-planting strategies. Development issues Government should take into consideration the effect of import policy of oil on the local oil seed industry, particularly Oil palm cultivation. Market Intervention Scheme or Minimum Support Price should be implemented for supporting the Oil palm FFB price during price fluctuations. Price stabilization funds are to be created to support farmers whenever there is price fall. Oil palm development should be brought under a Mission mode approach to address all the links in the chain of production and consumption. Assistance provided for planting material, establishment and maintenance of seed garden, cultivation cost, drip irrigation, diesel pump sets, bore wells etc should be revised, looking into cost escalation Demonstrations should be conducted including processing facilities in order to create confidence among farmers. Creation of processing facilities in tune with area expansion programmes by adopting cluster approach. Credit support should be provided liberally by having tripartite agreement among processing companies, local nationalized banks and farmers.

208 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 199 Relaxation of the land ceiling norms, permission for raising captive plantations by entrepreneurs, utilizing underutilized/ unutilized land both in Govt. and private sector. Enactment of Oil palm Act in all Oil palm growing states of India to be taken up. Steps are to be taken for establishment of new seed gardens. Bringing up uniform pricing policy by a Central Committee with members from Govt. of India, State government officials, farmers, entrepreneurs etc. For deriving a scientific formula for FFB price, formula adopted by different countries may be studied. Target for area expansion to be informed well in advance at least two years by the respective State Govt. to the entrepreneurs, which would help in indenting and procuring planting materials in time and effective implementation of various schemes. Linkage between farmers and entrepreneurs has to be enhanced for sorting out any issue arising between them. Extension machinery needs to be strengthened both in public and private sector Conclusion Oil palm, a crop which has emerged as the largest oil yielding crop over a period of five decades has become the most economic crop in the global vegetable oil for food, industrial purpose as well as bio diesel. India too could emerge as one of the major producers of palm oil by bringing out 2.00 million ha in the potential areas as irrigated crop and there by producing 7.00 to 8.00 million tonnes of palm oil and 0.7 to 0.8 million tonnes of Palm Kernel Oil.

209

210 PART - X Bqqfoejdft December 2011

211

212 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 203 Programme Regional Workshop on Enhancing Oilseed Production through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Dates: December, 2011 Venue: DOR, Hyderabad Jointly organized by SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka, Bangladesh & Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, India Day-1: 20 December, 2011 (Tuesday) Time INAUGRAL SESSION (Seminar Hall) (Hrs) Registration Chairman : Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Director, SAARC Agril. Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh Chief Guest : Dr. M.V. Rao, Former Spl. DG, ICAR & Former VC, ANGRAU Guest of Honour : Prof. Ramesh Chand, Hon ble Member, GB, SAARC-AC Rapporteurs : Dr. M.A. Raoof and Dr. I.Y.L.N. Murthy National Song (Vandemaataram) 1000 Welcome address by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad 1010 Brief Introduction about SAARC Agriculture Centre by Dr. Md. Nurul Alam, SAC, Bangladesh 1020 Keynote Address on Current Status and Future Prospects of Oilseed Production in SAARC Countries by Dr. M.V. Rao 1040 Remarks by the Guest of Honour 1055 Remarks by the Chief Guest 1110 Remarks by the Chairman 1125 Vote of thanks by Dr. Harvir Singh, Principal Scientist & Head (Crop Prot.), DOR, Hyderabad REFRESHMENT Time TECHNICAL SESSION I (Conference Hall ) (Hrs) Chairman : to be selected from India 1330 Rapporteurs : Dr. P.S. Vimala Devi and Dr. C. Lavanya Presentation of papers 1200 Country paper from India by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad, India

213 204 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 1220 Country paper from Bangladesh by Dr. Md. Rawshan Ali, CSO, BARI, Bangladesh 1240 Country paper from Bhutan by Mr. Tshering Wangchen, Res. Officer, RDC, Bhutan 1300 Country paper from Nepal by Dr. Tara Bahadur Ghimire, Sr. Scientist, NARC, Nepal 1320 Country paper from Pakistan by Dr. Akbar Shah Mohmand, Sr. Director, CSINARC, Pakistan 1340 Country paper from Sri Lanka by Ms. Diddugodage Chamila Jeewani, Res. Officer, Sri Lanka 1400 Discussion on the papers presented and Chairman s Remarks LUNCH Time TECHNICAL SESSION II (Conference Hall ) (Hrs) Chairman : to be selected from India 1645 Co-Chairman : Dr. B. Venkateswarlu, Director, CRIDA, Hyderabad Rapporteurs : Dr. P. Ramesh and Dr. M. Lakshminarayana 1515 Special paper from India on Groundnut by Dr. J.B. Mishra, Director, DGR, Junagadh 1525 Special paper from India on Rapeseed-Mustard by Dr. J.S. Chauhan, Director, DRMR, Bharatpur 1535 Special paper from India on Soybean by Dr. S.K. Srivastava, Director, DSR, Indore 1545 Special paper from India on Sunflower, Safflower and Castor by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad 1555 Special paper from India on Oilpalm by Dr. Arulraj, Director, DOPR, Pedavegi 1605 Discussion on the papers presented Remarks by Co-Chairman and Chairman TEA LOCAL SIGHT SEEING, CULTURAL PROGRAMME AND INAUGURAL DINNER

214 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 205 Day-2: December 21, 2011(Wednesday) Time TECHNICAL SESSION III (Conference Hall ) (Hrs) 0900 Thematic Group Work 1115 Chairman : Dr. D.M. Hegde, Ex-Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad Facilitators : Dr. M. Datta, Head (GED), NBPGR, New Delhi Dr. K. Manoharan, Director, DOD, Hyderabad Ms. Nasrin Akter, Sr. Programme Officer (Crops), SAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh 0900 Introduction of Group Exercise by Facilitator 0915 Group 1: Research Issues Rapporteur: Dr. K. Anjani 0945 Group 2: Extension and Development issues Rapporteur : Dr. M. Padmaiah 1015 Group 3: Policy Issues Rapporteur : Dr. H. Basappa 1045 Group 4: Future prospects Rapporteur : Dr. S.N. Sudhakara Babu TEA Time (Hrs) TECHNICAL SESSION IV (Conference Hall ) Presentation and discussion on Thematic Group Reports Chairman : Dr. Ramesh Chand, Director, NCAP, New Delhi Co-Chairman: Dr. B. Venkateswarlu, Director, CRIDA, Hyderabad Rapporteurs: Dr. M. Sujatha and S.V. Ramana Rao 1130 Group -1 (15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion) 1145 Group -2 (15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion) 1200 Group -3 (15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion) 1215 Group -4 (15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion) 1230 Remarks by the Co-Chairman and Chairman LUNCH Tech. Session-IV (Contd...) : Drafting of recommendations by the Rapporteurs Facilitators : Dr. A.R.G. Ranganatha, Project Coordinator (Sesame & Niger) Dr. R.L. Srivastava, Project Coordinator (Linseed) Dr. Md. Rawshan Ali, Chief Scientific Officer, BARI, Bangladesh Dr. Nasrin Akter, Sr. Programme Officer (Crops), SAARC-AC, Dhaka

215 206 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries Time (Hrs) CONCLUDING SESSION (Conference Hall ) Chief Guest : Dr. E.A. Siddiq, Former DDG (CS), ICAR, New Delhi Guests of Honour : Dr. Anisetty N. Murthy, Retd. FAO Expert, Hyderabad Dr. C.L.L. Gowda, Dy. Director General, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Hyd. Chairman : to be selected from India Rapporteurs : Dr. A.J. Prabakaran and Dr. V. Dinesh Kumar 1530 Presentation of draft Workshop Recommendations by Dr. M. Sujatha, Principal Scientist & Head (CP), DOR, Hyderabad 1540 Remarks by Chairman 1555 Remarks by Guests of Honour 1615 Remarks by Chief Guest 1630 Vote of Thanks by Dr. K.S. Varaprasad, Project Director, DOR, Hyderabad National Anthem

216 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 207 Photo Album

217 208 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries

218 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 209

219 210 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries

220 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries 211

221 212 Enhancing Oilseed Production Through Improved Technology in SAARC Countries

222