Brinjal, chilli and tomato are the important solanaceous fruit vegetables cultivated. The cultural operations of the above three crops are similar with only slight variations. Click here to view the seed rate, time of planting, varieties and spacing details.
Solarise the nursery beds of tomato, brinjal and chilli for 30 days prior to sowing to manage damping off disease and enhance germination and seedlings vigor.
Organic farming is a crop production method respecting the rules of the nature, targeted to produce nutritive, healthy and pollution-free food. It maximizes the use of on-farm resources and minimizes the use of off-farm inputs. It is a farming system that seeks to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Commitment to protect and preserve nature is a pre-requisite for practicing organic farming, the entire ecosystem (plant, animal, soil, water and microorganisms) is protected. Organic cultivation improves structure and fertility of the soil through balanced choice of crops and implementation of diversified cropping system. The consumers prefer natural/ethnic foods, particularly organic foods across the world and are ready to pay premium prices for such foods. The demand for organic agriculture products is on the increase day by day.
BIOFERTILIZERS
The use of biofertilizers is important while practising integrated plant nutrient management as well as organic farming. Some of the commonly used biofertilizers as follows: read more
FARMING ON HOUSE TERRACE
Since available land for cultivation is shrinking drastically especially in urban areas, it is high time that alternative measures like farming on house terrace are to be explored. Farming on house terrace including vegetable cultivation, poultry rearing, azolla cultivation and vermi-composting facilitate better time and space utilization, disposal of household organic garbage, read more
SOIL SOLARIZATION
Solarization is a method of hydrothermal disinfection. This is done by covering moist soil with transparent polythene sheet and exposing it to direct sunlight during the hottest period of the year. Methods of solarization. read more
Popular Vegetables in this category
Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) - ORGANIC
Brinjal (Solanum Melongena) - ORGANIC
Chilli (Capsicum Annuum) - ORGANIC
Notes:
- Farmers practicing organic farming are encouraged to prepare the organic inputs in their own farm and use only permitted external inputs.
- The pests collected by using fruit traps should be disposed of safely without posing any hazards to environment and human beings. Dispose the contents of traps with insecticide outside the cropped area after its use.
- According to the scientists of National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII), Bangalore, the most widely used fungal antagonist in India, Trichoderma viride is actually Trichoderma asperellum or its cryptic species T. asperelloides.
- The organic liquid formulations are safe to environment, crop production and human health.
- The specifications of vermicompost, organic manures and bio-fertilizers are adopted from the “Fertilizer Control Order, 1985” (as amended upto February 2017)
Pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are taken. Well rotten FYM or other organic manure (12 t ha-1) is mixed with topsoil in the pit and seeds are sown at the rate of 4-5 per pit. Seeds should be treated with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 2 gram per 1 kg or 5 ml per 1 kg seed. For little gourd, plant stem cuttings with 3-4 nodes from female plants @ 2-3 cuttings per pit. Unhealthy plants are removed after two weeks and only 3 plants are retained per pit.
Plant protection
Pests
Fruit fly (Bactrocera sp.)
In homestead gardens, the fruits may be covered with polythene, cloth or paper bags to ensure mechanical protection. Remove and destroy affected and decayed fruits. It can also be effectively controlled by the use of banana fruit traps coupled with the removal and destruction of infested fruits. Traps are to be set at a distance of 2 meter after a border row and they may be replenished after 7 to 9 days. Start bait trapping just before flowering. Apply Neem cake 250 kg ha-1 (100 gram per pit) at planting and one month later. Use any of the following fruit fly traps:
- Fish meal trap: Place 5 g dry fish in coconut shell, moisten and add 0.5 gram cartap hydrochloride. Put coconut shell inside a polythene cover. Make holes on the cover above shell and hang the cover from pandal (trellis).
- Trap adult fruit flies using cue lure plywood blocks containing 6:4:1 mixture of ethyl alcohol : cue lure : Malathion. Reset traps at four months interval. Hang plywood blocks with pheromone @ 1 trap per 15 cents (land area).
- Trap adult fruit flies using food baits. Make a pulp of 20 gram banana, 10 gram jaggery in 100 ml water + 0.2 ml malathion at 2.5 meter spacing. Change traps after 3 weeks. Red banana, Robusta, Njalipoovan and Palayankodan fruits can be used.
- Drench Beauveria bassiana 20 g l-1 @ 10 l and apply 40 ml during fruiting stage.
Note: Dispose the contents of traps with insecticide outside the cropped area after its use.
Epliachna beetle
- Remove and destroy egg masses, grubs and adults occurring on leaves.
- Use predator (Chrysocaris johnsoni) of larvae and pupae.
- Apply Beauveria bassiana @ 10 g l-1.
- Spray leaf extract of ailanthus and cashew (10%).
- Neem oil + garlic emulsion spray (2%)
Leaf feeders and sucking pests
Collect and destroy larvae. Spray a mixture of 1 liter cows urine + 10 gram bird chilli + 9 liters water. Spray 2% talk-based formulation of Beauveria bassiana + 0.1 % teepol at fortnightly intervals for the management of pumpkin caterpillar, leaf footed bugs and plant lice.
Plant lice
Apply 1.5 % fish oil soap. First dissolve soap in hot water and then make up the volume.
Pumpkin caterpillar (Diaphania indica)
Apply Metarhizium anisopliae @ 5 gram l-1. It significantly reduces the damage and increase the yield.
Methanol seed extracts of Cerebera odollam, Annona glabra and dry leaves extract of Premna serratifolia and Samadera indica (10 %) are effective in controlling Diaphania indica larvae in cucurbits and Epilachna grubs Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata in bitter gourd.
Nematode
Application of Purpureocillium lilacinum (cfu 2 x 106) @ 2.5 kg + Pseudomonas fluorescens (cfu 2 x 106) @ 2.5 kg along with 2.5 tonnes of FYM ha-1 reduces nematode population and increase yield in bitter gourd.
Diseases
Downy mildew
It is severe during rainy season. Foliar spraying of Pseudomonas fluorescens 2 % (20 g l-1) thrice at fortnightly interval on the appearance of symptoms will control the disease.
Powdery mildew
Can be controlled by spraying Trichoderma viride 2 g l-1 or neem oil 2 % as 3 foliar sprays at 14 days interval on symptom appearance.
Mosaic
Uprooting and destruction of affected plants and collateral hosts. Spraying Neem based insecticide (2 %) controls the vector.
Leaf blight
Field sanitation and foliar application of Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 20 g l-1.
Harvesting
The fruits should be washed thoroughly in water before cooking.
