JUTE

GENERAL INFORMATION

Jute is one of the most important cash crops of eastern India. It is the crop of hot and humid climate and is exported as goods and as a raw fibre. The crop is mainly grown in West Bengal, Assam, Northern Bihar, south-eastern Orissa, Tripura and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Jute is rightly called the second important fibre crop of India or the golden fibre.

Temperature

25 °C-30 °C

Rainfall

160-200

Humid and sunshine are ideal conditions for jute cultivation.

Soil Requirement for Jute Cultivation:-

River basins or alluvial or loamy soils are best for jute cultivation. Jute cultivation in red soils may require high dose of manure and PH range between 4.8 and 5.8 is best for its cultivation. Sowing should be done when there is sufficient moisture in the soil. A minimum of 21 per cent soil moisture content is required for germination. The seeds of H. cannabinus germinate within four days and seedling emergence is observed from fourth day onwards whereas H. sabdariffa seeds take five to six days to germinate.

Land preparation:

Jute seeds being small require very fine tilth. The land can be prepared by ploughing and crossharrowing 3-5 times followed by planking. In acidic soils (pH 6.0), incorporatioof 1-1.5 t/ha of lime, 30-40 days before sowing is necessary for better crop performance. Soil moisture between 21-45% is considered ideal for proper germination.

Mesta being a rainfed crop, land preparaƟon is usually done with the receipt of pre monsoon showers. However, in Andhra Pradesh, for raising rabi mesta, the land preparation is done early in February for sowing the crop with the help of sub-soil,

Different Methods of sowing:

Sowing of jute can be done either by broadcast method or by line sowing method. Presently, 5 to 10 % of the area is hardly covered under line sowing in India. It has been established by the scientists that by adopting line sowing yield can be increased by 15 to 20 % over broadcast method. To ensure even distribution of seed, they are mixed with 3-4 times wepowdered soil and broadcast cross-wise and after germination the excess plants are thinned out to maintain spacing of 10 cm (plant to plant). For line sowing, the land is prepared well and sowing is done with row to row spacing of: Capsularis – 30 cm, Olitorius –25 cm and plant to plant spacing is maintained at 5 to 7 cm and this is done by mechanical means i.e. seed drill. A single row seed drill can cover about 0.1 to 0.15 ha per day. However, recently a multi row (4 row) seed drill has been developed and it can cover 0.8 to 1 ha per day. The depth of sowing is maintained at 2.5 to 3 cm. line sowing not only increases the yield but also reduces the cost of cultivation particularly by reducing the cost of interculturaloperations which is main item of expenditure in jute cultivationMesta is usually sown by broadcasting method. But as criteria of improved production technology, it is advocated to sow the crop in line. Line sowing can be undertaken with the help of seed drill. Line sowing has got certain advantages over broadcasting method such as i) Plant growth is uniform since uniform spacing is maintained, ii) Intercultural operation like weeding, hoeing, etc. become easier and cheaper. Iii) Application of pesticides and top dressing of fertilizer is easier, iv) Yield is higher by about 15-20%, v) Requirement of seed is less etc

Seeding technologies:

Depending upon the species of jute and method of sowing, the seed rate of the two

species recommended is under:

The seeds are sown in row 20 cm (olitorius) and 30 cm (capsularis) apart. The plants within the row should be thinned manually at two stages. First thinning is done 20 days after sowing (DAS), when the plants are of 5-10 cm height . At this stage, plants are thinned to a distance of 5 cm. In second and final thinning 35 DAS, when plants are of 12-15 cm height, and are thinned to a distance of 10 cm. Thus the optimum population varies from 3.33 (capsularis) to 5.0 lakh/ha (olitorius).

The optimum plant population for mesta is about 4 to 5 lakh per hectare. The recommended row to row spacing is 25 to 30 cm and plant to plant spacing is 7 to 10 cm. if the crop is sown by broadcasting method then the plant to plant spacing is maintained at about 12-15 cm by thinning. For maintaining optimum plant population the seed rate for the two species varies. However, the recommended seed rate is higher than the actual requirement for maintaining the desired plant population. This is done because of getting uniform plant population. After emergence, the excess plants are thinned out to get desired spacing. The seed rate of the two species in two method of sowings are as under:

Before sowing of seeds, it is always preferable to treat the seeds particularly to avoid the infection of the diseases to the crop. Seed treatment can be done with organo marcural fungicide like Agrosan GN of Ceresan at the rate of 5 gm per kg of seed or Dithane M45 at the rate of 4 gm per kg of seed or Bavistin at the rate of 2 gm per kg of seed.

Commercial or Hybrid Varieties

Jute Olitorius

JRO 878

JRO 524

JRO 7835

JRC 7447Capsularis

JRC 7447

JRC 212

JRC 321

Fertilizer management:

In general, the nutrient requirement of capsularis is more than that of olitorius. In soils with low organic carbon content, FYM application @ 5-10t/ha, a month prior to crop sowing is recommended. The leaf fall from the standing crop and also root stubbles left in the soil after harvest results in recycling of handsome amount of nutrients besides organic matter in intensive cropping systems. The recommended doses of fertilizers are 40 to 80, 20 to 40, 20 to 40 kg/ha (olitorius) and 60 to 80, 30 to 40, 30 to 40 kg/ha (capsularis) of N:P:K respectively (as per CRIJAF).

In heavy soils with low to moderate rainfall, all nutrients are applied as basal. In light soils and high rainfall situations, N is applied in 2 equal splits, ½ basal and ½ top dressing, i.e. preferably after weeding and thinning operations. Seed inoculation with Azotobacter chroococum and Azospirillum brasilense has been found promising to supplement part of N fertilizer. Foliar application of 20 kg N through urea solution with teepol as sticker at pre-flowering stage is promising

In acid soils and regions with high rainfall, calcium and magnesium deficiency is common. Liming of soil @ 2-5t/ha, once in 4 years or Dolomite application (40 kg/ha) is found promising as it supplies both calcium and magnesium.

Weed management:

Jute crop suffers from heavy weed infestation in the initial 6-8 weeks after sowing. Two-three hand weedings or mechanical hoeings are required to arrest weed menace. The first 2 manual weedings are combined with thinning operations at 20 and 35 DAS. The third weeding should be done 55-60 DAS. Due to continuous rains, sometimes manual weeding may not be possible. In such a situation, herbicide integrated with manual weeding is promising. Butachlor 50% EC or Pretilachlor 50% EC (preemergence,applied during sowing) @ 0.9-1.0 kg ai/ha combined with one hand weeding at 35DAS may effecƟvely control the weeds. Recommended post emergence herbicides for weed control include Quitalofop ethyl 5% @ 40-60g ai/ha and should be applied 20 days after sowing.

Mesta is very susceptible to weed competition at early stage of growth. The growth rate of mesta is slower at this stage and over powered by weeds. The crop requires about two to three weeding/thinning operations depending upon the weed infestations. While two weedings are practiced, the first one is done about three weeks after sowing and the second one is done at about five weeks after sowing. In row-cropping, wheel hoe is used for weeding operations and thinning is done manually. Weeding may also be done with the application of herbicides. Amongst the various herbicides, Basalin gave better result for mesta crop. Application of Basalin (Fluchloralin) @ 2 litres per hectare as pre-sowing (3days before sowing) will kill almost all the weeds except sedges. However, application of Basalin as above followed by one manual weeding will give good result.

Harvesting and post-harvest operations:

Harvesting:

Jute is a bast fibre crop and can be harvested at any stage after a certain period of vegetative growth, usually between 100 to 150 days. Harvesting of jute crop at pre-bud or bud stage gives best quality fibre; however, the yields are low and older crop yields more quantity of fibre but the fibre becomes coarse and the stem does not ret properly. Hence, as a compromise between quality and quantity, early pod formation stage has been found best for harvesting. Harvesting is done by cutting the plants at or close to the ground level with sharp sickles. In flooded lands, the plants are uprooted. The harvested plants are left in the field for 2-3 days for the leaves to shed. Next, the plants are tied into bundles 20-25cm of diameter and the branching tops are lipped off to rot in the field.

The best time of harvesting is small pod stage for cannabinus mesta which usually occurs in October while for sabdariffa mesta it is at 50 per cent flowering which occurs in November. If the plants are harvested earlier to this, fibre yield will be low and many of the fibre are immature and soft and may loss at the time of extraction If the harvesting is delayed or it is done at the maturity of the crop, the yield may be more but produces poor quality fibre which is brittle and less flexible as the cellulose reserves decline due to its utilization by developing fruits and seeds.

Extraction of fibre:

Two methods of fibre extraction are practiced – single plant extraction method and beat-break-jerk method. Single plant extraction method: In single plant extraction method, four or five reeds are taken out and stripping started from the bottom; the fibre of each of the reeds is slipped out free from the stick up to 8-10 cm, then gripped and pulled out slowly from the rest of the stick. Extracted strips of the bundles are washed in clean water. Beat-break-jerk method: In beat-break-jerk method, a handful retted stems in left hand are gently beaten at the base with a mallet, then the woody core is broken and the extractor twist the bundles at the middle, grips the fibre where the bundle is broken and shakes the bundles vigorously to and fro in water. The broken sticks slip out and water wrung out of the fibre. The fibre is then washed in clean water, rung and eventually spread to dry, preferably in shade or mild sun. The beat-break-jerk method often leaves the broken sticks and make fibre somewhat entangled resulting in sticky fibre