CCS HAU Regional Research Station, Uchani

About the Centre

The station was established in 1972 as a Centre of Wheat Breeding programme. The parasitological research was shifted at this station in August 1975 and disease investigation laboratory (Vety.) was started in April 1976. Forage and vegetable sections came to existence in 1976. The sugarcane entomology section was shifted to this station in 1978 from Buria followed by sugarcane research in 1979. National Agricultural Research Project was sanctioned in 1982 to further strengthen this station. The major research was started at the centre in 1984. This station is primarily meant to meet research needs of north eastern region of Haryana. Now the major thrust is on research on sugarcane/rice-wheat/maize based cropping system in Haryana.

Sugarcane is grown Haryana under extreme climatic conditions. Mean air temperature shows large variation in Haryana. Optimum temperature for germination is available for a limited period that restricts the growers to plant the sugarcane for a limited period. A temperature of above than 40oC is harmful even to relatively resistant varieties. Best time for planting of sugarcane is September to October for autumn season and mid February to March for spring season planting. Many farmers also plant sugarcane after harvesting of wheat i.e. in April to mid May. Proper germination is serious concern at this time due to shortage of irrigation water, high temperature and dry winds. In this region sugarcane gets favourable agro-climatic conditions only for a limited period for its growth. Temperature goes up to 47oC in summer months with low humidity of about 15%. The fluctuation in relative humidity and temperature is quite relevant to crop growth, development and maturity of the crop. The amplitude of variations in humidity is quite large in the state. The crop life cycle is very limited in late planted sugarcane in the state. The extreme aridity during summer months limits the growth when plant is under formative phase. Low temperature during the early part of winter terminates the growth and also affects the performance of ratoon crop. Occurrence of frost adversely affects the quality of cane. These conditions appear responsible for low productivity and poor quality in the state.

Rainfall distribution pattern in the state is quite erratic. Most of the districts get insufficient rainfall and in the event of high rainfall, the problem of water logging arises. Around 85-90% rainfall is received during the month of July to September (South-West monsoon) and remaining rainfall is received during December to February. Haryana experiences drought situation accompanied with high temperature during April to June i.e. during the formative phase of the crop. High temperature with low humidity accompanied by water stress severally affects the tiller population and ultimately the NMC population in sugarcane plant and ratoon crop leads to lower cane yield.

Water logging induces anaerobic conditions in soil which adversely influences functions of roots, physiology of plant, nutrition and also induced flowering and ageing leads to aerial rooting, rapid moisture loss, increase in fibre and non-sugars and yellowing of leaves. The average rainfall of Karnal district is 600mm. Sugarcane crop requires evenly distribution of about 1500 mm of precipitation during the crop season for good yield. However, sugarcane crop thrives well only during grand growth phase of the crop (July-September) if the water supply through rains is normal. So the sugarcane has very limited period for growth and development in Haryana state. A temperature range of 30-35oC with a relative humidity of about 75% is most suitable for grand growth phase. Rainfall during this growth phase is essential for higher yields of good quality cane. Sucrose accumulation and maturity follow grand growth phase. A clear day coupled with 29-37oC temperature is helpful for inducing increased storage of sucrose, lower nitrogen and better quality juice. Fluctuations in temperature have a negative influence on the enrichment of sucrose. Rainfall during the maturity period induces a resumption of growth and thus harmful for sucrose formation and accumulation.

Out of total geographical area of 44.23 lakh hectares in the state, about 50% area is affected with the problems of erosion, alkalinity, salinity and water logging. Soil erosion occurs mainly due to water and wind. The state experiences gusty winds, dust storms and thunderstorms during March to June. High wind velocity along with heavy rains during September and October caused large scale damage to the sugarcane due to lodging of the cane. Sugarcane requires abundance of bright sunshine. Low sunshine hours during initial winter months affect the crop growth. Salinity and alkalinity in the state is major problem, which affect the sugarcane germination, growth and development. Harmful effects of high salinity are usually manifested through non-availability of nutrients, such as iron, manganese, zinc, boron and phosphorus and deterioration of physical status of soil which ultimately adversely affects sugarcane tonnage and quality.

Special attraction for tourist: Karnal is well connected to rail and road transport. It is situated around 125 km from Delhi towards North on Delhi- Amabla National Highway No.-1. The centre is adjacent to new Bus stand on national highway. The centre is 6.0 km from old bus stand Karnal and 8.0 Km from railway station. The city is connected to rail on Delhi- Panipat- Ambala-Amritsar route. Many ICAR and National institutes like IARI Regional Centre, NDRI, National Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation at Salaru and Sugarcane Breeding Institute Regional centre are located in Karnal City. Kurukshetra, the land of Mahabharta, is hardly 35 km from Karnal. The best time to visit Karnal is between October to November and February to March.

Staff Details

Dr. Rakesh Mehra
Regional Director
Mob:9053068304, 9812256753
rrskarnal@hau.ac.in
Dr. Sudhir Sharma
Asstt. Scientist (PB)
Mob:9557587387
sudhir_sharma7234@rediffmail.com
Dr. Naveen Kumar
Scientist (Agro.)
Mob:9416547443
nknaveenroyal@gmail.com
 

Achievements

Sugarcane varieties developed, notified and released:

Name Year of notification State/Central Remarks
CoH 56 1995 State Early maturing, high sugar content and yield (700 q/ha) non-lodging, good ratooner, susceptible to red rot and grassy shoot disease
CoH 92 2000 State/ National Early maturing high sugar variety with 625 q/ha yield, long, thick, soft, juicy cane, fast growing, shy tillering, tolerant to red rot, susceptible to root borer and wilt complex
CoH 99 1995 State Mid maturing variety, suitable for late planting abiotic stresses, synchronous tillering, dark green foliage, yields 750 q/ha, prone to lodging due to heavy cane top, tolerant to red rot and very good ratooner
CoH 110 2005 State Late maturing, good ratooner, tall, thick, solid cane with good juice quality and high yield (800 q/ha), fast growing, tolerant to red rot
CoH 119 2005 2006 State/ National Mid maturing, good combination of cane yield (800 q/ha) and juice quality, tolerant to red rot, smut and frost, non-lodging, good ratooner, solid juicy cane with thick rind
CoH 128 2012 State/National Mid late maturing, average cane yield (762 q/ha), good ratooner, moderately resistant to red rot, tolerant to top and early shoot borers, suitable for late planting


  • Varieties CoH 56 and CoH92 in early group, CoH 99, CoH 119 and CoH 128 in mid group and CoH 135 and CoH 110 in late group have been released by the centre at state level. All the varieties are resistant to red rot.
  • Mid late variety CoH 119 and CoH developed by this centre and resistant to both races (CF 08 and CF 09) of red rot was released by Central Variety Release Committee for cultivation for North-West zone of India.
  • Varieties CoH 160 in early and CoH 167 in mid group have been identified by the University Variety Release Committee in 2016.
  • Sugarcane breeder seed was produced as per targets given during this period. Approximately 2500 quintals breeder seed was produced every year under state/ ICAR scheme and was supplied to sugarmills and cane growers.
  • Planting by half ridge irrigation method of planting of sugarcane i.e. opening of furrows in dry condition, applying fertilizers in furrows, placing of setts in furrows and covering the setts with 2-3 cm soil followed by light irrigation in furrows upto the half of the height of furrow has been found for increasing germination upto 60-70 per cent.
  • Application of Halosulfuron methyl (Sempra 75 WP) at 30-40 DAP or at 3-5 leaf stage of Cyperus rotundus @ 67.5 g a.i./ha or 90 g/ha (Product) in good moisture gave more than 90 per cent control of Cyperus rotundus in sole sugarcane.
  • Intercropping of garlic, onion, fenugreek, coriander, cabbage, cauliflower, knoll Khol, turnip, redish, wheat, gram,lentil, pea and baby corn with autumn planted sugarcane and crops like green gram, black gram, lady finger, cucumber, bitter gourd, long melon, musk melon and other cucurbits with spring planted sugarcane have been recommended for higher return.
  • Hoeing after first irrigation (30-40 DAP) followed by application of atrazine @ 2.0 kg/ha after second irrigation in moist condition was found very effective for weed control in sole sugarcane.
  • Cross sub-soiling at 1.5 metre with depth of 40-45 cm was found effective in breaking of soil hard pan in improving soil physical properties. This technique has been included in package of practices of CCSHAU, Hisar for Haryana state.
  • Cane equivalent yield of sugarcane planted in February/March in Furrows of FIRB sown wheat (November sowing) was significantly better than sugarcane planted after wheat harvest.
  • Genotypes CoH 119, CoH 114, CoH 112 and CoH109, were identified as N efficient, genotypes, CoH102, CoH 70, CoS 767 and CoH 111 were identified as P efficient.
  • Iron deficiency in sugarcane can be corrected with 2-3 spray of 1% FeSO4 at 10-15 days interval.
  • Biological control is one of major component of IPM in sugarcane. A “Cottage Production System” for mass multiplication of egg parsitoid, Trichogramma sp. has been developed by this centre. By developing this technique “Cottage Production System” bio-control lab. produced more than 10 thousand Tricho cards against stalk borer, Chilo auricilius and top borer, Scirpophaga excerptalis. An entomopathogenic fungus, Aschersonia sp. was also mass multiplied in lab. and found effective against sugarcane whitefly, Aleurolobus barodensis.
  • Bio-control tactic for the management of Leaf hopper, Pyrilla developed : Bio-control of leaf hopper, Pyrilla perpusilla Wlk., a sporadic but serious pest of sugarcane crop is a success story from this centre. The augmentation and redistribution of its egg parasitoids (Cheiloneurus pyrillae and Tetrastichus pyrillae) and nymphal-adult parasitoid (Epiricania melanoleuca) during the last more than twenty five years have saved several crores of rupees of the state as cost on repeated aerial sprays of insecticides apart from maintaining the resource quality and simultaneously, avoiding other human and animal health hazards. These mass liberations have transformed the biological control of Pyrilla into natural control and since last twenty years the population densities of the pest are kept under check.
  • Presently, the parasites are produced in mass by five biocontrol laboratories. Since 2001-02 four biocontrol laboratories have been established one each in the premises of Co-operative Sugar Mills Shahbad, Meham, Jind and Sonipat with the technology and technical guidance of Scientists of this station. Since then parasites produced by these laboratories have continuously been made available to farmers for use over 40,000 ha of sugarcane, sorghum and rice crops in the state. During 2009-10, the Shahbad Co-operative Sugar Mills alone has reduced its insecticide requirements for top borer control to more than 50 per cent. It is planned to further strengthen these laboratories by introducing mass production of a few more promising bioagents.
  • The working isolated showing pathogenic variability from the previously reported pathotypes at different centres of North-West zone were confirmed at Uchani centre as per AICRP Workshop decision. Out of eleven pathotypes reported from India, six pathotypes (CF 01, CF 02, CF 03, CF 07, CF 08 and CF 09) were reported by this centre from Haryana.
  • The major diseases which cause losses to sugarcane in Haryana are red rot, smut, wilt, grassy shoot disease, ratoon stunting disease and top rot phase of red stripe disease. Among these, red rot caused by Colletotrichum falcatum is the most dreaded disease. Eastern part of the state is prone to red rot whereas in the western part, red rot problem is relatively lesser. Pokkah boeng and yellow leaf disease earlier minor diseases, are also posing a new threat to sugarcane crop in Haryana from last few years.
  • The pre monsoon (April-June) symptoms of red rot have been identified. The affected clumps are to be uprooted and spot application of 5-10 g bleaching powder applied after uprooting the infected clumps check the further spread of the disease.
  • Outbreak of red rot in early maturing high sugared variety CoJ 64 was first observed in Haryana during 1989 in Yamunanagar sugar mill zone. Subsequent variability studies (1990-93) revealed existence of three pathotypes in North-West zone in India designated as Cf 01, Cf 02 and Cf 03 from Co 1148, Co 7717 and CoJ 64, respectively. Breakdown of red rot resistance in variety CoS 767 was observed for the first time in Kaithal mill area (village Keorak) during May, 1998. On the basis of further work on variability, three more pathotypes were got identified at national level for North-West zone which were designated as Cf 07 (CoJ 64), Cf 08 (CoJ 84) and Cf 09 (CoS 767) during AICRP group meeting in October 1999.

Impact of improved variety

  • CoH 160 (CoH 09262) is a high sugared early maturing variety. It is non lodging, good ratooner, resistant to red rot disease and average cane yield of 850 q/ha. It is suitable for Autumn and Spring planting. It is also responsive to fertilizers and irrigation. It is suited to mechanical harvesting if planting in wider row spacing. The sugarcane variety CoH 160 recommended by State to Central Seed Sub Committee for Agricultural crops in the meeting held at Krishi Bhawan, Chandigarh on 30.11.2018. The area under cultivation of CoH 160 is increasing in the Haryana state. During 2017-18 its area under cultivation in Haryana was 3.18 % and increased to 6.13% during 2018-19. It is expected that the area under cultivation of this variety will increase to 15 to 20 % during 2019-20. Large scale mill trials data of CoH 160 showed that sugar recovery per cent ranged from 9.83 (December) to 11.91 (April) with average of 10.93. Increase in Mill sugar recovery due to CoH 160 was 0.18 units. This variety is best suited for early crushing and some of the private mills in Haryana start their crushing season with crushing of this variety for first 20-25 days of season to get better recovery. It is the best variety to replace the dominant variety Co 0238 which is showing susceptible reaction to red rot in Uttar Pradesh. CoH 160 is multi ratooner, can give two ratoon crops without reduction in cane yield and the cost of planting is saved to farmers.
  • Varieties CoH 167 in mid and CoH 150 in Late group were identified by University Varietal Identification/Release Committee (UVRC) for their large scale testing at farmer’s field in different sugar Mill zones of the state in 2016.

Production /protection technology through AICRPs

S.No. Technology Impact
1 Lay–by application of Atrazine for management of complex weed flora in sugarcane : Hoeing after first irrigation followed by atrazine at 2.0 kg /ha after 2nd irrigation followed by 2, 4-D at 75 DAP for control of complex weed flora. Weeds cause 20-70% reduction in cane yield depending upon time of planting, intensity and type of weeds. This practice of weed management is being adopted in sugarcane growing areas of subtropical region.
2 FIRB sowing of wheat + planting of sugarcane in February/March in furrows: FIRB sowing of wheat on 15th November or 15th December + sugarcane in furrows in 3rd week of February can be alternate option for sugarcane + wheat intercropping system. Yield of late planted sugarcane is 40-50 and 25-30 percent lower in comparison to autumn and spring planted sugarcane, respectively. Maximum cane equivalent yield was recorded in autumn sugarcane + wheat intercropping system of 1:2 and 1:3 ratio and closely followed by FIRB sowing of wheat on 15th November or 15th December + sugarcane in furrows in 3rd week of February or March and lowest in late planting of sugarcane after wheat harvest. This alternate cropping system is gaining popularity in Punjab and Western U.P.
3 Integrated nutrient management in sugarcane Significantly higher cane yield and sugar yield were recorded under FYM @ 20 t/ha with 100 % recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF). Poor soil properties owing to non addition of organic manure have resulted in yield stagnation. Addition of trash mulching + FYM @ 20 t/ha with RDF resulted in significant increase in cane yield over RDF alone. This technique is being adopted on large scale by the sugarcane growers for breaking the hard pan and yield.
4 Paired row planting of sugarcane+ trash mulching in sugarcane for water saving Paired row trench planting (30:120 cm) + trash mulching as compared to planting at 75 cm row spacing resulted in significantly higher cane and sugar yield and less water requirement as compared to conventional planting without mulching. Water scarcity during pre-monsoon period hampers the crop productivity. Paired row planting with trash mulching required less water as compared to conventional planting. Subtropical states suffer due to water shortage during pre-monsoon period. This technique is gaining popularity in Northern states in sugarcane growing areas.
5 Cross sub-soiling for breaking of hard pan in sugarcane fields at 1.5 meter distance at 40-45 cm depth was recommended once in three years for breaking the soil hard pan in sugarcane fields. This technology is being widely used in the Haryana state and adjoining states of Punjab, U.P. and Uttrakhand. Significant increases of 10-20 % in cane yield and improvement in soil physical properties have been recorded.
6 Wide bed & paired furrow planting (trench planting) of sugarcane Wide bed & paired furrow planting (35-35: 105 cm or 30-30: 120 cm) recorded 8-10 % higher cane yield with easiness in intercropping and mechanization over conventional planting (60-75 cm spacing). This technique is being adopted by the sugarcane growers on a large scale in Haryana and neighbouring states.
7 Wider row planting in sugarcane ( 90 -120 cm) Wider row planting (90-120 cm) recorded similar cane yield with easiness in intercropping and mechanization in comparison to conventional planting (60-75 cm spacing). This technique is also being adopted by the sugarcane growers in autumn and spring season in Haryana and neighbouring states.
8 Recommendation of halosulfuron methyl for control of Cyperus rotundus in sugarcane Halosulfuron methyl 75 % WG at 67.5 g a.i./ha at 30-45 days after planting (at first irrigation) or at 3-5 leaf stage of Cyperus rotundus was recommended for effective control of Cyperus in sugarcane. This technology is widely used in Haryana and neighbouring states.
9 Application of sulphur @ 25 kg/ha through gypsum was recommended in sugarcane This recommendation is being adopted in sulphur deficient areas of sugarcane cultivation in sub tropical India.
10 Mass multiplication of Trichogramma spp. namely T. chilonis and T. japonicum: Coarse milled maize grains were found superior for these bioagent production system. Addition of powdered yeast @ 2 g/kg of media improved egg laying efficiency of Corcyra cephalonicamoths. It not only shortened moth emergence period by 4.7 days by making available protein in the diet but also resulted in increased number of moth emergence. Mass multiplication of muscardine fungus, Metarhiziumanisoplieon sugar industry waste/by product: Technology of mass production of fungus using cheap sources namely molasses, bagasse, press mud and cane trash media alone as well as amended individually with aqueous molasses and yeast in different combinations and concentrations were tested as media. It shortened growth and sporulation (by 7 days). Amendments with 2% molasses and 1.5% Baker’s yeast further fastened the process. Mixing with 3.0% molasses and 1.5% yeast produced 105 folds more conidia than that harvested from bagasse alone. The fungus produced on this medium showed higher potentiality. They were effective against termites and other borer pests Production of “TRICHO CARDS” at this centre has benefitted more than 60,000 farmers of the state. Using this technology innovations, four “biopesticide laboratories” were established in four sugar mills benefitting lakhs of farmers of the state as well as neighbouring states. Being a non-chemical successful alternative, it has been adopted by sugarcane grower especially organic cultivators of India in large areas.
11 Standardization of technique for red rot screening Standardized artificial red rot screening by nodal and plug method of inoculation. Developed hypodermic needle for effective inoculation for red rot screening by plug method. Breeding red rot resistant varieties is one of the objectives of breeder in the country. Nodal and plug method of inoculation is being adopted by the plant pathologists in the country to screen varieties against red rot disease. This is most reliable and practical technique for screening of varieties against red rot.