LPM 121: Fodder Production and Grassland Management (1+1)

INTERCULTURE EQUIPMENT

• Interculturing is described as breaking the upper surface of the soil, uprooting the weeds, aerating the soil, thereby promoting the activities of soil microorganisms and making a good mulch so that the soil moisture is conserved. Control of weeds has always been one of the greatest time and labour consuming operations in the production of crops.
• In India Rs. 4200 million is being lost every year due to the competitive weeds in the produce of major agricultural crops (Natarajan,1987). In an average the cost of weeding comes to Rs. 945/ha, out of the total cost of cultivation of Rs. 3000/ha for agricultural crops.