Kerala Agricultural University’s recommendations to combat drought…

A rare heat wave in Kerala has been reported in Palakkad and Thrissur districts. The India Meteorological Department reports a heatwave when the maximum temperature exceeds 4.50 degrees above the average daily temperature for more than two places on two consecutive days. At present, orange alert has been issued in Palakkad district, yellow alert in districts like Thrissur and Kollam and high alert has been issued in most of the districts. In the current situation, the hot and humid weather conditions are likely to continue till the first week of May. Widespread summer rains are likely to arrive only by mid-May.
Climate change and extremely harsh summers have severely affected agriculture. High temperatures, severe water scarcity and polluted water make it impossible to implement agricultural management practices. There is no option but to take urgent measures to protect the planted crops and permanent crops.
General recommendations for protecting crops from drought

• Scheduling early morning and evening watering of plants prevents water loss due to evaporation.
• Mulch under plants.
• Mulch the pastures to reduce water loss (evaporation) from the soil.
• Use drought tolerant varieties.
• Use drip irrigation system which requires less water due to less water availability.
• Sprinkle water over the crop when water is available.
• Add plenty of organic fertilizers to increase soil organic matter, animal activity and drainage capacity.
• Reduce crop density in times of severe drought and water scarcity
  Plants planted at the recommended spacing will need to be pruned in between
• Remove lower leaves to reduce evaporative loss from leaves
• 25% more than the recommended dose of potash fertilizers is recommended.
• Application of Boron containing fertilizers / secondary / trace element mixture will help in drought resistance as Boron helps in drought resistance.
• Microorganisms such as Piriformospora indica, PPFM and AMF are used in crops to protect crops to some extent.
• Agricultural activities should be avoided between 11 am to 3 pm. Chemical pesticides should not be applied at this time under any circumstances.
• Lightly loosening the topsoil is a good way to retain water from summer rains in the soil.

Specific recommendations for different crops
rice
In paddy fields where water availability is low, the method of irrigation that keeps the water in the paddy should be avoided. A week after planting, it is preferable to withhold water until the chinup starts to crack and then give the next watering only when small cracks of the size of a head start to appear. But do not allow the soil to dry out.
As drought in paddy at the time of earing has a significant effect on production, spraying with any one of Sulphate of Potash (5 g/1 liter of water), Boron (2 g/1 liter of water) and Salicylic acid (50 mg/1 liter of water) is helpful in controlling drought.
When growing rice as a third crop, use only short-duration varieties whenever possible. When fertilizing, use phosphorus and potash as base fertilizer. To prevent drought, one percent jajaenga solution should be sprayed on the rice plant at the time of bud break.
The method using the friendly bacteria Jajaenga (pink pigment facultative methylotrap) is the standard of care of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. It is helpful in reducing the impact of drought. It is mainly used for rice and vegetables. Jajaenga is made by extracting Methylobacterium found in the leaves of plants. Spraying one liter of jajaenga per acre in 200 liters of water will help to survive the drought. It should be sprayed only in the early morning or evening/ no herbicides should be added.
aphid
Lamp traps can be used as rice is susceptible to aphid infestation. Adequate planting spacing/seed rate in previously uncultivated fields. If the infestation is severe then either buprofezil (2ml/l), imidacloprid (3ml/10l) or thiamethoxam (2g/10l) can be sprayed.
Bacterial blight
To combat bacterial leaf blight and other fungal diseases, mix 20 grams of green manure in 1 liter of water and after proofing it, sprinkle with 20 grams of Pseudomonas.
banana
Maximum water absorption capacity by depositing dung, compost and charcoal in banana beds

• Adopt particle irrigation system (12 litres/ a day/ per banana).
• Sulphate of potash (5 grams per liter of water) can be sprayed on banana leaves at two week intervals to prevent drought.
• Banana leaves are susceptible to attack by aphids and leafhoppers in summer to control this by spraying horticultural mineral oil mixed with 25 ml of 1 liter of water on the underside of the leaf. Mixing two grams of vegetable sulfur in one liter of water is also effective against mandari
• Salicylic acid mixed at 140g per liter of water and sprayed at the rate of 250ml per plant helps in drought tolerance.