Whole or split mother rhizomes are used for planting and well developed healthy and disease free rhizomes are to be selected. Small pits are made with a hand hoe in the beds in rows with a spacing of 25 cm x 25 cm and covered with soil or dry powdered cattle manure. The optimum spacing in furrows and ridges is between 45-60 cm between the rows and 25 cm between the plants. A seed rate of 2000 -2,500 kg of rhizomes is required for planting one hectare of turmeric.
Manuring and fertilizer application
Farm yard manure (FYM) or compost @ 20 tonnes + 1 kg ash + 2 t neem cake +4 t vermicompost /ha. are applied by broadcasting and ploughing at the time of preparation of land or as basal dressing by spreading over the beds to cover the seed after planting. Also use Azospirillum and P-Solublising bacteria (20g/ bed 3 x 1 m ) as nutrient supplement. Apply N:P2O5:K20 @ 30:30:60 Kg/ha.
Fertilizer schedule for turmeric (per ha)
|
Schedule |
N |
P2O5 |
K2O |
Compost/cowdung |
|
Basal application |
- |
30kg |
30kg |
40 tonnes |
|
After 30 days |
20kg |
- |
- |
- |
|
After 60 days |
10kg |
- |
30kg |
- |
Mulching
The crop is to be mulched immediately after planting with green leaves @ 12-15 tonnes/ha. Mulching may be repeated for a second time after 50 days with the same quantity of green leaves after weeding and application of fertilizers.
Weeding and irrigation
Weeding has to be done thrice at 60, 120 and 150 days after planting depending upon weed intensity. Earth up the crop after 60 days. In the case of irrigated crop, depending upon the weather and the soil conditions, about 15 to 23 irrigations are to be given in clayey soils and 40 irrigations in sandy loams.
Mixed cropping
Turmeric can be grown as an intercrop in coconut and arecanut plantations. It can also be raised as a mixed crop with chillies, colocasia, onion, brinjal and cereals like maize, ragi, etc. In wetlands, it is grown in rotation with rice, sugarcane, banana or vegetables.
Turmeric + onion combination recorded an average yield of 16 to 20 tonnes of turmeric and 2,945 kilograms of onion, fetching the highest net income against net income obtained from monocropping of turmeric. This highly profitable finding should be seriously taken note of and implemented by progressive turmeric growers.
