NIGER OILSEEDS DIVISION DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATION FARMERS

NIGER OILSEEDS DIVISION DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS’ WELFARE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS’ WELFARE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA KRISHI BHAWAN, NEW DELHI www. nmoop. gov. in

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION Family : Asteraceae Common Name : Ram til Scientific Name: Guizotica abyssinica L. Origin : Ethiopian highlands and spread from Malawi to India

SEASON AND CLIMATE Ø Requires moist soil to grow properly Ø Grows well under light black soils or brownish loam with sufficient depth and on well drained heavy soils or rocky laterite soils Ø Requires moderate annual rainfall between 1000 -1250 mm

CROP DESCRIPTION Ø Niger is an annual dicotyledonous herb Ø Plant is erect, stout and branched type Ø Flowers are yellow, slightly green and two to three capitulates grow together Ø It is cross pollinated crop

GLOBAL SCENARIO q Major Niger growing countries are: Ø Ethiopia Ø Germany Ø West Indies Ø Brazil Ø Mexico Ø China Ø Nepal Ø Myanmar Ø India

AREA, PRODUCTION AND YIELD OF NIGER IN INDIA (AVERAGE 2013 -14 TO 2015 -16*) (A-Area in lakh ha; P-Production in lakh MT; Y-Yield in Ql/ha) Sr. No. State A P Y 1 Andhra Pradesh 0. 08 0. 04 4. 78 2 Assam 0. 07 0. 04 5. 95 3 Chhattisgarh 0. 63 0. 11 1. 74 4 Gujarat 0. 10 0. 04 5. 21 5 Jharkhand 0. 03 0. 02 5. 90 6 Karnataka 0. 10 0. 02 3. 08 7 Madhya Pradesh 0. 66 0. 23 3. 55 8 Maharashtra 0. 23 0. 06 2. 42 9 Odisha 0. 66 0. 24 3. 58 10 West Bengal 0. 04 0. 03 7. 13 All India 2. 61 0. 84 3. 21 * Fourth Advance Estimates (2015 -16) Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, New Delhi

AREA, PRODUCTION AND YIELD OF NIGER IN INDIA 3. 5 3 2. 5 2 2013 -14 1. 5 2014 -15 1 2015 -16 0. 5 0 Area (lakh ha) Production (lakh MT) Yield (ql/ha)

STATE WISE AVERAGE AREA (2013 -14 TO 2015 -16) UNDER NIGER IN LAKH HA 0. 04 0. 07 Andhra Pradesh Assam 0. 08 Chhattisgarh 0. 66 0. 63 Gujarat Jharkhand Karnataka Madhya Pradesh 0. 23 Maharashtra 0. 66 0. 10 0. 03 0. 10 Odisha West Bengal

STATE WISE AVERAGE PRODUCTION (2013 -14 TO 2015 -16) OF NIGER IN LAKH MT 0. 03 0. 04 Andhra Pradesh 0. 04 Assam Chhattisgarh 0. 11 0. 24 Gujarat Jharkhand 0. 04 0. 03 0. 06 Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Odisha 0. 02 0. 23 West Bengal

STATE WISE AVERAGE YIELD (2013 -14 TO 2015 -16) OF NIGER IN KG/HA Andhra Pradesh 478 713 Assam Chhattisgarh 595 358 Gujarat 174 242 355 521 308 Jharkhand Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra 590 Odisha West Bengal

POTENTIAL STATES AND DISTRICTS OF NIGER Sr. No. State 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Andhra Pradesh Assam Chattisgarh Kernataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Odisha District Vishkhapatnam Barpeta Goalpara Bastar Jashpur Sarguja Mysore Betul Chhindwara Dindori Ahmadnagar Nasik Koraput Mayurbhanj Average Area 2011 -14 (000 ha) 8. 00 1. 33 11. 00 21. 33 22. 00 1. 67 14. 67 11. 00 22. 33 2. 00 16. 66 24. 33 13. 00 Source: Oilseeds Statistics: A Compendium - 2015, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hydrabad

YIELD GAP UNDER FLDs Ø Limited choice of High Yielding Varieties, use of farm saved seed with low seed replacement rate and low input application are the major factors contributing to low yield Ø Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) conducted by institutes of ICAR/SAUs indicate yield gap from 29 to 41 % over State Average Yield State Jharkhand MP Maharashtra Yield (kg/ha) State Average FLD Yield Kharif 2013 -14 (Irrigated) 500 450 369 475 325 457 Yield gap (%) Source: NMOOP Frontline Demonstration on Oilseeds, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad 29 41

STATEWISE INTER-CROPPING SYSTEMS State Intercropping Row ratio Madhya Pradesh Niger + Kodo/ Kutki/ Pearlmillet/ Green gram 2: 2 Maharashtra Niger + Finger millet / Horse gram/ Ricebean 2: 2 or 4: 2 Niger + Pearlmillet 3: 3 Niger + Finger millet / Black gram 2: 2 or 4: 2 Niger + Ricebean/ Cowpea/ Frenchbean 4: 2 Niger + Finger millet / Black gram 2: 2 Niger + Redgram 3: 2 Niger + Ricebean 4: 2 AP Niger + Cowpea 4: 2 Karnataka Niger + Groundnut 3: 6 Niger + Finger millet 1: 1 Orissa Bihar

VARIETIES AND SEED SCENARIO Ø High Yielding Varieties in case of niger is much less because of limited genetic variation Ø 13 varieties of Niger have been released from 2002 to 2016 Ø JNC-6, JNC-9, Utkal Niger-150 and BNS-10 are promising varieties Ø Non-availability of seed of promising varieties is a constraint

PREFERRED VARIETIES OF NIGER State Varieties Madhya Pradesh/ Chhattisgarh JNC-6, JNC-1, JNC-9 Maharashtra IGP-76, IGPN-2004 -1 (Phule Karala-1) Karnataka RCR-317, RCR-18, KBN-1 Odisha Jharkhand Gujarat GA-10, Utkal Niger-150 Birsa Niger-1, Birsa Niger-2, BNS-10 Gujarat Niger-1, NRS-96 -1 Tamil Nadu Paitur-1

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES Soil Type: Ø Loamy soils of good depth and texture with p. H range of 5. 5 to 6. 5. is most suited Ø Can withstand slight alkalinity and salinity Sowing Time: Ø Sown under rained situations in kharif and rabi as a sole crop or mixed crop with little millet, finger millet, pearl millet, groundnut or pulse crops in different States Seed Rate: Ø Generally 5 kg/ha seed is required for sowing of sole crop

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES (Contd. ) Sowing Method: Ø Crop is largely sown by broadcasting method Ø Line sowing of 30 X 10 cm has been found more beneficial Ø Seeds are mixed with sand / powdered FYM / ash to increase the bulk 20 times to ensure even distribution of seed while sowing Seed Treatment: Ø Seed should be treated with Thiram or Captan @ 3. 0 g/kg seed before sowing Ø Seed treatment with Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) @ 10 g/kg seed gives higher yield

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES (Contd. ) Nutrient Management Ø Crop is mostly grown on marginal and sub- marginal land without manure or fertilizer application Ø Application of recommended N through urea + seed treatment with PSB @ 10 g/kg seed enhances yield significantly Ø Application of sulphur (20 -30 kg/ha) increases seed yield and oil content in Niger

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES (Contd. ) Fertilizer application: State Recommended dose of fertilizer Madhya 10 kg N + 20 kg P 2 O 5/ha at sowing and 10 kg Pradesh N/ha 35 DAS Maharashtra 4 tonnes of FYM and 20 kg N/ha at sowing. Odisha Bihar/ Jharkhand Andhra Pradesh Karnataka 20 kg N + 40 kg P 2 O 5 /ha at sowing and remaining 20 kg N/ha at 30 days after sowing 20 kg N +20 kg P 2 O 5 + 20 kg K 2 O + 15 kg Zn. SO 4 as basal doze 5 tonnes of FYM and 10 kg N/ha at sowing 20 kg N + 20 -40 kg P 2 O 5 + 10 kg K 2 O /ha at sowing

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES (Contd. ) Weed control: Ø First weeding at 15 -20 DAS Ø In Odisha, Cuscuta (Cuscuta hyalina / C. chinensis) infestation has become a major problem, therefore, seed should be obtained from Cuscuta free areas Ø Cuscuta seeds could be separated with a 1 mm sieve

MSP OF NIGER Year (Rs. per kg) 2012 -13 35. 00 2013 -14 36. 00 2014 -15 36. 50 2015 -16 38. 25

NUTRITIVE VALUE Ø Contains most healthy oil with high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acid (45 -66% linolenic acid) and mono-unsaturated fatty acid (1339% oleic acid), for maintaining balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 Ø Rich in protein (10 -25%) soluble sugar (1218%) and fibre (10 -20%)

RESEARCHABLE ISSUES Ø Development of varieties with high seed yield and oil content Ø Development of integrated management for Cuscuta Ø Development management Ø Development of production technology for resource poor farmers Ø Development of IPM modules of Integrated nutrient

ISSUES / ACTIONABLE POINTS Ø Productivity level of Niger in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra is less than the national average which needs to be improved by the States Ø High Yielding Varieties production technology and with higher oil content needs to be developed by ICAR / SAUs Ø Less than 10 year old varieties may be popularized by the major Niger growing States viz. Chhattisgarh, MP and Odisha Ø Development of IPM modules by ICAR / SAUs

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