Vigna mungo, Leguminaceae
Blackgram is one of the most important pulse crops of India. It is also know as Urd or Mash. It is a rich source of protein and phosphoric acid. It is used as dal. In India, major Urd growing areas are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Varieties and Hybrids
VBN 3, VBN (Bg) 4, VBN (Bg) 5, TNAU (Blackgram) VBN 6, Co 6, TMV 1, ADT 3, ADT 5, Mash 218, Mash 114, Pant 140, T 65
Climate and soil
It requires a temperature of 15-30 degrees and rainfall of 50-75 cm. It can be grown well in Saline – alkaline soils. Waterlogged soils are not suitable for mash cultivation. For good growth, it requires stiff loamy or heavy soils with good water retentive capacity.
Season
Optimum time for kharif sowing is last week of June to first week of July. Optimum time for summer cultivation is from March to April. For sub-mountainous region, complete sowing from 15-25 July.
Seed rate
For kharif sowing use seed rate of 7-8kg/acre whereas for summer sowing use seed rate of 19-20kg/acre of bold seeds.
Seed treatment
Treat the seeds with Carbendazim or Thiram @ 2 g/kg of seed 24 hours before sowing
Soil depth and spacing
Use row to row spacing of 30 cm and plant to plant spacing of 10 cm for Kharif sowing. For Rabi sowing use row to row spacing of 22.5 cm and plant to plant spacing of 4-5 cm. Sow the seeds at the depth of 4-6 cm.
Land Preparation
Prepare the land to get fine tilth and form beds and channels. To tide over the soil surface crusting apply lime at the rate of 2t /ha along with FYM at 12.5 t/ha or composted coirpith at 12.5 t/ha to get an additional yield of about 15 – 20%.
Manures and fertilizers
At the time of sowing, apply Nitrogen@5kg in form of Urea@11kg per acre and Phosphorus@10kg in form of SSP@60kg/acre along with FYM
Weed Management
Pre emergence application of Pendimethalin 3.3 litres/ha under irrigated condition 2.5 litres/ha under rainfed condition on 3 days after sowing using Knapsack/Rocker sprayer fitted with flat fan nozzle using 500 litres of water for spraying one hactare followed by one hand weeding at 20 DAS can be followed. If herbicides are not applied give two hand weedings on 15 and 30 days after sowing. For the irrigated blackgram PE isoprotwron @ 0.5 kg ha-1 followed by one hand weeding on 30 DAS.
Water Management
Give irrigation immediately after sowing, followed by life irrigation on the third day. Irrigate at intervals of 7to 10 days depending upon soil and climatic conditions. Flowering and pod formation stages are critical periods when irrigation is a must. Avoid water stagnation at all stages. Apply KCl at 0.5 per cent as foliar spray during vegetative stage if there is moisture stress.
Harvesting
Best time for harvesting of urd is when leaves are shed and pods become greyish black. Cut the crop with sickle, threshing is done and seeds are separated from pods. Later spread harvested crop on floor to dry.