Sunnhemp Cultivation

Sunnhemp Introduction

S unnhemp or Sanai is an important bast fibre and green manuring crop of India. Besides, it is also used as green fodder in some areas. Fibres obtained from sunnhemp are dull white in colour, having high tensile strength.

It is a suitable indigenous raw material for manufacturing high quality tissue paper, cigarette paper and paper for currency. In India traditionally it is used for making ropes, twines, net, handmade paper, tat-patties and canvas.

It is mainly cultivated inOrissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. In U.P. it is mainly grown in Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Allahabad, Jaunpur and Varanasi districts.

Introduction
Details

Suitable Climate for Sunnhemp Cultivation

  • The sunnhemp crop thrives well in tropical and subtropical climate.
  • In northern India, it is grown in summer and in rainy season while in the southern parts of the country, where the winter is not so pronounced, it is grown in rabi season.
  • Evenly distributed rainfall of at least 400 mm during crop season is required.
  • The crop grows well under long day condition for fibre, while requires short day for seed production.
Climate
Crop Production

Soil Types

  • Sunnhemp grows well on almost all types of soil except acidic, alkaline and water logged areas.
  • Well drained loam or sandy loam soils are best for sunnhemp cultivation.
  • Optimum pH requirement for good crop of sunnhemp is 6.0 to 7.5 beyond which plant growth and root nodulation are adversely affected.
  • Soils rich in phosphorus and calcium are most suitable for sunnhemp.
Soil Types
Crop Production

Land Preparation

  • One ploughing followed by two to three harrowing are sufficient to obtain good tilth.
  • Land should be leveled by giving a gentle slope to ease drainage.
  • There should be proper moisture in the soil at the time of sowing for proper germination of seeds.

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Land Preparation
Crop Production

Sowing Time

  • In northern India under irrigated condition second fortnight of April is the best for sowing while under rainfed condition the crop is sown with the onset of monsoon.
  • In southern part of India it is raised as a rabi season crop.
Sowing Time
Crop Production

Seed Rate and Spacing

  • In northern India under irrigated condition second fortnight of April is the best for sowing while under rainfed condition the crop is sown with the onset of monsoon.
  • In southern part of India it is raised as a rabi season crop.
Seed Rate and Spacing
Crop Production

Improved Varieties

VARIETY YIELD SIGNIFICANT ATTRIBUTES
Ankur 11 to 12 q/ha developed through mass selection is suitable for all the sunnhemp growing areas of the country.
Swastik 10 to 12 q/ha. developed through mass selection is suitable for all the sunnhemp growing areas of the country.
Shailesh 10 to 12 q/ha. developed through mass selection is suitable for all the sunnhemp growing areas of the country..
K-12 yellow 9 to 10 q/ha. It is fares well in different soils and agro-climatic conditions. It is partially resistant to vascular wilt and top shoot borer.
K-12 black 8 to 10 q/ha. It is most popular variety of western Uttar Pradesh.
T-6 It is selected from the bulk crop of Midnapur variety. This is quick growing variety suitable for green manuring.
Chindwara 9 to 10 q/ha. It is a late variety suitable for heavier soils of Madhya Pradesh.
Nalanda 6 to 10 q/ha. This sanai evolved in Bihar by isolations from Biharsharif. It is the most suitable variety to grow in Bihar state.
M-19 and M-35 These two varieties are partially resistant to top shoot borer, suitable for light soils of Madhya Pradesh..
Improved Varieties

Nutrient Management

  • Sunnhemp being a leguminous crop fulfills its nitrogen requirement through the process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
  • However, application of 20 kg N/ha was found to increase the fibre yield. Application of 40 kg P2O5 and 20 to 40 kg K2O /ha depending on soil condition is required for proper nodulation and good fibre yield.
Nutrient Management

Irrigation

  • When sunnhemp is grown during kharif season with the onset of monsoon, generally it requires no irrigation.
  • But in the case crop is sown during mid April as summer crop, it needs about 4 - 5 irrigations at 15-20 days interval depending upon prevalent soil and weather conditions.
Irrigation

Weed Control

  • The crop of sunnhemp grows very fast and thus smoother all weeds, except nut sedges.
  • In problem areas one weeding in early stage of crop growth is sufficient.
  • A common weed associated with sunnhemp is Hirankhuri (Convolvulous arvensis), necessitating one manually weeding, otherwise it will hamper the growth of crop and creates problem in extraction of fibre.
Weed Control

Topping

  • For seed production, apical topping after 30 days of sowing is essential for better seed yield.
  • It induces development of lateral branches thereby increase the potential poding area.
Topping

Insect- Pests

Top Shoot Borer (Cydia tricentra Meyr)

This is a most serious pest, which appears after the onset of monsoon. In the early stage of crop larvae bore into the top portion of young plants and consequently apical buds are distorted into galls, plants become stunted and consequently axillary branches develop.

Management

  • Deep ploughing during summer for exposure of the pest to sun.
  • Early sowing in April/May escapes pest incidence to great extent.
  • Soil application of furadon –3G @ 16.5 kg/ha followed by two sprayings of 0.1% Carbaryl – 50WP at an interval of 15 days immediately after the commencement of pest attack should be done.

Hairy Caterpillar (Utethesia pulchella Linn.)

This is a common pest in all the sunnhemp growing areas. The larvae of the pest feed on the foliage and skeletonize them completely and then at later stage bore into the pods and eat away the seeds.

Management

  • Three to four sprayings of Endosulphan @ 1.5ml/ litre of water at 15 days interval.
Insect- Pests

Diseases

Vascular wilt

It is caused by Fusarium udum Butt. f. sp.crotalariae is very common disease of sunnhemp.

  • The vascular wilt can effectively be controlled by application of neem cake @ 50 Q/ha before sowing.
  • Growing of Jowar and / or Til as intercrop in between the rows of sunnhemp is effective in combating the wilt disease of sunnhemp.
  • Seed should be treated with Bavistin @ 2 g /kg.

Leaf curl virus

It is caused by gemini virus is also very common disease of sunnhemp spreads through white fly.

  • The white fly can be effectively controlled by application of endosulfan 35 EC@ 2ml/litre.
Diseases

Harvesting

  • The crop gets ready for harvest in 90-100 days when sown in summer.
  • The kharif season crop should be harvested at 50% flowering stage.
  • The crop is harvested with the help of sickle and plants are tied in small bundles of 15-20 cm in diameter to facilitate retting and washing.
  • The upper tender portions of the plants are cut and used either as a fodder for cattle or incorporated into soil for green manuring.
Harvesting

Retting

  • Jute bundles are taken to the retting tank where these are kept side by side horizontally to form a platform of any convenient size and then pressed deep into water (20-25 cm) with the help of bamboo or stones or wooden logs for retting.
  • The retting process requires generally 3-5 days depending upon prevalent temperature and crop age.
  • The test for completion of retting is done by smoothness in peeling (separation of bark from the stick).
  • When retting is completed, the bundles are dashed against water for 3 to 4 times to remove excess lignin and then bundles are moved in water to and fro.
  • Washed bundles are stacked vertically for dripping of water from the sticks and fibres. With lot of good wishes and love
Retting

Fibre extraction

  • Fibre can easily be extracted when washed bundles of sunnhemp are moist.
  • Fibre from each plant is extracted/peeled off manually from bottom to top side in long strip.
  • If the retting has been satisfactory, the fibre peels off smoothly from the inner stem.
  • The extracted fibre is dried in the sun, put up in twists and bundles for marketing.
Fibre extraction

Yield

  • Fibre yield ranges from 5 to 10 Q/ha in different parts of country.
  • With improved package of practices about 10 to 12 quintals fibre and 50-60 quintals of sticks per hectare can be produced.
Yield