Districtwise Promising Technologies for Rainfed Linseed based Production System in India

Abstract

The oldest regions of linseed (Linum usitassimum L.) cultivation are reported to be in Asia and on the Mediterranean coast. Linseed is extensively grown in the countries of the temperate zone as well as in those of the tropical zone. The major linseed growing countries are Argentina, the former USSR countries, India, the USA, Canada, Pakistan and Australia. India accounts for about 1.9 million hectares, with a seed production of 4.98 Iakhs of tonnes and occupies the third rank among the linseed-producing countries. Australia and Canada have the highest productivity of about 0.7 t/ha. The yield in the country is the lowest in the world. In India, the major linseed growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Nagaland. Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh together contribute to the national linseed production to the extent of about 70 per cent. Linseed occupies a greater importance among oilseeds owing to its various uses and special qualities. It is grown mainly for seed used for extracting oil in rainfed conditions. The oil content of the seed varies from 33-47%. Linseed oil is an excellent dyeing oil used in manufacturing paints and varnishes, oilcloth, waterproof fabrics and linoleum and as edible oil in some areas. Linseed cake is a very good manure and animal feed. Dual-purpose linseed straw produces fibre of good quality. Linseed is also used in making paper and plastics. That is why it is also known as plastic crop. Linseed is grown in the range of latitudes between the 10th and 65th parallels, both north and south. Its cultivation is confined to low elevations, but it can be successfully grown up to 770 m. Areas with the annual rainfall ranging from 450-750 mm are best suited for its cultivation. The seed crop does well under moderate semi-arid cold, but the fibre crop grows best in cool moist sub-humid climates. In lndia, the crop is grown in the rabi season from September-October to February-March. Linseed can be grown on different kinds of soils, except the sandy and badly drained heavy clays or clay loams. It does well on clay loams, deep clayey black soils of central and peninsular India and on the alluvium loams of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Owing to development of improved linseed varieties and refinement of package of practices for different situations of linseed cultivation, there has been a steady but slow increase in the yield of linseed over a long period. The national yield average for the quinquennium 1981-86 was 272 kg/ha, which increased to 293 kg/ha by the next quinquennium of 1985-90. The present national average yield in 2000 is 385 kg/ ha.