Production and protection Technology of five major crops of Pakistan:
Author names: Dr. Faisal Hafeez, Ayesha Iftikhar, Muhammad Sohaib, Ayesha Arshad.
Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad.
Introduction:
Wheat, rice, maize, cotton and sugarcane are considered most valuable crops in Pakistan. Wheat is a staple food for people of India and Pakistan. After wheat, rice is considered edible crop. Maize was also important as staple food in most parts of world. But not all maize is consumed as human food, it is also used as corn, animal feed etc. However, in fabric industry cotton is most important crop. For the formation of sugar and ethanol etc, sugarcane is used. The following table summarises all the important points of production and protection technologies of these five crops.
| Characteristics | Wheat | Maize | Sugarcane | Cotton | Rice |
| Botanical name | Triticum aestivum L. | Zea mays L. | Sacchaum officinarum. | Gossypium hirsutum. | Oryza sativa L. |
| Family | Poaceae | Poaceae | Poaceae | Malvaceae | Poaceae |
| Order | Poales | Poales | Poales | Malvales | Poales |
| Urdu name | Gandum | Makai | Naishkar | Kapas | Chaawl |
| Punjabi name | Kanak | Jowar | Kamad/ Ganna | Kapah/ Phutti | Monji |
| Yield per acre/ ha | 2.79 t/ha | 3.67t/ha | 60-70t/ha | 638Kg/ha | 691mounds/acre |
| Crop type | Annual | Annual | Perennial | Annual | Annual/Perennial |
| Ranking in the world | 8th in the world production | 23th in the world production | 6th in the world production | 4th in the world production | 3rd in the world production |
| Sowing time | October- November | February-March July-August | September February-March | April-May | May-June |
| Harvesting time | April | When top becomes brown | Feb-March Nov-Dec | Oct-Nov | Oct-Nov |
| Row to row distance | 22.5 to 30 cm | 60-75cm | 75-90cm | 2.5ft | 22.5cm |
| Plant to plant distance | Continuous lines | 22.5cm | Continuous setts | 9 inches | 22.5cm |
| Plants per acre/ ha | 10-12 lac | 65,000 to 75,000 plants per hectare | 60000 canes per acre | 22k-23k | Almost 80k |
| Seed rate | 40-50kg/acre | 12-15kg/acre | 30k-45k setts per acre | 5-7kg/acre for Desi 8-12kg/acre for American | 1-2 Kg for Non-Basmati (for one Marla) |
| Soil type | Clay Loam | Loam | Heavy to Loam | Sandy to heavy loam | Clayey soil |
| Description of plant | Pithy nodes, Hollow internodes | Tassel Ear Cross pollinated crop | Erect, usually 5-6m having nodes and internodes. | Tap rooted, 2-5 feet, self-pollinated | Usually height of 1.8m, look like hollow stem |
| Irrigation | 3-4 | 6-8 | 18-22 | 5-6 | (15-16)1100-1400mm |
| Soil preparation | 4-6 ploughing and 2 planking | 1-2 ploughing and 2 planking | 2 ploughing and planking | 2 ploughing and planking | Usually 2 ploughing and 1 planking |
| Fertilizer/acre(NPK) | 1N:1P | 60:28:25kg | 80:40:40kg | 40:28:28 | 70:40:25kg |
| Verities | Galaxy 2013 Inqilab 91 Chakwal 86 | Neelam Sadaf Akbar Sultan | SPF-213 SPF-234 HSF-240 HSF-242 | CIM 496 CIM 499 NIAB 999 FH 114 | Basmati 198, 370, 385, 6129 Super Basmati, Shaheen
|
| Important pests | Aphids | Shoot Fly Borers | Borers | American, Pink, Spotted Bollworms | Stem Borers |
| Protection from pest | Water spray Bio-control agent (Beetles) | Cartap and chlorpyrifos spray | Fipronil and Imidacloprid spray | Acetamiprid and Deltamiprid spray | Cartap and carbofuran spray |
| Diseases | Smut and Rust | Ear rot Root rot Rusts | Red rot | Root rot of cotton | Paddy blast Brown spot Bakaine disease |
