Jícama is an important crop grown in Central and Malabar. It is a suitable crop for the climate of Kerala. Thrissur and Palakkad districts are the major cultivators. It is also a very tasty and nutritious tuber crop and also called Chinese potato. Jícama should be grown in well-drained and fertile soil.
How to plant?
The planting material is the heads of the scorpion. Preparations should be made in April-May to get the titles. Take the furrows and mix the manure with the soil and sow the tubers in the furnace at a spacing of 30 cm. After eight to ten days of germination, spraying with seaweed solution or cow dung will result in more headaches. When the tops reach 20 cm in length, they can be used for cutting and planting.
Titles should be planted in June-July. The walls should be one meter wide and 20 cm high. 40 kg of manure can be given as basal manure. In addition, 250 g urea, 1500 g superphosphate and 350 g potash per cent can be added as base fertilizer.
After one and a half months of planting, apply 250 g urea and 150 g potash and add soil. Care should be taken to remove weeds in a timely manner. The leaves begin to turn yellow in November-December and can be harvested at this time.
Do you not see spots on the leaves and gradually the leaves burn away? It then infects all parts of the plant and destroys the plant. The disease can also affect the tubers. To prevent this, disease-free tubers should be used for planting. Affected leaves should be cut and burnt at the onset of the disease. It is also advisable to spray one per cent Bordeaux mixture.
Moist spots on the shop side can infect the tubers and destroy the entire plant. This is called stepping. To prevent this it is advisable to add Trichoderma enriched manure.
How to make Trichoderma enriched organic manure?
Shade area or shed can be selected for Trichoderma enrichment. Mix 2 kg of Trichoderma with 90 kg of dry dung powder and 10 kg of neem cake. Then the mixture should be arranged in one foot high mounds. Care should be taken to have 40 per cent hydration. Stir well every morning, afternoon and evening and sprinkle a small amount of water to help retain water. Then spread a damp sack on top of the cone and cover. After a week the mixture will be filled with white mould and green particles of Trichoderma. This mixture should be added to the soil or beds as required. The mixture should not be used on more dry and waterlogged soils. No fertilizer should be applied for up to one month after the addition of Trichoderma. This method should be adopted to prevent disease. This mixture should be used within five to six months.
Crop rotation should be done to prevent nematodes from destroying the roots. It is also good to add neem cake to the soil. Any spraying of 2 per cent strength neem oil garlic mixture, 5 per cent strength neem oil and 5 per cent strength neem seed extract will kill various pests
