Soil treatment is a specialised task in protected cultivation. Due care must be taken to cause minimum health harzards to the operators, polyhouse visitors.
Soil treatment in protected cultication - a polyhouse at IARI Farm
Open field situations:
In annual vegetable (also ornamental) crops, right rotation especially including fallow periods is recommended. In tree-crops like litchi and mango, an indigenous technique of planting turmeric around the tree-basin is said to repel the termites.
Soil management:
Deep summer ploughing is recommended before the onset of monsoon.
Well decomposed FYM is to be applied to the field.
Pre-planting tillage also destroys the tunnels built by termites and restricts their foraging activities and also reduces their damage to crops.
Tillage, irrigation and mulching practices covering soil:
Border/bunds on perimeter should essentially be made clean of weeds, and cultivated deep, and soil is drenched with recommended insecticides.
Crude method of termiticide application (mostly chlorpyriphos) in the irrigation channel should be avoided.
Removing dry sticks, stubbles, bamboo sticks etc. in the field, using well rotten manure, application, avoiding crop residues.
Appropriate soil-treatment after mound elimination must be followed. Please see the relevant section (Mound Treatment).
(a) Mounds on the borders/boundaries must be removed, (b) A mound dismantled on border, but not plugged with after appropriate chemical treatment