Black gram

Land Preparation
A harrowing should be used after one or two ploughings to bring the ground to a fine tilth.
Seed rate and spacing
Seed rate: Kharif sowing: 12-15 Kg/ha spring sowing: 20-25 Kg/ha Spacing: Kharif season: 30-35x10 cm Spring season: 20-25x10 cm
Intercultural operation
With proper seed bed preparation, weeds may be efficiently controlled. It is advised to manually weed or do 2-3 intercultural operations on black gram during the first three to five weeks following sowing. The most efficient method involves using a herbicide, then hoeing and one hand weeding.
Crop nutrition management
Crop nutrition management
Irrigation Management
At important growth stages, like as flowering and pod formation, irrigation should be given.
Weed management
Between 25 and 30 days after sowing, weeding and hoeing should be done. If there are still weeds in the field, weeding should be done again at 45 days after planting. In post-emergence applications, chemical herbicides like Pendimethalin or Metalachlor @ 1.0-1.5 kg/ha are shown to be quite effective.
Climate & soil

It is produced as a rainfed crop up to 2,000 metres above sea level in both the cool highlands and the warm plains. It is said that black gram grown in the hills or in a humid climate has greater cooking quality. Although it may be cultivated on a broad range of soil types, sandy loam soil is best. However, the optimal soil is deep loam with a light texture and a pH of 6.5–7.5.

Insect pest management

Gram pod borer: Helicoverpa armigera

  1. It is advisable to undertake deep summer ploughing.
  2. Place 5 pheromone traps per hectare.
  3. quinolphos insecticide, 2ml per lit of water should be sprayed

Spotted pod borer: Maruca testulalis

It is necessary to use Phosalone 0.07% (625 ml/ha of spray fluid). Application of insecticides should be avoided when the activity of coccinellid predators (both grubs and adults) is observed.

Blue butterfly: Lampides boeticus

Neem oil 2% or Emamectin Benzoate 5%SG 220 g/ha should be used.

Leaf hopper -  Empoasca kerri

Spray Methyl Demeton 750 ml in 700–1000 L of water per hectare on the affected crop.

Whitefly – Bemisia tabaci

Spray of Methyl demeton 25 EC 500 ml/ha or Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml/ha should be done per ha. Spray fluid should be 250 l.

Plant diseases management

Anthracnose    

  1. It is recommended to apply carbendazim 2g/kg to the seeds.
  2. Destroy and remove plant waste.
  3. It is advised to use Mancozeb 2g/lit or Carbendazim 0.5g/lit as a spray.

Rust

At the beginning of the disease and 10 days later, apply Mancozeb 1000g or wettable Sulphur 1500g/ha.

Cercospora leaf spot

At the beginning of the disease and 10 days later, apply Mancozeb 1000g or Carbendazim  500g/ha.

Powdery Mildew

  1. Spray NSKE 5% or Neem oil 3% twice with a 10-day gap between applications from disease incidence.
  2. 10% Eucalyptus leaf extract should be sprayed both at the beginning of the disease and 10 days thereafter.
  3. Spray 500 g of carbendazim, 1500 g of wettable Sulphur, or 500 ml of Propiconazole per ha at the beginning and 10 days after the onset of the disease.

 Yellow Mosaic

  1. It's important to cultivate resistant varieties.
  2. Treatment of seeds with 5 ml/kg of dimethoate (or) imidacloprid.
  3. installing 12 yellow sticky traps per hectare.
  4. Remove the diseased plants for up to 45 days.

Spray thiamethoxam 75 WS 1g /3 lit, dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml/ha, or methyl demeton 25 EC 500 ml/ha, as needed, and repeat after 15 days.

Harvesting & post-harvest management

It should be harvested after 75% of the pods are fully developed, which indicates that the pods are black and brittle when lightly pressed. Grain shattering might occur as a result of over ripeness. Crops should be harvested, dried completely, and then threshed. Threshing can be done manually or beneath bullocks' feet.