Horticulture: Olericulture, Pomology and Floriculture Basics
Olericulture (vegetables)
Raise nurseries on raised beds for monsoon drainage; transplant at four to five true leaves. Spacing differs by crop: brinjal 60 × 60 cm, tomato 60 × 45 cm, cabbage 45 × 45 cm. Assam's warm-season group includes okra, cucurbits and chilli; leafy types include mustard saag, palak and khutura. Cole crops - cabbage, cauliflower, knol-khol - dominate the rabi garden.
Pomology (fruits)
Banana (Kachkol, Jahaji), Assam lemon (Kaji nemu), guava, mango, litchi, arecanut, coconut, papaya and pineapple. Propagate banana and pineapple by suckers, guava and lemon by air layering, mango and citrus by grafting or budding. Pruning regulates light and shape; training builds the frame.
Floriculture
Marigold, chrysanthemum, tuberose, rose, gerbera and gladiolus. Pinching induces lateral shoots; harvesting at the correct bud stage decides vase life; low-cost polyhouses extend off-season production.
Worked example
Square planting of guava at 2.5 m × 2.5 m in 1 ha. Area per plant = 6.25 m²; plants = 10,000 ÷ 6.25 = 1,600. Triangular planting raises the count by about 15 per cent: 1,600 × 1.155 ≈ 1,850. Allowing 5 per cent replacement, order 1,680 plants.
Traps that cost marks
- Reversing scion (fruiting top) and rootstock (rooting base).
- Calling a banana sucker a seed.
- Applying one spacing figure to every vegetable.
- Ignoring the nursery stage and sowing directly where transplanting is standard.