Land Preparation

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S.N.	PRACTICES
1.	Elevation Surveys
2.	Deep Ploughing
3.	Breaking Clods
4.	Leveling & Slope
5.	Drainage Trench
6.	Raised Beds
7.	Spacing
8.	Digging Pits

STEP 1 – ELEVATION SURVEYS

Precision contour surveys are essential in low-slope areas, while they may not be necessary in regions with a slope greater than 0.5% since the slope direction is less likely to be affected by minor elevation changes. The key reasons for conducting a precision survey include:

• Detecting the dominant slope direction.
• Identifying humps and hollows that may alter surface water flow.
• Determining the need for local drains or cross drains to remove water from small depressions.
• Planning the orientation of raised beds and identifying the best location to drain excess water from the main drainage at the lower end of the raised beds.

Surveyors capable of conducting precise elevation surveys and producing maps are available locally.

STEP 2 – DEEP PLOUGHING

Deep ploughing of the field is carried out twice, with a depth of 12–18 inches.

Why deep ploughing is required?

Deep ploughing offers two key benefits:

1. It breaks the soil’s hardpan, enabling better root growth and improving water/moisture penetration.
2. It exposes soil-borne pests and insects to harsh atmospheric conditions, reducing their population.

IMPLEMENTS FOR DEEP PLOUGHING

For more details click here: https://youtu.be/IsS-asWQdjE?si=SpqTx_tfvej-7jb5

STEP 3 – BREAKING CLODS

Deep ploughing offers two key benefits:

• After deep ploughing, clods of soil are broken using a rotavator.
• This is done few days after ploughing, once the soil dries.

Benefits: Breaking clods improves soil texture, making it suitable for leveling and plantation.

ROTAVATOR BREAKING CLODS

For more details click here: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VTHz50zNK4

STEP 4 – LEVELING & SLOPE

Field leveling helps prevent water logging in uneven areas and facilitates smoother agricultural operations. A slope of 0.5% is recommended to get run off excess water.

Benefits:

• Drains excess water efficiently, reducing soil erosion.
• Leveling patches of 200–250 feet at a time has proven to be both effective and cost-efficient.

For more details click here: – https://youtu.be/4lbEFb4dKiU?si=8mXg36dphED1hKrs

STEP 5 – DRAINAGE TRENCH

After leveling, a main drainage trench measuring 2 feet deep and 2–3 feet wide is dug.

Benefits 

• This ensures the collection and drainage of excess water from the orchard.
• Reduces excess moisture in the field.

STEP 6 – RAISED BED

What is Raised Bed?

A raised bed is a manually elevated soil mass at a specific height where plants are transplanted.

Objectives of making raised bed –

The desired outcomes from these management objectives are to ensure the Raised Beds function properly, that is, they:

• Ensures proper drainage and aeration, preventing water logging.
• Enhances root growth and proliferation, which strengthens the soil structure and increases organic matter.
• Improves water-use efficiency, ultimately increasing production.

Raised bed need to be prepared at least 15 days before plantation.

For more details click here – https://youtu.be/SsRf8fbJll0?si=w-g-IF8obOnqwUc2

Benefits

Bed Orientation

Orientation of raised bed in North-South direction is found best.

Reason

• The North-South orientation allows for an even exposure of the sunlight, which maximizes the chances of uniform crop development.
• Crops planted on a predominantly east-west orientation have the rows closest to the northern shoulder of the bed exposed to sunlight for most of the day. This causes greater soil evaporation from the northern shoulder and results in one or two crop rows growing less and yielding poor than the crop rows on the remainder of the bed.

RAISED BED & PLANTATION IN NORTH – SOUTH DIRECTION

Size of Raised beds

• In waterlogged areas, raised beds are raised 3 times the level of water to protect roots from excess moisture.
• Height of the Raised beds – 12-18 inches.
• Width of the Raised beds – 30-36 inches.

N.B – The size of raised beds varies in different soil types and rainfall area.

Bed Preparation

• The soil masses are drawn on a line with help of a ridger up to a required height.
• The elevated soil thus should be well finished manually after the work is completed mechanically.
• The beds should be soiled well with irrigation, so that the soil becomes compact and helps the plant for better anchorage.

STEP 7. – SPACING

Spacing refers to the distance between two fruit plants and varies from plant to plant.

Suggested spacing for Sweet Orange Orchard:

Minimum spacing –

Row to Row 15 feet

Plant to Plant 15 feet spacing found suitable for Sweet Orange

                 = 193 plants/ Acre

                 = 482 plants/Ha..

STEP 8 – DIGGING PITS

Pits are dug to loosen the soil, break the hardpan, and improve moisture retention for healthy root development. It also helps incorporate nutrients with well-decomposed FYM (Farmyard Manure)

• Pits are dug on raised beds either manually or mechanically.
• Mechanical digging is efficient and cost-effective.

1. Manual Method

Pit digging with size matrix of 2L×2W×2D ft with application of FYM and basal dosage is an essential activity before plantation of Sweet Orange Plant.

Tools for pit digging:

Image Source:

• https://www.flipkart.com/tadso-lid-garden-tool-gaiti-kudaal-wooden-handle-heavy-duty-agricultural hovel/p/itm58f0208aef4c7 
• https://www.scottdirect.com/tools-equipment/hand-tools/shovels-rakes/square-mouth-shovels
• https://www.jawad-alsaffar.com/store/en/all-categories/14210-sh-9-shovel-68-x155cm.html 

Steps to be followed for manual operation:

S.N.	STEPS	IMAGE
1.	Taking measurement of the area to be dug.
2.	Digging pits manually.
3.	Separation of top soil & bottom soil of the pit
4.	Measuring pits 2 x 2 x 2 ft.
5.	Top soil mixed with 10 – 12 kg FYM placed in the bottom of the pit.
6.	Bottom soil mixed with 8 – 10 kg FYM placed in upper layer of pit.
7.	Placement of Chemical Fertilizers in bottom soil to be filled in top of the pit: SSP: 40 g MgSO4: 10 g MOP: 10 g Multi Micronutrient Mixture: 5 g DAP: 5 g
8.	Pit prepared and ready for transplant.

2. Mechanical Digging

• For this purpose, tractor mounted post-hole digger with auger diameter 20 – 22 inches can be used. 
• Post hole digger can be sourced from Agri. Implement Shops or Contractors of Forest / Electricity Departments.

Tractor driven digger and two drivers can make 300 / 400 pits per day on the raised bed. Manually, one labour can make max. 15 – 20 pits/day (estimated). 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L1zbww0d3BE