Kaithal Maize Bajra Dryland Farming

Kaithal's un-irrigated upland areas in the eastern kandi belt grow bajra pearl millet and maize as rainfed kharif crops that require less water than paddy and are better adapted to the sandy loam soils of the Ghaggar floodplain margins. Bajra grain is ground at village mills into atta for making bajra roti, the traditional winter bread of Haryana eaten with desi ghee and green chilli, and bajra straw provides nutritious dry fodder for Murrah buffaloes. The Punjab Agricultural University extension centre in Kaithal promotes new hybrid bajra varieties like HHB-67 that give yields two to three times higher than traditional varieties.