A vocational training programme on “Quality production of gur/shakkar ” was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur from 16th to 20th October, 2023 under the aegis of Directorate of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University and ICAR-ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana.
During the inaugural session, Dr. Maninder Singh Bons, Associate Director (Training), KVK, Hoshiarpur welcomed the participants and said that PAU, Ludhiana, since last few years has been conducting a series of similar training programmes, in the crushing season, for the benefit of this traditional segment of agro-processing undertaken by the progressive farmers of sugarcane. He stressed upon the need for following the recommended agronomic practices for sugarcane cultivation for quality gur/shakkar production. Dr. Bons also laid emphasis on the requirement of quality & hygienic gur/shakkar production in the context of human health and nutrition in the present times.
During the training, Dr. Ajaib Singh, Assistant Professor (Agricultural Engineering), KVK Hoshiarpur explained in detail about the processing of sugarcane and its packaging. He gave practical demonstrations of various instruments like Refractometer and pH meter for better jaggery processing and productivity. He told that the juice recovery from horizontal roller crusher was more as compared to vertical crusher. Dr. Ajaib also advised the farmers that the cane should be crushed within 24 hours of its harvesting for better quality.
An exposure visit to “Scientific Jaggery Processing Unit” at village Neela Naloya, block Bhunga, Hoshiarpur was also conducted during this vocational training programme where progressive jaggery processor, Sh. Satminder Singh interacted with the trainees, shared his experiences and explained about the various practical aspects regarding jaggery processing.
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