Under the aegis of the Directorate of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Ludhiana, the Farm Advisory Service Center (FASC), Sangrur, conducted a one-day awareness camp on November 4, 2024, at Ramnagar Chhana village in Sherpur block. The camp focused on paddy residue management and the benefits of bio-fertilizers.
Dr Ashok Kumar, District Extension Specialist (Soil Science), highlighted the harmful effects of paddy residue burning, such as nutrient loss (including nitrogen and sulfur) and the release of toxic gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitric oxide, which negatively impact human and animal health and contribute to road accidents. He explained that burning one tonne of paddy residue results in losing 400 kg of organic carbon, 5.5 kg of nitrogen, 2.3 kg of phosphorus, 25 kg of potash, and 1.2 kg of sulfur. Dr. Kumar also emphasized that wheat sowing can be efficiently carried out alongside in-situ management of paddy straw using machinery like Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, and cost-effective surface seeders.
Farmers were encouraged to use bio-fertilizer consortia as a seed treatment in wheat to improve soil health, with demonstrations on wheat consortium application. Information on newly released PAU-recommended wheat and gram varieties was also shared, with details on availability for purchase. Options for DAP alternatives were discussed, including SSP, TSP, and NPK (12:32:16), with guidance on the proper dosage to meet phosphorus requirements. Additionally, mineral mixtures for dairy animals were sold to support livestock health, along with vegetable seeds (coriander, carrot, pea, and gram) and PAU literature.
The event concluded with an interactive session, during which farmers’ queries on topics like manganese deficiency in wheat and DAP alternatives were addressed. Progressive farmer S. Sehajpreet Singh extended a vote of thanks to FASC Sangrur.
Following the camp, the FASC team visited the fields of S. Maghar Singh from Benra village and S. Alakhdass from Punawal village, where wheat was sown using Happy Seeder and Super Seeder machines, demonstrating effective in-situ crop residue management.
Read more: https://www.pau.edu/index.php?_act=manageEvent&DO=viewEventDetail&dataE=datae&intID=9857
