The PAU-Krishi Vigyan Kendra,21.05.2024 Kapurthala under the aegis of Director of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana conducted a “Farmers-Scientist Interaction on Direct Seeded Rice” at village Dham in which about 50 farmers participated. Direct seeded rice in tar wattar is very effective method for saving (10-15%) water, labour and increasing the yield (1.00 qtl) of succeeding wheat crop on the same field.
Dr Mandeep Singh, Assistant Professor (Agronomy), explained the brief practices on direct seeded rice and encouraged the farmers to adopt eco-friendly technique. He also cleared the doubts and guided the farmers to use recommended pre emergence weedicide on the same day along with newly recommended post emergence herbicides for proper control of weeds.
Dr Gagandeep Dhawan, Assistant Professor (Soil Science), explained the importance of soil testing and inspired the farmers to apply fertilizers based on soil-test report only. He also guided the farmers to use recommended fertilizers in paddy crop. Sow DSR only in medium to heavy texture soil as its cultivation is not successful in light texture soil due to severe iron deficiency, he observed.
Dr Bindu Marwaha, Professor (Agricultural Engineering), motivated the farmers to use lucky seed drill for direct sowing of rice. She elaborated the method to calibrate the drill for efficient utilization of machine.
Dr Amandeep Kaur, Associate Professor (Vegetable Science), motivated the farmers to adopt fruit and vegetable nutrition garden model to consume pesticide free produce. She also stressed upon the use of PAU Vegetable Kits and fruit plants rather than using private seeds and fruit plants.
Dr Harinder Singh, Associate Director (Training), Kapurthala motivated the farmers to adopt DSR technology because in this village during covid, larger number of farmers adopted DSR but due to lack of technical knowledge and problems of weed, the farmers left this technology. This interaction will boost the confidence of the farmers to adopt DSR technology, he said. The KVK team will facilitate the farmers with demonstration to address the constraints faced by the farmers.
Read more: https://www.pau.edu/index.php?_act=manageEvent&DO=viewEventDetail&dataE=datae&intID=9103
