The Oilseeds Section, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad organized a field day on ‘Sunflower’ at the research farm of PAU, Ludhiana. It aimed at showcasing the performance of 36 diverse hybrids developed by different state agricultural institutes (SAUs) and private seed companies of India to the farmers, scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and other stakeholders. This activity was organized under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India funded project entitled “Revival of Sunflower Cultivation”. The main objective of the project is to enhance area under sunflower in the traditional and non traditional areas, and to ensure availability of quality seed to farmers through collaborative efforts of SAUs, public agencies and private seed companies. About 20 progressive sunflower farmers from Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala and SAS Nagar districts interacted with scientists of Oilseeds Section.
Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research, was the chief guest, while Dr MS Bhullar, Director of Extension Education, was the special guest. Dr Rajinder Singh, Associate Director (Seeds) and Dr VS Sohu, Head, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics were also present. Besides, the representatives of National Seeds Corporation and Punjab Agro Industries Limited, private seed companies like Ganga Kaveri and Advanta Seeds, and scientists from various KVKs of Punjab also participated.
Dr Dhatt laid emphasis on diversification of cropping systems for sustainability of agriculture in Punjab. He also underlined the need to increase area under oilseeds to increase production in order to bridge the huge demand-supply gap of vegetable oils in the country.
Dr Bhullar lauded the efforts of the scientists and called upon the farmers to follow recommendations of the PAU.
Dr Sohu and Dr Singh also expressed their views regarding yield potentials and seed production of oilseeds. They visited the demonstration area along with farmers and scientists. Farmers also actively participated in the interactive session conducted to discuss different issues concerning sunflower cultivation in the state. The event ended with the visit of all the participants to the seed production plot of sunflower hybrid PSH 2080 at the University Seed Farm, Ladhowal.
Dr Virender Sardana, Incharge, Oilseeds Section, moderated the programme, whereas Dr Vineeta Kaila, Sunflower Breeder; Dr Pankaj Sharma, Sunflower Pathologist and Dr Shelly Nayar Dhaliwal, Sunflower Agronomist, acted as subject matter specialists.
Read more: https://www.pau.edu/index.php?_act=manageEvent&DO=viewEventDetail&dataE=datae&intID=9124
