Farmers were made aware about soil health improvement and balanced use of fertilizers in village Padhi under Khet Bachao Abhiyan
Rupnagar, June 9: Under the “Khet Bachao Abhiyan” campaign, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of Punjab Agricultural University, Ropar and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare organized a farmer awareness camp on balanced use of fertilizers in crops and improvement of soil health at village Padhi, block Rupnagar.
This program was organized under the guidance of Director Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, ICAR-Attari, Zone-1 and Associate Director (Training) Dr. Satbir Singh.
Addressing the farmers, Assistant Professor (Soil Science) Dr. Jagmanjot Singh Mann motivated them to use fertilizers in the paddy crop in a balanced and recommended manner. He said that if the recommended amount of phosphorus fertilizer has been used in the paddy-wheat crop cycle, then there is no need to use this fertilizer in the paddy crop. He advised the farmers to use urea fertilizer as per the requirement in the paddy and said that in medium duration varieties, urea should be applied after 7, 21 and 42 days, while in short duration varieties like PR-126, urea should be applied after 7, 21 and 35 days.
He appealed to increase the area under Kharif maize to promote crop diversification and gave detailed information about the new hybrid of maize PMH-17. Along with this, he advised to cultivate the suitable variety JC-12 for the Kandi areas. He informed that the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is also providing a subsidy of Rs. 17,500 per hectare to increase the area under Kharif maize.
Assistant Professor (Plant Protection) Dr. Urvi Sharma advised farmers to regularly monitor the White-Backed Plant Hopper (WBPH) in paddy seedlings and use recommended pesticides if required. She gave information about regular monitoring of fields and spraying recommended pesticides if an attack is seen to protect the maize crop from Fall Armyworm.
Professor (Vegetable Science) Dr. Sanjeev Ahuja urged the farmers to adopt agricultural diversification by motivating them towards the cultivation of vegetables and fruit trees. He also advised to increase the area under vegetables and fruit trees as well as to make balanced use of fertilizers.
At the end of the program, experts visited the farmers’ fields and solved their agricultural problems on the spot.
