Dirba, 01 June- A farmer awareness and interaction programme on the "Balanced Use of Fertilizers in crops " was organized by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Sangrur of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture at village Kamalpura, Block Dirba of Sangrur district. During this programme, 50 farmers participated and interacted directly with scientists and agricultural experts.
During this awareness camp, Dr. Mandeep Singh, Incharge, PAU-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sangrur, gave detailed information about the importance of balanced use of fertilizer in crops. He said that fertilizer use in crops should be based on soil test, with the right quantity, at the right time, and in the right manner. He advised farmers to avoid excessive use of chemical fertilizers, especially urea and phosphorus, and emphasized integrated nutrient management. He shared scientific tips regarding the judicious use of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash in paddy and basmati crops.
He said that if the recommended quantity of DAP fertilizer had been applied to the proceeding wheat crop, there is no need to apply phosphorus-containing fertilizer to paddy during the Kharif season. He strongly appealed the farmers not to apply urea in dry fields before pudding in paddy against the scientific recommendations. This kind of non-scientific practice leads to environment pollution, loss of nutrients and results in increased cost of production.
In addition, he also provided information on the scientific method of collecting soil samples for testing. For water conservation, he strongly appealed the farmers to sow short and medium-duration paddy varieties recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University, such as PR 133, PR 132, PR 131, PR 128 and PR 126.
Dr. Ravinder Kaur Singh, Associate Professor (Horticulture), informed about scientific nutrient management in horticultural crops. She also shared tips to take care of fruit plants and kitchen garden during hot summer months.
Dr Manjit Kaur, Agriculture Development Officer delibrated on advantages of short duration paddy varieties and urged farmers to adopt these varieties on larger acerage. She told about management of paddy diseases like dwarfing virurs, false smut and foot rot in detail that caused losses to farmers during last year. She also talked about direct seeding of rice and cultivation of kharif maize for water saving and crop diversification.
In the end, farm literature was distributed amongst the participants and paddy biofertilizers packets were sold.