Field Day On Desi Cotton Organised By FASC Faridkot

Ludhiana, September 1, 2016: Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC), Faridkot in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Regional Research Station Faridkot organised Field Day on Desi cotton on August 31 in village Kaler of District Faridkot. More than 200 farmers participated from Kaler and neighbouring villages. The programme was held under the guidance of Directorate of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana. Dr Gurmeet Singh Buttar, Additional Director of Extension Education, PAU, was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr D.S.Bhatti, Associate Director of Extension Education and S.Mohinder singh Grewal , a progressive farmer also graced the occasion as special guests.

In the backdrop of losses caused by whitefly in American Cotton last year PAU has been promoting desi cotton in all cotton growing areas in kharif 2016 and to this effect approximately 500 demonstrations are currently on field in cotton growing areas.

In his address, Dr Buttar discussed importance of cotton in terms of Crop Diversification and low water requirements as compared to paddy. He sensitized the farmers regarding declining water table. He further stressed on necessity of soil testing for judicious use of fertilizers. He also appealed to the farmers to take vocational trainings from KVK and upgrade their skills.

Dr Bhatti advised farmers on judicious use of irrigation water in Paddy/basmati. He told farmers to apply irrigation water only 2-3 days after ponded water has infiltrated into the soil. He stressed on use of Biofertilizers in Wheat , Gram etc as recommended by PAU. He appealed to farmers not to follow advice of pesticide dealers.

S. Mohinder singh grewal shared his experiences of his association with PAU and what he gained from such long lasting ties with PAU. He appealed to farmers to restrain from extravagant expenses on social ceremonies. He advised farmers to follow PAU literature.

Dr Jagdish Grover motivated rural youth to acquaint themselves with vocational training skills from KVK and start their business in agriculture and allied fields.

Mr Pardeep Goyal, District Extension Specialist, FASC highlighted the purpose of organizing Field day on Desi cotton. He further advised farmers to go for wheat sowing with happy seeder in standing paddy stubbles.

Various technical lectures were delivered for the benefit of the farmers. The scientists namely Dr R.K. Singh on Agro processing, Dr Gurdarshan singh on Protected cultivation of Vegetables, Dr Sukhwinder singh on judicious fertilizer use in Rabi crops, Dr. Satnam singh on management of Insect pests in kharif crops and Dr Munish Kumar on management of Milch animals. The FASC also organized an exhibition cum sale of PAU Literature and vegetable kits.