Series of PAU Kisan Melas end with organisation of last Kisan Mela at PAU's Regional Research Station Bathinda

Ludhiana, march 28, 2017: The series of PAU Kisan Melas ended with organization of last Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University’s Regional Research Station Bathinda, on Tuesday. Farmers from Bathinda and neighbouring areas thronged the one-day Kisan Mela. The Mela was based on the theme “Sow PAU seeds, adopt subsidiary occupations, do efficient marketing and maintain farm records.” Heavy rush of farmers was seen at the mela, wherein farmers interacted with the experts, sought solutions to their farm queries, saw live demonstrations, purchased quality seeds, planting material and PAU farm publications.

On this occasion, stalls were put up by different departments of PAU to provide a platform to visiting farmers to interact with scientists, know about newly released crop varieties and latest technologies, discuss their farm issues and seek solutions for the same. The scientists of department of Plant Breeding and Genetics informed the farmers about the newly released varieties, namely Punjab Basmati 4 and Punjab Basmati 5 of Basmati; Co Pb 92 and Co Pb 93 of sugarcane, etc.

Dr S S Gosal, Member, Board of Management, PAU was the chief guest of the mela . He called upon the visiting farmers to opt for hybrid seed production, use inputs as per need, go for soil testing and focus on co-operative marketing and mechanization. He also impressed upon the farmers to share their problems with the scientists which will enable the university to redirect the research accordingly. He exhorted the farmers to make judicious use of the limited resources like water, fertilizers and insecticides in order to reduce the expenses on farming. He suggested that paddy stubble should be used as manure and not burnt as the smoke produced only adds to environmental pollution. Apprising the farmers with the new agricultural strategies of PAU, he said that our scientists are working towards incorporating BT gene into the cotton hybrid variety which will be available for sale in another year or two.

Dr RS Sidhu, Director of Extension Education, PAU welcomed the dignitaries and the participating farmers and faculty members. He expressed satisfaction with the huge rush at the mela as well as with impressive participation by the farmers. He urged the farmers to attend Kisan Melas from time to time as they are meant to disseminate information about the latest agricultural technologies and recent advances in farm practices. He advised them to follow the field practices suggested by the PAU experts and think less about the yield and more about their profit. He further encouraged them to adopt subsidiary occupations such as beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, food processing, etc. to increase their income.

Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Research, PAU said, “The university is conducting research on over 100 crops and has developed a total of 799 crop varieties/ hybrids till date.He informed the farmers that the university is now reprioritizing its research in perspective of new challenges faced by the Punjab Agriculture with particular emphasis on depleting water resources, climate change and rising cost of cultivation etc.

Dr Paramjit Singh, Director, Farm Advisory Service, Bathinda proposed the vote of thanks.