Experts discuss sugarcane prod

Ludhiana: Experts deliberated on the status of sugar recovery and cane cultivation practices in Punjab at the Dr Khem Singh gill Farmers’ Service Center, PAU. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, sugarcane research centres at Shahjahanpur and Karnal and sugar mill representatives from sugar mills of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh attended the meet.
In his opening remarks, PAU vice-chancellor B.S. Dhillon emphasized on the need to explore the low productivity of sugarcane in Punjab compared to states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. He opined that importance should be given to early sowing of the crop for increasing the yield. Dr Dhillon also called for strategic training of farmers to acquaint them with proper practices for sugarcane cultivation, keeping in mind farm economics, in collaboration with mill owners and research departments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

K.S. Thind, additional director of research, pointed narrow row spacing, excessive and late application of urea, excessive irrigation, pseudo- autumn planting and incidence of top-borer among others as reasons for low recovery of sugar and cane cultivation in the state.