An awareness programme on paddy varieties suitable for summer cultivation was held recently for farmers living in Madurai East and Sivaganga region.
The programme, conducted through the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project (TNIAMP), involved discussions on drought-resistant paddy varieties, usage of irrigation monitoring devices and disease-free banana planters.
Dean, Agriculture College, V. K. Paulpandi, who distributed ADT-45 variety seed to farmers, said ryots were educated on the need to increase yield and reduce cost by using the right technology.
N. Seenivasan, associate professor, told the gathering that ADT45 variety would generate good yield even if only half of the usual quantity of water used per acre was available. while normal varieties required 1,250 mm, the drought-resistant type required 40% less (600-800 mm). “Most farmers in this area only cultivate for one season when Vaigai water is available. A variety that requires less water can certainly help,” he said.
Technological intervention by adopting wetting and drying technology for irrigation management could help farmers conserve water during bountiful availability and optimally use it during drought.
“We have provided free drips to farmers in the belt so that they can use soluble fertilizers and biological pest control agents through the drip irrigation system,” he said.
E.G. Ebenezar, Professor and Head, Department of Plant Pathology, elaborated on the presence of rice blast and bacterial leaf blight diseases. He also instructed the farmers to do seed priming or seed treatment with psuedomonas fluoresces, a bio-pest control agent available at Madurai Agricultural College.
Interested farmers were enrolled in the TNIAMP programme.