Summer school on technological advances

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 27

The 21-day ICAR-sponsored summer school on ‘Technological advances for enhancing productivity of horticultural crops’ concluded at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here today.

SS Kukal, Dean, College of Agriculture, was the chief guest. In all, 23 participants from state agricultural universities, ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, etc, participated in the summer school organised by the Department of Fruit Science, PAU. Faculty members of the Department of Fruit Science were present on the occasion.

Dr Kukal said, “The horticultural crops require less water and other inputs and are more remunerative than field crops.” Expansion of horticulture in Punjab can conserve water, reduce leaching of nutrients, save fertilisers and groundwater pollution, provide additional water for expansion of farm activity, and put less impact on environment,.”

Kukal stressed on laying emphasis on multidisciplinary approach to overcome farm challenges. He highlighted the role of PAU in faculty training which is evident from the fact that two centres of Advanced Faculty Training in Soil Science and Plant Breeding are in the university.

MIS Gill, Head, Department of Fruit Science, said, “In comparison to 273 million tonnes of food grain production during 2016 -17, the total horticulture production in India was 283.36 million tonnes.” In India, the per capita availability of fruits and vegetables has increased from 46 and 130g to 200 and 401g, respectively, which is comparable to the world average, he revealed. Our country had come a long way in achieving food security, but farmers’ income remained low in relation to income of those working in the non-farm sector, he said. The Government of India was reorienting its interventions to double the income of farmers by 2022, he said.

Dr Harminder Singh, Course Co-Coordinator, welcomed the gathering and informed about the activities of the summer school. He said around 70 lectures were delivered on various aspects such as fruit breeding, biotechnological interventions, nursery production, new production technologies, protected cultivation, drip technologies, vegetable breeding, floriculture, apiculture, mushrooms, post harvest management, eco-friendly pest management strategies, value addition, potential of nanotechnology and marketing of fruits. The summer school also included excursion visits to regional station Abohar; grading and waxing units; meeting progressive farmers around Abohar; and Centre of Excellence at Kartarpur.