Campaign to make PAU campus parthenium-free

Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 22

As part of the parthenium (gajar booti) awareness week programme announced by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research from August 16-22, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) initiated a drive to make its campus parthenium-free. Along with webinars planned over the week, faculty and field

staff of the Department of Agronomy manually removed parthenium plants from the campus.

Dr MS Bhullar, principal agronomist, said parthenium was an invasive species which adversely effects human and animal health. Methods such as manual uprooting (hand pulling), mechanical (using brush cutter), chemical (herbicides) and bio-control (Mexican beetles) were available to manage this weed.

Dr PPS Pannu, head, agronomy said eradication of this noxious weed species was possible through community approach only. As evidence to this, he cited example of Mansuran village in Ludhiana, which was declared the first parthenium-free village of the state in 2016, with the collaborative effort of the PAU and gram panchayat and residents of the village, and residents have maintained its parthenium-free status till date.

PAU Vice-Chancellor BS Dhillon has asked all departments to adopt periodic management strategies to remove parthenium from the campus and campuses affiliated to the university. He hoped that if every gram panchayat and municipality follow the Mansuran model, it is possible to make Punjab, a ‘parthenium-free state’.