Ropar: The department of horticulture, Ropar, is making continuous efforts to bring the potato cultivation area in the district under quality potato seed, said Paramjit Singh, assistant director horticulture, Ropar.He said potato was one of the most important vegetable crops and the area under potato cultivation in the district was the highest among other horticulture crops. However, since this area is not covered under certified seed, potato productivity remains low and the quality is also not up to the desired standard, Paramjit Singh added.
He further said due to lack of awareness, farmers did not give due importance to the use of quality potato seed for potato production. To address this issue, the department, under the National Horticulture Mission, organised a one-day exposure visit for farmers from Ropar, Nurpur Bedi and Sri Anandpur Sahib blocks to the Centre of Excellence for Potato at Dhogri, Jalandhar.Chaturjeet Singh Rattan, horticulture development officer (vegetables), informed that successful potato cultivation largely depended on the quality of seed. The use of modern technologies such as tissue culture and aeroponics for producing disease-free, especially virus-free, potato seed has become an essential need of the present time, he said.Rattan said the main objective of the exposure visit was to create awareness among farmers about these advanced technologies being used at the centre.While guiding the farmers during the visit, he explained that the department had established a tissue culture laboratory at the centre, where potato plantlets were being produced. These plantlets are then supplied to farmers for the production of mini tubers through aeroponic units and net houses.Farmers were also shown the aeroponic unit, net house, small cold storage facility, and modern machinery available at the centre.Keeping in view the demand for potato seed in various states of the country, Rattan told the farmers to focus on producing seed potato instead of table potato, so that higher profits could be earned through the sale of quality potato seed.He further informed that under the National Horticulture Mission, 50% subsidy was available for net house units required for the production of mini tubers from potato plantlets. Farmers were urged to take maximum benefit of the scheme.MSID:: 128035606 413 |
