The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : An efficient method to boost paddy yield

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Friday, May 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

An efficient method to boost paddy yield

A.A. Michael Raj

It cuts water consumption by 56 per cent

COIMBATORE: : Farmers will be introduced to a new method of increasing paddy yield, which requires only half the quantity of water needed for traditional cultivation, Commissioner of Agriculture Jagmohan Singh Raju said on Thursday.

"We have been trying out the system in the last two years and we now want to focus more on 13 `rice districts' that produce three-fourths of the total production," Mr. Raju told The Hindu .

He presided over a three-day workshop on the Agricultural Action Plan for 2005-06 at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here.

"... The new system reduces water consumption by 56 per cent, while increasing productivity by one-three tonnes a hectare," he said.

With productivity of 3.4 tonnes a hectare, the State is second only to Punjab (3.5 tonnes), but the output varies from district to district (2.5-7 tonnes) and even from place to place in a district.

"Our aim is to bridge the gap between the potential yield and the actual yield for all crops, but this should be enhanced in a sustainable way," he said.

Although production and productivity were high in Punjab, indebtedness among farmers was high.

Hence, the methods used by farmers ought to be economically sustainable.

The Agriculture department would popularise ADT-47 and ADT-48 varieties of paddy in irrigated areas and RM-96019, PMK-3, Asoka-228 and Asoka-200-F in rain-fed areas.

"Another priority would be on rain-fed farming. Fortysix per cent of our agriculture is rain-fed, and growth will have to come from rain-fed areas that grow pulses, oilseeds, millets and cotton. We are working closely with the TNAU, our main research and development base," he said.

"The university has new varieties of seeds of almost all crops, especially hybrids, and we would like to popularise them in 2005-06. We will try to convince farmers that seed varieties grown exclusively for sowing are more productive than grains used as seeds."

The department would begin its pre-season campaign by the first fortnight of June.

In 2004-05, the area under all crops was 52.5 lakh hectares. The aim was to increase the area in 2005-06 to 55 lakh hectares, excluding vegetables and horticultural crops.

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