The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Fillip to pulses production in E. Godavari

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Sunday, Mar 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Fillip to pulses production in E. Godavari

V Raghavendra

NFSM aims at increasing staple crop yields

‘Emphasis will be laid on improving nutrient pest management’
NFSM expected to boost national production of rice

Kakinada: East Godavari which ranks among the top five pulses producing districts in Andhra Pradesh is poised to better its position under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM). It has been included in the list of 14 districts where efforts will be made as part of NFSM to increase the yield of pulses by end of Eleventh Plan period by expanding cultivable area, improving soil fertility and adopting suitable farm practices.

The NFSM is aimed at increasing the yields of two other staple crops: rice and wheat. Adilabad, Anantapur, Kadapa, Guntur, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Mahboobnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Prakasam, Srikakulam and Warangal are the other districts picked up for implementing the NFSM specifically to increase the yields of pulses.

In East Godavari, production of pulses in 2006-07 was 66,895 tonnes from 1,12,583 hectares. Green gram and black gram accounted for a bulk of the total production of pulses: 33,451 tonnes and 32,663 tonnes respectively. The production of horse gram was 996 tonnes and other pulses 517 tonnes.

Yield gap

It was targeted under NFSM to bridge the yield gaps of black gram which is 246 to 361 kg/ha in Kharif and 277 to 397 kg/ha in Rabi and green gram 234 to 353 kg/ha in Kharif and 259 to 388 kg/ha in Rabi. The Joint Director of Agriculture T. Nandaiah told The Hindu that the NFSM was being implemented in upland and Agency mandals during the Rabi 2007-08 and the delta would be covered in the summer.

Pest management

Renewed emphasis would be laid on integrated nutrient and pest management, using of bio-products, resource conservation technologies and capacity building, the most important thing being maintenance of optimum plant population which is essential to sustain existing yields.

Nandaiah said that there was ample scope for improving the yields by replacing inferior quality seeds with better, disease-resistant varieties and helping the farmers in procuring other inputs.

The NFSM is expected to boost the national production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10, 8 and 2 million tonnes respectively in the next four years.

It helps government agencies in increasing buffer stocks.

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