Upscaling Pulses and Oilseeds Production in Rice-Fallow Areas of Eastern India
10 February 2025, New Delhi: In order to address the problems of lack of soil moisture and irrigation facilities faced by farmers during Rabi crop production in rice-fallow areas, special efforts are being made by the ICAR-RCER, Patna, in which Dr. Anup Das, Director and Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Senior Scientist are imparting training to farmers to improve the rice-fallow land management and increase the production through advanced agricultural management techniques.
Under this project, farmers enrich their economic conditions by planting other crops like pulses and oilseeds in their unutilized lands. A team of scientists of ICAR-RCER, Patna is engaged in giving concrete shape to this project in Guleriachak village under Tekari block of Gaya district. So far, the scientists of the institute have successfully tested on residual moisture through conservation agriculture of pulses and oilseeds production in 300 acres and this has raised hope among the nearby farmers for greening the rice-fallow areas in vast stretches.
In this regard, Mr. Ram Kumar Meena, Technician; Mr. Randhir Kumar, Senior Research Fellow and Mr. Shrikant Choubey, Field Assistant from the Institute guided the farmers about various advanced agricultural measures in a program organized in Guleriachak village under Tekari block of Gaya district on February 8, 2025. Soil samples of chickpea, lentil and safflower were taken from the farmers’ fields to monitor crop health. In this program, a special discussion was held on suitable measures to maintain soil moisture, along with the identification of the best climate-resilient varieties of pulses and oilseeds on 75 acres and their benefits were also discussed. The farmers were particularly briefed in detail about the importance of foliar crop nutrient management, soil and water conservation.
The team briefed the farmers about the benefits of NPK (15:15:15) spray which helps in crop growth under moisture stress conditions and increases the drought tolerance capacity. Application of this special nutrient improves crop productivity and increases yield in areas with low water availability. Farmers actively participated in this program and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Manpur, Gaya played an important role in making this event successful. Such programs inspire farmers to use modern techniques in agriculture. It is worth mentioning that there is an area of 25 thousand hectares of rice-fallow land in Gaya district, in which no other crop is planted after rice, due to which the financial condition of the farmers of that area is pathetic.
“This program was started by ICAR-RCER, Patna in the year 2023. Dr. Anup Das, the director of the institute and his multi-disciplinary team of scientists are leaving no stone unturned for better production of pulses and oilseeds crops in rice-fallow areas”, said Umesh Kumar Mishra, Member Secretary, Media Management Committee of ICAR-RCER, Patna.
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