The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) is organising a workshop on Drip Fertigation (a method of applying soluble fertilisers along with water through drip irrigation system) for select farmers from different parts of the State on the centre campus on Friday.
The workshop, being organised in collaboration with the Agriculture Department, will be inaugurated by Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan at 2 p.m, said CWRDM executive director N.B. Narasimha Prasad at a press meet here on Thursday.
Part of project
The workshop was part of a project titled ‘Farmer participatory demonstration and evaluation of drip fertigation technique in Kerala,’ funded by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi.
Under this, 22 demonstration plots for drip fertigation had been identified in 10 districts in the State.
Farm visit
This included plots for crops such as coconut, areca nut, banana, and different vegetables. “A visit by the participating farmers to the selected plots will also be part of the workshop,” Dr. Prasad said.
Explaining the advantages of drip fertigation, K. Madhava Chandran, a scientist at the centre, said the method helped in saving both water and fertilizer use.
“Research has shown that drip fertigation contributes to high yield and quality of crops,” said Dr. Madhava Chandran at the press meet.
Data on the influence of drip fertigation on soil moisture, nutrients and yield of crops, which are collected from the demonstration plots as part of the evaluation component of the project, will be provided to the participants during the seminar.
As many as 150 farmers will participate in the programme, besides agricultural officials and scientists from different research institutes.
Special talk
R. Ajith Kumar, Director of Agriculture, Government of Kerala, will deliver a special talk on the subject, said E.J. Joseph, scientist and head of water management (Agriculture) division.
Scientists C.M. Sushanth and U. Surendran will make a presentation on drip fertigation during the workshop.
