Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute in Aduthurai organised a ‘field day’ recently for farmers to educate the farmers on advantages of cultivating a new blackgram variety.
The farmers were taken to on-farm trials at Soraikkavur and Ennakkudi hamlets in Kudavasal taluk where live specimen of a rice fallow pulse variety, AD (TR) BG 14003, has been cultivated. Explaining the advantages of the new variety, to be released soon by the Institute, its Director V. Ambethgar urged the farmers to opt for organic fertiliser to improve soil fertility, and take up rice fallow pulses cultivation to reap more profit with minimum investment.
While appreciating the character of more number of pods in the blackgram culture AD (TR) BG14003, Joint Director of Agriculture-Thanjavur A. Justin urged the farmers to take up rice fallow pulses sowing before January 15 every year. Stating that machine harvesting of paddy and motorised bundling of straw had led to a reduction in the area of rice fallow pulses cultivation, Joint Director of Agriculture-Tiruvarur P. Sivakumar suggested that the problem could be redressed by increasing the seed rate by two to four kilograms per acre.
Progressive farmers Murugesan of Soraikkavur, and Sivakumar and Murugan of Pozhakudi, Baskar of Kiliyur, Balu of Pasam and Sivavadivel of Ennakkudi presented a brief account on the various varieties of rice fallow pulses cultivated by them and the practices followed to increase the yield. They also narrated the yield characters of AD (TR) BG 14003.
