Farmers, scientists discuss hailstorm management practices

Ambika Sharma

At least 85 state progressive farmers and scientists from across the country attended a two-day workshop-cum-interaction meet at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan. Prof SK Bhardwaj, head of the department of environmental sciences, said the workshop focused on identifying suitable hailstorm management practices and assessing crop losses. It recommended undertaking a research on available technologies to ascertain their effectiveness in the region. Dr Neeraj Kumbhakarna from IIT-Mumbai proposed various detonation alternatives to recent technologies. He said the cost of guns could be brought down to Rs 6-10 lakh if these machines were produced in the country .He suggested that LPG or kerosene could replace acetylene gas in these machines to bring down the operational cost. Prof Sudarshan Kumar from the department of aerospace engineering, IIT-Mumbai explained various hailstorm suppression techniques such as cloud seeding and anti-hail rockets. He highlighted the need for carrying out a research on cloud microphysics, shock waves and analysis of long-term effects of the detonation waves. The scientists were of the view that similar technologies from the field of aerospace could be replicated for manufacturing anti-hail guns. However, to ascertain its effectiveness in this specific region, they would have to undertake a research for four to five years in a project mode.

Talk on anti-hail guns

A two-day workshop and interaction meet on ‘Management of hailstorm for sustainable crop production in Himachal Pradesh’ was organised by the department of environmental sciences in collaboration with the department of horticulture. Dr SK Bhardwaj, head of the department of environmental sciences, dwelt upon the status of hailstorm occurrence and its impact on the mountain ecosystem. In the inaugural address, Vice-Chancellor HC Sharma said climatic changes was occurring across the world and preparations should be adopted for good crop and fruit cultivation. He stressed the need for continuous data resource requirement for assessing the impacts of anti-hail guns on precipitation in an area. He said indigenous technologies under the ambit of ‘Make in India’ should be explored for developing cheaper anti-hail guns in the country and stressed on long-term research assessments of this technology.

Entrance result declared

The university has declared the result of its Undergraduate Entrance Examination (UGEE-2018) held on June 16. More than 5,300 students from the state had appeared in the test for admission to BSc (Hons) horticulture, BSc (Hons) forestry and BTech biotechnology programmes. Akriti Sharma topped the exam while Saurav Bhardwaj and Arushi Walia secured the second and third positions, respectively. Akshita and Shorya Sharma secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Event for extension officers

A four-day workshop on ‘Motivational skills and decision-making for better extension services’ was organised for 35 extension officers from the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry. Dr Mai Chand, Joint Director (Training), said the objective was to strengthen the decision-making potential of the participants to facilitate better extension work. The officers were given classroom and practical lessons on topics such as extension techniques, communication and team building.