VC thanks state farmers

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 20

PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon on Wednesday thanked farmers of the state for adhering to the June 20 date for transplanting paddy.

It may be mentioned that, as a measure to control the declining water table in the state, the varsity had earlier given a clarion call to the agricultural fraternity to strictly follow the government’s timeline instructions for sowing paddy and not transplanting it before June 20.

While stressing the adoption of PAU’s early maturing paddy varieties, PR 121, PR122, PR124, PR126, PR127, Dr Dhillon explained that the transplanting time of these varieties can be aligned with the onset of monsoon in the region that normally hits Punjab by the end of June, therefore the water requirement for paddy at the time can be achieved through seasonal rainfall.

Dr Dhillon said, “These varieties mature in about 93 to 110 days after transplanting and are immune to humidity at the time of marketing, therefore these are being adopted well by the farmers.”

He also said transplanting paddy from June 20 would cut down expenditure on pesticides besides reiterating that it is collective responsibility to conserve natural resources, especially water for the coming generations.