Farmers meet scientists, get tips on orchard management

Solan, June 10

The Department of Fruit Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, organised a two-day workshop on ‘Orchard Management in Temperate Fruits’, which concluded last evening. Around 100 farmers participated in the workshop.

Dr Inder Dev, Director of Extension Education, was the chief guest on the occasion and inaugurated the programme. In his address, the chief guest emphasised the importance of high-density plantation in boosting productivity and income of farmers. He also highlighted the university’s ongoing research and extension activities.

The first day featured a farmer-scientist interaction session focused on natural farming. Dr Subhash Verma, Dr Upender Singh and Dr Pramod Kumar from the university’s natural farming team shared insights into the eco-friendly farming method and detailed on how to create various inputs using readily available resources. The farmers also visited the university’s kiwi orchards and natural farming-managed farms.

Lectures covered topics such as orchard management in high-density plantations, integrated disease management and integrated pest management practices for temperate fruits. Dr Naveen Sharma, Dr Rakesh Kumar, Dr Neelam Kumari and Dr Meena Thakur served as resource personnel. The significance of bees for pollination and topics related to beekeeping were also discussed.

The valedictory session was chaired by Dr Manish Sharma, Dean of the College of Horticulture. He said horticulture had become a significant source of income for the farming community and encouraged farmers to adopt innovative scientific techniques to enhance production and profitability.

Madan Himachali, Nauni panchayat pradhan, office-bearers of the All India Himachal Social Federation and others were also present on the occasion.