Agri university holds training on vertebrate pest management

Ludhiana, July 12

Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), organised a one-day training course on ‘Vertebrate Pest Management’ for the farmers of Noorpur Bet and Garah in Mangat block and Mallah in Jagraon block. It was held under the guidance of All India Network Project on Vertebrate Pest Management.

Dr Charanjit Singh Aulakh, dean, College of Agriculture, stated that such sessions helped farmers enhance their income. Dr MS Malhi, agricultural consultant and Global Farmer Network member, highlighted the necessity of informing and educating the farmers about sustainable pest management practices.

Dr Tejdeep Kaur Kler, head, Department of Zoology and course director, highlighted the importance of training farmers on various aspects of vertebrate pest management. She stated that the session was organised to make them aware of contemporaneous technologies and to establish a workforce to further

disseminate those technologies. Besides, she gave information about the role of beneficial birds in agriculture and different methods for their conservation.

Dr BK Babbar, Senior Zoologist (Rodents) and technical co-coordinator of the course, stated that higher vertebrate pests like blue bull and wild boar were damaging crops in fields particularly at villages near waterholes and forests.

During the session, lectures and demonstrations on various technologies for the management of pests were given by Dr Tejdeep Kaur Kler, Dr BK Babbar, Dr Manoj Kumar, Dr Nisha Vashishat and Dr Rajwinder Singh.