PAU holds training on paddy straw management

The Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering (FMPE), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), organised a “Training of Trainers on Paddy Straw Management to Control Straw Burning” for agriculture officers, agriculture development officers, agricultural extension officers, and AAEs of the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Punjab. As many as 55 participants from Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Moga, Sangrur and Hoshiarpur districts attended the training programme.

Dr Manjeet Singh, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, and head of the department, welcomed the trainees. He stated that PAU had been working for the last 25 years on paddy straw management and that it had developed numerous machines for this purpose. He said this refresher course would be useful for the trainees and help them in controlling paddy straw burning in the upcoming season.

Dr Mahesh Kumar Narang, course coordinator, told the trainees about the training mandates and motivated them to create awareness among farmers regarding paddy residue management.

Dr Manpreet Singh, senior scientist, trained the trainees on advances in sustainable intensification for regenerative agriculture (Happy Seeder, Super SMS and PAU Smart Seeder) for sowing wheat into paddy residues, while Dr Aseem Verma, scientist (FMPE), apprised the trainees of machinery for in-situ paddy incorporation (Super Seeder, wet mixing and dry mixing). Dr Jasvir Singh Gill, agronomist, attended to the queries about surface seeder technology and weed management in wheat crop, whereas Dr Baldev Dogra, professor (FMPE), educated the trainees about different types of balers and their working.

Dr Ashwani Soni, professor of Renewable Energy Engineering (REE), talked about bio CNG and slurry management, and Dr Iqbal Singh, scientist (DREE), dwelt upon the use of paddy straw as an energy source. Dr Priya Katyal, microbiology, shared the PAU’s experience on bio-decomposer for straw management.