To prevent the excess use of fertilizers in Punjab, the State Government on Wednesday directed the Agriculture Department to intensify its efforts to make farmers aware about the judicious use of fertilizers.
State Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna said instructions have been issued to the officials of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department to ensure disseminating requisite information regarding use of fertilizers judiciously at the grass root level so that the input cost of farmers could be reduced.
A massive awareness campaign should be launched to motivate farmers in this regard by organising Kisan camps etc, he said.
Urging the farmers to follow the recommendations being issued by the Department time-to-time in view of ensuing Kharif season, Khanna said that this exercise would be beneficial for the farming fraternity, which would not only ensure the increased yield but also maintain the soil health.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has advised to the farmers that use only recommended dose of fertilizers to get more profit by decrease in cost of cultivation.
It has also guided the farmers that the over dose of DAP has used during Rabi season, and there is no need to use DAP again during Kharif season in such fields.
The dose of urea can also be decreased to half or one-third of the recommended dose, it suggested.
The Department also trying to motivate the farmers to incorporate green manuring crops in the soil before the planting of paddy crops in such fields, Khanna said, adding this would not only lead to decline in consumption of fertilizers, but it also plays a vital role in improve the texture of the soil.
With the introduction of high yielding varieties as well as with hi-tech technology, farmers are trying to getting more and more production from per unit area, which leads to increase in cropping intensity up to 204 per cent.
“So, to achieve the maximum yield, farmers are using different type of fertilizers. Majority of the farmers are using over dose of the fertilizers to get maximum yield, which results into not only increase in the cost of cultivation but also severely affects the texture of the soil negatively,” pointed Khanna.
Apart from it, the excess use of fertilizers may also cause the occurrence of disease or pest incidence, which may cause decline in yields instead of boosting the crop, he said.