Genetic engineering has been promoted as an important means for dramatically improving the yields of staple food crops, but there is little evidence to support such a claim. In Failure to Yield, the Union of Concerned Scientists provides the most comprehensive evaluation to date of more than two decades of U.S. genetic engineering research and commercialization aimed at increasing crop yield.
Various efforts are on to popularise the use of millets. Farmers are realising the need for incorporating millets into their cropping system, writes Anitha Pailoor
Heavy damage was caused to seasonal crops and houses, due to a hailstorm which swept through Imphal West and Thoubal districts on Friday night.
Over 400 houses have been damaged in the hailstorm, that blew last night, at Iram Siphai, Chongtham Kona, Laiphrakpam and Mutum Phibou villages in Imphal West and Thoubal district apart from leaving behind a trail of destruction on standing crops.
Thanks to about 3.8 million tonnes (or 3 per cent) additional land brought under cultivation, the foodgrains harvest in the rabi season, at its fag end now, is likely to top last year
Overcast sky, strong surface winds, incessant rains and a drop in both day and night temperatures during the past 24 hours have been a cause of worry for farmers of Punjab and Haryana as their rabi crops are almost ready for harvest.
It is the second successive spell of inclement weather that has wreaked havoc on the crops.
Rainfall in Punjab may damage two to three percent of the standing wheat crop, reliable sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday. They said that the area under wheat cultivation in Muzzafargarh, Bahawalpur and Rajanpur was badly affected by the current rains in the province.
The agriculture and plantations sectors in the country from the time of the coffee blight ravaged coffee plantations in the early 19th century have been affected by pests. The Mealy Bug or Piti Makuna is the latest that endangered the papaw cultivations in the country and spread to other crops.
In yet another step towards popularising conservation agriculture among the farmers of the region, the Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC) has demonstrated cultivation of wheat using minimalist tillage technology. The wheat has been grown on 120 acres of PAFC farmland in Ladhowal, Ludhiana.
KENDRAPARA: Distress sale of paddy will be a major poll issue in the district this time. The ruling BJD is in a tight spot as large number of farmers are unhappy with performance of the government on this front.
