AMARAVATI: For the farmers of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh government and UPL successfully demonstrated Zeba technology benefits. Nearly 200 per cent more yield of groundnut in the Zeba treated farm area has been recorded. Output recorded in Zeba treated plot of 25 sqm was 5.32 kg as compared to 1.85 kg in a non-treated area.
Kurnool district agriculture department along with UPL at Chillabanda was organised a demonstration of the benefits of Zeba technology. It was found that the yield was significantly better in quantity and quality. The plot area of 25 sqm treated with this technology resulted in an output of 5.32kg as compared to 1.85kg in the non-treated area. To help the farmers gain more yield in the drought-prone districts with full subsidy equally funded by the state government and UPL, the state government had initiated a project.
Zeba an environment-friendly corn starch based product. Zeba absorbs water along with nutrients over 400 times of its weight and stores them in the root zones of the crop which is released when the crop is in stress condition. It also prevents leaching of the nutrients that reduce the input costs and provides higher yield with better quality as compared to conventional technologies.
It also makes the soil porous by increasing moisture level in the soil and thus helps crop roots reach deeper absorbing more nutrients.
As a product, Zeba is more efficient and yields higher benefits. The biggest advantage of this technology is that it can be used to cultivate most crops because it can retain moisture in the soil.
“Zeba has successfully helped the farmers to mitigate drought effect in the farms,” said Venkatawami Reddy, zonal manager, UPL. The five districts - Kurnool, Ananthapuram, Chittor, Kadapa and Prakasam have been provided Zeba subsidy for agriculture crops by the state government considering most drought-prone.
"For decades, we have been facing challenges due to the scarcity of water in our region, causing misery and massive losses. But products like Zeba are a ray of hope for us in creating a better future for our land and families. We are grateful to the agriculture department and UPL for providing us with such products and solutions," said Chandrashekhar Reddy, Zeba Farmer, Challabanda village, Kurnool.
"Zeba technology has the potential to increase the annual income of our farmers by 25 to 30 per cent. We are satisfied with the performance of this experiment and will consider replicating this incoming season too," said Ramana Reddy, assistant director, department of agriculture, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
