Working of Seed drill Machine Shown to Farmers.

In Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu the Krishi Vigyan Kendra has been popularising the use of tractor-drawn seed drill machine in black gram cultivation for achieving higher productivity. Farmers are being taken to the fields where the crop had been raised using the technique for an exposure.

Explaining the advantages of the mechanisation technique at an exposure programme at Kammankadu near here on Monday, scientists and crop protection personnel of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra spoke on the increase in productivity, higher returns, and a solution to the problem of labour scarcity.

"Although the crop was raised on about 6,800 hectares in the district, only limited number of farmers adopted the mechanisation technique," said R.P. Gnanamalar, head of National Pulses Research Centre. She advised farmers to go in for ‘Vamban 6’ variety which prevented the incidence of diseases in black gram.

"The exposure visit was aimed at sensitising the farmers to the importance of tractor-drawn seed drill machine," said R. Manimekalai, Co-ordinator of Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

Seed drill machine minimised the use of seeds to just 4 kg an acre. Also, it minimised the time as just one hour for sowing the seeds.

M. Kathiravan, scientist, said the average profit per acre would be between Rs.15,000 and Rs. 20,000. Mathiyazhagan, resource-person, spoke on the pest management in black gram. After that, farmers were taken to the fields where the crop was raised using the technique.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/