Agri Dept's efforts spur interest on new paddy varieties
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 07 2009: To minimise impact of drought on the overall food grain stock as well as to encourage cultivation of paddy first cropping on a wider scale, the Agriculture Department has embarked on a mission to make abundant availability of paddy-sapling to the farmers at free of cost.

The paddy sapling targeted for supply to the State farmers are said to be hybrid varieties named PAC 807 and IR 64 which could be harvested in short duration.

Speaking to some newspersons on the sideline of an inspection tour at Sinakeithei in Ukhrul district today, an Agriculture Department official confided that loads of the hybrid varieties after procurement from the Hyderabad based National Seed Corporation are on its way to Manipur.

Agriculture Department officials inspect paddy cultivation field at Sinakeithei, Ukhrul district

The inspection programme was undertaken to oversee harvest of paddy planted at Sinakeithei area under the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method, which is highly suited in climatic conditions of higher hill ranges.

The inspection team was led by the Department's Integrated Cereal Development Programme (ICDP)'s Rice Programme in-charge L Ibomcha.

Ibomcha informed that feasibility of irrigating the cultivation fields would be an important criteria when the hybrid varieties are distributed for which spot inspections would be carried out by Department personnel to confirm whether the proposed paddy fields have irrigation network.

Besides elaborating more on the hybrid varieties of PAC 807 and IR 64 that could be harvested in between 110 to 115 days from the day of plantation, Ibomcha said the programme is being taken up at the initiative of Agriculture Minister N Loken Singh, as a part of sustained effort to ensure Manipur do not face severe food grain shortages due to drought.

Ibomcha further mentioned that harvested paddy of the hybrid varieties should not be used as sapling breed for subsequent seasons as the yield would certainly decline.

However, the farmers need not worry for the Agriculture Department had chalked out a long drawn plan to ensure availability of the hybrid seeds free of cost, the ICDP official assuaged.

some officials who were part of the inspection tour pointed out that total area of paddy cultivation in the State is 1.95 lakh hectare with the annual produce hovering at the 5.18 lakh metric tonne even as shortage, in comparison to the population, continues to be around 2.32 lakh metric tonne.

On a trial basis, high yielding varieties classified as PAC 801 and Kamal 101 are being groomed under the SRI method at the Sinakeithei field, with both types of paddy informed to be highly suitable in hilly terrain and climate.

Ibomcha estimated that at an average plantation of PAC 801 variety in one sangam yields about 45 bags (sacks) whereas cultivation of IR 64 in similar landsize yields 35-40 bags compared to Kamal 101 variety fetching about 38 bags.

Interacting with the newspersons, chairman of Society for People's Advancement Manipur (SPAM) Yangmasho said when SRI method of paddy plantation was taken up at the Sinakeithei area the villagers were not convinced of the yield in the initial period but have conveyed keen interest to adopt similar method (SRI) this year.

According to Yangmasho, the yield from his Nungjang Chuhi field fetched him 40 bags from a sangam under the SRI method compared to only about 25-30 bags when traditional method was in pratice.

It was joint venture of SPAM and paddy field owners that SRI method was implemented for the first time in Sinakeithei area, the chairman maintained while confiding that plans are afoot to cultivate PAC 801 variety in five sangams, kamal 101 in four and IR 64 in 15 sangams of land for which the Agriculture Department has assured to provide the requisite paddy saplings.

Besides other officials of Agriculture Department, KVK Wangbal's SMS of Plant Breeding and Genetics S Shumangal also accompanied the inspection team.