Private sector agronomists training

Certificate distribution 

Six agronomists from Sugar Industry were given a short training in conservation agriculture on 14^th June, 2012. They were at Ayub agricultural Research Institute for training in sugarcane production practices. Training was imparted by Dr M. Aqil khan of CSISA, Pakistan. He dilated upon conservation agriculture practices which are being promoted emphasizing particularly the intercropping of field and vegetable crops in sugarcane or sugarcane in bed planted wheat. Sugarcane is a long duration crop planted in February or September. Crop is harvested in December-January so September planted crop stays in the field over a year period. In either case it is a year long crop permitting no other crop preceding or following it. Since sugarcane is planted in 3-4 feet apart rows, small farmers usually grow vegetables (onion, turnip, roots etc) or oilseed crops but this is a limited practice followed on no more than 10% of sugarcane area. Slow growth and wider row space make it amenable to intercropping, wheat on beds and sugarcane in furrows make an ideal combination. Sporadic efforts are under way but need to be systemized for larger adoption. Sugarcane planted in October- November in bed planted wheat can be easily adopted on large scale. The idea was appreciated by the industry workers and due to healthy effects of intercropping on sugarcane, sugar industry is prone to promote it. The training was conducted by training division of Plant Pathology Research Institute and Dr. Khan was the chief guest and distributed the certificates among the participants.

Dr. M. Aqil Khan addressing