Officials who attended the state level workshop on scientific maize cultivation and FAW management at ICAR Medziphema on May 27. (DIPR Photo)
DIMAPUR, MAY 27 (MExN): In wake of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) infestation being reported in several parts of Nagaland, a state level workshop on the promotion of scientific maize cultivation and FAW management was held at the ICAR Medziphema on May 27.
A DIPR report informed that the workshop was conducted by the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region Nagaland Centre and ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), Ludhiana, Punjab.
Dr Narendra Prakash, Director, ICAR-RC-NEH Region highlighted on the scope of maize cultivation in Jhum land and the major constraints faced by the farmers such as non-availability of quality seed materials and lack of awareness among the farmers about the scientific managements practices.
He urged for working in convergence mode for proper monitoring and reporting of major destructive pests in the state for timely management of the pests. He assured all technical support from ICAR for enhancing productivity of maize and pest management.
Dr Sujay Rakshit, Director, ICAR-IIMR, Ludhiana addressed the stakeholders to jointly tackle the menace of Fall Army Worm at the state level. He emphasized the popularization of maize hybrids for improving the productivity of maize and the strategies to increase availability of quality maize seeds for the farmers. He also emphasized the importance of value addition in maize for minimizing post harvest losses.
During the technical session, management strategies to control the invasive pest were discussed. Dr SL Jat, Coordinator, IIMR-NEH Maize programme, in his presentation briefed on crop management practices and emphasized the importance of pest forewarning.
Dr LK Baishya, Senior Scientist, organizing secretary of the programme also highlighted the importance of maize cultivation for feed production for livestock. The technical session was chaired by Dr Narendra Prakash, Director, ICAR-RC-NEH Region, Umiam and Co–chaired by Bendanglila, Joint Director, Department of Agriculture, Nagaland.
A panel discussion was also held on the management strategies of FAW and promotion of scientific maize cultivation. The session was chaired by Dr Narendra Prakash, Director, ICAR-RC-NEH Region, Umiam and Co–chaired by Dr Neelam Chaudhury, Deputy Director, PPQS, Faridabad. Dignitaries from different organizations and departments highlighted the need for designing effective strategies to manage this pest so that farmers could realise high economic returns from the cultivation of crops. Importance of use of bio-pesticides and natural enemies in the management of Fall Army Worm was also emphasized.
Around 81 officials from different line departments and organizations participated in the workshop and a field visit to ICAR research farm was conducted. An extension folder entitled ‘Maize production technologies’ was also released during the workshop.
