ARS, Tornala conducted Awareness programme on Parthenium eradication on the eve of Parthenium Awareness week at adopted village, Ibrahimpur village, Narayanraopet mandal, Siddipet district on 18.08.2023

Agricultural Research Station, Tornala has conducted an “Awareness programme on Parthenium eradication” at adopted village, Ibrahimpur village, Narayanraopet mandal, Siddipet district on 18.08.2023 on the eve of 18th parthenium awareness week (16th – 22nd August, 2023). Dr. S. Sridevi, Principal Scientist & Head, ARS, Tornala enlightened the farmers on the menace of parthenium which is an aggressive colonizer of wastelands, cultivated lands, pastures, etc. and significance of parthenium Week and educated them on the dreadful ill effects of parthenium on agricultural crops, animals and humans causing respiratory and skin allergic problems such as Asthama, Skin allergy, respiratory problems and deteriorates environment, loss of crop productivity and biodiversity exerting allelopathic effects on different crops. Dr. D. Swetha, Scientist (Agro.) highlighted about various mechanisms to manage its widespread dispersal in open places and crop fields to the farmers and emphasized to take up conrol measures on a community basis viz., manual uprooting of Parthenium before flowering and seed setting, ploughing the weed before flowering, biological control with Zygograma bicolorata, spraying of herbicides like paraquat or glufocinate ammonium or 2,4- D sodium salt solution to control the parthenium. Later, rally was taken for creating awareness on parthenium eradication duly involving ZPHS students, farmers and scientific staff of ARS and DAATTC, Tornala, Dr. N. Sainath, Dr. D. Swetha, Dr. E. Umarani, Smt. A. Saritha, Sri. J. Vijay and Dr. Ch. Pallavi and actively participated in the Parthenium eradication programme by manually uprooting all the Parthenium plants in the surrounding fields and bunds. The programme was attended by 30 ZPHS students along with Smt. T. Venkata Ramani, MAO, Mr. T. Nagarjuna, AEO of Narayanraopet mandal, Sri Devayya, Sarpanch, Sri K. Nagesh Reddy, RSS President and also 31 progressive farmers.