Training Programme Cum Demonstration On Modified Mat Nursery Raising Technique For Machine Transplanting In Rice At Rars, Warangal On 23-08-2019

Training Programme Cum Demonstration On Modified Mat Nursery Raising Technique For Machine Transplanting In Rice At RARS, Warangal On 23-08-2019

A “farmers’ training programme cum demonstration on modified mat nursery raising technique for machine transplanting in rice” was organized at RARS, Warangal on 23-08-2019 under the chairmanship of Dr. P. Jaganmohan Rao, Associate Director of Research, RARS, Warangal. About 70 farmers who are interested in taking up machine transplanting from the districts viz., Mulugu, J.Bhupalpally, Janagaon, Mahaboobabad, Warangal (Rural) and Warangal (Urban) attended the training programme cum demonstration.

Dr. E. Srinivas, Coordinator, DAATTC, Warangal, Rice scientists of RARS, Warangal, Dr. S. Malathi, Dr. U. Nagabhushanam, Dr. B. Satish Chandra, Dr. R. Shravan Kumar and Dr. K. Rajendra Prasad, RARS staff Sri. B. Swamy, department officials, participated in the meeting. As an adjunct, Rural Agricultural Work Experience Programme (RAWEP) students of 2019-20 batch (21 no.s) also attended the training programme as an exposure visit.

Dr. P.Jaganmohan Rao, Associate Director of Research, RARS, Warangal addressed the gathering and reiterated that due to increasing labour problem in the peak season of transplanting, machine transplanting is inevitable in the present scenario. Interested farmers should take this as an opportunity and appraise themselves regarding the technology. Dr. S. Malathi, Principal Scientist (Entomology), Rice section emphasized that rural youth can be encouraged to train themselves in using and handling such machinery so that they can take up self employment like custom hiring of rice transplanting through machine transplanters. In the training programme, Dr. U. Nagabhushanam, Senior Scientist (Agronomy) explained about the modified nursery raising techniques, machine transplanting technology through power point presentation. The technology was practically demonstrated in the fields by Sri. B. Swamy, Agriculture Officer, RARS, Warangal using recently released rice variety WGL-915 (Warangal Rice-1). Simultaneously, different steps involved in nursery sowing -raising and machine transplanting were successfully demonstrated to the farmers.

Feed back from the farmers on the technology was taken. Most of the farmers opined that such training is the need of hour and raised certain requirements about concept.

Farmers who were interested in machine transplanting are not going ahead with it because of cumbersome nursery raising method in trays
More and more demonstrations at village level/mandal level are to be conducted to popularize the technology.
Custom hiring concept for machine transplanting and nursery raising should be encouraged and facilitated.
Machinery for transplanting and weeding are to be involved in subsidy scheme by the department of Agriculture.
Farmers are ready to take up the technology to a larger area provided problems in mechanization, servicing and availability of spares are solved.

Overall the training programme was fruitful with a positive impact on the rice growing farmers.