Ludhiana, September 25
With a significant theme of “precision farming for higher profits”, the two-day Kisan Mela will unfold itself at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) campus here on Wednesday.

The mela, with an emphasis on high production, will also concentrate on quality, profitability and at the same time will educate the farmers to conserve the natural resources. The emphasis will also be on reducing the cost of production, improving the quality and bringing down the use of insecticides to ensure the reduction in toxic residue in the produce.

The kisan melas hold special place in the lives of the farmers who throng the university from all over the state to buy the seeds and know the latest developments in the field of agriculture. According to Dr J.S. Kolar, Director, Extension Education, around two lakh farmers are expected to attend the mela this time.

According to Dr S.S. Gill, Additional Director, Extension Education, PAU, while preparing the programme of the mela the scientists have also kept in mind the implications of the WTO Treaty which calls for precision in farming.

“We want to make our farmers compete at the international level as far as the production is concerned”, says Dr Gill. The mela will also lay an emphasis on minimising the cost of production and get the maximum profit out of the yield.

According to Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Head of the Department of Horticulture, the mela would specially concentrate on various agricultural techniques, including the scientific method of planting and maintaining orchards.

The farmers would also be educated about the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) that indicates attacking the pest with all possible means. It includes using biological control, natural enemies of pests changing cultural methods of control along with judicious use of pesticides.

Another attraction of the mela will be the display of latest machines developed by agricultural engineers. The working of these will be shown to the visiting farmers under field conditions.

Dr J.S. Samra, Director, Seeds, said 15337 bags of crop seeds of various varieties would also be made available. These include wheat PBW-343, PBW 373, PBW-138, PDW 274; Gram: PBG-1, PDG-3, GL-769; Barley PL-426, PL-172, Raya-RLM-619, PBR-91 and Toria TL-15. Besides 16,000 small packets of vegetable seeds would also be sold to the farmers.

Mr V.K. Bamboota, Convener, Agro-Industrial Exhibition said 165 stalls have been booked by different commercial organisations, nationalised banks, cooperative organisations and private organisations to display the agricultural machinery and other inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. In addition, 35 stalls would be put up by the various departments of the university to educate the farmers about latest techniques.

Ludhiana, September 25
Contests for ‘shabad’ and ‘vaar’ singing and poetry recitation marked the first day of a three-day cultural festival being organised by the Education Department at various schools of the district here today.

At Ramgarhia Girls Senior Secondary School, Millerganj, contests for various schools falling in the Ludhiana West zone were held. For ‘shabad’ singing, seven school teams participated and the host team won the first prize. The team from Ramgarhia Boys Senior Secondary School was declared second and Government Multipurpose Senior Secondary School, Cinema Road, was declared third.

In the ‘vaar’ recitation competition, two teams participated and again the host team was declared first. The team from Government Senior Secondary School, Jandiali, stood second. In the poetry recitation contest, two teams participated and the host team clinched the first prize and Ramgarhia Boys Senior Secondary School was declared second.

At Government Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar, students from schools falling in the Ludhiana East participated. In the ‘shabad’ singing competition, the team from GS Girls High School, Gujarkhan, was declared first, followed by students from Guru Harkrishan Public School, Daba Road, and DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, team.

In the poetry recitation contest, 13 schools of the zone participated. Satvinder Kaur from Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Senior Secondary School, Sarabha village, won the first prize, Jaspreet from Dashmesh Public School stood second and Yuvika from Bhartiya Vidya Mandir was declared third. In the ‘vaar’ singing contest, four schools participated. Baljeet Kaur and her team from GS Girls High School, Gujarkhan, was declared first, Gursimranjeet Kaur and her group from Dashmesh Senior Secondary School, Dashmesh Nagar, stood second and Amandeep Kaur and her team from Khalsa Girls Senior Secondary School, Civil Lines, was declared third.