Ludhiana, April 24
The Department of Microbiology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), organised an interactive guest lecture on ‘Soil Microbiome for Sustainable Agriculture in the UK’ in association with the Department of Soil Science. Dr Mary Eliza, University of Sheffield, UK, delivered the talk which was attended by heads, faculty members and postgraduate students of both the departments.
Dr Eliza, while sharing the results of her doctorate study, emphasised the role of rhizobial interactions with temperate phages in the laboratory as well as in the plant root and nearby substrate environment. The research output, however, was not limited to participants’ perceptions, but also practices and various soil assessment techniques that are used by the farming community, she said.
Dr Urmila Gupta, head, Department of Microbiology, elaborated the importance of biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture and gave an overview of the biofertilizers produced by PAU. She added the university is producing biofertilizers for 18 different crops which are sold to farmers. Apart from biofertilizers, she also focused on other organic farming practices which have potential to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.
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