Prayagraj,

29 Jan (HS): With the objective of promoting nutritional & food security

and improving the economic condition of farmers, a training and demonstration

program under the project To Sensitize, Educate and Train the Farmers in

Cultivation and Propagation of Potential Underutilized Vegetable Crops for

Food, Nutritional and Economic Security of Prayagraj Region running at

Department of Horticulture, SHUATS under the Council of Science and Technology,

Uttar Pradesh, was successfully organized. The program was conducted by the

Principal Investigator, Deepanshu, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticulture,

SHUATS, and Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. Urfi Fatmi, Assistant Professor,

Department of Horticulture, SHUATS, Dr. Devi Singh, Professor, Department of

Horticulture, SHUATS, and Dr. C. John Wesley, Professor, Center for Geospatial

Technology, SHUATS.

In

this one-day programme, farmers from various areas of Prayagraj (Jasra,

Karchhana, Koraon, etc.) participated in which the Principal Investigator, Deepanshu

shared complete information to the farmers about cultivation, propagation, and

nutritional importance of underutilized vegetable crops. Dr. Anand Singh,

Professor, College of Horticulture, Banda University of Agriculture and

Technology, boosted farming of underutilized vegetable crops by sharing his

life experiences, practical knowledge and new production technologies. Dr.

Sunil Zachariah, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, SHUATS, provided

information about plant diseases affecting the crops and their preventive

measures, while Dr. Anoorag R. Tayade, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology,

SHUATS, informed the farmers about their major pests and their control

measures.

Chief

guest of the programme, Prof. (Dr.) Biswarup Mehra, Pro Vice-Chancellor

(Administration), SHUATS, and Guest of Honor, Dr. Samuel Deepak Mecarty,

Director (Research), SHUATS, encouraged the farmers to cultivate underutilized

vegetables to improve their socio-economic condition. Field Demonstration of

underutilized vegetable crops related to the project being cultivated in the

University was also conducted by Deepanshu.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi