Agriculture sector: Experts advise farmers to employ proper techniques

Suggest deep ploughing multiple times to improve land fertility.

MULTAN: Agriculture experts have advised farmers to employ proper techniques to bring saline or waterlogged areas under cultivation of crops to improve agriculture production.

In a press statement, agriculture spokesman said that saline land covered by white material on surface usually contains greater quantity of soluble minerals and this drawback can be addressed simply by water application after deep ploughing two to three times.

However, for this to happen the land must be porous and ground water level should at least be six feet.

The minerals, being soluble, get dissolved in water and move deep down the soil. Such fields should be kept under crop cultivation ceaselessly to avoid chances of accumulation of minerals again.

The saline land with white and black material or just black material on the surface needed different kinds of treatments to make it cultivable. Such soils also contain sodium in addition to soluble minerals, are hard to undergo ploughing and resist water absorption.

In addition to this treatment, botanical fertilisers should also be applied and suitable crops be selected for better results.

Animals waste fertilisers or green fertilisers can be applied. For green fertilisers, farmers should grow fodder and then plough it before flower stage and bury it in the soil for better fertility.

Farmers should select the crops which can demonstrate resistance against salinity at the time of germination and per acre application of seeds should 25% more than the normal for better results, the release concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2014.

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