Wheat output may rise 25% with bed planting

Six bed planters distributed among farmers to create awareness.

FAISALABAD: Wheat production can be increased by as much as 25% with up to 50% water conservation by using bed planters in agriculture fields.

University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad stated this while speaking at a ceremony at the university on Thursday.

To mark the event, the Water Management Research Centre of UAF in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) distributed six bed planters among farmers for a sowing season to promote the technology.

UAF has set a target of 100 acres to be cultivated with crops with the help of a bed planter. Farmers meeting the target will get a planter next season.

The UAF vice chancellor said Pakistan was being listed among water-scarce countries, underscoring the need to promote water-saving technology to meet challenges of the 21st century and increase agricultural productivity.

“It is a matter of concern that about 40% of irrigation water is wasted in fields during its application due to conventional methods of irrigation,” he said.

Saying that more than half of Punjab farmers were using tube wells for irrigation, Ahmad stressed that by adopting bed planting technology, profit of farmers would increase and farms would become cost-effective. Bed planting also minimises consumption of fertiliser.

Water Management Research Centre Director Professor Dr Allah Buksh said bed plantation increased production by 25% and saved energy and labour.

He pointed out that bed planters were being distributed to create awareness, promote the technology and help the agriculture sector flourish. “It will also help ensure food security and fight water scarcity in the country,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2013.

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