FAISALABAD City News

‘Increase in sugarcane production

linked to using modern techniques’

From Our Correspondent

FAISALABAD: University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan has said that per-acre sugarcane production can be increased by using modern techniques and trends.

He said this while addressing the inaugural session of a six-week Advanced Certificate Course arranged on the sugarcane agronomy at the UAF on Friday. The course is being conducted by the Department of Agronomy, UAF, in collaboration with the Sugarcane Research and Development Board, Punjab. The UAF VC said that our country was blessed with fertile land and best ecological zone but traditional way of farming was a hurdle to get the benefits from its potential. He urged the scientists to work on sugarcane breeding to transform the crop from water loving to less water. He said that Integrated Pest Management (IPM), quality seed, biological control and latest practices of sowing were imperative to increase the production. He said that farmers were facing difficulties in finding the quality seed, which was adding their problems. Dean Faculty of Agriculture Dr Riaz Ahmad said that sugarcane was an important cash crop in the country and played a pivotal role in the development of socio-economic conditions. He said that agriculture was backbone of the economy and poverty alleviation was directly linked to this sector. He said that the UAF was making all-out efforts to conduct tangible researches and transform the knowledge into goods and services. He said that we must strive hard to increase the income of farmers for their better living. Assistant Professor Dr Hassan Munir said that sugarcane was being produced on more than one million hectare in Pakistan but per acre yield was very low. He said that one of main challenge facing by the sugarcane producers was drought. He said that our farmers were very poor in planting strategies and had less information about how to grow and when to grow the crop. He said that this certificate course would aware the participants about upcoming issues of sugarcane. Assistant Professor Dr Fahad Rasool said that a number of by-products could obtain from this crop. He stressed upon the need to use the sugarcane waste material for producing electricity. He said that the course would cover different aspects including the soil and nutrition, irrigation, cane diseases, insect management, weed management and sugarcane biometry.