SKUAST-K organises awareness programme in Shopian

Shopian, Nov 27: The Division of Plant Pathology, SKUAST-K Shalimar in collaboration with the Department of Horticulture organised a mass awareness-cum-scientist-farmer interaction programme on Wednesday at Aglar Fruit Mandi Shopian.

The event was held under the HADP-18 project, titled “Minimization of Pesticide Use in Agriculture”, to educate growers on reducing excessive pesticide use through advanced pest and disease management strategies, especially in apple production systems.

The programme featured insightful lectures and expert guidance from SKUAST-K scientists on adopting sustainable practices to minimize pesticide use.

The major issues that were discussed with apple growers include orchard design, spray mechanization, variety selection, and cluster orcharding, all with a focus on effective disease and pest management methods. Approximately 140 fruit growers from various regions participated actively in the programme.

As part of the initiative, bio-pesticide and pheromone traps were distributed among apple growers for the eco-friendly management of root/soil borne diseases and monitoring of the apple leaf blotch miner pest.