Pelletised PMDS Helps Farmers Cope With Deficient Rain
Collector Anand said pelletised PMDS was providing assurance to farmers during the El Nino conditions and directed officials to promote the method in accordance with the district’s targets.
ANANTAPUR: Pelletised Pre-Monsoon Dry Sowing (PMDS) is helping farmers continue cultivation by conserving soil moisture despite deficient rainfall under prevailing El Nino conditions, said Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) executive vice-chairman T. Vijay Kumar and Anantapur collector O. Anand.
A team led by Vijay Kumar on Monday inspected a 70-acre pelletised PMDS citrus compact block at Kotank village in Garladinne mandal and interacted with farmers to assess crop conditions, rainfall, soil moisture levels and cultivation practices under the natural farming system.
Vijay Kumar said it was encouraging that farmers were continuing cultivation through pelletised PMDS despite low rainfall. He advised them to conserve soil moisture, diversify crops and adopt natural farming practices to improve farm productivity and resilience to weather variations.
Collector Anand said pelletised PMDS was providing assurance to farmers during the El Nino conditions and directed officials to promote the method in accordance with the district’s targets.
Officials said the compact block had encouraged 30 farmers to take up pelletised PMDS on nearly 150 acres under natural farming. Subsequently, seeds were sown using pelletised seed balls in another four-acre compact block.
The teams advised farmers to make efficient use of rainwater, retain soil moisture, diversify crops and adopt cultivation practices suited to El Nino conditions.
Agriculture joint director N. Salu Reddy, assistant director Venkat Kumar, horticulture officer Ratna Kumar and other agriculture, animal husbandry and RySS officials participated in the programme.
