UP to set up nine agro-climatic research centres

Lucknow, Oct 15 (UNI) In order to make optimum use of various climatic conditions for agriculture, Uttar Pradesh Council of Agriculture Research (UPCAR) has proposed to set up nine 'agro-climatic research centres' in different parts of the state.

As there are nine types of agro-climatic zones in the state, UPCAR has proposed setting up the same number of research stations.

UPCAR Director General Chandrika Prasad said here that the state's climate varies from region to region and as a climate same agricultural practices in the entire state cannot be adopted ,these zonal stations will carry out research on specific crops in sync with their respective climatic conditions.

According to UPCAR officials, a budget of ten-crore has been sought from the government for setting up stations which is likely to be approved soon.

UPCAR officials said the stations will be set up in Lucknow, Mirzapur, Gorakhpur, Agra, Jhansi, Bareilly, Meerut, Kanpur, Faizabad and Allahabad. They have also suggested that four out of the nine research centres can be operated from the agriculture universities functioning in the state. ''The move will save a lot of the government's budget,'' said a senior UPCAR official.

Regarding the mandate of the research institutes, UPCAR officials said each will work on specific crops. In Lucknow, a central body 'Basic and Strategic Research High-Tech Agriculture Centre (BASRHAC)' has been proposed to monitor all centres.

UNI