Punjab to replace wheat seeds

Chandigarh, Jun 18 (UNI) The Punjab government has decided to replace 100 per cent wheat seeds after every three years in order to end stagnation in production in the agricultural sector.

Punjab Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah today said most of the available seeds of wheat had lost their optimum potency and there is an immediate need to make fresh seeds available.

For the wheat crop, about 34 lakh quintals of seed was utilised by farmers every year in the state.

The Minister said that over the years the quality of the available seed stock of various crops had deteriorated and there was need for improvement in the seed preparing technology.

To achieve the desired results, Punseed, a government organisation that provides some part of the seed stocks to farmers, would also be overhauled and modernised, he added.

Meanwhile, to achieve a higher growth rate in the farm sector, the Punjab government had decided to provide fresh certified seeds on reduced rates, he added.

Prices of BT cotton seed, he said, had been slashed from Rs 1350 to Rs 760 per pack thereby benefiting the farmers to the tune of Rs 90 crore.

Besides, 15,35,000 packets of BT cotton seed were made available to farmers which would be sufficient for sowing of six lakh hectare of land. Also, 1,30,639 quintal paddy seed, 33,000 quintal maize seed and 452 quintal seed of pulses was provided for kharif season to farmers, Mr Langah said.

UNI