HT Correspondent
TAWANG, Sept 15: ICAR-VPKAS, Almora, in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tawang demonstrated a high-yielding and early maturing common buckwheat variety VL Ugal 7 in different villages of the region.
Buckwheat, also known as fafar and kuttu, is a potential crop of Tawang, and both types of buckwheat (common buckwheat and tartary buckwheat) are cultivated in the district. Compared to common buckwheat, tartary buckwheat takes longer to mature.
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During Kharif 2024, the ICAR- VPKAS developed VL Ugal 7 and was demonstrated to farmers with the objective of enhancing buckwheat productivity in the district.
Moreover, a Buckwheat Field Day & Farmer-Scientist Interaction was organised in the village of Gyangkhar on September 10 under the NEH Programme of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
During the interaction with the farmers, Dr RK Khulbe, Principal Scientist, ICAR-VPKAS apprised the farmers of the initiatives taken by ICAR-VPKAS for the promotion of millets and potential crops in the district that include the introduction of improved buckwheat variety VL Ugal 7.
Senior Scientist and Buckwheat Breeder Dr DC Joshi highlighted the advantages of growing the high-yielding and early maturing buckwheat variety VL Ugal 7 and explained in detail how higher profit can be earned from the crop through value addition.
While urging the farmers to share the seed of VL Ugal 7 produced by them with other farmers for wider dissemination of the variety, he informed the farmers about the additional precautions to be taken during buckwheat seed production due to its highly cross-pollinated nature.
Dr Kushagra Joshi, Senior Scientist (Family Resource Management) apprised farmers of the drudgery involved in the harvesting and dehulling of buckwheat. Awareness about associated health hazards in post-harvest activities, as well as potential measures to mitigate drudgery and health hazards, was raised to ensure the safety of the farmers.
Er. Shyam Nath highlighted the role of engineering interventions in post-harvest processing of buckwheat and explained how their adoption can save time and cost and reduce the drudgery involved in post-harvest processing, besides minimising losses and improving the quality of the produce.
Dr CK Singh, SMS Agronomy, KVK, Tawang, who has been instrumental in the dissemination of ICAR –VPKAS, technologies including buckwheat variety VL Ugal 7 in the district, informed that due to its shorter duration, the variety is expected to gain popularity among the farmers.
The programme was attended by 18 farmers. Farmers appreciated the introduction of the improved buckwheat variety VL Ugal 7 in their village and expressed their happiness with the performance of the variety.
