At science meet, India's PM pitches for GM crops

Underscoring the need to ensure food security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday favoured genetically modified crops, urging the people not to be swayed by “unscientific prejudices” against them.

Araku Valley in South India May Become New Apple of Farmers’ Eye

 While the Greek hero Hercules wanted to possess the fruit desperately, Adam — the first man in Abrahamic religions — apparently couldn’t resist eating it and was then desperate. Whatever the reasons, few fruits have enjoyed the clout of apple, one of the oldest cultivated trees on Earth. In India, its farming has so far been limited mostly to the Himalayan region — Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well as pockets of the North East. But if scientists at Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have their way, they could soon be grown in Araku Valley of is the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

New technology to the rescue of farmers

The success of a technology is measured by the number of people adopting it. In villages, especially, the introduction or adoption of a new system is often not easy. It takes a long time to convince and earn the confidence of farmers.

A proven technology to retain and attract youth to agriculture

What is it that spurs an individual to quit a Government job and take up farming as a full time profession? Or why does an MBA student be more interested to become a full time farmer than work in a company?

“If the annual agriculture income is more than a salaried income, youngsters will take the plunge into it. Unlike the old adage that agriculture comprises only old people into their 60’s, today the interest among present day educated youth and their dedication towards farming is an encouraging sign that the agriculture scene is going through a renaissance,” says Dr.B.J. Pandian, Director & Nodal Officer(TN-IAMWARM Project), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

Thanks to scientists, feast on litchis even in winter

 The delectably sweet and juicy litchi, hitherto a summer fruit, is now being cultivated in winter, thanks to a successful experiment in two southern states by the an eastern India state, Bihar-based National Research Centre for Litchi (NRCL), an official said.

Micronutrient mixtures developed for boosting crop yield, soil quality

Adoption of high production technology and cultivation of high yielding varieties have put tremendous pressure on soil nutrient reserve in the country leading to a great imbalance in nutrient status in the soil.

A large chunk of soil in the country has been rendered deficient in micronutrients, which is one of the major reasons that crops have stopped responding to fertilizers, according to Dr. M Anandaraj, Director of Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) in Kozhikode.

The next billion-dollar basmati?

 A decade after the release of Pusa-1121, a rice variety that accounts for roughly three-fourths of India’s $4 billion-plus annual basmati exports, farm scientists hope to replicate its success through yet another blockbuster.

Himachal's cold deserts flush with veggies

The cold deserts of Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Valley have been flushing with vegetables, mainly the high-value exotic broccoli and lettuce, say agriculture experts.

India refuses to trade food security at Bali meet

 Sticking to its position that food security was non-negotiable as it impacted four billion people worldwide and millions of farmers, India Wednesday rejected the subsidy proposal in its present form at the global trade talks here.

No compromise on food subsidy at WTO: India

India will not offer any compromise on its food subsidy programme at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting next week, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said.