Enhanced wheat output to help ensure food security
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
RAJSHAHI, Nov 30 (BSS): Enhanced wheat production can help ensure food security of the country, besides reducing the present pressure on rice crop output.
Wide-ranging promotion of Power Tiller Operated Seeder (PTOS) machine can boost effectively wheat production in the field.
Wheat researchers and other agriculturists observed this, while addressing a wheat seeding demonstration by PTOS at Kakailkathi under Charghat Upazila of the district on Monday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) and Regional Wheat Research Centre (RWRC) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARC) jointly organized the demonstration, aimed at disseminating the modern know-how among the farmers.
"We have no alternative but to enhance wheat acreage, together with boosting its yield, in the present context about constraints relating to irrigation water supplies to the rice field," said BMDA Executive Director Engineer Abdul Mannan, who addressed the occasion as the chief guest.
In this regard, he said wheat is the second most important crop in Bangladesh. This can be cultivated with minimum water requirements compared to that of rice, he added.
Besides, he said substantial wheat production in the country has become indispensable in to reduce dependence on import of food grains to meet the domestic demand.
The emphasis should be given on promoting modern technology, side by side with using high yielding wheat seeds to attain the cherished goal, he stated.
Rajshahi is a drought prone-area where wheat cultivation can be expanded easily through using PTOS that works as shallow tilling, seeding in line and seed covering simultaneously, in one-operation.
Sharing his experience and expertise among the farmers, RWRC Principal Scientific Officer Dr Israil Hossain mentioned that the seeding operation could be completed without extra tillage operation, utilising residual soil moisture just after harvesting of rice.
He termed wheat as a winter-loving crop and said seeding in time is important for better harvest as the duration of winter is gradually being shortened in the country.
Quoting from various research findings, Dr Hossain expressed the view that around 60 wheat-growing areas are found to be following late seeding due to conventional method, resulting in large losses of yield. However, PTOS can help eliminating this problem, alongside efforts for bringing more wheat area within the limited time.
Wide-ranging promotion of Power Tiller Operated Seeder (PTOS) machine can boost effectively wheat production in the field.
Wheat researchers and other agriculturists observed this, while addressing a wheat seeding demonstration by PTOS at Kakailkathi under Charghat Upazila of the district on Monday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) and Regional Wheat Research Centre (RWRC) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARC) jointly organized the demonstration, aimed at disseminating the modern know-how among the farmers.
"We have no alternative but to enhance wheat acreage, together with boosting its yield, in the present context about constraints relating to irrigation water supplies to the rice field," said BMDA Executive Director Engineer Abdul Mannan, who addressed the occasion as the chief guest.
In this regard, he said wheat is the second most important crop in Bangladesh. This can be cultivated with minimum water requirements compared to that of rice, he added.
Besides, he said substantial wheat production in the country has become indispensable in to reduce dependence on import of food grains to meet the domestic demand.
The emphasis should be given on promoting modern technology, side by side with using high yielding wheat seeds to attain the cherished goal, he stated.
Rajshahi is a drought prone-area where wheat cultivation can be expanded easily through using PTOS that works as shallow tilling, seeding in line and seed covering simultaneously, in one-operation.
Sharing his experience and expertise among the farmers, RWRC Principal Scientific Officer Dr Israil Hossain mentioned that the seeding operation could be completed without extra tillage operation, utilising residual soil moisture just after harvesting of rice.
He termed wheat as a winter-loving crop and said seeding in time is important for better harvest as the duration of winter is gradually being shortened in the country.
Quoting from various research findings, Dr Hossain expressed the view that around 60 wheat-growing areas are found to be following late seeding due to conventional method, resulting in large losses of yield. However, PTOS can help eliminating this problem, alongside efforts for bringing more wheat area within the limited time.