“Are you using Nano-Biotechnology to increase crop yield”?
Scientists batting for Indian Nano Farming
India is an agricultural economy. So it is natural for farm scientists in India to twitch their eyebrows if a considerable decline in Indian agriculture production is observed. Indian Farm scientists foresee food scarcity in the impending years which could prove to be a serious threat to the India and the world economy. According to them the only way to counter this problem is to make rapid progress in the field of nano-biotechnology. India’s top farm scientists who had gathered at Indian Agriculture Universities Association (IAUA) Meet for Vice-Chancellors organized at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal had expressed concerns over the scarcity of food which according to them would grow into a serious global issue that needs to be tackled head-on.
With the population mounting in Asia and African regions, the global population is expected to touch 7.5 billion by 2020 and 9 billion by 2050. Needless to say, there is an increased need to use scientific technology to boost agricultural production, informed Dr B Mishra, vice-chancellor of the Shere-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu.
India is known to produce 230 million tones of food grains, 149mt of horticulture products, 51 billion eggs, 7 billion tones of fish and 105 mt of milk, nonetheless dearth of post-harvest technology leafs to annual loss of Rs.76,000 crore. Of this, around Rs.52,000 core is reportedly lost in wastage of milk, fish, fruits and vegetables alone, informed Dr A K Srivastava, director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal.
As per the statistics available, over 1 billion people across India and the rest of the world live on one meal a day, of which nearly 250 million are from India alone. And the top of it, the one meal they get is from left-overs and garbage cans, elaborate Dr. Srivastava. By 2020, the agriculture industry would need more water for its sustenance, however the water availability would go down by 12 percent, he further added. The only remedy is to opt for scientific methods and enhance nutrient content in the soil so as to fortify the soil that losing its strength to produce.
The deteriorating conditions have prompted Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, to start research. The university has already set the stage to counter the crises by setting up one of the best nano-biotechnology labs of the country and has undertaking some ground-breaking work on nematodes in the soil. According to PAU vice-chancellor Dr M S Kang said, Nematoda is the prime culprit that causes crop destruction and that leads to less crop yields. PAU has undertaken a research wherein the fungus is applied to lock in nematodes.
Continual efforts are being made to use nano-technology for better and prudent use of fertilizers and pesticides. Technology can be applied for fast detection of diseases and delivery of fungicides in a proper maneer. This will aid in increased crop production. Likewise in South India, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University located at Bidar is making use of new technologies to increase the output of fish and other marine species used as food.
India is an agricultural economy. So it is natural for farm scientists in India to twitch their eyebrows if a considerable decline in Indian agriculture production is observed. Indian Farm scientists foresee food scarcity in the impending years which could prove to be a serious threat to the India and the world economy. According to them the only way to counter this problem is to make rapid progress in the field of nano-biotechnology. India’s top farm scientists who had gathered at Indian Agriculture Universities Association (IAUA) Meet for Vice-Chancellors organized at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal had expressed concerns over the scarcity of food which according to them would grow into a serious global issue that needs to be tackled head-on.
With the population mounting in Asia and African regions, the global population is expected to touch 7.5 billion by 2020 and 9 billion by 2050. Needless to say, there is an increased need to use scientific technology to boost agricultural production, informed Dr B Mishra, vice-chancellor of the Shere-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu.
India is known to produce 230 million tones of food grains, 149mt of horticulture products, 51 billion eggs, 7 billion tones of fish and 105 mt of milk, nonetheless dearth of post-harvest technology leafs to annual loss of Rs.76,000 crore. Of this, around Rs.52,000 core is reportedly lost in wastage of milk, fish, fruits and vegetables alone, informed Dr A K Srivastava, director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal.
As per the statistics available, over 1 billion people across India and the rest of the world live on one meal a day, of which nearly 250 million are from India alone. And the top of it, the one meal they get is from left-overs and garbage cans, elaborate Dr. Srivastava. By 2020, the agriculture industry would need more water for its sustenance, however the water availability would go down by 12 percent, he further added. The only remedy is to opt for scientific methods and enhance nutrient content in the soil so as to fortify the soil that losing its strength to produce.
The deteriorating conditions have prompted Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, to start research. The university has already set the stage to counter the crises by setting up one of the best nano-biotechnology labs of the country and has undertaking some ground-breaking work on nematodes in the soil. According to PAU vice-chancellor Dr M S Kang said, Nematoda is the prime culprit that causes crop destruction and that leads to less crop yields. PAU has undertaken a research wherein the fungus is applied to lock in nematodes.
Continual efforts are being made to use nano-technology for better and prudent use of fertilizers and pesticides. Technology can be applied for fast detection of diseases and delivery of fungicides in a proper maneer. This will aid in increased crop production. Likewise in South India, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University located at Bidar is making use of new technologies to increase the output of fish and other marine species used as food.
|
|
