Imphal, February 14 2009: IAS, O Nabakishore accompanied by the officials of the agricultural department who recently took the charge of the commissioner (agriculture) yesterday conducted visit to the Model Seed Villages taken up in the state under the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method of cultivation undertaken in various parts of the state by the state agriculture department with the technical assistances from the agricultural scientists of the Central Agriculture University (CAU) .

During his visit at Ethai, on seeing the fields fill with mustard plants in the vast areas extending over 100 hectares, the impressed commissioner said encourage the farmers expressing that farmers efforts here are worth to praise by all and insist the farmers to tell what the problem they are facing so that he could take up in consultation with the officials of the agriculture department.

The IPM team in this model seed village at Ethai is doing a new experiment in which bee keeping is done together with mustard cultivation.

According to Deputy Director, Ph Rajendro, the mix farming is the first of its kind in the state and after successful in the harvesting the mustard oil seed, how much beneficial will be aware to the farmers stating that the mix farming with enhance the productivity of the oil seed upto 100 percent.

Senior assistant professor, Kh Ibohal of Entomology Department, CAU also said that bees keeping can help the mustard plants in pollination during flowering.

Eighty percent of the cross pollination at the flowering stage of the mustard plants is done by the bee, he added.

The well grow of the mustard in the Ethai Model Seed Village with IPM method of cultivation specially in this season where rainfall do not occurred is a challenge to the other farmers who think that without rain water or irrigation water, the cultivation of mustard plant could not be success, said a farmer of the model village.

While talking on the marketing problem, Rajendro said that his department is considering for buying the mustard seed for onward supply to the farmers in the next season.

The commissioner mooted of arranging marketing facilities with a government policy and asked the officials of the agriculture department to look into the matter and suggest him what could be done so as to relief the farmers from the marketing problem.

He also encouraged the farmers that he will try at his best level to relief the problems of the farmers.

Before visiting the IPM Model Seed Village at Ethai, the commissioner paid a visit to another Model Seed Village at Saiton village where pea is cultivating at the Model Seed fields extending over around 40 hectares.

There, he also held interaction with the farmers of the model seed villages at Saiton and Ethai and noted the problems facing by the farmers specially while cultivating rabi crops.

Most of the farmers during the interaction pour down their grievances of not having irrigation facilities in their fields.

In an interaction with the farmers of Saiton who have been worried of failure to the pea crop growing in the IPM model seed village due to the scarcity of water, the commissioner convinced that they should not loss hope and try to coup up in the next coming crops.

The peas growing in the Saiton village were not upto the expected level even though experts of the IPM try their best due to the non-availability of water.

As there have been no rain in this winter season in the state and there were no irrigation facilities, all the efforts of the farmers and IPM experts could not yield batter results.

On seeing the condition of the peas nearing to failure, deputy director (soil chemist), Ph Rajendro said as growing of pea in the fields of the state where there is no irrigation facilities is bid difficult task and even though by knowing this, the farmers of the state often choose to grow peas.

"But, we are trying our best to improve the condition by spraying extra nutrient supply to the plants," he said.

During the interaction he also suggest the farmers to get first hand experiment of the new rice farming practice called the System of Intensified Rice cultivation which officials of the state planning department and agriculture department briefed on the account to the farmers in this kharif crop season.

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