5-day Vocational Training Course on “Nursery Management in Horticultural Crops” for farmers held at KVK
Ferozepur, August 14: A five-day vocational training course on “Nursery Management in Horticultural Crops” was organised from August 10 to 14 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Ferozepur, under the guidance of Dr. Gurmel Singh, Deputy Director (Training), KVK Ferozepur, with the support of the ATMA scheme. The programme aimed at promoting nursery management as a viable allied occupation for farmers, particularly rural youth and women.
At the inaugural session, Dr. Gurmel Singh familiarised the participants with the activities of KVK and its vocational training programmes. He encouraged young farmers and women farmers to adopt allied occupations to supplement their farm income.
Dr. B.S. Sekhon, Assistant Professor (Vegetable Science), imparted detailed knowledge on the importance of quality nursery production of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Participants were trained in site selection, quality seed, identification of seeds, recommended varieties, seed treatment, bed preparation, seed rate, germination percentage, plant requirement per acre, raising vegetable seedlings in trays, and management of insect pests and diseases.
During the third day, participants were trained in recommended varieties and propagation techniques for citrus, guava, mango, dragon fruit, date palm and jamun. Practical demonstrations on grafting and other plant propagation methods were also conducted. On the fourth day, Dr. Sekhon explained various methods of producing fruit seedlings, cuttings and plants, and informed the participants that the coming months are suitable for nursery preparation. Farmers were also advised to procure quality seed from the upcoming university fairs at Ludhiana and start their nursery activities.
On the concluding day, Dr. Savandeep Sharma from the ATMA Department and Dr. Simran Singh from the Horticulture Department apprised the participants of various departmental schemes. Progressive nursery growers Manpreet Singh, Baljinder Singh and Jajwinder Singh also shared their practical experience in nursery management and explained the machinery used for nursery production.
The trainees showed keen interest throughout the programme. An assessment conducted at the end of the training revealed that 92 per cent of the participants secured more than 80 per cent marks and expressed willingness to adopt nursery production as an allied occupation.
A total of 26 young farmers and women farmers from different villages of Ferozepur and Faridkot districts participated in the training programme.