The State Government has fixed a target to bring 2.0 lakh hectares under kharif maize in the state in 2016-17. Hybrid maize is a crop that can replace paddy.
Disclosing this, a spokesperson of the Agriculture Department today said since maize hybrids yielding 6-7 tonnes per hectare are available, area under maize can be increased to 8 lakh hectares to meet the requirement of the crop for cattle feed, poultry and starch production.
For increasing productivity of kharif maize, the government has evolved a programme for making timely arrangement of hybrid seeds of high yielding varieties to the farmers.
Drying of maize to bring it to 14 per cent moisture content is very essential to avail the MSP. In this regard, the Punjab Government has installed seven big dryers in the state at a total cost of Rs 52.85 crore.
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Similarly, small dryers costing Rs 6 lakh each were also being provided to village co-operative societies and individual farmers on 50 per cent subsidy, subject to maximum limit of Rs 2.5 lakh.
The spokesperson hoped that the area under maize crop would be increased this year as the government is committed to providing all adequate facilities to the farmers for production as well as for the marketing of the crop.
He said in order to save the maize crop form any imminent insecticide attack, the technical staff of the department would be given training regarding use of seed drill to ensure germination of 30,000-32000 plants per acre, which ultimately determines the yield.