PASIGHAT, 18 Aug: Students and faculty members of the College of Horticulture and Forestry (CHF) cleared Parthenium weeds along the river bank near Komolighat here in East Siang district on Monday as part of the observation of the Parthenium Awareness Week from 16-22 August.
During the programme, CHF Dean Prof A Herojit Singh underlined the urgent need for collective efforts to combat invasive weeds like Parthenium, which threaten agriculture, biodiversity, and human health.
The college’s Natural Resource Management (NRM) Department Head Prof Prankanu Debnath elaborated the objectives of the programme, and highlighted the critical role of public awareness in controlling the spread of Parthenium.
Plant Pathology Department Associate Professor Ramesh Chandra Shakywar encouraged the students to “adopt eco-friendly management practices to check the weed’s spread,” while Agronomy Assistant Professor Dinesh Kumar sensitized the students to the harmful impacts of Parthenium on crop productivity, soil fertility, livestock health, and human wellbeing.
The programme was organized under the guidance of Agronomy Assistant Professor Priyanka Irungbam, with active support from the college’s NRM department. It was funded by Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)-based AICRP on Sesame and Niger.
