NIRJULI, 4 May: The North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST), which is the regional coordinating institute of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), organised a three-day virtual training programme on ‘Farm equipment for plant health management’, which concluded here on Thursday.
“The programme was conducted in collaboration with the plant health engineering division of the National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), Hyderabad. Eighty-one participants from across India registered for the programme,” the institute informed in a release.
During the programme, NIPHM Director General (i/c) Dr Alice RP Sujeeta briefed the stakeholders on the importance of proper plant management, stating that it would “optimise crop production and minimise unnecessary use of pesticides, herbicides, and other agrochemicals detrimental to the environment and human health.”
NERIST Students’ Affairs Dean Prof P Lingfa presented an overview of the UBA, its objectives, and its importance, while NERIST Director Prof M Muralidhar spoke about the “essential nature of training programmes for plant health management and their contribution to the agricultural sector’s future.”
The technical sessions covered topics such as farm mechanisation in India, land preparation, seeding transplantation, and plant protection equipment.
On Thursday, experts delivered speeches on the environmental impacts of spraying and carbon footprints, digital tools for plant health, plant protection, enhancing productivity, and the use of drones in agriculture, the release said.
