PASIGHAT, 28 Jul: An awareness programme on ‘good agricultural and collection practices of medicinal and aromatic plants’ was conducted by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants & Betelvine (AICRP on MAP&B) at the College of Agriculture (CoA) here in East Siang district on Friday.
Thirty participants, consisting of farmers and FPO members, attended the programme, during which they also received inputs like knapsack sprayers and vermicompost.
During the programme, experts from the AICRP on MAP&B and the CoA delivered lectures and provided hands-on training on different aspects of cultivating and utilising medicinal and aromatic plants.
CoA Assistant Professor Dr Nancy Lego spoke about “good collection practices of MAPs,” while Dr NY Chanu spoke about integrated pest management of MAPs, and Dr Helen Soibam dwelt on the production technology of MAPs.
ICAR-DMAPR Director Dr Manish Das spoke about scientific cultivation practices of some of the economically important MAPs suited for cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh.
He highlighted the cost-benefit ratio for growing MAPs, emphasising the economic benefits that can be reaped from their cultivation. He also emphasised on “exploring indigenous medicinal plants and coming up with commercial cultivation.”
