BHUBANESWAR: With the weather department forecasting a normal monsoon, the State Government has drawn up an ambitious plan to maximise the seed replacement and improve supply of chemical fertilisers in the current kharif season.The Agriculture Department has planned to increase the seed replacement rate to 24 per cent against 20 per cent last year. The total paddy seeds requirement of the state has been estimated at 24 lakh quintals. The department is making arrangement to supply nearly six lakh quintals of certified seeds to the farmers, Agriculture Principal Secretary RL Jamuda told mediapersons after a meeting with district-level officers.Claiming that the demand for quality seed is increasing every year, Director of Agriculture and Food Production S Gopalan said the department was confident of supplying 4 lakh quintals. If necessary, quality seeds will be procured from other states.As rice productivity growth is directly proportional to increase in seed replacement rate, the major focus of the department is on multiplication of breeder seed to foundation seed. Apart from agriculture farms of the Government, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack, are the major suppliers of quality seeds. Besides, foundation seeds are produced through registered seed growers under the Seed Village Scheme.Seed produced by the registered seed growers is certified by the Orissa State Seed Certification Agency, a State Government concern.As rice is the predominant crop in the State, the Government is encouraging the farmers to use high yielding varieties of seed developed by OUAT and CRRI. Two new varieties of rice seed are released by the CRRI and OUAT recently.The ‘Swarna Sub-1’ variety of CRRI is resistant to water submergence for a period of 10 to 15 days without affecting the yield. As the State’s coastal region is prone to water loggingand submergence during floods, the new variety will be a boon to the farmers.Besides, OUAT has also released a high yielding variety paddy seed named ‘Rani’ which is resistant to common diseases like bacterial leaf blight and leaf folder insect, Padhi said.Out of the total cultivated area of 61.5 lakh hectares, 70 per cent (40.17 lakh hectare) is acidic and four lakh hectares saline. Three lakh hectares are water-logged.The department has also planned a massive soil testing campaign. It has been planned to collect at least five soil samples from each village for testing, Gopalan said.The reasons for low productivity have been identified as lack of assured irrigation, low seed replacement ratio, low level of fertiliser consumption and mechanisation and weak extension machinery.
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