Monsanto showcases Seminis & Dekalb hybrid seeds at Pragati Divas 2017

Monsanto India, a leading sustainable agriculture company organised Pragati Divas 2017 at the Monsanto Testing Centre, in Village Kalavi, Lakhalgaon, Nashik. At the event, agriculture experts from the company demonstrated and showcased various high-yielding Dekalb and Seminis hybrid seeds.

Under the brand Dekalb, it offers corn hybrid seeds, while under Seminis, it offers vegetable hybrid seeds.

The high-yielding Dekalb brand of hybrid maize is known for its breeding excellence and high productivity.

It is offered in 20 high-yielding maize hybrids, which are developed in India and tested extensively in partnerships with several state agriculture universities and other leading agricultural institutions.

Seminis hybrid vegetable seeds offer farmers higher yield potential, early maturity and uniformity in size, shape and colour as compared to using other seed varieties.

Consumers have over 110 distinct vegetable seeds representing major vegetable crops of the country, including beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, pickling cucumber, gourds, hot pepper, musk melon, onion, radish, squash, sweet pepper, tomato, watermelon and other crops.

The dignitaries present included was Member of Parliament Harishchandra Chavan; Anilrao Kadam, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Dilip Zhende, joint director, agriculture, and Hemant Kale, agricultural development officer.

Over 500 corn and vegetable growing farmers, distributors, seed retailers and nursery upholders from Nashik and the villages surrounding it had gathered to witness the superior-quality corn and vegetable hybrid seeds.

Chavan said, “I compliment Monsanto for their focus in providing farmers varied choices of seeds with the latest technologies. I encourage our farmers to adopt these technologies, which will enable them gain higher yields and consequently play a huge role in improving their lives.”

Visitors at the Pragati Divas witnessed 21 varieties of vegetable hybrids covering cucumber, sweet corn, eggplant, sweet pepper, hot pepper, cabbage, cauliflowers, okra and tomato.

Apart from vegetables, ten different hybrid corn varieties were presented at the event.

Farmers were also provided with details on the salient features and advantages of the existing and upcoming corn and vegetable hybrid seeds.

Additionally, traditional plant breeding techniques, modern science behind seeds and the correct methods of insect and pest management were also demonstrated to farmers.

Tarachand Sanap, from Lalpadi village said, “I am very happy with the excellent output that I have received using Seminis hybrids in my field.”

“Seminis hybrid seeds have high yields and uniformity over multiple pickings. Moreover, they have shown high tolerance to disease, insects, virus and adverse climatic conditions. This helps farmers fetch excellent prices for the end produce,” he added.

Deepak Katad, from Dari village, stated, “Apart from providing us with excellent hybrids, the Monsanto field team also engages with us on a consistent basis and shares advisories on the best agronomic practices like spacing, nursery management, pest and disease management practices. This has helped me immensely in getting a good output from my field.”

Monsanto’s field teams, 80 per cent of whom are from rural backgrounds, constantly engage with farmers and provide them with inputs on best crop management practices, which enable them to secure optimum yields.

Commenting on the response from farmers, Mahaveer Rathore, marketing and product management lead – Asia, Monsanto, said, “At Monsanto, we are committed to enabling farmers sow better and yield better by providing them quality seeds through innovation and research.”

“This constant outflow of new products from our technology pipeline will enable us to fulfill our commitment of providing farmers hybrids with the better technologies,” he added.

In addition, with an objective to demonstrate new concepts and technologies to various stakeholders, Monsanto has established centres of excellence (CoEs) in various regions of India.

At these CoEs, farmers witness techniques for integrated weed management, technology showcasing, high-density and mechanical planting, weed control and crop diversification, amongst others.