Indofil Potato protection campaign targets 3.6L ton yield in U’khand India

About 20,000 to 22,000 hectare is the estimated cropped area under Rabi potato in Uttarakhand and in tune with the last year, the total annual yield of the state is likely to surpass a conservative 3.6 lakh tons.

The Mumbai- headquartered Indofil Industries Ltd has commenced RABI 2018 Potato Protection Campaign (PPC) in Uttarakhand with special focus on Almora, Nainital, Pitoragarh, Uttarkashi and Dehradun districts.

Indofil has deployed over 30 well- trained Krishi Doots to work closely with the farmers to ensure a healthy and record potato crop, informed Maheshkumar Khambete, a senior manager of Indofil Industries Ltd.

He further said that the spurt in demand for seed potatoes here and also from the neighbouring states suggests a successful potato season ahead in Rabi 2018.

Khambete further said that the Potato Protection Campaign (PPC) aims to raise potato yield by 10% by training the farmers in better disease management techniques.

Farmer training programmes are also being organised at farms, at Mandis and at dealer/distributor outlets.

Heavy infestation of insects, weeds and diseases in the potato crop is a grim problem faced by the Uttarakhand farmers and therefore the need to train them in advanced diseases diagnosis techniques and modern cost-effective potato protection is an imperative, he added.

Khambete said that the potato growers might contact the Krishi-Doots posted at local agri-input dealer outlets for free assistance.