Seed treatment drive to boost production in Gumla, India

The India agriculture department has launched a seed treatment campaign for the kharif season. Seed treatment protects plants from keep fungal, bacterial and viral diseases during kharif season, according to Mohit Singh, deputy project director ( DPD) with Agriculture Technology Management Agency ( ATMA) in Gumla.

"All kinds of kharif crops, like paddy, maize, pulses and oil seeds, could be treated with plant protection medicines before sowing. Farmers can apply both dry and wet methods of seed treatment to get healthy and mature plants till they are harvested," Singh added.

An authorized agro firm has launched awareness campaigns and is providing chemicals at subsidized rate. With monsoon having already arrived, farmers are getting to learn about a new technique that will benefit them.