The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) will release the new edition of its Package of Practices (PoP) for crops, the first since the devastating floods of 2018 and 2019 that played havoc with the State’s farm sector, on Monday.
The 16th edition of the ‘Package of Practices Recommendations: Crops 2024’ is envisioned as a guide to building a resilient, technology-intensive and sustainable agricultural system.
Valued for the depth of Kerala-specific crop production technologies, PoPs have been published since 1973. The most recent one came out in 2016.
Lessons learned
Compared to the previous editions, the 434-page 2024 edition contains lessons learned from the flood disasters of 2018 and 2019 and updated advisories on the use of chemicals for disease control.
For instance, the PoP has recommendations regarding salt-tolerant and short-duration paddy varieties.
The 16th edition covers cereals and millets, pulses, tubers, oil seeds, beverages and stimulants (tea, coffee, cocoa, betel vine and tobacco), commercial crops like cashew, rubber and cotton, vegetables, and fruits including exotic ones like Mandarin orange, West Indian cherry and strawberry.
It has recommendations for ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants, fodder grass, green leaf manure crops like Gliricidia, Subabul, and Cassia in addition to a section on agroforestry.
Other sections deal with efficiency in fertilizer-use, pest and rodent control, sericulture and beekeeping, and KAU-developed technologies that are ready for technology transfer. It also provides valuable information on pesticides available in the market, and pesticides/pesticide formulations that are banned.
‘Organic alternatives’
“Many chemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) that lack ‘label claim’ have been removed from the 2024 edition. We have replaced them with organic alternatives or ones that contain permitted chemicals,” Jacob John, director extension, KAU, and chief editor of the 2024 edition, said.
“The PoP is painstakingly updated and prepared by KAU scientists and is much in demand among the farming community. At present, it gets published in book form. But in future, we need online editions that can be accessed much more easily,” KAU Vice-Chancellor B. Ashok told The Hindu.
The PoP recommendations are evolved out of rigorous research, tests, and field trials performed by KAU scientists. The final compendium also incorporates the recommendations made by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes in the State.
In January, KAU had announced the sale of its publications, including PoPs, under the Agriculture department’s ‘Keralagro’ brand through e-commerce platforms. PoP 2024 is the first KAU PoP to come out with an ISBN number.
Release
Agriculture Minister P. Prasad will release the PoP 2024 at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, at 4 p.m. on Monday. Mr. Ashok will preside. The Minister will also inaugurate an Agri Innovation-Incubation Centre on the occasion. Agriculture Director Seeram Sambasiva Rao will deliver the keynote address.
