Training on “Protected Cultivation of High-value Vegetable and Ornamental Crops”

ANDHRA PRADESH: Horticultural Officers (20) of different districts of Andhra Pradesh were trained by ICAR-IIHR on “Protected Cultivation of High-value Vegetable and Ornamental Crops” from Tuesday to Saturday. This programme was sponsored by Government of Andhra Pradesh. The purpose was to impart of knowledge and skill for the horticulture officers about protected cultivation practices, so that these technologies can be disseminated among the farmers of Andhra Pradesh.

The participants were imparted training on various aspects of protected cultivation such as problems and prospects of protected cultivation, production of quality seedlings, integrated crop management practices, design and fabrication of green house structures/ machineries, integrated pest, disease  and nematode management practices, handling, packing and storage etc. with respect to vegetables and ornamental crops. The training was imparted through  lecture-cum-interaction sessions, panel discussions, question and answer sessions, visits to demonstration and experimental plots, visits to laboratories, workshop, commercial poly houses, seed processing units, commercial nurseries etc.

It was found that the training programme was effective in imparting training to the participants on protected cultivation practices and the increase in knowledge was to the tune of 22%. During the feedback session, the participants informed that the training was effective in acquiring relevant knowledge and skill and this will help in guiding the farmers of their respective regions towards successfully establishing and managing protected cultivation of high-value vegetable and ornamental crops. This programme was coordinated by Dr B Balakrishna and Dr R Venkattakumar.