The Agriculture Department has advised farmers to start cultivation of rice after May 20 and complete it by end of June for getting good yield.
The Agriculture Department has advised farmers to start cultivation of rice after May 20 and complete it by end of June for getting good yield. A spokesman for the department told APP on Friday that the best time for cultivation of rice varieties AARI-6, KS-282, KSK-133 and NIAB AARI-9 is between May 25 to June 7, whereas Super Basmati could be cultivated from May 25 to June 20. He said that June 1 to 20 was the best time for cultivation of Basmati-370, Basmati-385, Basmati Pak, Basmati-2000 and Basmati-515. Similarly, Basmati-198 could be cultivated in the areas of Sahiwal and Okara from June 1 to 15 while the suitable time for cultivation of Shaheen Basmati was June 15 to 30, the spokesman added. He said that average rice production was about 22 maunds per acre in Pakistan whereas in other countries its per acre yield was double or triple compared with Pakistan. He advised farmers to use latest technology for cultivation and harvesting rice crop in addition to applying balanced fertilizers and in-time watering. He also advised growers to get soil tests of their lands before cultivating crops. It would help in selecting accurate fertilizer for the crops in addition to saving precious money which the growers wasted in unbalanced fertilization. Responding to yet another query, he said all fertilizers having phosphors and potash should be applied before planting saplings of rice in the field whereas zinc sulphate should be applied after 12-14 days of planting saplings. Similarly, nitrogen (urea) fertilizers should be applied before water after 30-35 days of planting rice saplings in the field, he added.
This news was originally published by The Nation.