60-lakh project to tackle weed menace

isoproturon, a herbicide that had been used earlier for the phalaris weed – also known as kanki, mandusi and gullidanda – was now proving ineffective. “The weed problem has in fact flared up during the last several years,” he added.

Chowdhury said that considerable research was required to develop alternative weed management practices that could either prevent or delay herbicide resistance. According to him the new project, launched with the assistance of the Australian agency, would help tackle this problem.

Meanwhile, a technical programme to curb the phalaris menace had been worked out at a meeting between Gurjeet Gill, the project coordinator from Australia, R. K. Malik and L. S. Brar, project leaders at HAU and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), respectively, here yesterday. Gill said that the problem also existed in some pockets of Australia. However, the farm scientists there have been successful in devising technology to control this weed. “The same technology will be shared by these universities,” he said.

R. K. Malik said that efforts would also be made to sustain productivity “of wheat in the rice” rice-wheat cropping system. He revealed that three scientists each from both the collaborating universities would visit Mexico and two each would visit Australia during the three-year tenure of the project.