Farmers in northern parts of the country have been asked to complete gram crop cultivation from September 25 to October 30 and those in central and southern Punjab from October 15 to November 15. The farmers have also been asked to use only the varieties approved by the agriculture department if they wanted to boost their yields, according to WealthPK. A spokesman of the Research Information Unit, Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad, said that Attock and Chakwal districts in the north were ideal for gram cultivation from September 25 to October 30, while those of Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and central Punjab from October 15 to November 15.

He also said approved varieties included Blixer 2000, Punjab 2008, Vanhar 2000, Buttle 98, Thal 2006, CM 98, Bhakkar 2011 and Kabli varieties like CM 2008, Noor 2009, and Noor 2013. He pointed out that barany (rain-fed) Bhakkar, Jhang, Khushab, Layya and Mianwali districts produced over 90% of the total gram. The spokesman also highlighted the benefits of cultivating gram and sugarcane in September. He advised the growers to cultivate grams through drill or pore in two lines, and maintain a distance of lines from 4 to 4.5 feet in case of sugarcane. The agriculture expert said that farmers should use two bags of DAP fertiliser per acre, adding that the government had announced a Rs2,000 per acre subsidy for farmers cultivating the approved varieties of gram.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk