‘Drip technology saves water, fertilizer; leads to 25% increase in sugarcane yield’

Lucknow: The state govt has said that the drip irrigation technology, wherever used, has led to a 25% increase in sugarcane yield in the state.

According to the sugarcane department, drip irrigation systems have been installed across 73,078 hectares of sugarcane area over the past nine years. Farmers using this system have recorded a 25% increase in production. Drip irrigation uses water drop by drop for irrigation, resulting in up to 50% water savings.

Accordingly, a similar amount of fertiliser is also saved, as it is mixed with water and delivered directly to the plants. “This reduces wastage of both water and fertilisers, lowering farmers’ input costs and significantly contributing to increased income,” a state govt spokesperson said.

The department further noted that drip irrigation has made sugarcane cultivation possible even in alkaline and low-rainfall regions. Over the years, the number of farmers adopting this method has steadily increased after witnessing its benefits.

According to the department, until 2017, only 37 sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh had ethanol plants, with a total capacity of about 88 crore litres annually. But actual production was just 42 crore litres. Currently, ethanol production capacity across 53 sugar mills has increased to around 2.58 billion litres annually. Ethanol production in the sugar sector has now reached approximately 1.37 billion litres.

Meanwhile, state govt said that it is continuously emphasising innovation and technological improvements to significantly increase farmers’ income and boost sugarcane production in the state.

On the instructions of CM Yogi Adityanath, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research (UPCSR), Shahjahanpur, and Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd, Haidergarh (Barabanki). The primary objective of this MoU is to boost the production of quality sugarcane seeds through tissue culture technology, connect farmers with modern techniques, and make the sugarcane production system more efficient.

Sugarcane Commissioner Ministhy S said that as part of the MoU, training programmes will be conducted to promote tissue culture-based seed production in the state. Farmers, mill workers and technical staff will receive practical training on operating tissue culture labs and greenhouses, preparing plantlets, hardening processes and field transplantation.
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