FAISALABAD: (APP) The agriculturists said here on Friday that per-acre sugarcane production can be increased by four time through the use of modern technology.
They said that the country was getting only 450 maunds per-acre currently, compared with the potential of 2000 maunds.
They were speaking at the inaugural session of six-week Advanced Certificate Course in Sugarcane Agronomy, arranged at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) by the Department of Agronomy, in collaboration with Sugarcane Research and Development Board, Punjab.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that our country was blessed with fertile lands and the best ecological zone, but traditional methods of farming were a hurdle to achieving its true potential.
He urged the scientist to work on sugarcane breeding to transform the crop from water-loving to less water.
He said that Integrated Pest Management (IPM), quality seed, biological control, and latest practices of sowing are imperative to increase the production.
Dean Faculty of Agriculture Dr Riaz Ahmad said that sugarcane was an important cash crop in the country and played a pivotal role in the development of socioeconomic conditions.
Assistant Professor Dr Hassan Munir said that sugarcane was being cultivated on more than one million hectares in Pakistan but per acre yield was very low.
Assistant Professor Dr Fahid Rasul said that a number of by-products could be obtained from this crop such as distillery water, Ethanol and biofuel.