Krishi Jagran always throws light on farmers’ ongoing issues for the growth of entire agriculture sector. On December 15, it organized a webinar on the topic "Weed Management in Onion Crop" in collaboration with Dhanuka Agritech Limited, a company working in the agriculture sector for past four decades. The motive of the webinar was to make farmers aware of effective methods of weed management in onion crop.
An expert team from Dhanuka - Mayur Ameta, Subject Matter Expert, MP, Gujarat, Ghanshyam Ingle, Subject Matter Expert, Maharashtra, RK Dhuria, Subject Matter Expert, UP West & Central Rajasthan and Uttarakhand North joined the webinar along with Dr. Sanket J More, Scientist, Botany, ICAR, Directorate on onion and garlic research, Pune, Maharashtra, Dr. V Pratap Singh, Professor Agronomy, Govind Ballabh Pant University, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, and Dr. S S Poonia, EX-Senior Agronomist, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar Haryana.
At the beginning of the discussion, Dhanuka's RK Dhuria mentioned in detail about the company's special campaign "India Ka Pranaam-Har Kisan Ke Naam" dedicated to the farmers and said that a farmer is not just the provider of food, but the main pillar of the country's growth. He added that when everything was closed during Covid-19, the farmers continued their work and fed people. Dhanuka also presented a video honoring the farmers during the webinar.
Further, Professor of Agronomy, Dr. V Pratap Singh explained in detail about the weeds used in onion crops. He told the audience about the three main weeds and also gave information about how the farmers can identify them.
Dr. S S Poonia told the farmers how to control weeds. He also mentioned the Dhanuka products which remove weeds. Dr. Sanket J. More, scientist at Onion and Garlic Research Center spoke about the work being done by the central government regarding weed control.
Moreover, the representatives of Dhanuka Agritech Limited talked about the products farmers should use for weed management. Ghanshyam Ingle (Subject Matter Expert, Maharashtra) of Dhanuka highlighted its popular product 'One Kill' and its benefits. He said that One Kill is a mixture of two chemicals, and can destroy weeds with both broad and narrow leaves. Farmers will not need separate products to remove the two different types of weeds. The special thing about One Kill is that it does not have any adverse effect on onion production.
Talking about the dosage of One Kill, MP of Dhanuka and Gujarat subject matter expert Mayur Ameta said that 400 ml solution will be required in one acre of land, and the quantity of water should be 150 liters. It must be used only when the weed is in the 2 to 3-leaf stage. One kill can be safely used in plants 15 to 20 days old plants.
The solution is capable of controlling all broad and narrow types of weeds.
In the end, RK Dhuria (Subject Matter Expert, UP West & Central Rajasthan and Uttarakhand North) of Dhanuka said that One kill is enough to prevent onion weeds and farmers should use it to get maximum yield.
Onion production in India
Onion is the second most important commercial crop in our country after potato. It has a prominent place among the tuber vegetables. Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh have the highest production of onions in India. Moreover, the crop is cultivated in an area of 1.28 lakh hectares in the country and produces about 23.23 Lakh tons of harvest.
There is a lot of demand for Indian onions in foreign countries too.
In Onion crops, along with broad-leaf weeds, there is also a problem with narrow-leaf weeds, due to which there is a huge reduction in its yield. Due to excess weeds, the possibility of an outbreak of many types of diseases and pests in the crop also increases. Therefore, weed control is important during the onion crop cycle to obtain a good yield.
