Transfer of integrated disease management technology for successful cultivation of saffron in Kishtwar district of J&K

Abstract

Jammu and Kashmir State of India enjoys the monopoly in commercial cultivation of saffron crop in India. Kishtwar district of J&K contributes about 3% of the total saffron production in India with average productivity of 1.5 kg ha-1. Among various factors responsible for low productivity of saffron is corm rot which is one of the major constraints in stabilizing its production. The disease is caused by more than one pathogens viz., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia spp., Macrophomina sp., Penicillium sp. and Sclerotium rolfsii. Poor cultivation technologies along with inadequate technical know-how about the management of the disease had forcing saffron growers to diversify from saffron to other crops in these areas. Due to the sustained research and extension activities of the Division of Plant Pathology, since 2005, saffron cultivation has re-gained the momentum due to the dissemination of effective integrated management practices for corm rot of saffron. Regular training programmes were carried out in the region to make the growers aware of the scientific cultivation of saffron, which emerged as one of the major tools that paved way for the successful in dissemination of integrated disease management technology for the management of corm rot in saffron. So far, 40 one-day training programmes have been conducted from which more than 1500 growers were educated and trained about the latest technologies regarding successful saffron cultivation. About ten demonstrations on IDM technology were also conducted in farmer's participatory approach (FPP) mode, in which the scientific guidance along with chemicals were provided to the beneficiaries from sowing till harvesting. Due to the adoption of the technologies that were disseminated, the productivity of saffron increased up to 3.96 kg ha-1 in the field of adopted farmers.