Plant clinic established in Moga

The state Department of Agriculture has set up its first plant clinic in Moga District, which ₹1.25 crore. The clinic is aimed at helping farmers prevent diseases in plants and crops. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian will inaugurate the facility on Monday.

A machine worth ₹1 crore has been imported from USA for soil testing. Soil and plant testing facility is provided free of cost to the farmers.

Moga Chief Agriculture Officer Jaswinder Singh Brar said, “This is the first plant clinic of the state agriculture department. Earlier, there was only one such clinic, located in Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. We had sent a proposal to NITI Ayog last year, which was approved and a grant of ₹1.25 crore was released. An advanced soil testing machine has been imported from the US which can test 70 elements in soil. This machine can test 30 samples of soil in an hour,” he said.

“After reviewing test reports, the agricultural experts can advise farmers on how to prevent plant diseases and make suggestions on how to improve soil deficiencies. In addition to the test machine, we have purchased a number of other equipment, including a digital microscope,” he added.