Agricultural exhibition receives great response from farmers

The agricultural exhibition being held on behalf of the government in Perundurai has received a great response from farmers.
A grand agricultural exhibition and seminar was held for the second day on Thursday near Vijayamangalam, Erode district. The exhibition was inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday. The exhibition will continue till Friday (June 13).
More than 200 stalls have been set up at the exhibition. Apart from this, seminars on various topics are being held in 13 sessions. A large number of farmers from outside districts including Erode, Coimbatore, Salem, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Karur participated in the agricultural exhibition and learned about new technologies. Many farmers bought vegetables and greens, traditional rice seeds to raise awareness about organic farming.
Fertilizers, pesticides, etc. required for organic farming are being sold in large numbers.
Rare traditional rice varieties, small grains, pulses, oilseed crops, herbal crops, aromatic crops,  indigenous varieties such as Purutika and Samba rice are also featured in the exhibition. In sorghum, Thalavirichan white sorghum, Ilanjamai, Karunjamai, and white sorghum, in millet varieties such as Mapillai millet, Redhinai, Karunthinai, Killu millet, Panivaraku varieties, and Kezhvaraku varieties are featured.
Pulses such as red and black beans, indigenous varieties of ulundu, perennial indigenous tuvarai, rice beans, a crop that can be grown only in the northeastern states, and Uchi Ellum, the main oilseed crop of the hill people, were featured in the exhibition.
Short-term and drought-tolerant varieties that can be cultivated in summer, local varieties with high oil content, and vegetables such as vine tomatoes with high sour taste, courgettes with high taste but not bitter, various types of zucchini, pumpkin varieties, various types of beans, small tubers, betel leaves, tubers, red and green wing beans, local eggplant varieties, spinach varieties, and cereal stalk spinach were also included.
A tractor-powered sugarcane transplanter has been installed. It has a power of 35-55 horsepower. It can plant 3.5 hectares of land per day with a row spacing of 5 feet. The price of this tractor is Rs. 2 lakh. This sugarcane transplanter performs tasks such as making furrows, cutting sugarcane stalks, applying manure, and applying and covering with a pesticide at the same time.

Officials said that a total of 3 workers are sufficient to operate this machine, including one person to drive the tractor, and 2 to pick up the sugarcane and feed it into the machine. Also, sugarcane stalks can be planted in two rows at a distance of 3, 4 or 5 feet through this machine.
While this has attracted farmers, an improved groundnut pod extractor for women was placed. Through this, maximum groundnut pods can be extracted. Damage to groundnut pods is reduced.
The price of this device is Rs. 50 thousand. Similarly, an improved direct paddy seeder, an engine-powered direct paddy seeder, etc. were also placed. Officials are also providing explanations to the farmers by giving a demonstration regarding this.
The machine for loading the harvested sugarcane into trucks and the cowshed with storage facilities have received additional attention. A large number of farmers and producers participated in the exhibition and displayed their value-added agricultural products. 
The farmers were eager to learn about the Thousand-Khachan coconut variety, which bears a thousand fruits and bears a thousand kilograms, which was displayed by the Agricultural University.