03-08-2013, 04:20 PM
Plant Health Clinics in India- Status, Strategies and Challenges
ABSTRACT
Agriculture is the lifeline of Indian economy. A gradual and sure transformation of Indian agriculture is taking place to face the challenges at national and global level. Diseases and pests of crop plants are responsible for the annual losses of more than Rs. 25,000 crores in India. National Agricultural Policy is giving high priority to the application of modern science and technology to minimize these losses. One of the important agenda in the National Agricultural Policy includes the establishments of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at district level followed the pattern of Krishi Gyan Kendra (KGK) by Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar and Plant health clinics at-least at the university level. The basic objective of the plant health clinics is to provide comprehensive diagnostic and advisory services encompassing all possible causes for ill health whether biotic or abiotic. The plant clinic will be useful in providing all the valuable qualitative and quantitative local information which will help the farmers to improve their decision making capacity. The extension staff has to formulate control practices and government to devise realistic policies for crop production and protection by use of plant clinics. By providing advice based on sound principles, plant health clinics have important role to play in reducing dependence on pesticides. In India first plant clinics was established by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during 1970 with the main objectives of quick diagnosis of the crop disorders and recommendations of remedial measures to the farmers. Subsequently, ICAR gave thrust to the establishment of plant clinics and agri-business centers by agricultural graduates under a central schemes with the objectives of (1) Using unemployed agricultural graduates to provide extension services on payment basis by setting up of their private ventures (ii) Extending equal opportunities to all eligible unemployed agricultural graduates to be self-employed by establishing economically viable ventures of agri-clinic centers and (iii) Involving these critical human resources for agricultural development. The modalities of plant clinic in broadened term should be human resource and physical infrastructures. Human resource includes the well trained staff even from other related fields i.e., Plant Pathology, Agronomy, Soil Science, Entomology and Nematology along with supporting staff for laboratory and green house. With regards to physical infrastructures, clinic should have laboratories with diagnostic facilities for whole range of plant diagnostic services integrated under one roof for the benefit of clients desiring simultaneously several diagnostic services.