Guinea Fowl also known as “Titari” and “Chitra”, the low input alternate poultry species domesticated for egg and meat are adapted to varied Indian agro-climatic conditions and most appropriate for backyard poultry production. Being rich in vitamins and low in cholesterol, the Guinea Fowl Meat is valued by consumers for taste and nutritional value. The birds are eco-friendly and helpful in worm, pest and insect control and provide manure for the field and are seasonal layers with average egg production of 90 to 110 eggs from March to September. The seasonality of reproduction / egg production is, therefore, a major problem limiting its egg production and hindering the large-scale commercial production of Guinea Fowl.   The ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh conducted 4 experimental trials during the winter months (November to February) from 2016 to 2021 to break the seasonality in reproduction in Pearl variety of Guinea Fowl. The aim...

The growing demand for sheep meat coupled with attractive price for live-weight cost of Rs. 300 to Rs. 350/kg in the urban and peri-urban areas in metros and large towns is attracting many farmers to adopt intensive feeding of sheep with better breeds.   The lack of nutrition in the early phase of growth in lambs reduces the immunity and increases the susceptibility to diseases resulting in lower body weight gains and high mortality. It is mainly due to low plane of nutrition as the breeds of sheep have very limited ability to produce sufficient milk for promoting optimum growth in lambs. One of the major concerns is the lower body weight gain in lambs during the pre-weaning phase (90 - 100 days). The technological intervention of supplementary feeding through Milk Replacer containing highly digestible quality ingredients can address the issue. The supplement is designed for the growth and development of young nursing animals.   A number of...

Shri Mrinal Sohkhwai (34 years), an unemployed youth from Borkhatsari Village, Marngar Cluster, Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya and his family depended mainly on agriculture as a source of income. They used to grow crops like paddy, vegetables, spices (turmeric, ginger, black pepper) and rear local Pigs for the fattening purposes. Before the intervention of ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills Region, Umiam, he used to rear local Pigs for fattening purposes. The production potential of local indigenous Pigs is very low in terms of growth rate and litter size. Thus, to increase the production potential of indigenous Pigs, the improved breeds of Piglets (Hampshire x Local Khasi) are introduced by ICAR-RC on NEH Region, Umiam under Farmers FIRST programme.     To reduce the feed cost, in addition to the concentrate Pig feed, he also provides homemade feed. He prepares feed for Pigs at home with locally available vegetables, colocasia leaves and stems,...

The cultivation of indigenous Red Paddy varieties has been given priority in the coastal Karnataka. But, being tall with lodging problems, it does not respond to the fertilizer and provides lesser yields. Generally, the paddy varieties like MO4 and indigenous variety - Kajejaya have been cultivated in large area even with a weeklong flood situation resulting in less production. The Mangalore Taluk of coastal Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada and Udupi) has 300 ha of paddy land inundating with the flood for long duration creating unfavorable situation for paddy cultivation and resulting in low production. Hence, the suitable paddy variety for low lying flood situation of the region is the need of the hour. To solve the problem, the Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station (ZAHRS), Brahmavar, Udupi District, Karnataka State released the flood-resistant Red Rice variety - Sahyadri Panchamukhi (under ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice Project) during 2019...

92nd Annual General Meeting of ICAR Society organized 27th January, 2021, New Delhi Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare addressed the 92nd Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society today. Shri Tomar briefed about the science driven path developed by ICAR to resolve the various agricultural and farming problems along with the government's schemes for doubling the farmers' income by 2022. The Union Minister applauded the invincible efforts of the agricultural scientists, teachers, students and farmers associated with the Council. He also stressed that the farmers' hard work and latest technologies developed by the agricultural scientists have helped the country to achieve an important place in milk production and fisheries sector at the global level.     The Union Minister underlined the Central Government's implementation of several comprehensive schemes for enhancing the production and productivity...