A ‘Field Day’ of the newly released sugarcane variety, ‘Co 14012’ was organized by ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI), Coimbatore in association with Sakthi Sugars Ltd. Appakudal in Mathur village, Anthiyur, Erode on 17.12.2024.
During the event, the farmers were initially taken around the Frontline Demonstration (FLD) plot of the variety Co 14012 , being grown in the field of Shri. T.Thirukumaran. The farmer mentioned that he was very much satisfied with his 11-month-old crop and highlighted the features of the new variety such as, drought tolerance, non-flowering nature, high-tillering nature and tolerance to pests and diseases. Sakthi Sugars Ltd. had arranged an exhibition of new cane varieties and inputs at the’ Field day’ venue.
Addressing the farmers and extension officials, who had gathered, Dr. P. Govindaraj , Director of ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore said that in the current scenario, only if the farmers get a yield of at least 70 tonnes per acre, sugarcane farming would be profitable. Listing out the challenges faced by the sugarcane sector in the state, he expressed concern over the bitter facts that sugarcane area in the state has come down drastically , factories are running with low-capacity and there has been no significant rise in the net income of the sugarcane farmer in the state, for a long time. He expected that the recently released variety Co 14012 would be a viable alternative to Co 86032 variety, which was officially released for cultivation long back, during the year 2000. Following this, he distributed the seed material of Co 14012 to all the participants of the Field day.
Thanking ICAR-SBI for conducting the Field day at the right moment, Shri. V. Thiruvenkadam, Vice-President, Sakthi Sugars ltd. in his address, highlighted the need for developing versatile cane varieties suitable for local conditions, that can ensure enhanced income for the sugarcane farmers.
Earlier, welcoming the farmers , Dr. D. Puthira Prathap, Principal Scientist & Head, Agricultural Extension, ICAR-SBI said that this Field day was being conducted to get direct feedback from the sugarcane farmers of the region on the new variety, Co 14012, that has been demonstrated in a 1.5-hectare plot, here. Going by the concept, ‘Seeing is believing’ , the farmers and extension functionaries have witnessed the frontline demonstration, themselves and have received first-hand information from the FLD farmer, which would ensure further spread of the variety in Tamil Nadu , he added. After observing the plot, the visiting farmers had expressed satisfaction over the crop-stand of Co 14012, he mentioned.
During the Q&A section that followed, Dr. K. Mohanraj, one of the developers of the variety, Shri. P. Ashokumar, from Sakthi Sugars Ltd factory and Shri. T. Thirukumaran, the FLD farmer, shared their experiences with the new variety, in detail. The doubts raised by the farmers on general cultivation aspects were cleared during this session.
Shri. R. Bhavani and Shri. R. Saravanan, Assistant Directors of Agriculture of Ammapettai and Anthiyur , Erode district, Scientists from ICAR-SBI , senior officials from Sakthi Sugars Ltd and over 80 farmers participated in the event.