Hybrid Arize 6444 rice grows in a paddy field in Nagaon. Telegraph picture

Nagaon, Nov. 23: The Nagaon agriculture department will introduce the concept of leaf colour chart among farmers this boro season, which starts next month.

Nearly 1,000 colour charts will be distributed among the farmers of the district under the centrally sponsored National Food Security Mission (NFSM).

A leaf colour chart catalogue has seven shades of green designed according to nitrogen percentage. A farmer compares the colour of his paddy leaf with the chart to decipher the exact percentage of nitrogen in his paddy field.“It is really a tough job for a farmer to trace whether his field has the right percentage of nitrogen. Excessive use of nitrogen in the form of fertiliser reduces production and damages soil. The leaf colour chart will also help the farmer determine the right quantity of fertiliser he should use in his field,” said Pradip Buragohain, the unit nodal officer of NFSM, Nagaon. Other steps will also be taken this year to introduce the farmers to the modern concept of cultivation, he added.

“In one agricultural circle, we will take one compact area. Rotavator (motorised plough) will be used to till the land. Fertiliser will be dispensed through machines, power reapers will be used for harvesting and threshers to husk the crops. We will give parallel training to the farmers. Our mechanical support in the first year might encourage them to opt for machinery the following year and our free demonstration could teach them that modern concept of cultivation can reduce physical labour and fetch better returns,” Buragohain said.

The Nagaon agriculture department had introduced high-yielding and hybrid rice varieties among the farmers two years ago under the mission.

“Till now, five high-yielding varieties — Swarnabh, Dinanath, MTU 1010, Krishna Hansa and IR 64 — have become popular among the district’s farmers. The two most popular hybrid varieties are THC 832 and Arize 6444. A farmer can expect an output of nine tonnes per hectare in case of high yields and 12 tonne per hectare in case of hybrid varieties if he follows our guidelines strictly,” Arunima Devchaudhury, a consultant to the Nagaon unit of the mission, said.

“Last year, the production was 15 tonnes per hectare, which was a record in the state,” she said.

Nagaon has 1,45,000 hectares of agricultural area, of which boro cultivation covers 60,000 hectares. The department aims to cover another 15,000 hectares under the mission this year, increasing the area of boro cultivation to 75,000 hectares.“We are targeting 250 demonstrations of improved package of agriculture practices, 100 demonstrations of SRI (system of rice intensification) and 50 demonstrations of hybrid varieties (including distribution of seeds) this boro season. Each demonstration covers 0.4 hectares of compact area and the land owners get all the support from the department against such a demonstration,” Buragohain said.

Nagaon deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu said they were hoping the new initiative would bring the farmers closer to a scientific approach to cultivation.

He said till date the concept of leaf colour chart was known among scientists and agriculture students. For the first time, it will reach the state’s farmers. “If this maiden initiative proves successful, we will also introduce the measurement of phosphorus, potash and nutrition,” he added.