Upper Siang to trial barley for first time as KVK partners IIWBR

Barley, a crop with no history of cultivation in Upper Siang district, is to be tried out in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang valley after the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) handed over seeds of four varieties to the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK).

The seeds were handed over on Sunday at a farmers' training and input distribution programme held at the Upper Siang KVK office in Geku under the institute's North Eastern Hill (NEH) component, The Arunachal Times reported. The KVK will run adaptive research trials to see how the crop performs in the district's varied agro-climatic conditions.

According to a release quoted by the paper, the trials could widen the district's cropping options and reduce farmers' dependence on a small range of traditional crops.

New fruit and spice crops too

The 45 farmers who attended, drawn from almost every part of the district, also received organic manure and planting material of Thai Early and Thai Red jackfruit, rambutan (N18) and clove. The release described this as the first introduction of these horticultural crops in Upper Siang, aimed at testing whether they adapt locally and can add a high-value crop to farm incomes.

IIWBR director Dr Omvir Singh, who travelled from Karnal in Haryana, urged farmers not to leave cultivable land fallow, to adopt scientific practices and to stay in regular touch with KVK scientists for technical guidance and field demonstrations.

KVK head Dr Oyinti Megu said farming in the district is held back by difficult terrain, fragmented landholdings and limited access to quality inputs and technical support, and sought continued collaboration with the institute. IIWBR senior scientist Dr OP Gupta and Geku Zilla Parishad member Katem Tateh also attended.

Why the trials matter

Krishi Vigyan Kendras are district-level farm science centres of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), set up to test new crops and technologies on local fields before they are recommended to farmers. IIWBR, also an ICAR institute, is the national research body for the two cereals.

Upper Siang, with its headquarters at Yingkiong, is a mountainous frontier district bordering China along the Siang river, where most farming is done on small, scattered plots on slopes. Barley in India is usually grown as a winter (rabi) crop. The KVK has not yet said when the first trial plots will be sown or when results are expected; the trials will decide whether any of the four varieties is suited to the district.