Tamil Nadu agricultural university advises farmers to grow pearl millet to fight drought
By sowing pearl millet, dry land farmers will get increased income during harvest time of February-March, as the price then would revolve around Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 as against the prevailing Rs 1,550 per quintal, according to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
A price analysis carried out by Agro Marketing Intelligence and Business Promotion Centre in the University, which prevailed in Villupuram regulated Market in the State for the last 15 years, revealed higher prices during Feb-March 2016.
Since whole grain, greenish and clean pearl millet fetch good price, the farmers are advised to take up their decision of pearl millet, it said. Pearl millet, a drought-resistant crop, is one of the major food, feed and fodder crops among cereals, which is also used as important component in preparation of nutrient health mix.
In Tamil Nadu, during 2013-14, it was grown in an area of 54,412 hectares, producing 1.17 lakh tonnes with a productivity of 2.15 tonnes per hectare, it said. Villupuram district has the highest production followed by Thoothukudi, Madurai, Theni, Thiruvannamalai, Virudhunagar and Dindigul Districts in the State.
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