DR. SWAMINATHAN LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF BIO-CONTROL LAB AT PAU

LUDHIANA, APRIL 26:-----



Foundation laying ceremony is a small but significant function. This was stated by Dr. M.S.Swaminathan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and an agricultural scientist of international repute, after laying the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art laboratory complex of pest bio-control in the research farm of PAU Department of Entomology, today. Dr. Swaminathan said that pests, pathogens and weeds were there even in the beginning of agriculture, some 10000 years ago. Quoting the view of renowned Indian entomologists, Dr. Pardhan, Dr. Swaminathan said that rather than controlling the pests, it is prudent to manage them. It is the crux of the concept of integrated pest management (IPM), he said. Referring to the rice-wheat cropping sequence of northern India, Dr. Swaminathan said that the former had many pests while the latter, the least. He said that a symphony of inter-disciplinary approaches, ideas and scientists was required for achieving results. He remarked that the green revolution in India, too, was the outcome of the symphony among scientists, farmers, technology generators and disseminators.



Dr. Manjit Singh Kang, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, welcomed Dr. Swaminathan and said that the proposed bio-control lab will be a nodal lab to work for reducing the pesticide use, promoting eco-friendly technologies and providing facilities for the researchers in these areas. Congratulating the PAU Department of Entomology, Dr. Kang wished that the lab would be one of the best in the country. He exclaimed that its foundation stone laying by Dr. Swaminathan is a great privilege for PAU.



The Director of Research, Dr. S.S.Gosal spoke on the ongoing PAU programmes on eco-friendly pest management and said that some of the technologies, such as bio-control of sugarcane pests, Bt cotton, NPV virus, etc., have been accepted commercially in the state. He said that the laboratory will be a learning center in this area of research.



Earlier, the Head of the Department of Entomology, Dr. A.K.Dhawan welcomed Dr. Swaminathan, Dr. Kang, and Deans, Directors and faculty members from different departments who were present on the occasion. He said that PAU has strength in the area of toxicology, bee-keeping, insect molecular biology and IPM technologies.



The Chief Engineer, Dr. Jaspal Singh while explaining the layout plan of the proposed bio-control lab said that it will have two floors, covering an area of 1800 sq. feet on each and will have working place for scientists. He said that the lab will be one of the bests in the country with the state-of-the-art facility. The job of construction will be completed in a period of 18 months, he said.



The Dean, Postgraduate Studies, Dr. Gursharan Singh proposed his vote of thanks to all present.
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